We Put Bluehost vs GoDaddy Head-to-Head: Which Is Our Winner?

So the stage is set, it’s time for Bluehost and GoDaddy to go head to head as we compare which hosting provider offers the best benefits to users, helping you to decide which one is right for you.

When it comes to a good hosting provider, you want something easy to use. You don’t want a user interface that’s clunky and hard to navigate.

The good news is that both GoDaddy and Bluehost are high performers regarding usability. They both use cPanel, the industry standard for hosting providers, which makes managing your web hosting super simple.

While Bluehost has added some branding, GoDaddy has kept its cPanel on default settings, but in all honesty, there’s not much difference between the two when it comes to features and ease of use.

Both providers offer specific WordPress hosting plans, but Bluehost is the one out of the two that’s WordPress-approved. Bluehost is the number 1 recommended hosting provider by WordPress, worth considering if you’re planning to use WordPress as your CMS.

One tick in GoDaddy’s box, however, is the fact that not only is it a hosting provider, but there’s also a GoDaddy website builder. While we wouldn’t say it’s the best website builder on the market, it’s a great choice for beginners who want to keep all website management in one place.

Of course, you may well be reading this and already have a hosting provider for your website, meaning you want to switch to a new one. So how easy do Bluehost and GoDaddy make migrating?

Neither perform poorly in this area but there is a clear winner: Bluehost. Not only does it offer free WordPress migration, but it also offers a professional switching service for a one-time fee that’s confirmed following a consultation, meaning all the migration work is done for you.

Migrating to GoDaddy meanwhile will require a more hands-on approach from you. It’s free and WordPress websites can be automatically migrated. If you’re migrating a non-WordPress website however then it’s a case of downloading all of your website’s files and uploading them to GoDaddy… a lengthy process.

Want to learn even more about Bluehost and GoDaddy? Why not check out our full reviews:

• Bluehost review
• GoDaddy Hosting review

The Winner

Bluehost has a better user interface

Bluehost comes out top thanks to its easy-to-navigate user interface, professional migration service, and not to mention the fact that it’s a WordPress-recommended hosting provider.

If you’re wondering whether to choose GoDaddy or Bluehost then chances are you want to know which one performs better. Which one can you rely on?

One of the key factors to consider when choosing a hosting provider is its uptime. You want your website online and accessible to users right?

No web host can guarantee 100% uptime, but the best providers on the market come close. Let’s take a look at Bluehost and GoDaddy’s uptime:

• Bluehost: 99.98%
• GoDaddy: 99.97%

As you can see, there really isn’t much in it, with both offering an uptime guarantee that you can rely on to keep your website online as much as possible.

When it comes to website speed, Bluehost and GoDaddy both keep your website running quickly. However, while Bluehost’s data centers are all located in the US, GoDaddy’s can be found across North America, Europe, and Asia. If you’re planning on targeting an international audience, therefore, GoDaddy is likely to offer a speedier website load time.

The features you get as part of your hosting plan will depend on the provider and plan you choose. To help make it easier for you, we’ve broken down some of the key features offered by both GoDaddy and Bluehost in this handy table.

The Winner

GoDaddy's performance is more reliable

GoDaddy is the better choice thanks to its international data centers and slightly better feature offers across all hosting plans.

OK, we’ve got a feeling we know why you’re really here, and that’s to find out if Bluehost or GoDaddy is better value for money.

Pricing is a key part of making a decision on which hosting provider to choose. You want to be sure that you’re getting the best deal and the most features for your cash…and that you couldn’t get a better deal elsewhere.

Bluehost $8.99 per month for 12 months and rise to $21.99 per month for the most advanced option.

Remember! These prices are based on signing up for a period of 12 months. Bluehost actually offers you the chance to sign up for 12 or 36 months, with the 36-month option working out cheaper (but a much bigger time commitment of course!)

No matter what hosting provider you look at, chances are they will all be doing the same thing: an introductory sale. It’s industry bread and butter and most cheap hosting providers on the market will hook you in with an introductory price for the first 12 months or longer before hiking the prices up when it comes to renewal.

Unfortunately, Bluehost and GoDaddy are no different from the rest, with the most basic plans rising to $3.99 per month from Bluehost and $9.99 per month from GoDaddy.

The Winner

Bluehost offers better value

Neither Bluehost nor GoDaddy are wildly expensive but when it comes to value for money, Bluehost takes the crown, offering great prices and relatively low renewal rates for feature-rich plans.

Find Out More

• Learn more about which plan is right for you in our Bluehost Pricing Review
• Dive into GoDaddy’s costs in our full GoDaddy Hosting Pricing Review

You want your website and its contents (along with your visitors’ data) to be kept safe and secure. So when you’re choosing between Bluehost or GoDaddy, you need to know what steps each provider takes when it comes to security.

Both providers will equip your website with a free SSL certificate included in your shared hosting plan (an essential part of website security). However it is worth noting that with GoDaddy’s most basic plan this SSL is only free for the first 12 months – it’s an extra $11.99 per year after that.

GoDaddy also runs free daily backups for all users, which is only available on the two most expensive Bluehost plans, and even then is only included for free for the first year.

The Winner

GoDaddy's daily backups beat Bluehost

Bluehost and GoDaddy are both secure web hosts, we wouldn’t recommend them if they weren’t, but GoDaddy’s daily backups mean it just beats Bluehost to the post when it comes to security.

Find Out More: See our full list of the best Free SSL Hosting Providers

Of course, you hope nothing will go wrong with your website hosting but it wouldn’t be a fair Bluehost vs GoDaddy fight if we didn’t compare what help and support they each offer customers.

Bluehost offers comprehensive support with live chat and phone support both available to users. When we tested out the live chat, we found that we received informative and easy-to-understand solutions within around 3 minutes.

Like many hosting providers, there’s also an on-site knowledge base full of useful articles and resources including the WordPress Academy, an online course focused on building and hosting a WordPress website.

GoDaddy offers a similar package of support, live chat, phone, and on-site knowledge base, but we found some of the resources limiting on how useful they were, which isn’t too much of a surprise considering the sheer number of services that GoDaddy offers.

This isn’t the end of the world however, thanks to GoDaddy being such a huge brand in the web industry – there are tons of third-party reviews and tutorials available on platforms such as YouTube.

One area of customer support that Bluehost trumps GoDaddy in is support tickets. While Bluehost allows customers to submit tickets for a more personalized experience and help, this isn’t something that GoDaddy offers. A big shame for GoDaddy customers.

The Winner

Bluehost's customer support is better

Bluehost’s customer support outshines GoDaddy’s, mainly due to the fact it offers customer support tickets and we found the resources in its knowledge base to be much more detailed and informative.

When it comes to finding the right hosting provider for your website, we know it can be tricky. With so much to think about, where do you begin?

That’s why our experts have undertaken extensive research into the hosting industry and hosting providers, to equip you with impartial, fair, and accurate recommendations.

As part of our research and testing process, we look at price, performance, features, support, and the hosting market to bring you the most up-to-date and relevant information.

Both Bluehost and GoDaddy are reliable and well-established hosting providers and in all honesty, you can’t go wrong with either of them.

When it comes to it though, there can only be one winner and in our Bluehost vs GoDaddy face-off, it’s Bluehost that comes out on top.

Packed full of features, secure, speedy, and great value for money, Bluehost has everything you need, wrapped up in a neat hosting package. It’s WordPress-approved and time and time again it comes out as our top-rated hosting provider.

If you’re still unsure which hosting provider is right for you, take our quick four-question quiz to narrow down your options and help you make your choice.