GoDaddy is without question the best domain registration service out there. But is it the best web hosting provider as well? That is disputable. HostGator, on the other hand, is a dedicated provider of web hosting services – there’s no confusion there.
So between HostGator and GoDaddy, which is better? Having used both web hosting services, this is an easy question for us to answer. Let’s analyze the features of both in detail.
HostGator Vs GoDaddy – Plans
HostGator offers three different web hosting plans, Hatchling plan, which costs $4.38/month, Baby plan, which costs $4.78/month and Business plan, which costs $6.78/month. Hatchling is the most basic plan; it doesn’t offer too many features. We suggest going for the Baby plan or Business instead, that offer unlimited domains, unlimited bandwidth and disk space and unlimited email addresses at a slightly higher price. The Business plan offers a toll free contact number as well.
GoDaddy’s plans are costlier. It has three plans, Economy, which costs $4.99/month, Deluxe, which costs $5.99/month and Ultimate, which costs $7.99/month. All these plans come with unlimited bandwidth. However, the Economy plan allows you to host just one domain. The other two allow you to host unlimited domain names. You don’t get unlimited disk space – not more than 100 GB and can use only a limited number of email addresses for free with the Economy and Deluxe plans. The Ultimate plan allows you to set up an unlimited number of email addresses, but it costs more as well.
HostGator vs GoDaddy – Performance
This is where HostGator beats GoDaddy hands down. HostGator servers are hosted in a state-of-the-art data center in Dallas, Texas. They are well equipped and backed up with as many as 10 backbone providers. GoDaddy has its servers in Houston, Texas.
Both HostGator and GoDaddy provide a 99.9% uptime. But HostGator beats GoDaddy on any speed test, response time and benchmark time. When we ran a speed test on both HostGator and GoDaddy, we found that HostGator loaded in 0.5 seconds, compared to GoDaddy which took 1.61 seconds. HostGator is 5 times faster than GoDaddy and offers a much better response time over 30 days as well.
Finally, when you conduct a benchmark test between the two hosts such as the GtMetrix benchmark test, you will find that HostGator takes 1.68 seconds to load, has a better response time and page speed time. GoDaddy takes 4.69 seconds to load. So clearly, HostGator outperforms GoDaddy by every yardstick of measurement here.
HostGator Vs GoDaddy – Customer Support
Honors are even between HostGator and GoDaddy when it comes to customer support. We found HostGator’s customer support to be exceptional. It takes the HostGator team around 5 to 30 minutes to resolve most customer problems. They have as many as 850 employees to provide exceptional customer support in a number of languages.
GoDaddy has a very good customer support as well, and is, in fact renowned for its customer support. The support at both HostGator and GoDaddy can be reached by phone, live chat and email on a 24/7 basis, 365 days a year. Both companies use an online ticketing system, which helps to resolve customer problems faster.
HostGator vs GoDaddy – Control Panel
HostGator uses cPanel as its control panel. cPanel is the industry leader and by far the most user friendly control panel out there. It allows you to install WordPress with a single click and installs all software updates automatically. Using cPanel requires no technical knowledge whatsoever.
GoDaddy uses its own customized control panel, which is not as user friendly as cPanel, but isn’t too bad either. You can get started with GoDaddy’s control panel in quick time, after reading the simple instructions on the GoDaddy website.
HostGator Vs GoDaddy – Which is Better?
Based on performance parameters such as speed, response time and benchmark time, HostGator emerges as the winner in this contest. HostGator’s plans are more affordable than those of GoDaddy and offer more back for your buck. Both companies offer an excellent customer support, so no complaints there. But there is no question that you should be making HostGator your choice if you are looking for a balance between affordability and quality with respect to the web hosting.
Click here for more information on the best HostGator plans.
