HostGator vs GoDaddy: Which is the Best Web Host in 2023?

HostGator and GoDaddy are both popular names in the hosting market and are reliable too.

If you are looking to host your website on one of these platforms and want to know which of the two is the best, then you have come to the right place.

We have a team that keeps researching different hosting, and we also have multiple websites, one website hosted on GoDaddy and one hosted on HostGator too.

Although both hosting providers are very popular. But which of the two is worth your money, that is what we will discuss in this article.

In this article, we will take an in-depth comparison of HostGator vs GoDaddy and discuss their features, performance, Customer Support, real customer rating, pros & cons, hosting plans, prices, and more in detail.

So let's start the HostGator vs GoDaddy detailed comparison.

HostGator vs GoDaddy: The Detailed Comparison

HostGator vs GoDaddy: Which is the Best Web Host?
HostGator vs GoDaddy: Which is the Best Web Host?

HostGator vs GoDaddy: A Quick Overview

HostGator Overview: HostGator was founded in the year 2002 by Brent Oxley and was bought by Endurance International Group (EIG) in 2012.

EIG owns several major brands, including Bluehost, iPage, JustHost, HostMonster, and so on.

It also hosted more than 2 million websites to date.

HostGator offers a wide range of hosting services across the globe such as Shared Hosting, VPS Hosting, WordPress Hosting, Cloud Hosting, Dedicated Hosting, Window Hosting, Reseller Hosting, etc.

GoDaddy Overview: GoDaddy is the world's largest domain registrar, founded in the year 1997.

Let us tell you that more than 84 million domains have been registered on GoDaddy so far.

In addition, it currently provides its services to over 21 million customers worldwide.

Similar to HostGator, GoDaddy also offers a wide variety of hosting services, such as shared hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated servers, eCommerce hosting, etc.

HostGator vs GoDaddy: Features Comparison

So let us now know which provider out of both HostGator and GoDaddy offers better features with their hosting plans.

Features of HostGator

  • $500 Google Ads Credit and $100 Microsoft Advertising Credits
  • 99.9% Uptime Guarantee
  • 1 Free Domain for 1 year only
  • One-click WordPress Installs
  • Free Website Builder
  • Affordable Hosting Plans
  • Free Website and Domain Transfer
  • Unmetered Bandwidth
  • 10 GB to Unlimited Disk Space
  • 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
  • Free SSL Certificate
  • Free Unlimited Emails
  • Free MySQL Transfer & Script Transfer
  • 24/7 Customer Support (Live Chat, Phone Support, Ticket Support, and Email Support)
  • 24/7 Server Monitoring
  • cPanel Support
  • And more


Features of GoDaddy

  • 1 Free Domain for one year
  • Daily Backups
  • Easy-to-use Control Panel
  • 24/7 Network Security
  • Free Microsoft 365 Mailboxes
  • 1-click WordPress Install
  • Unmetered Bandwidth
  • 99.9% Uptime Guarantee
  • 24/7 Expert Hosting Support
  • 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
  • Email Privacy and Protection
  • Fraud, Virus, and Spam Protection
  • Free Email
  • Free SSL Certificate
  • 1-Click Install over 150+ free apps.
  • Global Data Centers
  • 25 GB to 100 GB NVMe SSD Storage
  • DDoS Protection
  • And more


So both GoDaddy and HostGator are similar in terms of features and both offer great features.

It's a tie at first glance, but HostGator offers all these features at affordable prices

HostGator vs GoDaddy: Security Features Comparison

Whether you are a newbie or a professional website owner, when you choose a hosting provider, definitely pay attention to what security features your hosting provider is providing you with the hosting plan.

The biggest reason for this is that thousands of websites are hacked by hackers every day.

Apart from this, many websites are also attacked every day, due to which your website can be infected with viruses.

Therefore, to protect your website from these situations, you must pay attention to the security features.

So let's find out what security features HostGator and GoDaddy offer you with their hosting plans.

HostGator's Security Features

  • SSL Certificate (free with each hosting plan)
  • Password Protected Directories (free with each hosting plan)
  • Hotlink Protection (free with each hosting plan)
  • IP Deny Manager (free with each hosting plan)
  • Prevent Spam with SpamAssassin (free with each hosting plan)
  • 24/7 Server Monitoring (free with each hosting plan)
  • SSH Access (free with each hosting plan)
  • SiteLock Security (Addon $2.99 per month)
  • CodeGuard Backup (Addon $2.00 per month)


GoDaddy's Security Features

  • Automated Daily Backups (free with each hosting plan)
  • 24/7 Network Security (free with each hosting plan)
  • Free SSL Certificate (free with each hosting plan except the starter plan)
  • Password Protected Directories (free with each hosting plan)
  • SSH Access (free with each hosting plan)
  • Fraud, Virus, and Spam Protection (free with each hosting plan)
  • Email Privacy and Protection (free with each hosting plan)
  • DDoS Protection (free with each hosting plan)


So in terms of security features, there is a tie between HostGator and GoDaddy.

Actually, both SSL certificates and backups are most important for the security of the website.

While HostGator charges extra for the backup and SiteLock Security feature and GoDaddy charges extra for an SSL certificate with the Starter plan.

HostGator vs GoDaddy: Customer Support Comparison

A web hosting provider comes top-notch when it provides superior customer support and hosting services.

If the hosting provider you choose does not provide you with the best customer support, you will never be satisfied with their services.

So whenever choosing a hosting provider, you should pay utmost attention to their customer support service.

So let's find out who offers better customer service between HostGator and GoDaddy.

HostGator's Customer Support Service

HostGator offers 24/7 customer support, where you are provided with the flexibility to get in touch with an engineer via live chat and email support.

Apart from this, a facility of phone support is also provided here, but the time has been fixed for this, which is available daily from 11 am to 9 pm ET (Eastern Time Zone).

Live chat support is the best way to connect with customer support of any hosting service, where you get the fastest response.

But whenever we try to connect with the engineers at HostGator via live chat, most of the time we have to wait for 30 mins to get a response.

Very few times it has happened that we get instant (within 5 to 10 minutes) response from HostGator engineers via live chat.

However, experts do solve your problem and that is satisfactory too. But getting a late response can get you frustrated.

HostGator also offers a knowledge base, blog, and video tutorials on its website that you can navigate to find solutions to your problems.


GoDaddy's Customer Support Service

So basically GoDaddy also provides 24/7 customer support and you can connect with the engineers via live chat and phone support.

The good thing is that GoDaddy also offers SMS support and WhatsApp support in a few countries.

GoDaddy is a huge brand and has excellent customer support service. But if you expect GoDaddy's experts to respond quickly to you via live chat, chances are less.

However, in comparison to HostGator, the engineers at GoDaddy respond faster via live chat every time. You hardly have to wait 5 minutes.

GoDaddy does not offer email support, but users never feel the lack of email support, as here you can get your problems resolved in a very short time through live chat and phone support.

Apart from this, GoDaddy also provides a forum facility, where you can ask questions on any issue related to GoDaddy. Here also you get the solution in less time.

Another thing is that GoDaddy also offers a huge knowledge base where you can find tons of articles and tutorials.


So in terms of customer support, we declare GoDaddy the clear winner. (Based on our experience)

HostGator vs GoDaddy: Customer Rating

Before choosing a hosting provider, be sure to consider what ratings real customers give their hosting services.

So let's find out which of these two (HostGator vs GoDaddy) is considered better in terms of rating.

HostGator Customer Rating

HostGator Customer Rating
So as you can see in the screenshot, real users on Trustpilot rated HostGator 4.1 stars out of 5 stars.

Furthermore, 53% of users rated HostGator's services as excellent, while 33% of users rated them as poor.


GoDaddy Customer Rating

GoDaddy Customer Rating
So as you can see in the screenshot, real users on Trustpilot rated GoDaddy 4.7 stars out of 5 stars.

Furthermore, 81% of users rated HostGator's services as excellent, while only 9% of users rated them as poor.


So as you can see GoDaddy is considered better (with a 4.7 stars rating) by real users.

Although GoDaddy is also a domain registrar, most users rate it based on the domain name.

But still, GoDaddy is considered by real users to be many times better than HostGator in terms of web hosting services.

So the winner is GoDaddy.

HostGator vs GoDaddy: Plans and Pricing Comparison

Now we will discuss the hosting plans and prices of both HostGator and GoDaddy and find out which one is better.

HostGator Shared Hosting Plans and Pricing

HostGator offers a variety of hosting plans, but we will only discuss the plans and prices of shared web hosting.

Because it is also affordable and most beginners start their website with shared hosting.

So HostGator offers 3 different pricing packages in their shared web hosting, which are as follows:
HostGator Shared Hosting Plans and Pricing
1) Hatchling Plan: This is the cheapest plan of HostGator shared hosting as well as ideal for users who want to get started with just one website.

If you go with this Hatchling plan then you will have to pay $2.75 per month.

With the Hatchling Plan, you'll get (features)
  • Can install only 1 website
  • Free SSL Certificate
  • 1 Free Domain Name for 1 year
  • Unmetered Bandwidth
  • 10 GB Disk Storage Space
  • One-click WordPress Installation
  • Website Builder
  • Free Website & Domain Transfer
  • Free Unlimited Email
  • Unlimited Subdomains
  • Unlimited FTP Accounts
  • Chat Support
  • And more

2) Baby Plan: If you want to run multiple websites with a single hosting account, then you can choose the Baby plan.

If you go with this Baby plan then you will have to pay $3.50 per month.

With the Baby Plan, you'll get (features)
  • Similar features to the Hatchling plan
  • Can install up to 5 Websites
  • Unlimited Addon/Parked Domains
  • Phone and Chat Support
  • 40 GB Disk Space
  • Free $500 Google Ads Credits
  • Free $100 Microsoft Bing Ads Credits
  • And more

3) Business Plan: This is the premium plan of HostGator Shared Hosting, which is a better option for users who want to run an online store.

If you go with this Business plan then you will have to pay $5.25 per month.

With the Business Plan, you'll get (features)
  • Similar features to the Baby plan
  • Free Dedicated IP
  • Free Positive SSL upgrades
  • Free SEO Tools
  • Free Cloudflare CDN
  • Professional Website Migration Services
  • Unlimited Disk Space
  • Unlimited Websites Installations
  • And more

Other hosting services offered by HostGator
  • WordPress Hosting ($5.95 per month)
  • VPS Hosting ($23.95 per month)
  • Dedicated Hosting ($89.98 per month)
  • Reseller Hosting ($19.95 per month)
  • Cloud Hosting ($4.95 per month)
  • Windows Hosting ($4.76 per month)


GoDaddy Shared Hosting Plans and Pricing

GoDaddy offers 4 different pricing packages on its shared hosting plan which are as follows:
GoDaddy Shared Hosting Plans and Pricing
1) Economy Plan: This plan is only suitable for beginners. If you go with this Economy plan then you will have to pay $5.99 per month.

With the Economy Plan, you'll get (features)
  • Can install only 1 website
  • 25 GB SSD Storage
  • 10 Databases
  • Unmetered Bandwidth
  • Free SSL Certificate (free for 1st year only)
  • 1 free Domain for 1 year
  • Daily Backups
  • 1-click WordPress Install
  • 2 free Microsoft 365 Mailboxes
  • 512 RAM Memory
  • 1 Shared CPU
  • 5 FTP Users
  • And more

2) Deluxe Plan: With this plan, you can install up to 10 websites with a single hosting account.

If you go with this Deluxe plan then you will have to pay $7.99 per month.

With the Deluxe Plan, you'll get (features)
  • Similar features to the Economy plan
  • Can install up to 10 Websites
  • 50 GB SSD Storage
  • 25 Databases
  • 3 free Microsoft 365 Mailboxes
  • Unlimited Free SSL Certificates
  • 1 GB RAM
  • 25 FTP Users
  • And more

3) Ultimate Plan: This plan is suitable for users who run high-traffic websites. There is a significant improvement in performance here as compared to the Economy and Deluxe plans.

If you go with this Ultimate plan then you will have to pay $12.99 per month.

With the Ultimate Plan, you'll get (features)
  • Similar features to the Deluxe plan
  • Install up to 25 Websites
  • 50 Databases
  • 75 GB SSD Storage
  • 5 free Microsoft 365 Mailboxes
  • 1.5 GB RAM Memory
  • 2 Shared CPUs
  • Premium DNS
  • 50 FTP Users
  • And more

4) Maximum Plan: If you want to run an eCommerce store or if you are looking for a shared hosting plan for your eCommerce site then you can go with a Maximum plan.

High performance, as well as fast loading speed, are offered here. If you go with this Maximum plan then you will have to pay $19.99 per month.

With the Maximum Plan, you'll get (features)
  • Similar features to the Ultimate plan
  • Install up to 50 websites
  • 100 GB SSD Storage
  • 100 Databases
  • 2 GB RAM Memory
  • 75 FTP Users
  • And more

Other hosting services offered by GoDaddy
  • WordPress Hosting ($8.99 per month)
  • VPS Hosting with Standard RAM ($4.99 per month)
  • VPS Hosting with High RAM ($9.99 per month)
  • Windows Hosting ($5.99 per month)
  • Web Hosting Plus ($19.99 per month)
  • Dedicated Server Hosting with HDD ($129.99 per month)
  • Dedicated Server Hosting with SDD ($139.99 per month)


So if we declare any one of these as the winner in terms of hosting plans and prices, it is HostGator, where you are offered all the hosting plans at very affordable prices as compared to GoDaddy.

HostGator vs GoDaddy: Performance Comparison

When it comes to the performance of the hosting service, we must consider the "uptime and response time".

Uptime refers to how long your website remains available on the Internet for your visitors.

If your website is not available on the Internet for a while, it means that the server is down, which is called downtime.

All you have to keep in mind is that the provider which offers you a higher uptime percentage, you should go with that one.

On the other hand, response time refers to the loading speed of your website. The performance of those websites on the Internet is considered very well, which has a fast loading speed.

So let us now find out which one has the best uptime and response time between HostGator and GoDaddy.

HostGator's Uptime and Response Time Result

We have used the HRank tool to check HostGator's uptime and response times.
HostGator's Uptime and Response Time Result
HostGator offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee on its official website. As you can see in the above screenshot that the uptime of HostGator is at 99.911% for the last 30 days, which is decent.

Apart from this, you can also see the response time of HostGator in the screenshot, which is 1.187 seconds (1187 ms). If the response time is less than 2 or 3 seconds then it is recommendable.


GoDaddy's Uptime and Response Time Result

We have used the Pingdom tool to check GoDaddy's uptime and response times.
GoDaddy's Uptime and Response Time Result
GoDaddy offers an uptime guarantee of 99.9% on its website. And you can see in the above screenshot that the uptime of GoDaddy is at 99.99% in the last 10 days, which is very impressive. GoDaddy's downtime in the last 10 days is just 1 minute.

Apart from this, you can also see in the screenshot that the average response time of GoDaddy is 494 ms (0.494 seconds), which is super fast.

So in terms of performance, uptime, and response time, the winner is GoDaddy.

HostGator vs GoDaddy: Pros and Cons

So let us now discuss the advantages and disadvantages of HostGator vs GoDaddy and find out which one is better.

Pros of HostGator (Good)

  • HostGator offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on all its hosting services (except dedicated hosting).
  • Here you are offered 24/7 customer support including phone support, live chat, email support, and ticket support
  • The domain name is offered with all plans for one year absolutely free.
  • All Hosting plans from HostGator are much more affordable than GoDaddy
  • HostGator also offers monthly hosting plans. This is a good option for users who are willing to pay for hosting every month. But monthly plans are very expensive
  • HostGator offers unmetered bandwidth, unlimited storage, and unlimited websites installations with the business plan at an affordable price
  • It provides website transfer & domain transfer facilities absolutely free. If you are not satisfied with your existing hosting then you can migrate to HostGator for free by contacting HostGator's customer support.
  • Here you will also get free marketing credits worth $600.

Cons of HostGator (Bad)

  • HostGator customer support is a bit weak. Where you may have to wait almost a long time to connect with the engineers.
  • HostGator's monthly billing plan and half-yearly hosting plans are quite expensive
  • If you want to take advantage of automatic daily backups, HostGator charges you extra for that.


Pros of GoDaddy (Good)

  • GoDaddy offers an uptime guarantee of 99.9%. Its uptime is always over 99.9%.
  • Here also a domain name is offered absolutely free for one year with all hosting services (except the Starter plan)
  • GoDaddy offers 30-day money-back guarantee. If a user is not satisfied with their services, then they can cancel the plan and get a refund.
  • It offers cPanel, and you can easily use it even if you are a beginner
  • GoDaddy's customer support service is much better than HostGator's. Here you are offered 24/7 phone support, live chat, forums, a knowledge base, tutorials, WhatsApp support, etc.
  • GoDaddy is the largest domain registrar in the world. You can also buy top-level domains from here.
  • It always offers various promo codes and deals on hosting plans and domain purchases
  • GoDaddy also offers you the facility of Automated Daily Backups absolutely free of cost with all plans. You can easily restore data in case of data loss.

Cons of GoDaddy (Bad)

  • GoDaddy does not offer a free SSL certificate with the starter plans.
  • GoDaddy hosting plans are very expensive, starting at $5.99 per month


HostGator vs GoDaddy: Final Verdict

So far in this article, we have got to know a lot about HostGator vs GoDaddy in detail.

If you are still confused about whether to go with either of these two, then let's make your task easy.

HostGator has hosted more than 2 million websites to date. Here you are offered hosting plans at affordable prices, where you are offered plenty of useful features.

If you are planning to launch a new website, blog, or eCommerce store and are on a low budget then you must go with HostGator, where you will get all the hosting plans that you need.

Whereas GoDaddy is a most trusted and well-known brand with more than 21 million customers across the globe.

GoDaddy's hosting services are undoubtedly more expensive than HostGator's, but here you are, given the premium features and services.

If you are looking for amazing customer support then you can definitely go with GoDaddy.

But if you are a beginner then it would be wise to start with HostGator.

We have tried to cover every single aspect of HostGator vs GoDaddy in this article. If you want to know more about these two web hosts or have any other queries, then you can comment below.

And don't forget to give your opinion about HostGator vs GoDaddy.

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