Bluehost vs GoDaddy: Complete 2026 Comparison
Bluehost and GoDaddy are both shared hosting providers, but they suit different priorities. Across our 7-category breakdown, Bluehost comes out ahead, winning 4 of them — including Price, Performance and Developers.
Data last updated June 2026
Overall Winner
Bluehost
- Wins in 4 of 7 categories
- Top in: Best Price, Best Performance, Best for Developers
- 3.4/5 overall rating
Bluehost vs GoDaddy: Overview
On entry pricing, Bluehost is the cheaper option at $3.99/mo versus $5.99/mo for GoDaddy. Renewal tells the real story: GoDaddy marks prices up about 100% at renewal versus roughly 150% for Bluehost, making it the better long-term value.
Bluehost's standout is only host officially recommended by WordPress — a natural fit for wordPress beginner wanting official endorsement and phone support. GoDaddy, by contrast, leans on world's largest domain registrar with all-in-one hosting and domain management, ideal for small business owner wanting brand recognition and phone support over technical features.
Category Winners
Best Price
Bluehost
$3.99/mo vs $5.99/mo
Best Value
GoDaddy
Lower renewal markup (100% vs 150%)
Best Performance
Bluehost
99.99% uptime, 3.4/5 rating
Best Support
GoDaddy
Live chat, Phone, 24/7
Best for WordPress
Tie
Similar WordPress features
Best for Developers
Bluehost
SSH, Git, Staging
Best for Beginners
Bluehost
Higher ease of use score (9.0/10)
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Essential Info | ||
| Hosting Type | Shared Hosting | Shared Hosting |
| Monthly Price | $3.99/mo | $5.99/mo |
| Renewal Price | $9.99 | $11.99 |
| Renewal Markup | 150% | 100% |
| Overall Rating | 3.4/5 | 3.2/5 |
| Uptime Guarantee | 99.99% | 99.9% |
| Trustpilot Rating | 4.6/5 | 4.0/5 |
| Trustpilot Reviews | 27,784 | 131,283 |
| Free SSL | ||
| Free Domain | ||
| Free Migration | ||
| Pricing Details | ||
| First Year Cost | $47.88 | $71.88 |
| Second Year Cost | $119.88 | $143.88 |
| Money Back Guarantee | 30 days | 30 days |
| Setup Fee | Free | Free |
| Monthly Billing | — | — |
| Minimum Contract | — | — |
| Technical Specs | ||
| Storage | 10 GB | 25 GB |
| Storage Type | NVME SSD | NVME SSD |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered GB | Unlimited |
| Max Websites | 10 | 1 |
| Max Databases | 20 | 10 |
| PHP Versions | 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 | 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 |
| SSH Access | ||
| Git Deployment | ||
| Staging Environment | ||
| Cron Jobs | ||
| Redis Available | — | — |
| Programming Languages | ||
| Node.js Support | ||
| Python Support | ||
| Ruby Support | ||
| WordPress Features | ||
| WordPress Optimized | ||
| WordPress Auto-Install | ||
| WordPress Auto-Updates | ||
| WordPress Staging | ||
| WooCommerce Optimized | ||
| LiteSpeed Cache | ||
| Object Caching | ||
| WP Multisite | — | — |
| WP-CLI Access | ||
| Security | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| DDoS Protection Level | DDoS protection and Web Application Firewall included on all plans | Basic |
| Malware Scanning | ||
| Malware Removal | ||
| Firewall Included | ||
| Backup Frequency | Weekly | Daily |
| Backup Retention | — | 1 days |
| Backup Restore Fee | Free | $150.00 |
| On-Demand Backup | ||
| Two-Factor Auth | ||
| Wildcard SSL | ||
| Dedicated IP | ||
| Support | ||
| Support Channels | Phone, Live Chat, Knowledge Base, Webinars, Blog, Academy | Phone, Live Chat, Email, Text/SMS, Knowledge Base |
| Live Chat | ||
| Live Chat Hours | 24/7 | 24/7 |
| Phone Support | ||
| Phone Support Hours | 24/7 | 24/7 |
| Ticket Support | ||
| Priority Support | ||
| Support Languages | English | English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese, Korean |
| Knowledge Base Quality | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Avg Support Wait | — | — |
| Email Accounts | ||
| Email Account Limit | 5 | 0 |
| Mailbox Size | 0.1 GB | — |
| Webmail Access | ||
| Spam Filter | ||
| Email Forwarding | ||
| Performance | ||
| CDN Included | ||
| CDN Provider | Cloudflare CDN | Cloudflare |
| Server Locations | Provo, UT (US), Orem, UT (US), Frankfurt (Germany), Mumbai (India), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Paris (France), Sydney (Australia), London (UK), Madrid (Spain), Hong Kong (China), Shanghai (China) | Phoenix, AZ (US), Ashburn, VA (US), Los Angeles (US), Chicago (US), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Singapore, France, Germany, United Kingdom |
| Server Location Count | 11 | 9 |
| Choose Server Location | ||
| HTTP/2 Support | — | — |
| Brotli Compression | — | — |
| Uptime SLA Credit | ||
| Platform Support | ||
| Drupal Support | ||
| Joomla Support | ||
| Magento Support | ||
| Laravel Support | ||
| Django Support | ||
| Next.js Support | ||
| Rails Support | ||
| Static Site Support | ||
| Control Panel | ||
| cPanel Included | ||
| Control Panel | cPanel | cPanel |
| Softaculous | ||
| Website Builder | ||
| Builder Name | Bluehost Website Builder | GoDaddy Website Builder |
| Migration | ||
| Migration Websites Limit | 1 | 1 |
| Migration Turnaround | 4 days | — |
| Paid Migration Cost | $149.99 | — |
| Migration Quality | 4.0/10 | 3.0/10 |
| Compliance | ||
| GDPR Compliant | ||
| PCI Compliant | ||
| HIPAA Compliant | ||
| Data Center Certs | — | — |
| Ratings | ||
| Value for Money | 3.0/10 | 2.5/10 |
| Performance Rating | 4.0/10 | 3.5/10 |
| Support Quality | 3.5/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Security Rating | 3.0/10 | 3.0/10 |
| Features Rating | 3.5/10 | 3.0/10 |
| Ease of Use | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Transparency Rating | 2.5/10 | 2.0/10 |
| Suitability Scores | ||
| For Bloggers | 4.0/10 | 3.0/10 |
| For E-commerce | 4.0/10 | 3.0/10 |
| For Agencies | 3.0/10 | 2.0/10 |
| For Developers | 3.0/10 | 2.0/10 |
| For Beginners | 5.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Enterprise | 2.0/10 | 2.0/10 |
| Policies | ||
| Bandwidth Overage | Unmetered within fair use; excessive use may require upgrade | May require upgrade to VPS/Dedicated if usage affects server stability |
| Storage Overage | Must upgrade plan; inode limits apply (200K soft, 1M TOS violation) | Subject to inode limits; excess usage may require upgrade |
| Adult Content Allowed | ||
| Gambling Sites Allowed | ||
| Crypto Sites Allowed | — | — |
| Reseller Hosting | ||
| White Label | ||
| API Access | ||
| Company Info | ||
| Year Founded | 2003 | 1997 |
| Headquarters | United States | United States |
| Parent Company | Newfold Digital (formerly Endurance International Group, acquired 2010) | — |
| Green Hosting | — | — |
| Instant Activation | — | — |
| Managed WordPress | ||
| Managed WP Available | ||
| Pricing Model | — | — |
| Monthly Visit Limit | — | — |
| Visit Overage Cost | — | — |
| PHP Workers | — | — |
| Plugin Restrictions | — | — |
| Dev Environment | — | — |
| Dev Env Name | — | — |
| Regional Info | ||
| Best Countries | United States, India, United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia | United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, India |
| Local Currencies | USD, INR, GBP | USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, INR, CAD |
| Support Languages | English | English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese, Korean |
| Data Sovereignty | GDPR | GDPR, CCPA |
| External Ratings | ||
| G2 Rating | 3.4/5 | 4.0/5 |
| BBB Rating | Not Accredited | A+ |
| Advanced Technical | ||
| Inode Limit | 200,000 | 250,000 |
| Max DB Size | 5 GB | 1 GB |
| Max Upload Size | 50 MB | 128 MB |
| Database Type | — | — |
| Elasticsearch | — | — |
| Image Optimization | — | — |
| PHP Switching | ||
| Subdomains | — | — |
| FTP Accounts | — | — |
| Additional Pricing | ||
| Free Domain Duration | 12 months | 12 months |
| Money Back Exclusions | Cloud hosting excluded; Monthly term plans excluded; Domains non-refundable ($15.99 deducted if free domain used); Premium domains non-refundable; Setup fees excluded; Most add-on products excluded; Renewals only refundable within 30 days | Domains (5-day window only, non-refundable after); Monthly plans (48-hour window only); Free domain cost deducted from refund; Premium domains non-refundable; Domain backorders non-refundable if applied to auction; Web design services have cancellation fees (30-70%); No refunds after account closure; Products in subscription cannot be individually refunded |
| Payment Methods | Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal | Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay |
| Auto Renewal Default | ||
| Domain Privacy Included | — | — |
| Domain Privacy Cost | — | — |
| SSL Provider | Let's Encrypt (auto-renewed every 90 days) | AutoSSL (Let's Encrypt compatible) |
| Dedicated IP Cost | — | — |
| Additional Support | ||
| Phone Support Countries | United States | United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, India, Multiple international |
| Priority Support Cost | — | — |
| Community Forum | ||
| Support Outsourced | — | — |
| Object Cache Type | — | — |
| Business & Affiliate | ||
| Affiliate Program | ||
| Commission Type | Flat rate (tiered) | Percentage + Bonuses |
| Commission Amount | $65 per sale base; up to $125/sale for high performers; 30-day cookie; $100 minimum first payout; via Impact.com | 10-15% revenue share; $100 bonus for new hosting customer; $25 for annual renewals; 45-day cookie |
| Additional Policies | ||
| File Hosting Allowed | ||
| Proxy/VPN Allowed | ||
| Bandwidth Overage Cost | — | — |
| Account Suspension Policy | AUP violations may result in suspension or termination; 48 hours to respond to abuse team before suspension | Email warning for resource issues; immediate suspension possible for malware/TOS violations; reinstatement within 72 hours after fixing issues |
| Malware Removal Cost | — | $192.00 |
| Downloadable Backups | ||
| Additional Platforms | ||
| PrestaShop | ||
| Ghost | ||
| Shopify Migration | ||
| Wix Migration | ||
| Squarespace Migration | ||
| Webflow Export | ||
| Editorial Info | ||
| Best For | WordPress beginners (officially recommended by WordPress.org); Users wanting phone support 24/7; Users who need cPanel; Staging environment included; Free Cloudflare CDN; Global audience (11 data centers Oct 2025); High affiliate payouts ($65-125/sale) | Beginners wanting brand recognition; Users needing 24/7 phone support; Simple small business websites; Domain management (primary business); Users who prefer all-in-one billing |
| Avoid If | Budget-conscious at renewal time; Need Node.js on shared hosting; Adult or gambling content; Require large email storage; Dislike aggressive upselling; Need cheap VPS (competitors much cheaper); Enterprise compliance requirements | Need Node.js/Python/Ruby support; Budget-conscious (renewal rates high); Adult or gambling content; High file count sites (250k inode limit); Need included email; Privacy-focused (security track record); Developer workflows (no Git deployment) |
| Known Issues | Renewal prices 2-3x higher than promo ($2.95 → $9.99); Aggressive upselling on add-ons; Limited 100MB email on Basic plan; No Node.js on shared hosting; 4,000+ negative reviews cite cancellation/billing issues; VPS pricing significantly higher than competitors; G2 rating only 3.4/5; Not BBB accredited; Some Reddit reports of downtime issues; $99.95 domain redemption fee | High renewal prices (25-40% markup); $150 backup restore fee; Email not included (extra $6.99/mo); FTC order Jan 2025 for security failures; 2023 multi-year security breach confirmed; Aggressive upselling throughout checkout; BBB customer review score only 1.08/5 despite A+ rating; Low inode limit (250k) fills quickly with WordPress sites |
| Unique Selling Point | Only host officially recommended by WordPress.org with staging on all WP plans | World's largest domain registrar with all-in-one hosting and domain management |
| Ideal Customer | WordPress beginner wanting official endorsement and phone support | Small business owner wanting brand recognition and phone support over technical features |
| Best Alternative To | HostGator | Namecheap |
| Primary Competitors | HostGator, SiteGround, Hostinger | Namecheap, Bluehost, HostGator |
We strive for accuracy, but pricing and features change frequently. Some data may be outdated. Report an error and we'll update it promptly.
Our Verdict
Choose Bluehost if you...
- Want to save money ($3.99/mo vs $5.99/mo)
- Want higher-rated hosting (3.4/5)
- Are new to web hosting
- Want more server locations (11 available)
Choose GoDaddy if you...
- Prefer more predictable renewal pricing
Bluehost vs GoDaddy: Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bluehost cheaper than GoDaddy?
Yes — Bluehost is cheaper, starting at $3.99/mo compared with $5.99/mo for GoDaddy. Factor in renewals too: Bluehost marks up about 150% after the first term.
Does Bluehost or GoDaddy have better uptime?
Bluehost edges out GoDaddy on performance with a 99.99% uptime guarantee and a 3.4/5 overall rating. For uptime-sensitive sites, it's the more dependable choice.
Which has better customer support, Bluehost or GoDaddy?
GoDaddy has the edge on support offering 24/7 live chat, phone support and ticket support.
Is Bluehost or GoDaddy better for beginners?
Bluehost is friendlier for beginners, scoring higher on ease of use in our assessment. New users will generally find it quicker to get started.
Should I choose Bluehost or GoDaddy?
For most users, Bluehost is the better overall choice, winning 4 of our 7 categories (notably Price, Performance and Developers). That said, the right host depends on your specific needs — check the category breakdown above for the factors that matter to you.