SiteGround vs GoDaddy: which hosting provider is better for you?
Are you wondering which is the better hosting provider - SiteGround or GoDaddy? Check out this article where I’ve put together a detailed SiteGround vs GoDaddy comparison to help you out. I go over the differences in their pricing, ease of use, performance, security, and customer support. By the end of this comparison, you’ll have a better view about what both hosting providers offer and what their differences are.
Both SiteGround and GoDaddy are popular and well-known names in the hosting industry.
SiteGround is mainly popular because of its powerful shared hosting plans for growing businesses. On the other hand, GoDaddy has a reputation for offering a diverse collection of hosting services and cheap registration of domain names.
So, how do these hosting providers stack up against one another? And which one of them will better suit your needs and requirements? Well, let's find out in this detailed comparison of SiteGround vs GoDaddy.
SiteGround vs GoDaddy: a quick comparison
| SiteGround | GoDaddy | |
| Rating | ||
| Price from | From $3.99/month | From $1.99/month |
| Free domain | No | Yes |
| Payment types | Credit card | Credit/Debit Card, PayPal, GoDaddy in store credit, GoDaddy gift card, wire transfer |
| Hosting types | Shared WordPress/WooCommerce and cloud hosting | Shared, WordPress, Business, VPS, Dedicated |
| Control panel | Custom control panel Site Tools | cPanel |
| Average speed | 217ms | 341ms |
| Monitored uptime | 99.99% | 99.98% |
| Uptime guarantee | 99.9% | 99.9% |
| Server locations | The US, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, and Singapore | The US, The Netherlands, Singapore |
| Security | Free SSL certificates, weekly/daily backup, DDoS protection, 2-factor-authentication, AI anti-bot protection, and a Security plugin | 24/7 network security, DDoS protection |
| Support | 24/7 live chat, email, and phone | 24/7 live chat and phone support, knowledge base |
| Website migration | Free automated WordPress migration or paid professional site transfer | Around $99 for website migration |
| Extras | Staging, caching, emails, white-label, collaboration tools, and CDN | Office 365 email |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days | 30 days |
| Website | www.siteground.com | www.godaddy.com |
SiteGround vs GoDaddy: pricing comparison
GoDaddy is the more affordable hosting option with shared hosting packages starting at $1.99/month. In comparison, SiteGround’s cheapest shared hosting plan costs $3.99/month.
Now, apart from shared hosting, here are the prices of other hosting services offered by both providers.
SiteGround:
- Shared WordPress/WooCommerce hosting: Starting at $3.99/month
- Cloud hosting: Starting at $100/month
GoDaddy:
- Business hosting: Starting at $19.99/month
- WordPress hosting: Starting at $6.99/month
- Managed WordPress eCommerce hosting: Starting at $15.99/month
- Self-Managed VPS hosting: Starting at $4.99/month
- Dedicated server hosting: Starting at $129.99/month
- Windows hosting: Starting at $5.99/month
As you can see, GoDaddy offers many more types of hosting services compared to SiteGround. However, the shared hosting plans are the most popular options of both providers. As such, I focus on that to establish which is the better value-for-money option.
To get started, here’s how the cheapest plans for both hosting providers compare to one another:
- SiteGround (StartUp - $3.99/month): With SiteGround’s StartUp plan, you can host a single website with 10GB SSD storage space and free SSL protection. You also get unmetered bandwidth, support for unlimited email accounts, and access to useful tools like advanced security features, Cloudflare CDN integration, SuperCacher plugin, and daily automatic backups.
- GoDaddy (Economy - $1.99/month): GoDaddy’s Economy plan allows you to host 1 website with unlimited bandwidth. You also get more disk space at 25GB, a free domain for 1 year, and a free annual subscription to Microsoft 365 email for the 1st year. But on the downside, there’s no option for automatic daily backups, and free SSL protection is missing as well.
Even though GoDaddy costs less, it gives you 15GB more storage space than SiteGround and a free domain for 1 year. On the other hand, SiteGround offers a free SSL, which is missing from GoDaddy’s Economy plan. It also throws in many advanced features, such as staging, caching, and adding collaborators.
So, it can get a bit hard to pick the best “value-for-money” plan here. Neither one of the base plans are perfect. Thankfully, there are different shared hosting solutions to choose from.
With SiteGround, you have 3 pricing tiers starting at $3.99/month and going up to $10.69/month.
I recommend getting the $6.69/month GrowBig plan. It offers a steep upgrade over the StartUp plan and costs less than two StartUp plans. For just $2.70/month extra, you can now host unlimited websites. The storage space becomes two times bigger, a total of 20GB, and there’s also staging support, which is hard to come by with most shared hosting plans.
The best deal could be considered a 3-year GrowBig subscription. It costs you a total of $629.64, bringing down the overall renewal price to $17.64/month (standard is $24.99/month). Also, the renewal cost remains the same at $629.64 for the next 3 years.
Next, we have GoDaddy, offering 3 shared hosting plans starting at $1.99 and going up to $14.99/month.
In terms of features, the most well-rounded option is the Ultimate plan. However, $14.99/month is too expensive for what you’re getting. As such, if you’re looking for the cheapest option, your best bet is with the Economy plan at $1.99/month. It’s decent for beginners and saves you some money by offering a free 1-year domain.
For the best deal, get the Economy plan with a 3-year subscription. It costs you $107.64 for the 36-month billing cycle. After that, it renews at $8.99/month or $107.88/year.
GoDaddy is also more affordable in terms of domain names. With GoDaddy, you get a “.com” TLD for just $0.01/year if you get a 2-year purchase - the second year renewing at $18.99. As such, the total cost of getting a .com domain for 2 years is $19.00 total.
In comparison, SiteGround charges a flat $17.99/year for a .com domain. As such, you spend $35.98 in 2 years for a .com domain with SiteGround, making GoDaddy the better option.
So, in terms of pricing, GoDaddy is more affordable than SiteGround. That being said, SiteGround’s expensive price tag is justified by the different advanced features it brings to the table. It’s also worth noting that the latter is the more affordable option when looking for domain registration at SiteGround vs GoDaddy.
SiteGround vs GoDaddy: ease of use
When it comes to SiteGround vs GoDaddy, they’re both great in terms of ease to use. However, SiteGround, with its native dashboard and custom control panel - Site Tools, is more intuitive and, therefore, easier to use. GoDaddy also comes with a native dashboard that takes care of the simple stuff. But, for more advanced options, you get the cPanel. It’s good and functional but can be a bit overwhelming for new users, making SiteGround more beginner-friendly.
With SiteGround, the whole user experience revolves around a centralized dashboard that you access after creating a new account. From here, you get access to your standard settings like account details, available services, websites, billing information, etc.
From the “Websites” area, you get to access Site Tools for each hosted website. The overall interface looks like this:
As you can see, it looks very similar to the WordPress dashboard. You have a left-hand sidebar where you can jump between different settings for your site, speed optimization, WordPress, domain, email settings, website stats, and developer options. You can also pin your frequently used tools to the top and get a quick overview of your site info right underneath it.
Moving on, let’s talk about GoDaddy. I personally find its native dashboard very efficient. It’s super clean and gives easy access to all the basic options. You can even set up your website straight from the dashboard and manage domains, email accounts, etc.
However, for more advanced hosting management options, GoDaddy throws in the cPanel.
As you can see, cPanel looks much more cluttered compared to SiteGround’s Site Tools. You have a “General Information” panel to the right and all the various settings and tools at the front and center.
From the cPanel, you can access your core WordPress files or email settings, manage your databases, domains, activate SSL, and much more. From here, you can also find tools like Softaculous or Installatron to help you install a content management system, such as WordPress, with a couple of clicks.
That being said, if you’re new, having this many tools right up your face can feel scary and overwhelming. And so, for this round of SiteGround vs GoDaddy, I’m giving the win to SiteGround for being more intuitive and beginner-friendly.
SiteGround vs GoDaddy: performance
I compared SiteGround vs GoDaddy in terms of performance and SiteGround takes the lead again. It outperforms GoDaddy in having twice as little downtime and faster loading times, which makes SiteGround a much more reliable and faster hosting provider.
For more accurate results comparing SiteGround vs GoDaddy performance, I tested both hosting providers up close for two months.
Uptime and response time
With SiteGround, I got 99.99% uptime. During this time, I experienced 3 outages totaling 7 minutes of downtime. Compared to the average downtime in the industry, this is excellent! SiteGround guarantees a 99.9% uptime, so you don’t have to worry about your website not being available for long periods of time.
In terms of response time - the time to fetch the first byte of data and the HTTP headers - I got an average of 217ms. To give you a better idea, the market average is 600ms, which carries SiteGround to the top-tier.
Now, moving to GoDaddy, I recorded an uptime of 99.98%. Just like the other hosting provider, the site experienced 3 outages, but the downtime was more than double, reaching a total of 16 minutes. Still, it’s within the industry standards, and you are promised a 99.9% uptime guarantee.
The average response time was also good, reaching 341ms and staying within the industry average. However, it’s worth mentioning that it was slightly inconsistent, varying from a maximum of 447ms and a minimum of 280ms.
Overall, SiteGround has better uptime and faster response time, earning it the win in this round.
Website Speed
Website speed performance is just as crucial as other measures. You wouldn’t want your visitors to leave because of a slow website, would you? That’s why I compared SiteGround vs GoDaddy in terms of speed measures as well. Spoiler alert: SiteGround was faster.
Before examining the results, it’s important you understand what the terms that I’m going to use mean:
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): The time taken for the largest graphic on the web page to load. According to Google, an LCP of less than 2.5s is considered good.
- Fully Loaded Time: The time taken to fully load every element on a web page and execute all JavaScript. The industry average is 3 seconds.
Now that you understand what the results mean, let’s look at how SiteGround performed on GTmetrix.
I got an LCP of 872ms and a Fully Loaded Time of 1.1s. Both figures are well within Google’s recommendations as well as the industry averages, which is excellent!
Moving on, I evaluated how GoDaddy performed on GTmetrix. I recorded the same time for LCP and Fully Loaded Time at 1.5s. Both measures are within industry averages but noticeably slower compared to SiteGround.
Overall, SiteGround is more reliable with 99.99% uptime compared to GoDaddy’s 99.98%. It’s also faster with 872ms LCP, 1.1s Fully Loaded Time, and 217 average response time. GoDaddy lags far behind, scoring 1.5 for both LCP and Fully Loaded Time, and 341ms as the average response time.
As such, SiteGround takes the win in reference to website performance. While both providers offer 99.9% uptime, SiteGround experienced twice as less downtime. The loading and response times of both providers were within the industry averages, however, SiteGround was still much faster.
SiteGround vs GoDaddy: website security
SiteGround offers a much more comprehensive and robust security solution compared to GoDaddy. It's no surprise considering that SiteGround goes in our most secure hosting providers list. The reason for that is you get access to many advanced security features for free with SiteGround.
SiteGround offers the following security features for free:
- 24/7 Network Monitoring: server status is checked every 0.5 seconds to ensure everything is working properly.
- Free SSL: every SiteGround plan comes with a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate.
- Automatic Daily Backups: all of your files are automatically backed up every day and stored on remote servers.
- Custom Firewall: Constantly updated rules to safeguard you and your site from emerging threats and bad actors.
- AI Anti-Bot System: automatic detection and blocking of bot traffic.
- Dedicated Security Plugin: All SiteGround plans get a dedicated security plugin to protect you from DDoS attacks, scan for malware, and automatically update plugins and themes.
Other than this, SiteGround also offers domain privacy as a paid security add-on. It costs $12 for the 1st year and $24 for renewals.
In comparison, GoDaddy offers super basic security options - features that you just can’t do without. On top of that, if you want extra security, it charges a hefty fee.
Here’s what you get for free:
- 24/7 Network Monitoring: GoDaddy offers 24/7 network monitoring to protect your site from threats, but there’s no mention of how frequent the checks are.
- Free SSL: Only the two most expensive GoDaddy Shared hosting plans offer SSL certificates. Considering that most hosting providers give them for free, it’s quite surprising that the Economy and Deluxe plans don’t include an SSL.
All other security features are accessible through paid add-ons. The Website Security add-on is a single package that combines an SSL certificate, a Web Application Firewall (WAF), and an anti-malware system. However, the whole thing costs $4.75/month - that’s even more than the basic plan itself.
So, once again, SiteGround takes the win as the more secure hosting platform.
SiteGround vs GoDaddy: customer support
When it comes to SiteGround vs GoDaddy, the results are quite similar in terms of customer service. Both of them offer 24/7 support over the phone and live chat. However, SiteGround can be contacted via tickets too.
With that being said, the SiteGround support system is designed to make it more of a “help yourself” system, something DIY folks like myself love. Every page contains helpful widgets providing useful tips on what each button, tool, or feature does. On top of that, you have a vast knowledge base filled with helpful articles and how-tos.
Yet, if you run into some technical issues and need human assistance, you can always give SiteGround’s super helpful and friendly agents a call. If you prefer texting rather than speaking, you can also start a live chat. This will trigger the smart chatbot, which will either direct you to a potentially helpful knowledge base article or connect you to a support rep, which, by the way, replies very fast.
In comparison, GoDaddy’s customer service approach is very conventional. You get a vast knowledge base known as the Help Center, which contains hundreds of tutorials and answers to FAQs. But if you want a human to help you, you can reach out either via phone or live chat.
From my experience, the support team is knowledgeable and helpful. However, I did experience some issues while trying to connect to the support team over live chat.
All in all, this aspect of the service could almost be considered a draw between SiteGround vs GoDaddy as both of them offer excellent customer support. But I have to give the win to SiteGround because of its thoughtful and helpful widgets across the interface.
SiteGround vs GoDaddy: final recommendations
And that brings us to the end of this SiteGround vs GoDaddy showdown. As you can see, SiteGround beats GoDaddy in almost every single department. The only area where GoDaddy gets the upper hand is its affordable price tag.
That said, even if you’re on a budget, I’d still suggest SiteGround over GoDaddy because you’re getting a lot more powerful and useful features for a slightly extra cost.
Now, to wrap things up, let’s take a look at the scoreboard:
| Feature | SiteGround | GoDaddy | Verdict |
| Price | SiteGround is more expensive with its base plan starting at $3.99/month. With GoDaddy, the cheapest plan costs $1.99/month. | ||
| Ease of use | SiteGround offers a more intuitive and beginner-friendly user experience with its native dashboard and custom control panel - Site Tools. GoDaddy also focuses on being easy to use, but the cPanel can feel a bit overwhelming for beginners. | ||
| Performance | With SiteGround, I got 99.99% uptime, whereas GoDaddy scored 99.98%. The Fully Loaded Time for SiteGround was 1.1s, while GoDaddy was a bit behind, reaching a total of 1.5s. | ||
| Security | SiteGround provides a more comprehensive security solution offering advanced protection features for free. Meanwhile, GoDaddy only offers basic security features free of charge. So, if you wish to have extra protection, you can either get SiteGround or get paid add-ons with GoDaddy, which are very expensive. | ||
| Customer support | Both SiteGround and GoDaddy offer 24/7 customer support over the phone as well as live chat. |
SiteGround is slightly more expensive than GoDaddy, yet it makes up for it by offering better performance and access to advanced security features. It’s also easier to use, making it a better option for beginners who are looking for a powerful hosting service.
However, if you want a more affordable hosting plan, GoDaddy is a great option. Choose this provider if you have experience in the hosting world or want to build a personal website.
Alternatives to SiteGround and GoDaddy
Both SiteGround and GoDaddy are popular hosting platforms. SiteGround is known for its powerful infrastructure and advanced features, whereas GoDaddy is more affordable.
However, it’s worth mentioning that these two aren’t the only options available. Here are a couple of alternative hosting providers that you might be interested in.
Hostinger
If you’re looking for the most bang-for-the-buck, affordable hosting provider, then Hostinger is my recommendation. The prices start as low as $2.59/month, for which you get a custom beginner-friendly UI, great uptime, fast load time, all the basic security features, and 24/7 customer support. That’s hard to beat!
Bluehost
Bluehost is an excellent hosting provider for beginners and small businesses. Pricing starts at $2.95/month and offers great WordPress-centered features, reliable customer support, and good security. It also offers access to tons of business-focused tools and advanced features like staging, convenient website management, and much more. Whether you’re looking for a service to host a blog or start a business, Bluehost works for both.
Other SiteGround comparisons for you to check out
- SiteGround vs HostGator
- Cloudways vs SiteGround
- SiteGround vs Bluehost
- Flywheel vs SiteGround
- SiteGround vs WP Engine
- A2 Hosting vs SiteGround
- SiteGround vs InMotion Hosting
- SiteGround vs DreamHost
Other GoDaddy comparisons for you to check out
SiteGround vs GoDaddy FAQs
Is GoDaddy better than SiteGround?
No, SiteGround is better than GoDaddy in most departments. This includes performance, security features, ease of use, and even customer support. However, GoDaddy is a more affordable option, yet it doesn’t offer as many features as SiteGround.
Is SiteGround faster than GoDaddy?
Yes, it appears that SiteGround is a faster option. When I tested both hosting providers, SiteGround’s Fully Loaded Time was 1.1s, whereas for GoDaddy, it was 1.5s.
Is GoDaddy or SiteGround better for beginners?
SiteGround is better for beginners as it comes with helpful widgets throughout the interface and includes Site Tools - an intuitive control panel for website and hosting management.
Is GoDaddy or SiteGround better for an eCommerce website?
GoDaddy is better for an eCommerce website compared to SiteGround. With GoDaddy, you get an option for Managed WordPress eCommerce hosting starting at $15.99/month. There are also Business hosting plans, which are great for growing businesses that require more resources.
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