GoDaddy Pricing Breakdown: Is It Good Value for Money
GoDaddy is an all-in-one-solution for businesses and individuals who want to have a website. In addition to offering a website builder, GoDaddy is a domain registrar and web hosting company. GoDaddy hosts 52 million domain names and 3.1% of all websites use the platform.
How Much Is GoDaddy?
GoDaddy pricing depends on what services you choose and what plan you choose for each service. Will you just use the website builder, or will you also register your domain with GoDaddy? Also. GoDaddy offers other service, such as Microsoft 365, email services and security services, which can also influence the price you end up paying.
When considering GoDaddy pricing, you need to take into account everything you may have to pay for, such as website hosting, domain name, the GoDaddy website builder, GoDaddy email, and GoDaddy security.
Understanding How GoDaddy Prices Its Services
GoDaddy offers a comprehensive range of services:
- Web hosting services
- Website builder services
- Domain registration
- Email service
Each of these services comes with a series of plans, each with its own price tag. You can buy prepackaged plans or only some of GoDaddy’s services. So what GoDaddy will cost you, depends on the choices you make.
GoDaddy also has bundled packages for businesses that can help limit expenses. To know exactly what these bundles entail, we recommend you consult GoDaddy Guides or contact GoDaddy directly.
GoDaddy Web Hosting Pricing
As the largest domain name and website hosting company, it comes as no surprise that GoDaddy offers a comprehensive range of web hosting solutions.
GoDaddy offers:
- Shared Hosting
- Windows Hosting
- VPS Hosting
- Dedicated Hosting
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is the most affordable because the cost of the hosting is shared between several websites. This solution is ideal for individuals and small businesses that are cash-strapped. Even this low-cost hosting is completely reliable and fast — you can expect a 99.9% uptime.
From our experience, we need to point out that GoDaddy’s shared hosting plans look very reasonable, but this is a deliberate ploy of GoDaddy to attract new users. After the first year, the web hosting prices increase, so you might want to compare different web hosting companies before deciding on GoDaddy as your website host.
GoDaddy Shared Hosting Plans
Web Hosting Starter
This plan really just gets you going on the web. You get one website, 512 MB RAM, and 10 GB storage. Keep in mind you also don’t get a free SSL certificate with this plan, so you’ll have to pay extra for that. A free unlimited SSL certificate is only available from the Web Hosting Deluxe plan and higher plans.
Web Hosting Economy
With the Web Hosting Economy plan ($5.94 per month), storage goes up to 100 GB, databases increase from 1 to 10, and a free SSL certificate valued at $99.99.
Web Hosting Delux
This plan ($9.99 per month) gives users 10 websites, 25 databases, and 50 GB of storage. You also get free, unlimited SSL certificates for all websites.
Web Hosting Ultimate
With the Ultimate plan ($14.99) you now have 25 websites, 50 databases, 75 GB of storage, and a free domain.
Web Hosting Maximum
The highest plan is for large businesses that need 100 databases and 100 GB storage. Users can have 50 websites and 100 GB storage.
Except for the Web Hosting Starter, all the plans offer free email, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and a free WordPress migration tool.
Windows Hosting
Windows hosting is a cost-effective choice that boosts a site’s performance and speed. GoDaddy offers Windows hosting for ASP.NET, ASP, .NET Core and SQL server users. There are three Windows shared plans: Economy, Deluxe, and Ultimate.
With Economy, you get only one website, no free SSL certificate, and you get 100GB of storage. With Deluxe you get as many websites as you need. Ultimate also offers unlimited websites, but adds a free SSL certificate for the first year. Plans start at $5.99 per month but you must sign up for a three-year contract.
VPS Hosting
VPS stands for virtual private server. In reality, you do share space on a shared server, but you have your own server resources, isolating you from others on the server.
Linux- or Windows-based servers are on offer for tech experts who want to be in full control. The VPS hosting plans start at $9.99 per month.
Dedicated Hosting
With dedicated hosting, an entire server is dedicated to one client who then has full control over the server, including its operating system, hardware, and software configurations. This solution offers the highest performance, speed, and reliability.
It’s the web hosting solution chosen by high-traffic websites, large e-commerce sites, gaming sites, and such.
GoDaddy offers dedicated hosting for WordPress websites and WooCommerce stores.
GoDaddy Website Builder Pricing
GoDaddy had four website builder plans: Basic, Standard, Premium, and E-commerce
Basic GoDaddy
Pricing
GoDaddy charges $11.99 per month for the Basic plan if you pay for one year in advance. If you pay per month, it will cost you $16.99 / month. If you can afford to pay in one go, the price will be $143.88. That is only for the first year. The renewal price is roughly 25% higher, so the price will be $14.99 / month.
Features
GoDaddy Basic is really basic. You get:
- An SSL certificate
- No GoDaddy branding
- Connect a custom domain
- Free business email
- Email marketing — 100 emails per month
- Connect a social media platform and post five times per month
- Option to add PayPal button
- Accept on-off appointments
- 24/7 customer support includes online guides and phone number
As you can see this basic plan offers pretty nifty features. With the option to add a PayPal button to receive payments from visitors to your website, it’s possible to run a small business with this plan. Admittedly, you benefit from product listings or recurring appointments, but this option could be ideal for organizations that want to accept donations through a website.
This plan could also be sufficient for self-employed service providers like make-up artists, tutors, handymen, and so forth. And it helps that you can promote yourself on social media and send some marketing emails.
However, if you know you want to run a business online, we don’t recommend you start with a basic plan. It doesn’t offer any SEO capabilities, which means your website will not feature on Google. Besides, you’ll need more marketing tools and payment options.
Standard GoDaddy
Pricing
GoDaddy charges $15.99 / month for the Standard plan if you pay for one year in advance. If you pay per month, it will cost you $24.99 / month. If you can afford to pay in one go, the price will be $191.88. That is only for the first year. The renewal price will be $19.99 / month.
Features
- SSL certificate
- SEO capabilities
- Increase social media platforms to two and posts to 20
- 500 marketing emails per month
- 24/7 customer support
- Hold one-time online appointments
Sorry to say, but the Standard Plan doesn’t offer much more than the Basic Plan. The increase in marketing emails, social media platforms and social media posts is not significant: you still won’t be able to run a serious business online.
The only real benefit of this plan over the Basic plan is its access to SEO tools. You still don’t get product listings or recurring appointments with this plan.
This kind of website would help small ventures like crafters, bakers, or therapists create an online presence and market themselves online.
Premium GoDaddy
Pricing
GoDaddy charges $22.99 / month for the Premium plan if you pay for one year in advance. If you pay per month, it will cost you $32.99 / month. If you can afford to pay in one go, the price will be $275.88. That is only for the first year. The renewal price will be $27.99 / month.
Features
- SSL certificate
- Unlimited social media platform connections
- Unlimited social media posts and replies
- Email marketing that allows 25,000 emails monthly
- Credit card, PayPal, and Apple Pay payments for appointments or services
- Advanced appointment scheduling tools
- 24/7 customer support
With the Premium plan, your appointment arrangements improve immensely. You can
- Accept online payments for appointments booked via your website
- You can set your daily availability for online appointment bookings
- Take sign-ups for a group webinar, class or workshop (online or in-person)
- Send email and text reminders for appointments, and
- Customers can book recurring appointments
However, this plan lacks an important feature that has become common for e-commerce stores: order email automations. Order email automation lets online business owners send order, shipping and delivery, and payment confirmation emails as well as abandoned cart emails automatically.
Since you still can’t sell products online with this GoDaddy plan and you can’t send automatic emails, who would benefit from this plan? Actually, this plan is beneficial for a range of businesses and individuals.
For instance, consultants and coaches can use it to build their online presence and schedule appointments. This plan is also useful for therapists, personal trainers, and nutritionists who want to spread the word about their services. They can share testimonials, and allow clients to book sessions online.
This plan is also useful for clubs and non-profits that can use it to create an informative website, engage with supporters, and, share event information.
Ecommerce GoDaddy
Pricing
GoDaddy charges $27.99 / month for the Ecommerce plan if you pay for one year in advance. If you pay per month, it will cost you $44.99 / month. If you can afford to pay in one go, the price will be $335.88. That is only for the first year. The renewal price will be $39.99 / month.
Features
- All the Premium features
- Product listings
- Automated emails
- Online payments with multiple payment gateways
- Shopping cart and Checkout
- Inventory management
- Shipping options
- Run sales and discount promotions
GoDaddy Ecommerce is aimed at businesses and individuals who want to sell products or services online. It is also the ideal solution for small to medium-sized business owners who want to extend their existing business to include an online store.
A GoDaddy online store can work for all kinds of businesses, including hairdressers, car dealerships, Boutique clothing stores, local gift shops, and specialty food sellers. These businesses benefit from the platform’s affordability and range of ecommerce features, such as the ability to accept online payments and integrated marketing tools.
GoDaddy website pricing is fair and comparable to other website builders, especially for the first year. Right from the Basic plan you have ecommerce features that allow you to get a feel for what it’s like to do business online.
GoDaddy Domain Renewal Pricing
GoDaddy regularly increases prices for both domains and hosting services after the first year.
Domains
The first year of a two-year or three-year domain registration is usually free or seriously discounted, making it an attractive offer for new businesses.
The exact price of your domain name will vary according to the extension you want to use for your domain. Domains with the extension .com domains are around $17.99 per year with a hefty increase in the second year; .net is $19.99, and .org is $24.99, both costing more in the second year and thereafter. Other extensions like .info and .biz are cheaper, and there are also extensions that cost much more, such as a .ai domain, which is mostly for AI projects.
Other domain extensions with low prices include .world ($1.99), .me ($1.99), .shop ($0.99), .club ($0.99), and .co ($0.99).
For detailed and current information, you need to visit the official GoDaddy website or log into your account. Here you can get the most accurate pricing applicable to you in terms of the choices you made and the proposed renewal dates.
Hosting
GoDaddy offers a range of hosting options, including shared hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting, each with its own pricing structure depending on a range of factors. As with domain pricing, the initial hosting prices come with discounts and the subsequent years become more expensive.
Because of the different offerings, the cost of hosting varies greatly, from $5.99 to $24.99 per user per month. These prices don’t include virtual private servers and dedicated servers. Renewal prices start from $29.99 per month for advanced plans, and increase based on the plan’s features and whether it is self-managed or not.
For example, the difference between self-managed dedicated server hosting and fully managed solutions is considerable. The renewal for the former is $129.99 per month, and to renew a fully managed solution will set you back $234.99 per month.
One of the drawbacks of GoDaddy hosting is the requirement to commit to a three-year contract. On top of that, GoDaddy charges upfront for this service, which comes to $215.64 for the $5 per month contract.
Once again, it’s best to visit the official GoDaddy website or log into your account to get accurate figures for your situation.
GoDaddy Email Pricing
While many leading web hosting plans include free business email hosting, GoDaddy hosting plans include a free trial of Microsoft 365 email for only the first year. When the initial free period has expired, users have to pay for continued access to Microsoft 365 email services.
Periodically, some specific hosting packages or promotional offers include extended periods of free Microsoft 365 email access.
Microsoft 365 Email Essentials
This plan comes with 10GB of email storage, costs approximately $19.00 annually, and renews at $77.00.
Microsoft 365 Email Plus
This plan comes with 50 GB storage, costs annually, and renews at $97.00.
Microsoft 365 Online Business Essentials
This plan comes with 50 GB storage, costs $84.00 annually, and renews at $142.00.
GoDaddy Security Plans
GoDaddy includes several security features in its web hosting plans:
- SSH access
- Hotlink & leech protection, protection
- IP blocker
- Free SSL certificate (first year)
- Daily backups
- API tokens
If you require more security, you can sign up for one of three security plans. All the prices are for the protection of only one website.
Standard
Standard offers basic security with daily scanning, firewall, site monitoring, and an SSL certificate. The initial price starts around $69.99 annually and the renewal price is around $99.99 annually.
Advanced
Advanced gives users comprehensive security. This plan offers heightened security including daily backups, DDoS, CDN boost, and site cleanup and repair five times a year.
The initial price: starts at around $17.99 / month ($215.88 annually). The renewal price is typically around $19.99 / month ($239.88 annually).
Premium
Premium adds priority support. This security plan is ideal for brand and ecommerce websites that need priority support. GoDaddy claims that it offers the fastest malware removal turnaround.
The initial price starts at $29.99 / month ($359.88 annually) and the plan renews at around $34.99 / month ($419.88 annually).
Important Note: For the most accurate and up-to-date renewal pricing on all plans offered, it’s best to check directly with GoDaddy. GoDaddy’s pricing policies are subject to change, and they occasionally offer special promotions or discounts, which affect the prices for their different offerings.
Is GoDaddy Good Value for Money?
GoDaddy pricing can end up quite expensive because of all the different pricing plans for the various services. The company charges at least twice as much for hosting as similar web hosting providers like Hostinger and Bluehost. And GoDaddy domain registration also costs extra.
In addition, the high renewal rates may also mean that GoDaddy is not the most cost-effective choice in the long run.
GoDaddy website builder pricing offers good value, though. GoDaddy website builder pricing is cheaper than the industry standard and comes in at a lower price than Wix, Shopify, and Squarespace.
Can You Use GoDaddy for Free?
Yes, you can use GoDaddy for free. You can create a website, and upload product listings but you won’t be able to sell anything. The free version allows you to explore some features to get a feel for the platform but you can’t really do anything substantial with it.
Also, using the free version, you will be stuck with GoDaddy branding on your website, which doesn’t create a good impression. You can use GoDaddy for free, but in our opinion, you won’t be able to do a whole lot with it.
GoDaddy Pricing Summary — What You Should Expect
GoDaddy website pricing is reasonable and even cheaper than competitors like Wix, Shopify, and Squarespace. The free plan is a great option for total beginners, and upgrading to the next plan is only $10.99/month if paid annually.
However, GoDaddy charges more for its hosting plans than its competitors. In addition, users are saddled with hefty renewal prices after their first term. GoDaddy also charges more for their email service and security plans after the first term.
GoDaddy doesn’t hide these facts about its pricing structure, but users might not realize what they are in for. That’s why a pricing breakdown like this is very useful for anyone considering GoDaddy’s services.
For accurate, up-to-date figures, please consult GoDaddy directly.
FAQ
Is GoDaddy good for domain names?
Yes, GoDaddy is great for registering domain names. GoDaddy is the largest domain registrar on the market. Every domain registration includes free WHOIS domain privacy and protection. However, many domain registrars are more affordable and don’t charge renewal fees.
Is GoDaddy good for web hosting?
Yes, GoDaddy is a good choice for web hosting. The platform is easy to use, and a variety of hosting plans are on offer. GoDaddy is super reliable with a 99.9 percent uptime guarantee and super-fast loading times for websites.
Is GoDaddy secure?
GoDaddy offers standard security features with all its plans, including a firewall for site protection, data encryption, and regular threat monitoring. Your website is perfectly secure if you choose to go with GoDaddy.
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