Overall, our recommendation for the best choice is SiteGround, with more features for the money, responsive customer support, and reliable uptime.
Of course, your needs determine which of them works best for you. So, in case you’re wondering, “Is GoDaddy better than SiteGround?” Here is a review to help you make an informed assessment of which of these two popular web hosting providers you should go for.
Let’s get started!
Overall Comparison GoDaddy vs. SiteGround
GoDaddy | SiteGround | |
Features | Easy-to-use control panel, Free installation of apps to build CMS sites, Automated daily backups | Free Weebly website builder, SiteGround Optimizer, and Website transfer at no cost |
Pricing | Startup plan – $5.99 /month, with a 30-day money-back guarantee | Startup plan – $2.99 /month, with 30-day money back guarantee |
Performance | 89% uptime, the most extended load speed is 1.0 seconds | 94% uptime, the most extended load speed is 0.8 seconds |
Support | Phone Support, Live chat, Video guides, Forum support, Knowledge base | 24/7 support, Phone Support, Live chat, Email Support, Ticket support, Knowledge base, Database support |
Ease of use | Industry-standard cPanel, Easy setup process | Custom control panel, Easy migration process, simple backup procedure |
Security | SSL certificate, Web application firewall, Advanced DDoS mitigation, Content Delivery Network | Custom web application firewall (WAF), An AI-driven anti-bot system, Free SSL certificate, Automatic PHP and WordPress updates, Fast server monitoring system which checks the server status every 0.5 seconds, Unique account isolation, CDN, DDoS |
Server location | Phoenix, Arizona · Chicago · Singapore · Ashburn · Mesa · Los Angeles · Scottsdale · Amsterdam · Virginia | Ashburn · Council Bluffs · Dallas · Los Angeles · London · Madrid · Eemshaven · Frankfurt · Sydney · Singapore |
Winner: SiteGround
SiteGround is the overall winner because it has superior features to GoDaddy, and its performance is more consistent. It also has a better deal on its long-term plans. Let’s take a closer look at both web hosting providers to understand more.
About GoDaddy and SiteGround
![]() | GoDaddy is one of the most extensive web hosting services in the world, with 20+ million customers from around the globe. It offers web services for small or large businesses and even individuals. These range from popular offerings like web hosting and domain name registration to niche services like issuing SSL certificates to users. |
![]() | In 2004, SiteGround launched as a web hosting company. It has since grown to become one of the biggest web hosting providers in the world, with over 2 million customers and 500,000 websites hosted. SiteGround provides shared hosting, cloud hosting, and dedicated servers and offers tools to help its customers build and manage their websites. |
Round 1: Hosting Features – Key Hosting Features and Services
Hosting Feature | GoDaddy | SiteGround |
Disk space and bandwidth | Unlimited bandwidth | Unlimited bandwidth |
High-performance SSD storage | Yes | Yes |
Free daily backups and restore | No | Yes |
Free WordPress installation | Yes | Yes |
Free site migration | No | SiteGround offers a free WordPress migration plugin. In contrast, custom site migration starts at $30 |
Free website builder | Yes | Yes |
Free SSL | No, but it allows add-on installations | Yes |
Key GoDaddy Features
GoDaddy offers its customers many features, including web hosting, email hosting, online marketing tools, and more. GoDaddy is known for its reliable and easy-to-use services, as well as its competitive pricing.
GoDaddy’s web hosting plans are available to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes. The company offers shared, virtual private, and dedicated server plans, WordPress, and eCommerce hosting. GoDaddy’s plans provide unmetered and an 89% uptime guarantee.
GoDaddy’s hosting plans include business-class features such as
- High-performance SSD storage.
- Free website builder.
- One-click installs for popular applications.
- Security monitoring.
- Unlimited disk space and bandwidth.
- Free WordPress installation
Key SiteGround Features
SiteGround offers a variety of tools to help you build and manage your website. The company provides web hosting, email hosting, domain name registration, and more. SiteGround is known for its easy-to-use control panel, 24/7 customer support, and a 94% uptime guarantee.
SiteGround also offers shared, cloud, WordPress, and enterprise hosting plans with unlimited storage plans. Also, it provides security monitoring with each hosting plan to help keep your site secure.
SiteGround proffers various tools to help customers build and manage their websites, including
- A drag-and-drop website builder.
- One-click WordPress installation.
- Easy-to-use control panel
- Free daily backups and restore
- High-performance SSD storage
And the winner is SiteGround
SiteGround has consistently been one of the top-rated hosting providers with excellent features. Comparing SiteGround vs. GoDaddy features, there’s no contest: SiteGround is the clear winner.
Round 2: Prices & Plans
GoDaddy | SiteGround | |
Entry level plan | $5.99 / month | $2.99/ month |
Middle plan | $12.99/ month | $9.99/ month |
Highest plan | $17.99/ month | $400/ month |
GoDaddy Pricing Plan
GoDaddy offers four different types of web hosting plans – Basic, Deluxe, Ultimate, and eCommerce.
The Basic plan is suitable for small websites with fewer than 25GB of storage and unmetered bandwidth.
The Deluxe and Ultimate plans are for larger websites with more than 50GB of storage. Deluxe plans include a built-in website optimizer and GoDaddy Insight for guidance and analytics. The Ultimate program consists of all of the features of the Deluxe plan, plus unlimited social posts and responses.
The eCommerce plan is designed for online stores and includes features such as a shopping cart and SSL certificate. Each program consists of a custom domain connection and customer support.
GoDaddy also provides a variety of add-ons, such as social media & email tools and a branded content creator.
SiteGround Pricing Plans
SiteGround offers various hosting plans to fit the needs of businesses of all sizes. The company’s shared hosting plans are ideal for small businesses and start-ups, with prices starting at just $2.99 per month.
SiteGround has three shared hosting plans: StartUp, GrowBig, and GoGeek. The plans come with unlimited emails and a complimentary CDN.
The Startup is suitable for one website with up to 10GB of web space and can support up to 10,000 monthly visits. On the other hand, GrowBig allows you to host multiple websites and use 20GB of web space.
GoGeek is great for eCommerce sites and high-traffic sites. GoGeek plan comes with 40GB of web space, free emails, and can support up to 400,000 monthly visits.
Also, SiteGround offers more robust Cloud hosting and dedicated server plans for larger businesses. These plans have increased storage and bandwidth limits and enhanced security features. Prices for these plans start at $100 per month.
And the winner is GoDaddy
Personally, I think GoDaddy is the better option, especially if you are looking for less-price hosting. SiteGround or GoDaddy are both fit for small businesses, but SiteGround is better for more demanding hosting needs.
Round 3: Website performance (Uptime & Speed)
Uptime is the percentage of time a website is accessible and running. A site with 100% uptime is always available; with 99% uptime, it is down for about a few minutes each day.
Load time is the amount of time it takes for a page to load when a user visits your site. The faster your load time, the better your uptime will be. A slow-loading website can result in frustrated visitors who may click away before the page loads.
Test | GoDaddy | SiteGround |
GT Metrix | 928ms | 444ms |
PageSpeed Insights | 1.0s | 0.8s |
GoDaddy Uptime & Speed
According to GT Metrix, GoDaddy has an average uptime of 89% and an average speed index of 928ms, according to PageSpeed Insights.
Regarding uptime, GoDaddy’s servers are up and running almost all the time, with minimal downtime. In terms of speed performance, it means that GoDaddy’s website loads relatively quickly, although there is room for improvement.
Overall, GoDaddy provides a reliable and speedy service, which is impressive given the large number of websites it hosts.
SiteGround Uptime & Speed
According to PageSpeed Insights and GT Metrix, SiteGround has an excellent uptime of 94% and an 0.8s speed performance. The average response time for requests made to SiteGround is only milliseconds, and the site rarely goes down. That means visitors to your site will always have a fast and responsive experience, no matter how much traffic your site gets.
In addition, PageSpeed Insights also reports that SiteGround consistently loads pages more rapidly than most SiteGround competitors. That is due to the use of caching and other performance-enhancing techniques. As a result, you can be confident that your site will always perform well, regardless of how much traffic it receives.
And the Winner is SiteGround
Both GoDaddy and SiteGround offer reliable and speedy service with good uptime. However, in terms of speed performance, SiteGround is the clear winner. Pages on SiteGround load faster than those on GoDaddy, and the site rarely goes down, even with heavy traffic.
Round 4: Customer Support – Who Has the Best Support System?
Type of Support | GoDaddy | SiteGround |
24/7 Support | Yes | Yes |
Phone Support | Yes | Yes |
Live Chat | Yes | Yes |
Email Support | No | Yes |
Ticket Support | No | Yes |
Forum Support | Yes | Yes |
Video Guides | Yes | No |
Knowledgebase | Yes | Yes |
GoDaddy Customer Support
I recently had the opportunity to test out GoDaddy’s customer support. Overall, I was pleased with the help I received, especially with the live chat. First, I tested their response time. I sent a question via chat and received a response within minutes.
The representative was very responsive and answered my questions courteously and professionally. They also patiently walked me through the process of resolving my issue step-by-step.
However, when I called their support line, I had to wait for several minutes on hold before speaking with a customer service representative. Moreover, the representative didn’t answer my questions satisfactorily.
Since GoDaddy doesn’t have email and ticket support, I had to rely on the support page or chat feature to get answers to my questions. Meanwhile, the video guides on the website are helpful and provide concise instructions.
SiteGround Customer Support
SiteGround has an excellent customer support team that is always willing to help with any questions or issues you may have. It offers 24/7 support through live chat, phone, and email channels. It also has an extensive knowledge base of articles and tutorials that can help you resolve and troubleshoot any issue.
I had an excellent experience with SiteGround customer support. I contacted them via live chat, and they were responsive, professional, and patient. They asked me what my issue was, and then they walked me through the process of providing an answer and resolving my case.
The Database support is also excellent. It offers many features to help you manage your databases, including Remote MySQL.
And the Winner is SiteGround
It was hard choosing a winner for this round because both companies offer standard customer support. However, SiteGround’s customer support is more robust, with more support channels available. Additionally, their representatives are more responsive and helpful than GoDaddy’s customer service reps.
Round 5: Ease of Use – Which Platform is Easier to Use?
GoDaddy | SiteGround | |
Account Management Dashboard | Easy | Easy |
Control Panel | Easy | Easy |
Setup Process (Install OS) | Easy | Easy |
Transfer an Existing Website | Medium | Easy |
Easy Creation of Backups | Medium | Easy |
Emails | Easy | Easy |
Enable Cloudflare | Medium | Easy |
GoDaddy Ease of Use
Registering a domain name with GoDaddy is quick and easy. Their user-friendly interface makes finding and registering a domain name simple, even if you are not a tech expert. The setup process is straightforward, and the control panel is easy to use.
Transferring an existing website to GoDaddy is averagely straightforward. You can use the control panel to initiate the transfer, and GoDaddy will take care of the rest. You may need to back up your website before starting the transfer to be on the safer side if anything goes wrong.
Overall, GoDaddy is pretty easy to use, especially if you want to register a domain name and set up some basic hosting. If you need more robust hosting options or want to create backups for your website, it may take a little more work, but it is still manageable.
SiteGround Ease of Use
SiteGround is one of the most user-friendly web hosting platforms. The user experience is excellent, and the interface is very intuitive. Creating an account and setting up your first website takes just a few minutes.
The account management dashboard on SiteGround makes it easy to keep track of your account, even for first-time users. Log in and click on the “Dashboard” tab to get started.
From there, you’ll be able to view your account status, manage billing and payments, create new websites, and more.
And the Winner is SiteGround
For ultimate ease of use, SiteGround wins again. They both have an excellent user interface that makes creating and managing your account more accessible than most GoDaddy alternatives. Still, you can easily back up and restore your website with SiteGround, which gives it the edge.
Round 6: Security – Which Platform is More Secure?
GoDaddy | SiteGround | |
Free SSL Certificate | No | Yes |
DDoS Protection | Yes | Yes |
Cloudflare | Yes | Yes |
Daily Backups | Yes | Yes |
Malware Scans | Yes | Yes |
SiteLock Security | Yes | No |
WAF (Web Application Firewall) | Yes | Yes |
Security Features | Yes | Yes |
GoDaddy Security
GoDaddy’s SiteLock Security service offers comprehensive protection against malware, viruses, and other online threats. The service scans your website regularly for potential security risks and blocks malicious traffic before reaching your site.
In addition, GoDaddy security protects your site from online attacks such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting.
SiteGround Security
Anyone who has ever dealt with a website security breach knows the aftermath can be a nightmare. In this case, setting up Cloudflare security on SiteGround is straightforward to fight any DDoS attack that might come your way, block malicious traffic, and enable SSL encryption. Also, SiteGround’s Constant Security Monitoring feature keeps an eye out for any new or unknown threats to your website.
And the Winner is
SiteGround wins when it comes to security. Not only does it offer comprehensive protection against all sorts of online threats, but it also makes this protection easy to set up and manage.
Round 7: Server Locations
The location of a server is essential because it can affect how quickly your website loads. You’ll want to choose a server as close to your visitors as possible to ensure the best possible experience.
GoDaddy Server Locations
GoDaddy operates data centers in nine locations worldwide, allowing it to provide its customers with high reliability and uptime. The United States locations include Phoenix, Chicago, Los Angeles, Scottsdale, Ashburn, Virginia, and Mesa.
In Europe, it has a data center in Amsterdam. Singapore serves as the data center located in Asia. Its biggest data center is Pheonix, Arizona, with over 270,000 square feet.
SiteGround Server Locations
SiteGround currently has data centers in 10 locations around the world – 4 in the United States (in Ashburn, Los Angeles, Council Bluffs, and Dallas), 1 in each of London, Madrid, Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Eemshaven (Netherlands) and Frankfurt (Germany).
All locations have top-of-the-line hardware and software, constantly expanding their infrastructure to keep up with the latest technological advances.
It has thousands of servers spread out across its 10 locations. With such a large footprint, it can provide its customers with a swift and reliable experience.
Source: SiteGround
And the Winner is SiteGround
SiteGround has more locations, and the servers are more spread out around the globe.
GoDaddy vs. SiteGround: Final Recommendations
When to Choose GoDaddy?
GoDaddy is reliable and has had an excellent reputation in the hosting industry since its inception in 1997. Most GoDaddy competitors cannot beat its long experience in hosting. The company is one of the largest registrars in the world and manages millions of domain names.
Choose GoDaddy:
- If you want simple tools for creating and managing your website
- If you want a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to manage your account.
- If you are looking for an affordable domain name
- If you operate a small business or are just starting your website.
Go For SiteGround If You
SiteGround is more expensive than GoDaddy, but you get more features for your money. The company also provides more server locations and better security features.
Choose SiteGround:
- If you need unlimited email accounts and storage space
- If you need free daily backups and restore
- If you need more control over your hosting environment.
- If you require Cloud and WooCommerce hosting
- If you are looking for faster loading speeds with good uptime.
- If you need advanced security features to protect your website.
The Bottom Line
Both GoDaddy and SiteGround are reliable web hosts with a long history in the industry. GoDaddy vs. SiteGround is a close battle, but SiteGround comes out on top in most categories.
If you’re looking for the best possible experience, I recommend going with SiteGround. Although there are other GoDaddy competitors worth considering, SiteGround tops this roundup.