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7 Best GoDaddy Hosting Alternatives & Competitors

Table of Contents

1. Cloudways
2. Kinsta Managed Hosting (Best for WordPress)
3. Dreamhost
4. A2 Hosting
5. SiteGround
6. InMotion Hosting
7. HostGator
Final Word: So What's the Best GoDaddy Hosting Alternative?

GoDaddy has been around for years. Most webmasters have registered at least a few domains. But is GoDaddy web hosting really a good option? Having used GoDaddy hosting for a few sites, I honestly don’t think it’s worth it. They offer middling speeds at best and a somewhat outdated and clunky user interface. It’s an okay place to start, but as soon as your site starts growing you’ll want something more robust.

The following are the best GoDaddy hosting alternatives that I tested (and switched to previously, in many cases):

1. Cloudways

Summary: Best in class site speeds, plenty of customization, and a plan for almost any webmaster. That sums up Cloudways in a sentence. If you can spend a little time getting used to the interface and how it works, you will be well rewarded. Put simply, Cloudways punches above its weight and is a great (more user-friendly) alternative to DigitalOcean.

Cloudways Advantages

The best pure value for the money (if you can get technical)
Completely managed hosting solutions
Extensive server customization options
Free Wildcard SSL certificates
Best in class site uptime history
Unlimited staging areas
Team collaboration options (multi-user access and specific delegation admin)
More global server locations than DigitalOcean
Better 1-click install options (easy)
Complimentary backups available

Cloudways Disadvantages

Doesn’t use cPanel
Unique backend interface, well-designed, just not typical

Cloudways Prices:

2. Kinsta Managed Hosting (Best for WordPress)

Summary: Blazing fasts speeds, customer support that will do almost anything for you! That’s Kinsta. Yes, it’s more expensive than Dreamhost, but if you want a true white glove service with WordPress hosting specialists, Kinsta is THE best in the business (price notwithstanding).

Kinsta Advantages

Extremely responsive support staff with deep technical knowledge (better than HostGator)
Free migrations and “hack fix” guarantee
Automatic daily automatic backup
Outstanding uptime across many benchmark tests
20+ regional Google Cloud data centers
24/7 support, including live chat support
Easy to configure email accounts
Free automated backup
Site cloning (available on “Pro Plan” or higher)
Multiple price break points on plans (much more than WP Engine, for example)
Lightning fast reliable speeds (one of our sites went from 1.7 second load time on Hostgator to 0.77 seconds after switching to Kinsta)
100% managed WordPress hosting provider

Kinsta Disadvantages

Much more expensive than webhosts like Hostgator (Kinsta plans start at $30 per month)
Only for WordPress sites

Kinsta Pricing Plans

Starts at $30/month for 1 WordPress install up to 20,000 visits per month, then $60/month for 2 installs and up to 40,000 visits, $100/month for 5 installs and up to 100,000 visits, and then incraesing in increments of $100 for 10 installs (250,000 visits), 20 installs (400,000 visits)

3. Dreamhost

Summary

Dreamhost is a well-established WordPress hosting provider with a variety of entry level and mid range value hosting options. In fact, Dreamhost boasts some of the cheapest starter hosting for WordPress sites.

Dreamhost Advantages

More uptime at 100% guarantee vs 99.9% for GoDaddy
Lower entry-level price point at $2.59 / month (vs $4.99 for GoDaddy)
Offers a dedicated hosting configuration and plan for WooCommerce store owners
Sites are default configured with WordPress installed
Loads faster than most GoDaddy plans (we tested 0.5 seconds on Dreamhost vs .85 seconds for GoDaddy)

Dreamhost Disadvantages

Limited bulk hosting or portfolio options
Limited customization relative to peers
WordPress centric (not really an option for other CMS setups)

Dreamhost Hosting Prices

Entry level prices start at $2.59 per month, then $12 per month for DreamPress (managed WordPress hosting), and finally $27.50 per month for VPS hosting.

4. A2 Hosting

Summary:

A2 us a direct competitor to HostGator in the “budget hosting companies” category, with plans starting at just a few dollars per month. While A2 Hosting does less hand holding with support, they offer a variety of plans at perhaps the best pure value of any option here.

A2 Hosting Advantages

Affordable and reliable entry-level pricing, without skimping on core features (basically the same price as HostGator)
Now offers Managed WordPress hosting as well
WordPress Managed Hosting is cheaper than HostGator’s
Much fasters than HostGator (2.84 server response time vs 3.94 for HostGator in our testing)
Free SSL certificate included
In-house optimization software included (including for WordPress)
Money-back Guarantee refund policy

A2 Hosting Disadvantages

Smaller user base compared to HostGator (could be an acquisition target)
Shorter track record in the industry compared to HostGator

A2 Hosting Prices: Hosting packages start at just $2.94/month for Shared Hosting, then $9.94/month for Reseller Hosting, then $5/month for VPS Hosting, and finally the Dedicated Serving Hosting starts at $99.59/month. There are typically 3-tiers within each of these categories as you grow.

5. SiteGround

Summary:

If you are trying to stretch your dollar but still get top of the industry performance, SiteGround is the hosting provider market leader here among hosting companies. Ideal for WordPress sites, with easy-to-scale starter plans for as low as $3.95 per month (first year).

SiteGround Advantages

Very affordable, with the starter plans beginning at $3.95/month
Top tier shared-hosting performance (much better than Hostgator, Bluehost, etc…)
Above-average site speeds
SG Optimizer plugin (Free) to enhance site speed, image optimization, etc…
Easy to use site management with cPanel
Great for WordPress with a quick start guide to launch sites with Elementor framework
WooCommerce hosting plans
Easy to upgrade and scale to higher plans as sites grow
Free migrations
Free SSL, easy to enable

SiteGround Disadvantages

Pricing tends to jump after the first year
Dedicated hosting and cloud housting plans tend to be more expensive than peers
Some support functions might cost money

Siteground Pricing

Shared Hosting, WordPress, and WooCommerce hosting plans all start at $3.95/month for Startup Plans, $5.95 for GrowBig Plans, and $11.95 for GoGeek Plans. Cloud Hosting starts at $80/month and goes up in 4 tiers to $240/month.

6. InMotion Hosting

Summary:

InMotion Hosting is another direct competitior to HostGator with similar selling points to A2 Hosting, but with a bit more scalability on the higher-end for large sites.

InMotion Hosting Advantages

WordPress Managed Hosting is cheaper than HostGator
VPS and Dedicated Servers are cheaper than HostGator
24/7 Phone Support
More modern infrastructure compared to HostGator (more reliable)
Free SSL certifications
Includes free domain (also acts as domain name registrar)

InMotion Disadvantages

More limited Live customer support compared to HostGator
Generic Shared Hosting is not as cheap as HostGator
Speed tests were not decisively faster than HostGator (although not slower in any test, just marginally better by a few milliseconds)

InMotion Hosting Prices:

WordPress Hosting starts at $5.99/month, Business Hosting at $6.39/month, then $21.04/month for VPS Hosting, then $105.69 for Dedicated Server.

7. HostGator

Summary:

HostGator might be considered the “McDonald’s” of hosting. They have a plan for everyone, particularly budget-friendly entry-level plans. In this sense, HostGator is the most DIRECT competitor of GoDaddy.

HostGator Advantages

Cost-effective entry-level pricing options, starting at $2.95 per month for Shared Hosting.
A hosting plan for everyone (WordPress, Shared Hosting, Dedicated Servers, VPS)
Better value and pricing overall compared to GoDaddy

HostGator Disadvantages

Owned by EIG (now called Newfold Digital), a farm for hosting companies (typically cost reducing, service quality suffering)

HostGator Prices:

HostGator offers a variety of plans, from their budget-friendly Shared Hosting starting at $2.95, their WordPress Managed Hosting at $5.95 per month, or their VPS plans and Dedicated Server Hosting at more premium price points.

Final Word: So What’s the Best GoDaddy Hosting Alternative?

So which one should you choose? Here are a few scenarios to help narrow your web hosting needs:

Best Overall? Cloudways combines the best server and tech stacks with excellent value. It’s a CLEAR step up from GoDaddy, without breaking the bank. Check out Cloudways promos here.
Best WordPress Support? It’s clear that Kinsta is the best-MANAGED WORDPRESS alternative money can buy. It’s more expensive, but its white glove service and cutting-edge server stacks can be well worth it. Check out the latest Kinsta pricing and promos here.
Cheapest Alternative? The better VALUE pick is definitely Dreamhost here. If you want something slightly better than GoDaddy, but at a similar (or even better) price point, go with Dreamhost here.

7 Best GoDaddy Hosting Alternatives & Competitors