In this comparison, we’ll dig into SiteGround and GoDaddy to help you find the best host for your needs. Our comparison includes real performance testing and uptime data, as well as user ratings from our WordPress hosting survey of over 830 WordPress users.
To fully analyze each host, we’ll break our SiteGround vs GoDaddy comparison into four sections: features, performance and uptime, support, and pricing.
⏰ TL;DR: Overall, if you want the best performance and best support, SiteGround is the clear winner here; read more why and how both compare against each other.
SiteGround vs GoDaddy: Feature comparison
Both hosts offer a good range of features, but SiteGround offers managed WordPress features on its cheap shared plans while GoDaddy doesn’t (you need to upgrade to GoDaddy’s managed WordPress hosting to get those features).
SiteGround features
- Automatic WordPress updates
- Easy WordPress install wizard
- Built-in WordPress staging sites (except on cheapest tier)
- Server-level caching for improved performance
- Install free SSL certificate with Let’s Encrypt tool
- Robust live chat support for non-developers
- Integrated redirects tool for quick redirection
- Cloudflare CDN for sites with a global audience
- Unlimited email accounts for your domain
- Choose from five worldwide data centers on three continents
- Performance monitoring and optimization using SG optimizer
- Unlimited WordPress migrations with SiteGround Migrator plugin
GoDaddy features
- Domain registration, hosting and website building on one platform
- 100GB – unlimited storage depending on the plan
- Low prices
- Add multiple domains on one host
- Choose between Linux or Windows OS
- GoDaddy mobile app for quick access to cPanel
- Unlimited bandwidth for great performance
- Get a free domain with GoDaddy
- 125+ applications available with 1-click install
Performance: Uptime and page load times
To analyze the performance of SiteGround vs GoDaddy, we set up test sites on each host and used the Pingdom speed test tool. Here are the results:
SiteGround:
- New York: 1.16 seconds
- Melbourne: 3.47 seconds
- Stockholm: 0.74 seconds
GoDaddy:
- New York: 0.89 seconds
- Melbourne: 1.93 seconds
- Amsterdam: 0.91 seconds
GoDaddy had faster loading times in our tests. So you might say GoDaddy is quicker. But before you make a decision, look at our uptime monitor. SiteGround offers near-100% uptime, whereas GoDaddy is typically in the 99.4% range.
While that might not seem like a big difference, that 0.6% can mean an extra 4+ hours of downtime per month, which is significant.
Support: SiteGround gives unmatched support
SiteGround provides unbeatable support to its customers. You literally cannot find a better troubleshooting team elsewhere. You can reach out via live chat, contact email, phone, support tickets, and knowledge base.
Their staff is extremely helpful with any issues on your site. They have recently updated their support page; now you can choose from a variety of topics tagged as technical assistance, advanced technical services, and billing assistance.
That being said, GoDaddy provides support in over 27 different languages. You can reach them 24/7. Nevertheless, we recommend phone support over live chat because of the long wait time.
To analyze their assistance more precisely, we conducted a hosting survey of over 800 WordPress power users. Here are the ratings we received featuring SiteGround vs GoDaddy:
| Type of Support | SiteGround | GoDaddy |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Support Rating | 4.7 | 3.3 |
| WordPress-Specific Support Rating | 4.5 | 3.3 |
As you can see, users in our survey rank SiteGround’s support much higher than GoDaddy.
Pricing: GoDaddy offers slightly cheaper plans
Both GoDaddy and SiteGround use promotional prices for your first billing cycle to draw you in. After your first billing cycle ends, you’ll need to pay the full list price.
Both hosts offer comparable promotional pricing, while GoDaddy’s regular prices are much lower once renewal time comes around.
Here are the four plans GoDaddy hosting offers:
- Basic – $5.99
- Deluxe – $8.60
- Ultimate – $12.29
Higher-tier GoDaddy plans also come with unlimited storage, whereas SiteGround limits your storage on every tier.
Here are the three plans offered by SiteGround:
- StartUp – $2.99
- GrowBig – $4.99
- GoGeek – $7.99
So while SiteGround’s prices are quite competitive with GoDaddy using promotional pricing, SiteGround’s renewal prices are higher than GoDaddy, which is something to remember. Of course, for that higher price, you’re getting much better support and improved user satisfaction, at least according to the data in our survey of over 800 WordPress users.
Additionally, SiteGround offers more WordPress-specific features than GoDaddy’s shared hosting plans. For example, SiteGround offers staging sites and automatic updates, while GoDaddy only offers those on its pricier managed WordPress hosting plans.
SiteGround vs GoDaddy: Which one should you choose?
SiteGround as well as GoDaddy are great hosting solutions. We cannot say that one is better based on a single factor. SiteGround has great support, useful site maintenance tools, powerful performance, auto-updates, and near-100% uptime.
GoDaddy had faster load times in our test and has lower renewal prices, though its uptime and support are not as good as SiteGround.
Overall, users in our WordPress hosting survey of over 830 WordPress users ranked SiteGround much higher than GoDaddy. Here are the overall ratings for SiteGround vs GoDaddy:
- SiteGround: 4.6 out of 5
- GoDaddy: 3.5 out of 5
At the end of the day, choose SiteGround, if you are a non-developer, just starting up your blog and need a helping hand from world-class support.
👉 To learn more, check out our full SiteGround review
Once you choose the best hosting provider for your needs, you’re ready to launch your website. To help with that, we have detailed guides on how to make a website or how to start a WordPress blog.
Do you have any questions about how to choose between SiteGround vs GoDaddy? Let us know in the comments and we’ll try to help.
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