Bluehost vs GoDaddy Hosting 2023: Which Is Better?

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4.8

out of 5

4

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Bluehost and GoDaddy are big names in the hosting world. Of the two, our top choice is Bluehost, which scores higher in our research and is the best option for web hosting overall. Bluehost offers excellent support, cost-effective plans, and free WordPress migration.

But, GoDaddy has a lot going for it as well. With plenty of valuable features, and a fast server response time, GoDaddy is a great option if you’re looking for a comprehensive solution. Below, we’ll get into a head-to-head breakdown of the strengths and weaknesses of both to help you decide which is the right fit for your site.

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Bluehost

GoDaddy

Overall rating
4.8
Overall rating
4.0
Starting from

$2.95

Starting from

$6.99

Uptime

99.98%

Uptime

99.97%

Free backups
Free backups
Free domain
Free domain
Storage space

10GB – Unlimited

Storage space

25GB – 100GB

Bluehost is better for you if you're building a WordPress site...

…And want great value for money, tons of features, and excellent customer support.

Try Bluehost For Yourself Today!

GoDaddy is better for you if you want your website-building tools in one place...

…It’s also slightly easier to use, so a good option if you’re less tech-savvy.

Looking For An Easy Solution? Try GoDaddy!

Feeling confused about your hosting choices? Take our four-question hosting quiz to narrow down your options. It’s quick, easy, and will help you pick a platform that matches your budget!

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Bluehost vs GoDaddy: Quick Comparison

Check out our side-by-side comparison table to see which hosting provider best suits you.

Bluehost GoDaddy
Features, Performance, & Ease of Use
Winner: GoDaddy
Bluehost has a large number of features to enjoy, including free backups, unmetered bandwidth, and a free domain. Its interface is more polished than GoDaddy. GoDaddy offers a comprehensive experience, with its hosting services and website builder in the same place. It has great features, an impressive server response time, and is super easy to use.
Pricing & Value for Money
Winner: Bluehost
Bluehost's hosting plans are extremely cost-effective, and its renewal prices are very competitive. Bluehost also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. GoDaddy's introductory costs are a little higher than Bluehost, but its plans still won't set you back too much. Pricing between plans and hosting types can also be fairly erratic, but GoDaddy offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
WordPress integration
Winner: Bluehost
Bluehost is the best platform for WordPress integration. All it takes is one click, and Bluehost is even recommended by WordPress! GoDaddy does have WordPress integration capabilities, but the process is not as seamless as Bluehost.
Migration
Winner: Bluehost
Bluehost offers both a paid and free switching service. All it takes is a few clicks, and Bluehost's support team will be on hand throughout the process. Switching with GoDaddy isn't a simple task. Although still free, you'll need to do the work yourself!
Help and Support
Winner: Bluehost
Bluehost has excellent help and support options, including an awesome knowledge center, 24/7 phone, live chat, and email services. GoDaddy offers 24/7 phone and live chat support, but it doesn't provide help via email.
Are You Ready? Bluehost GoDaddy

Features, Performance, & Ease of Use

godaddy logo
The Winner

GoDaddy is easier to use than Bluehost

Both GoDaddy and Bluehost have excellent features available, but GoDaddy is just inches ahead. GoDaddy has a better uptime and speedy server response time, which is essential when getting set up online. GoDaddy also houses everything in one place, from hosting plans to website building tools.

Bluehost and GoDaddy are both excellent choices where features are concerned. As leaders in the market, they can’t afford not to be. Consequently, there’s very little to separate the two.

Bluehost GoDaddy
Free domain Yes Yes
Control panel cPanel cPanel
Free backups Yes Yes
Disk space 100GB 100GB
Uptime 99.98% 99.9%

The uptime of both is excellent – 99.98% for Bluehost, and 99.9% for GoDaddy. That’s less than three days of downtime a year. Perfect uptime simply isn’t possible, but these two get as close as is reasonably possible.

Both use the cPanel control panel, the industry standard for managing your hosting. The interfaces are clean and easy to use, though we think Bluehost has a little extra polish.

For shared hosting, GoDaddy and Bluehost plans cap the storage space at 100GB, which could be an issue for large-scale companies. That being said, smaller websites rarely get close to that kind of limit. Importantly, both Bluehost and GoDaddy provide free backups – excluding Bluehost’s cheapest plans – which is good security to have in case something dreadful happens to your site.

Further Information

Ironically, the major difference between Bluehost and GoDaddy is the support you receive when building a website after you’ve signed up for a hosting plan. GoDaddy has its own in-house, drag-and-drop website builder, whereas Bluehost integrates with Weebly and WordPress.org.

This is one of the key differences between Bluehost and GoDaddy. If you want to build your own site, but you’re not technically savvy, GoDaddy provides the structured, intuitive experience you probably need. For a site built in WordPress, we’d recommend Bluehost above anyone else.

Brandon is the Marketing Manager at The Big Phone Store, a UK-based company that specializes in consumer electronics.

GoDaddy offers a very user-friendly interface that makes it easy to get started with your hosting account.

I’ve been using GoDaddy Hosting for about two years now.
First, GoDaddy offers a very user-friendly interface that makes it easy to get started with your hosting account. There’s no need to be a tech expert to get your website up and running with GoDaddy. Second, GoDaddy provides great customer support. If you have any questions or run into any problems, their support team is always available to help. Third, GoDaddy offers a wide range of features and options, so you can tailor your hosting account to meet your specific needs. Whether you’re looking for basic hosting, or more advanced features like e-commerce and email, GoDaddy has you covered. (sic)
First, I would add more disk space and bandwidth to the basic plans. Second, I would make the control panel more user-friendly. And finally, I would add more features to the higher-priced plans, such as unlimited disk space, more email accounts, and so on.
I would recommend GoDaddy Hosting to anyone looking for a reliable and affordable web hosting service.

Bluehost vs GoDaddy – Features and Ease of Use: Verdict

GoDaddy offers slightly better features and ease of use than Bluehost, though it’s definitely a close call! GoDaddy’s in-house, drag-and-drop website builder keeps the setup process simple, and it provides a comprehensive offering for users. Most websites probably won’t max out GoDaddy’s 100GB storage space limit either, and its cheapest plans start at 25GB in comparison to Bluehost’s 10GB.

godaddy logo

Is GoDaddy the Right Host For You?

GoDaddy narrowly wins on features, because of its comprehensive offering. Explore its plans to make sure it’s the best host for you.

Pricing & Value for Money

bluehost logo
The Winner

Bluehost is better value for money

Neither hosting provider will blow apart your budget, but Bluehost’s plans are more cost-effective than GoDaddy’s. We believe Bluehost is better value for money because of its numerous features, reliable customer support, as well as its cheap introductory and renewal prices.

The real reason a lot of you are here is to find out which one’s cheaper. Bluehost and GoDaddy are both safe, reliable hosting options. But, if value for money is an important factor for you when making your decision, go for Bluehost.

There are cheaper options if you commit to a longer contract, but we’ll be sharing the per month pricing for the 12-month plans below.

Bluehost GoDaddy
Shared Hosting $2.95–$13.95

$8.99–$22.99

WordPress Hosting $2.95–$13.95

$8.99–$18.99

WooCommerce Hosting $9.95–12.95

$20.99

VPS Hosting $24.99–$83.99

$5.99–$118.99

Dedicated Hosting $99.99–$139.99

$159.99–$469.99

Reseller Hosting Outsourced for $16.99–$36.99

$8.99–$14.99

Further Information

It’s an old trick by all of the website hosting providers to a) always have a ‘sale’ on, and b) have a bunch of add-ons that you’ll need to pay for on top of the basic monthly rate. A Tesla on sale for $50 sounds great until you learn you need to buy the wheels and engine separately.

Neither Bluehost or GoDaddy get too cheeky with their pricing. You shouldn’t expect to pay more than a few dollars per month to get a website off the ground, regardless of the one you choose. On the whole though, we think Bluehost offers a little bit more value per plan – especially given that GoDaddy’s shared hosting renewal rate soon jumps up to $8.99 per month.

It’s worth noting that our research finds Bluehost to be the best choice for dedicated hosting. Bluehost scores 4.7 out of 5 overall for the hosting type, and comes out on top for value for money in dedicated hosting.

Additionally, both providers offer 30-day money-back guarantees, which is a brilliant option to have if you want to test the waters.

Bluehost in Action: Ryan Mungia

Ryan Mungia is the author of 'Do You Compute? Selling Tech from the Atomic Age to the Y2K Bug' and writes about art, design, and technology on his website.

As a small business owner, you shouldn't have to think about your web hosting too often. If it doesn't cross your mind for an entire year, it's doing a good job.

I’ve been a Bluehost user since 2012, when I started a website where I could sell zines and other print projects. The web has changed a lot since then, but Bluehost has remained (mostly) the same. By that, I mean it still offers the same reliable hosting service at a decent cost. As a small business owner, you shouldn’t have to think about your web hosting too often. If it doesn’t cross your mind for an entire year, it’s doing a good job.
I am not the most tech-savvy person, so whenever I have to assign a new domain name to my account or adjust the A-Records, I go on a wild Googling spree to find the correct answer. Inevitably, I call Bluehost for support, and those phone calls have saved me numerous times.
I can only access the old hosting dashboard (which they call the “Legacy Dashboard”) by logging into WordPress and accessing it there. If I log in directly through Bluehost, I get something that looks different. I have gotten used to this now, but would like it more if there was just one dashboard.
There are many web hosting options out there, and while I haven’t tried them all, I have been using Bluehost for a decade, and it has served me quite well. The fact that I’ve had my web host longer than my car or dog is a pretty good recommendation.

Bluehost vs GoDaddy – Pricing: Verdict

Bluehost offers better value for money than GoDaddy. Neither provider is going to burn a hole in your pocket, but Bluehost’s excellent customer support and competitive renewal prices make it the winning provider here.

Do You Want Great Value For Money?

Bluehost packs a ton of powerful features into its plans, meaning it’s the better value option over GoDaddy.

Which Has Better WordPress Integration?

bluehost logo
The Winner

Bluehost is best for WordPress integration

Bluehost is the best in the business when it comes to integrating with WordPress. Recommended by WordPress itself, Bluehost’s one-click process will have you set up and online within minutes.

It would be remiss to not give WordPress.org its own section when comparing hosting providers. A solid third of the internet is built on WordPress and, if you’re looking to arrange hosting yourself, there’s a decent chance you’ll be joining those ranks.

Bluehost is the best platform for WordPress integration. That’s not solely our opinion either. WordPress itself recommends Bluehost (along with DreamHost and SiteGround) as “the best and brightest of the hosting world”.

Bluehost’s WordPress expertise extends to its WooCommerce features as well. If you’re running an online store, Bluehost’s WooCommerce plans come with one-click integrations for payment processing tools, and a compatible online store theme that’s already set up for you.

Further Information

Installing WordPress.org (and/or WooCommerce) on Bluehost is literally a one-click process. If you felt so inclined, you could have a functioning website up within minutes of confirming your hosting plan. Bluehost understands that WordPress is its bread and butter, so its strength in this area is unlikely to dwindle any time soon.

That being said, GoDaddy integrates fairly smoothly with WordPress as well, but you’re here for a comparison, and Bluehost is comfortably ahead at the moment.

Bluehost vs GoDaddy – WordPress Integration: Verdict

When it comes to WordPress integration, Bluehost is the clear winner. This provider has been recommended by WordPress itself since 2005, and for good reason. Bluehost beats GoDaddy for WordPress integration, because Bluehost is simply easier, faster, and seamless to use.

Are You Using WordPress?

If so, we highly recommend Bluehost. It’s the best in the business when it comes to WordPress hosting – even WordPress itself says so!

Which Has a Better Switching Process?

The Winner

Bluehost makes it easy to switch providers

With Bluehost, you can easily migrate your WordPress site for free, or pay for a professional service to handle it all for you. It’s an easier process than GoDaddy, and makes migration hassle-free!

If you already have a hosting provider, and are looking to make the switch to Bluehost or GoDaddy, then you’ll want to make sure you don’t end up with a technical headache that could’ve been avoided. The good news is that neither provider makes website migration particularly difficult – but there is a clear winner between the two!

bluehost site migration
Bluehost makes it easy to switch hosting providers with its free and paid services.

Bluehost offers a professional switching service for a one-time fee of $149.99, which migrates up to five websites and 20 email accounts. All the work is done for you. Bluehost’s team of experts offer expedited service and complete migration of all the databases and files associated with your old hosting account – and you don’t have to lift a finger, or have any migration knowledge!

Rather not spend the money? That’s no problem! Bluehost also offers a free switching service for WordPress websites that meet its qualification criteria. This service is available after you’ve signed up for an account with Bluehost, when you can fill out a “free migration contact form” in your Bluehost dashboard. From there, Bluehost’s team of migration experts will contact you to review factors like your site’s WordPress version, database size, and PHP version to decide whether your site is eligible for a free migration.

On the other hand, switching your website to GoDaddy involves a little more work. It’s definitely doable, and it is free – but that’s because GoDaddy doesn’t offer a completely hands-off migration process. Non-WordPress websites have to be migrated manually, which involves downloading your website’s files from your old hosting provider, and then uploading them to GoDaddy. WordPress websites are a little easier – these can be migrated to GoDaddy in the “My Products” section of an existing GoDaddy account, where you’ll need to choose your desired hosting plan and provide information about the site you’d like to transfer.

Bluehost vs GoDaddy – Switching Process: Verdict

Bluehost is the winner when it comes to switching your hosting provider. Its free WordPress migration option is a huge asset, and the paid migration option is stress-free. Switching a website to GoDaddy isn’t painful, but it definitely isn’t as easy as switching to Bluehost.

Are You Switching Hosting Providers?

Bluehost’s completely hands-off WordPress migration is hard to beat, whether you choose the free or the paid version.

Further Information

Help and Support

The Winner

Bluehost has better customer support overall

Both providers have great help and support services, but Bluehost beats GoDaddy overall. Bluehost offers 24/7 live chat, phone, and email support, as well as a detailed Knowledge Center to help with any potential queries.

Good help and support is invaluable when it comes to hosting. Things don’t go wrong often, but when they do, you want the techies in your corner.

Bluehost and GoDaddy both tick most of the boxes, offering knowledge centers, live chat, and 24/7 phone support. For commonplace problems, this is all you’re likely to need.

Bluehost’s knowledge center is a bit more thorough overall. That said, GoDaddy’s knowledge center is also helpful. And, if you don’t find the information you’re looking for there, both providers are so widely used that someone, somewhere, will have encountered the same problem as you and shared the solution online.

The big difference is Bluehost offers support tickets, while GoDaddy doesn’t. Sometimes only personalized attention will do, and, at the very least, it’s good to have the option. The race is close between the two providers in this category, and there are other key differences to scrutinize between Bluehost and GoDaddy.

Bluehost vs GoDaddy – Support: Verdict

Bluehost has better customer support than GoDaddy. Bluehost offers support tickets while GoDaddy doesn’t, and tickets are an easy way to solve many website issues. Bluehost’s knowledge base surpasses GoDaddy’s, and you can learn a lot by browsing the articles posted there.

Do You Value Great Support?

Bluehost is a reliable provider with top-notch support, meaning it’s suitable for beginners and pros alike.

Bluehost vs GoDaddy Hosting: Conclusion

Bluehost and GoDaddy are such established, reliable hosting platforms that going with either will put you in safe hands. The pair have both been around for an age in internet terms, so the two know what they’re doing. Here’s a quick recap of how each one performed in all of the important areas:

Bluehost GoDaddy
Features, Performance, & Ease of Use
Winner: GoDaddy
Bluehost has a large number of features to enjoy, including free backups, unmetered bandwidth, and a free domain. Its interface is more polished than GoDaddy. GoDaddy offers a comprehensive experience, with its hosting services and website builder in the same place. It has great features, an impressive server response time, and is super easy to use.
Pricing & Value for Money
Winner: Bluehost
Bluehost's hosting plans are extremely cost-effective, and its renewal prices are very competitive. Bluehost also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. GoDaddy's introductory costs are a little higher than Bluehost, but its plans still won't set you back too much. Pricing between plans and hosting types can also be fairly erratic, but GoDaddy offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
WordPress integration
Winner: Bluehost
Bluehost is the best platform for WordPress integration. All it takes is one click, and Bluehost is even recommended by WordPress! GoDaddy does have WordPress integration capabilities, but the process is not as seamless as Bluehost.
Migration
Winner: Bluehost
Bluehost offers both a paid and free switching service. All it takes is a few clicks, and Bluehost's support team will be on hand throughout the process. Switching with GoDaddy isn't a simple task. Although still free, you'll need to do the work yourself!
Help and Support
Winner: Bluehost
Bluehost has excellent help and support options, including an awesome knowledge center, 24/7 phone, live chat, and email services. GoDaddy offers 24/7 phone and live chat support, but it doesn't provide help via email.
Are You Ready? Bluehost GoDaddy

Whether you go with Bluehost or GoDaddy depends entirely on your needs. If you want great value for money, or want to host a WordPress.org site, Bluehost is a better fit. If you want all of your website elements in one place, GoDaddy takes the lead. Both providers offer 30-day money-back guarantees, so there’s minimal risk to give one of them a spin.

Are You Ready to See Bluehost?

Bluehost is the better hosting provider overall, with stronger features, better value, and especially powerful WordPress plans.
godaddy logo

Are You Ready to See GoDaddy?

GoDaddy provides comprehensive convenience for its users and, in addition to hosting, comes with a ton of extra features.

FAQs

The important factors to consider are features, ease of use, WordPress integration, support, and value for money. However, the most important factor depends on your type of website and your priorities. Don’t sweat it too much, though. If you’re choosing between Bluehost and GoDaddy, you can’t really go wrong!
In our overall hosting rankings, HostGator comes in second place to Bluehost. You can check out our Bluehost vs HostGator, and HostGator vs GoDaddy comparisons to see how these providers stack up against another top contender.
Bluehost is recommended by WordPress because of its seamless, one-click setup process, as well as a wide variety of WordPress plugins that will enhance your site.

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Written by:

I’m a Senior Writer at Website Builder Expert, which means I’m part of a great team that produces and updates content for the website. I specialize in writing highly-researched and accessible guides, comparisons, and reviews that provide readers with everything they need to know about getting started and growing online. I’ve also written about small businesses for Startups.co.uk, video optimization for Industry Today, and HTML for Digital Information World. While working for Website Builder Expert, I’ve gained expertise in website builders, ecommerce platforms, and hosting providers through hands-on testing and research analysis. I’ve also attended expos to further my industry knowledge – all of this helps me pitch fresh article ideas for the website. Additionally, I manage our website’s comments which allows me to have a good understanding of what you, our readers, care about.

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