This HostGator vs. GoDaddy review will help you determine which hosting company is right for your website.

These two web hosting providers were the most searched in 2020, along with Bluehost vs SiteGround. So, which service wins in a head-to-head competition?

HostGator Vs. GoDaddy Tests

To determine the best service, I matched them against each other in some tough tests that included:

• HostGator Vs. GoDaddy Uptime
• HostGator Vs. GoDaddy Website Speed Test
• Website Server Response time
• Benchmark Test
• Customer Support
• Control Panel with Demo
• Credibility Test

HostGator Vs. GoDaddy Uptime

Both HostGator and GoDaddy offer a strong uptime guarantee: 99.99%. This is easily the most aggressive guarantee among web hosts. The HostGator Uptime Guarantee is geared toward Shared and Reseller plans, while their Network Guarantee covers VPS and Dedicated Servers.

GoDaddy’s “Service Uptime Guarantee” offers 5 percent credit of a monthly hosting fee for any month that does not meet their guarantee. The credit is good for further products and services from the company. However, upon closer inspection, you’ll find only GoDaddy can determine if they did not meet the bar.

Winner: HostGator wins the uptime guarantee race with better coverage across their plans.

We use real-time live uptime tracking of a website hosted under HostGator and GoDaddy for understanding their uptime.

HostGator Vs. GoDaddy Website Speed Test

A website speed test is a good barometer to compare HostGator and GoDaddy. In this case, I compared the two services with the exact same webpage. Both had the same:

• Size
• Request
• Design
• Images

HostGator took the lead again with an efficient load time of 1.5 seconds. GoDaddy came in second with 1.4 seconds.

Site on HostGator

Site on GoDaddy

Winner: HostGator wins in the pure website speed race.

Website Server Response Time

HostGator’s strength when comparing website server response time is that they have a robust array of servers. This allows them to balance loads in micro-seconds, which keeps the server response high at all times.

GoDaddy has a significant number of shared hosting customers using their entry-level plans. That means there are thousands of small websites on shared servers, which contributes to slow server response and potential drops in connection.

Hosting: HostGator; Source: Google Analytics

Hosting: GoDaddy; Source: Google Analytics

Winner: HostGator’s more elaborate and established server system beats GoDaddy’s overloaded infrastructure.

Benchmark Test

GoDaddy was no match for HostGator in the benchmark test. HostGator’s Linux CentOS operating systems have been groomed and tweaked on their Dual Xeon Quad Core machines. The result is fewer failed requests, faster times per request, and much speedier median processing time than GoDaddy.

Winner: HostGator – again, HostGator’s investment in superior technology pays off.

Plans and Features

The breakdown of prices, plans, and features of HostGator and GoDaddy is given below.

Plans and Prices of HostGator

Plans and Prices of GoDaddy

Customer Support

You might think GoDaddy has superior customer support simply based on their highly visible marketing. However, HostGator offers more in this area.

HostGator has fast email, chat, and phone support, along with an advanced ticket system designed to efficiently track support requests.

On the other hand, GoDaddy recently took the unprecedented step of removing email and ticket support. Some reports had surfaced of customers experiencing multi-hour waits only to miss the connection when chat support opened up. It seems like they are going backward in this critical area.

Winner: HostGator – while GoDaddy is cutting back support options, HostGator is refining and constantly improving this department.

Control Panel with Demo

cPanel is the world’s most popular control panel. It has a multitude of features and is easy to use. That’s why HostGator uses it for their control panel. It gives their customers access to the database, webmail, error reports, and much more.

GoDaddy lets clients choose between cPanel and another interface called Plesk.

HostGator keeps it simple with cPanel, even offering tutorial videos for new customers. At the same time, cPanel meets the needs of power users who want more features and control.

Winner: Tie! HostGator and GoDaddy offer similar features and benefits.

Credibility Test

Sure, GoDaddy runs Super Bowl commercials, but how is their credibility compared to HostGator? GoDaddy has actually been around since 1997. They have grown by offering cheap hosting, but their image suffered when customer complaints skyrocketed.

HostGator began operations in 2002. They have also experienced a rapid growth curve and poured their profits back into infrastructure and customer support. As a result, they enjoy higher customer satisfaction and fewer server issues.

Winner: HostGator – despite strong growth through the 2000s, HostGator managed to maintain strong credibility among loyal customers.

HostGator Vs. GoDaddy – Which Should Be Your Choice?

In this HostGator vs. GoDaddy review, we can see that these two services are both large and have strong name recognition. They have similar plans offering much the same storage and bandwidth.

However, HostGator is a clear winner when we look closer at performance and customer support. Their superior server arrays spread around the world mean customers get fast load times and quick server response.

Their customer support also beats GoDaddy’s. In fact, GoDaddy cut support channels while HostGator continued to offer more access and convenience.

The clear winner in HostGator vs. GoDaddy is HostGator and here is why:

• Top performance at reasonable prices.
• Rock-solid 99.99% uptime guarantee every month of the year.
• Beats more than 95% of competitors on previous website tests.
• Superior customer support system with tickets, email, phone, and live chat access.
• Excellent security keeps out hackers and malware.