GoDaddy is one of the most recognizable names in web hosting, powering millions of sites worldwide with domain registration, hosting, and bundled website tools tailored for beginners and growing businesses.
From its drag-and-drop website builder and business email to domains and scalable Linux/Windows hosting, GoDaddy aims to be a one-stop shop for individuals, creators, and small teams that want to launch quickly and scale as traffic increases.
But does GoDaddy live up to the hype? We tested the plans, dug through the fine print, and compared real features against similarly priced hosts to see how it stacks up.
This review breaks down GoDaddy’s plans, core features, strengths, and gaps—so you can decide whether it fits your site’s goals, budget, and technical comfort level in 2025.
By the end, you’ll have a clear, no-fluff understanding of where GoDaddy excels, where it lags, and which specific plan (if any) is the right move for your project.
The Benefits of Using GoDaddy Web Hosting
Consistently solid uptime with an SLA
Uptime is critical—every minute of downtime risks lost traffic, SEO signals, and revenue. GoDaddy advertises a 99.9% uptime guarantee backed by a service credit if it falls short, which aligns with what we observed across typical sites.
You’ll still see the occasional blip (no shared host is immune), but month-to-month performance is steady enough for blogs, small business sites, and marketing landing pages that don’t demand enterprise-grade SLAs.
If keeping your site available is priority #1, GoDaddy’s uptime record and simple SLA are reassuring for most small to midsize projects.
Faster-than-expected speeds for the price
Budget hosting often means sluggish load times. GoDaddy bucks that trend with NVMe SSD storage on new plans, built-in caching, and an easy upgrade path if you outgrow entry-level resources.
As the chart suggests, GoDaddy holds its own against other big-name hosts in this tier. More recent third-party tests echo the same story: not the absolute fastest host overall, but competitive for the money—especially if you choose a plan with CDN and more CPU/RAM.
If you’re running a content site, portfolio, brochure site, or modest WooCommerce catalog, GoDaddy’s speed profile will be “fast enough” out of the box, with room to grow via Web Hosting Plus, VPS, or dedicated servers.
One-click installs plus developer access
Beginners get 125+ one-click installers (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and more) and an intuitive control panel. Power users get cPanel or a managed WordPress dashboard, SSH, Git access, MySQL, and support for modern PHP versions, Python, and Node.js.
This mix of simplicity and control makes GoDaddy workable for first-time site owners and hands-on developers alike.
Pricing that’s competitive—if you understand the terms
GoDaddy didn’t top our list of the best cheap web hosting providers, but promo pricing is aggressive and there are frequent deals. Intro rates on shared plans often land around the $5.99–$8.99/month range with multi-year terms, and WordPress plans routinely see similar promos with a richer feature set.
Renewals are higher (as with nearly all hosts), but if you budget for the post-promo rate—and pick the right tier for your traffic—you’ll still get good value for the performance and tooling.
Other Considerations
GoDaddy fits a lot of use cases, but it isn’t perfect. Keep these caveats in mind before you buy.
Upsells and renewal hikes are real
The entry price you see is usually for a 12–36-month term and excludes many add-ons. Expect to see upsells for security suites, premium backups, and marketing tools during checkout.
The good news: several previously “extra” fundamentals are now included on many plans (for example, automatic daily backups on standard web hosting, and free SSL on WordPress hosting and higher-tier shared plans). The less good news: introductory pricing ends, and renewal rates step up—so plan your term length and budget accordingly.
If you’re price-sensitive, lock a longer intro term and review which add-ons you actually need versus what’s already bundled with your plan.
Entry tiers still skip some “nice-to-haves”
SSL is now included on most tiers (unlimited on higher shared plans; first-year on some entry tiers), and automatic daily backups are standard on new shared packages. However, advanced protections—like a dedicated Web Application Firewall (WAF) and hands-on malware cleanup—live in GoDaddy’s paid Website Security add-ons unless you’re on certain managed WordPress bundles.
Site migration is much easier than it used to be thanks to free automated tools (especially for WordPress). If you want white-glove, human-assisted migration, expect a fee.
Bottom line: the essentials are better than in years past, but security-conscious sites may still want to budget for the add-on suite or consider a plan that includes it.
Customer support is fast to reach, results can vary
GoDaddy’s 24/7 phone and live chat support is easy to contact and quick to pick up. For basic account or setup questions, that’s a win. For deeper, developer-level troubleshooting, experiences vary—some issues are resolved immediately, while others may get routed to documentation or higher-tier teams.
If you value consistently expert support, premium managed WordPress or specialized hosts (like developer-centric providers) may still be a better fit. For mainstream needs, GoDaddy’s help is adequate and accessible.
Domain registration value isn’t best-in-class
GoDaddy remains massively popular for domains, but renewal pricing for many TLDs trends higher than low-cost registrars. We generally recommend keeping your domain at a dedicated registrar for long-term value and flexibility, and your hosting wherever it best serves the site.
See our guide to the best domain registrars for alternatives with consistently lower renewals.
Compare GoDaddy Web Hosting Plans
GoDaddy’s catalog spans shared hosting for entry-level sites, managed WordPress for the most popular CMS, and higher-power options like VPS and dedicated servers. Here’s what to expect from each.
You’ll find everything from entry-level shared hosting to powerful dedicated servers:
Let’s look at each option more closely so you can match a plan to your traffic, workload, and maintenance preferences.
Shared hosting
Shared hosting is built for new and low-to-moderate-traffic sites that don’t need guaranteed resources. It’s the cheapest way to get online fast, with a clean upgrade path to more power later.
What you get with GoDaddy shared today:
Intro pricing frequently runs around $5.99–$8.99/month on multi-year terms for the entry tier, with Deluxe/Ultimate adding more sites, storage, and unlimited SSL on higher tiers. We generally recommend the Deluxe tier for the best balance of resources and flexibility.
Newer shared plans include automatic daily backups, unmetered bandwidth, cPanel, a free domain for the first year, and free SSL (unlimited on higher tiers; first-year on some entry tiers). If you outgrow shared resources, consider Web Hosting Plus (more CPU/RAM without moving to VPS) or jump to VPS.
WordPress hosting
GoDaddy’s managed WordPress plans are tuned for WordPress performance and simplicity. They come with one-click migration, automatic core updates, daily backups, a CDN, and free SSL that doesn’t require paid renewal on many plans.
You also get a streamlined dashboard, staging, and onboarding helpers—including AI-assisted site setup for faster launches. That combination makes managed WordPress a better long-term fit than basic shared for most WP sites.
Typical promotional pricing for WordPress plans (varies by term and region):
- Basic — commonly $7.99–$9.99/month on annual terms (promos can dip to ~$5.99 with longer terms)
- Deluxe — usually lands around $10.99–$12.99/month on annual terms
- Ultimate — often $14.99–$18.99/month depending on term and add-ons
Bandwidth is unmetered, and visitor limits aren’t hard-capped—the plan’s resources and caching determine how much traffic you can comfortably handle. For WooCommerce, prioritize higher tiers for more PHP workers and better performance.
VPS hosting
VPS gives you dedicated CPU/RAM and isolated resources without the cost of a whole server. GoDaddy offers both self-managed (for admins comfortable with server upkeep) and fully managed options (GoDaddy handles OS patches, security updates, and more).
Configurations range from entry-level 1–2 vCPU and 2–4 GB RAM up to multi-core plans with significantly more memory and NVMe storage. Snapshot backups, choice of Linux/Windows, and cPanel or Plesk are available.
Renewal pricing is more predictable on VPS than shared because resources (vCPUs, RAM, storage) drive cost. If you’re running busy blogs, apps, or ecommerce, VPS is the natural next step when shared starts to strain.
While GoDaddy isn’t our top pick in the best VPS hosts, it remains a practical choice for mid-tier traffic and workloads like staging environments, API services, or email and database hosting.
Dedicated servers
Dedicated hosting gives you full control and the maximum performance profile—ideal for high-traffic apps, custom stacks, or compliance-sensitive deployments.
GoDaddy made our best dedicated hosting plans shortlist for its breadth of configurations and competitive promos, along with options for self-managed, managed, and fully managed administration.
All dedicated plans come with full root access and zero resource sharing. Only choose dedicated if your application truly needs the isolation and horsepower; otherwise, a well-sized VPS is more cost-effective.
Tip: if you’re moving from shared to dedicated, test on VPS first to right-size CPU/RAM before committing to a monthly bill you might not need.
Reseller hosting
Agencies, designers, and developers can white-label GoDaddy’s products and sell hosting to clients via turnkey storefronts. It’s a quick way to add recurring revenue without building your own infrastructure.
We included GoDaddy in our best reseller hosting providers roundup for its easy setup, billing tools, and ability to resell domains, email, SSL, and security add-ons.
Reseller program pricing (approximate, varies by term):
- Basic — typically around $8.99/month (billed annually)
- Pro — typically around $14.99/month (billed annually)
You can set your own margins, bundle care plans, and let GoDaddy’s backend handle fulfillment and much of the support—handy if you’d rather focus on design and marketing.
Conclusion
GoDaddy is a reliable, mainstream host with global scale, straightforward onboarding, and a much-improved baseline feature set in 2025 (automatic daily backups on shared, free SSL on most tiers, and simpler migrations).
Here’s a quick recap of the product lineup:
- Shared hosting
- WordPress hosting
- VPS hosting
- Reseller hosting
- Dedicated hosting
Standouts for most users: shared (Deluxe+), managed WordPress (for WP sites), and dedicated (for true high-traffic or custom workloads). If you’re budget-focused or want more hands-on support, compare renewal rates and included security across a few top competitors before you commit.
If you want an affordable, scalable, and beginner-friendly host with easy upgrades as you grow, GoDaddy deserves a spot on your shortlist in 2025.