Selecting a hosting provider is never an easy process. You have to consider a broad range of factors like uptime, overall costs, storage capacity, and operating system support. The wide selection of hosting providers only further complicates this process.
This article is going to explore two different hosting providers. It will compare the services that GoDaddy and BlueHost offer in great detail. At the end, it will attempt to answer which provider is the best option based on several different categories.
About BlueHost
BlueHost is another excellent web hosting choice. They are known for having very impressive uptimes and offer a wide selection of services. One of the nicer features about this provider is that they offer basic website building tools. This makes creating your own custom site a breeze.
Just like GoDaddy, BlueHost offers shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting solutions. They have 24/7 customer service and support many popular applications like WordPress and more. Their commitment periods are roughly the same as GoDaddy as well with most averaging a year.
Bluehost Shared Hosting Solutions
Navigating the shared hosting solutions BlueHost offers is much easier than GoDaddy. They have a total of four product tiers. They are basic, plus, prime, and pro. Unfortunately, they do not offer any Windows support. All of their systems are Linux based.
However, this does simplify the pricing process substantially. As the product tier increases, you gain access to additional features like unlimited storage, spam protection, SSL certificates, and automatic backups. It’s worth noting that right now their plus and prime tiers are the same price.
Below are the shared hosting packages they offer for comparison purposes.
Basic – $2.95 per month ( Normally $7.99 p/m )
- One Website
- 50GB of website space
- Unmetered bandwidth
- One FREE domain included
- Five email accounts
- 100MB storage per email account
Plus – $5.45 per month ( Normally $10.99 p/m )
- Unlimited websites
- Unmetered storage space
- Unmetered bandwidth
- One FREE domain included
- Unlimited email accounts
- Unlimited storage per email account
- Antispam software
Prime-$5.45 per month ( normally $14.99 )
- Unlimited websites
- Unmetered storage space
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Unlimited email accounts
- Unlimited storage per email account
- Antispam software
- One FREE domain name included
- One domain privacy protection
- Backup Pro
Pro-$13.95
- Unlimited websites
- Unmetered storage space
- Unmetered bandwidth
- One domain included
- Unlimited storage per email account
- Antispam software
- One domain privacy protection
- Backup Pro
- Dedicated IP
- SSL certificate
Bluehost VPS Hosting
The VPS hosting options at BlueHost are even easier to navigate. They only have three different product tiers. They are standard, enhanced, and ultimate. Their VPS hosting solutions utilize high-quality SSD storage and offer a great deal of customization. With the exception of their ultimate package, all selections come with two cores. The difference in the product tiers is in the storage capacity and system memory.
Linux VPS Servers
Standard-$19.99
- Two cores
- 30GB SSD Storage
- 2GB RAM
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- One domain included
- One IP address included
Enhanced-$29.99
- Two cores
- 60GB SSD Storage
- 4GB RAM
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- One domain included
- Two IP addresses included
Ultimate-$59.99
- Four cores
- 120GB SSD Storage
- 8GB RAM
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- One domain included
- Two IP addresses included
Bluehost Dedicated Hosting Options
The dedicated hosting options follow a very similar product layout to the VPS selections above. They have three different product tiers. They are standard, enhanced, and premium. All of their dedicated options utilize a four core processor with eight threads. Where they differ is in their storage capacity and monthly bandwidth restrictions. The IP address count also goes up with each product tier.
Below are the dedicated hosting selections they currently offer.
Linux Dedicated Servers
Standard-$79.99
- Four cores
- 500GB storage
- 4GB RAM
- 5TB Bandwidth
- One domain included
- Three IP addresses included
Enhanced-$99.99
- Four cores
- 1TB storage
- 8GB RAM
- 10TB Bandwidth
- One domain included
- Four IP addresses included
Premium-$119.99
- Four cores
- 1TB storage
- 16GB RAM
- 15TB Bandwidth
- One domain included
- Five IP addresses included
About GoDaddy
GoDaddy is a web hosting provider that is known for its remarkable uptime and excellent customer service. They offer a wide range of additional services and plugins that are suitable for a variety of different uses including blogging as well as e-commerce.
They offer shared, VPN, and dedicated hosting plans. Some of their plans are available on a month to month basis. However, the majority require a one-year commitment and renew at full pricing rates. Another nice thing worth mentioning is that GoDaddy offers both Linux and Windows hosting options.
Godaddy Shared Hosting Solutions
Navigating the shared hosting solutions at GoDaddy is fairly straightforward. They have three different levels of hosting plans. They are economy, deluxe, and ultimate. All of their pricing plans include one Microsoft Outlook email address with 5GB of dedicated storage when signing up with a one-year commitment. They also come with a free domain as part of this commitment as well.
Another nice thing about these plans is that Windows and Linux have the same pricing plans for each level. Where the plans begin to differ is in the number of websites supported as well as overall storage. Ultimate plans receive additional security features like an SSL certificate and a premium DNS option.
Below are the shared hosting plans broken down for easier comparison.
Economy-$3.99
- One website
- 100GB storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- 10 MySQL databases (1GB each)
- One MSSQL database (200MB)
- 50 FTP users
- Free Microsoft Office 365 Business Email
- Free domain with annual plan
Deluxe-$4.99
- Unlimited websites
- Unmetered storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- 25 MySQL databases (1GB each)
- 2 MSSQL database (200MB)
- 50 FTP users
- Free Microsoft Office 365 Business Email
- Free domain with annual plan
Ultimate-$7.99
- Unlimited websites
- Unmetered storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Unlimited MySQL databases (1GB each)
- Unlimited MSSQL database (200MB)
- Unlimited FTP users
- Premium DNS
- One year SSL cert
- Free Microsoft Office 365 Business Email
- Free domain with annual plan
Economy-$3.99
- One website
- 100 GB storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Free Microsoft Office 365 Business Email
- Free domain with annual plan
Deluxe-$4.99
- Unlimited websites
- Unmetered storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Free Microsoft Office 365 Business Email
- Free domain with annual plan
Ultimate-$7.99
- Unlimited websites
- Unmetered storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Free Microsoft Office 365 Business Email
- Free domain with annual plan
- 2X processing power & memory (Linux w/ cPanel only)
- Premium DNS
- One year SSL cert
Godaddy VPS Options
For those needing access to more resources and customization, VPS hosting options may be a better choice. GoDaddy offers both Linux and Windows selections for VPS just like their shared hosting services. Unfortunately, navigating these selections is slightly more difficult.
The hosting plans are divided into four categories. They are economy, value, deluxe, and ultimate. The pricing is different between Linux and Windows options for the same categories. All of the plans for both Windows and Linux include an SSL certificate and unlimited bandwidth usage. As the pricing increases, the amount of available RAM and storage goes up with each plan. Unfortunately, none of the VPS options come with email support.
Below are the plans for both Windows and Linux for easier comparison.
Godaddy Windows VPS Hosting Plans
Economy-$26.99
- 2GB memory
- 40GB storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
Value-$30.99
- 3GB memory
- 90GB storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
Deluxe-$31.99
- 4GB memory
- 120GB storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
Ultimate-$41.99
- 8GB memory
- 240GB storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
Linux VPS Hosting Plans
Economy-$16.99
- 1GB memory
- 40GB storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
Value-$19.99
- 2GB memory
- 60GB Storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
Deluxe-$21.99
- 4GB memory
- 120GB storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
Ultimate-$31.99
- 8GB memory
- 240GB storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
GoDaddy Dedicated Server Options
The dedicated server selection at GoDaddy follows the same layout as the VPS selections above. They are available for both Windows and Linux. They also come in the same four product tiers as well. Unfortunately, they also do not offer email support and have differing prices for the same packages depending on which system you select.
All of the product tiers offer the same type of processor. All selections also include an SSL certificate and three dedicated IP addresses. As the tier increases, you gain access to more system memory and storage.
Below are the different products tiers for comparison purposes.
Windows Dedicated Servers
Economy-$99.99
- Four CPU Cores @ 3.1 GHz
- 4GB memory
- 1TB storage (RAID-1)
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
Value-$129.99
- Four CPU Cores @ 3.1 GHz
- 8GB memory
- 1.5TB storage (RAID-1)
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
Deluxe-$149.99
- Four CPU Cores @ 3.1 GHz
- 16GB memory
- 2TB storage (RAID-1)
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
Ultimate-$159.99
- Four CPU Cores @ 3.1 GHz
- 32GB memory
- 2TB storage (RAID-1)
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
Linux Dedicated Servers
Economy-$69.99
- Four CPU Cores @ 3.1 GHz
- 4GB memory
- 1TB storage (RAID-1)
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
Value-$99.99
- Four CPU Cores @ 3.1 GHz
- 8GB memory
- 1.5TB storage (RAID-1)
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
Deluxe-$119.99
- 4 CPU Cores @ 3.1 GHz
- 16GB memory
- 2TB storage (RAID-1)
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
Ultimate-$129.99
- Four CPU Cores @ 3.1 GHz
- 32GB memory
- 2TB storage (RAID-1)
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Three dedicated IPs
- Free 1-year SSL certificate
The Winning Hosting Solution By Category
Email Address Options
As far as email addresses go, the clear winner is BlueHost if you are using shared server hosting. GoDaddy only offers one email address with 5GB of storage. This email address is only due to a promotion as well. BlueHost offers 5 email addresses with their lowest product tier and 500MB of storage for each address. All of their other shared server account types receive unlimited email accounts and storage. For VPS and dedicated servers, it is a tie. Neither provider offers email accounts for these server types.
Simplicity
As far as simple solutions are concerned, navigating the account types of BlueHost is much easier than GoDaddy. GoDaddy utilizes separate pricing options for their Linux and Windows servers for both VPS and dedicated. They also have many more account tiers to consider. This makes picking the right package substantially more difficult. This is why BlueHost is the clear winner here as well.
Windows Support
One area where GoDaddy shines is in its Windows support. BlueHost only offers Linux for all of their hosting solutions. GoDaddy has both Windows and Linux options available for all of theirs. For clients who prefer Windows servers, GoDaddy is the clear winner here.
Affordability
As far as affordability goes, BlueHost does offer one or two options that are slightly cheaper than GoDaddy. However, the difference in price for comparable products is marginal at best. For instance, the premium dedicated server plan for BlueHost and the Deluxe Linux plan at GoDaddy are both $119.99. For shared plans, BlueHost charges $2.95 for their basic plan compared to $3.99 for the economy plan of GoDaddy. For this category, it’s a tie between the two providers.
SSL Certificates
For clients who value SSL certificates, BlueHost is likely the better choice if you are going with a shared hosting plan. All of their shared hosting options come with an SSL certificate by default. To get one for GoDaddy, you would need their highest priced ultimate product tier.
However, this changes with VPS server types. For VPS, GoDaddy is the clear choice for SSL certificates. All of their selections come with a one-year SSL certificate. None of the VPS options at BlueHost include it. Dedicated server types are the same with GoDaddy being the winner here.
For SSL certificates, the winner depends on the server type you select. For shared hosting plans, the winner is BlueHost. For VPS and dedicated servers, the winner is GoDaddy.
Storage Capacity
For server storage capacity, the overall winner is going to be GoDaddy. For the dedicated server value package GoDaddy offers, you will receive 1.5TB of storage. For the equivalent enhanced package of Bluehost, you only receive 1TB.
For shared hosting servers, GoDaddy is still the winner. Their basic plan is only $3.99 and comes with 100GB of storage. The basic plan at BlueHost is only $2.95 and comes with 50GB of website space.
For VPS servers, GoDaddy offers 60GB of storage with their value plan for only $19.99. Compared to the equivalent priced standard plan at BlueHost, you only receive 30GB of storage capacity.
Additional Tools and Plugins
As far as tools and plugins are concerned, it is a tie between the two providers. Both BlueHost and GoDaddy offer an extensive amount of applications for website design, e-commerce solutions, and even WordPress. You will not have any problems finding valuable tools with either of these options.
Bandwidth
When it comes to bandwidth, the providers are basically the same for shared and VPS servers. Where they differ is in dedicated server types. GoDaddy offers unlimited bandwidth usage for all of their account types. Unfortunately, BlueHost restricts bandwidth usage to 5TB, 10TB, and 15TB for each of their VPS account types.
Customer Support
Customer support is another area where both BlueHost and GoDaddy are evenly tied. They both offer 24/7 telephone support. They also offer chat and email support options as well. Users can even create self-service tickets using the secure online portals of their provider’s websites.
Uptime
The general uptime for both GoDaddy and BlueHost is extremely reliable. Based on network testing, most users should be satisfied with the service that these providers can offer. The only difference is that GoDaddy has a 99 percent uptime guarantee whereas BlueHost does not.
In short, both BlueHost and GoDaddy are excellent hosting providers. They have excellent uptime statistics and offer unparalleled levels of customer support. However, there are certain areas where they differ. For example, GoDaddy offers both Windows and Linux servers. Another example is the email account support that BlueHost offers.
Picking the best one for you is going to be determined by the type of server you select. Once you have decided on the type of server you want, look at things like storage and SSL certificates to determine your best choice. Either way, you will be satisfied knowing you are doing business with a reputable hosting provider.