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Namecheap and GoDaddy are two names you may be familiar with in the world of web hosting. These powerhouse companies are heavy hitters when it comes to basic shared hosting—but which one comes out on top? We’ve done a thorough comparison of Namecheap vs. GoDaddy so you can decide which company is best for your business hosting needs.
Namecheap vs. GoDaddy: At a Glance
Namecheap was founded in 2000, and continues to be a leader in affordable domain names and web hosting. The company now manages over 16 million domains and offers hosting plans with unmetered bandwidth and free site migration. One unique selling point is that it offers 30 domain-based mailboxes on the base plan—usually, providers make you pay more for that many email addresses.
GoDaddy, on the other hand, is hosting over 84 million domain names for 20 million customers. Still, it keeps things customer-focused with 24/7 support—great if your site goes down at 3 a.m. and you need immediate help. Its website builder is also a huge benefit if you’re not familiar with coding, as it lets you customize your site exactly to your liking with a drag-and-drop interface.
Namecheap is a great option if you have a small budget but still want reliable, straightforward hosting. GoDaddy, however, comes with more features that bigger businesses may enjoy—but the price reflects that
Namecheap
Starting price
INR 164.82 ($1.98) per month (billed annually)
Extras and inclusions
Free domain, SSL, site migration, website builder, 100 apps
Starting price
INR 164.82 ($1.98) per month (billed annually)
Extras and inclusions
Free domain, SSL, site migration, website builder, 100 apps
Why We Picked It
For one of the lowest prices out there, Namecheap offers decent quality. You won’t get all the bells and whistles GoDaddy offers, but you’ll get enough to have a solid business website that attracts customers. And with a 100% uptime guarantee, Namecheap can give you confidence your site will be online whenever your customers need it.
Pros & Cons
- Less than half the price per month than GoDaddy
- More storage than GoDaddy’s entry-level plan
- Unlimited email accounts on top plans
- Up to 600,000 files on top plan
- Unlimited FTP users on top plans
- Backups only happen twice a week
- Limited to three hosted domains on base plan
- Only three data center locations to choose from
- Free cloud storage only available on top U.S. plan
GoDaddy
Starting price
INR 415.38 ($4.99) per month (billed annually)
Extras and inclusions
Free domain, SSL, site migration, one-click WordPress install, 125 apps
Starting price
INR 415.38 ($4.99) per month (billed annually)
Extras and inclusions
Free domain, SSL, site migration, one-click WordPress install, 125 apps
Why We Picked It
GoDaddy is a well-known brand because it offers a reliable hosting product. Its basic shared hosting runs on Linux, but there are also options for ASP.NET, .NET and Microsoft SQL users. While the basic plans have decent processing power, you can upgrade to more expensive plans if you expect your site to have heavy traffic.
Pros & Cons
- Daily backups included
- One-click domain name setup included
- Superior security features to prevent DDoS attacks
- Unlimited external domains on all plans
- Limited to five free Microsoft 365 mailboxes
- Website builder not included with hosting
- Limited to 250,000 files
- Plans are quite expensive after first year
How Namecheap and GoDaddy Stack Up
When it comes to basic offerings, Namecheap and GoDaddy are nearly neck and neck. Where they differ the most is pricing.
Storage and Bandwidth
Base plans of both Namecheap and GoDaddy offer storage capped at 20GB and 10GB, respectively. Namecheap does offer unmetered storage on its mid-tier plan, but this is capped at 50GB on its top plan. GoDaddy, on the other hand, increases its storage by increments of 25GB, with a max of 75GB on the top plan.
Both offer unmetered bandwidth, which is preferable to unlimited bandwidth. Unmetered bandwidth means you can transfer as much data as you want—it just might be speed limited at a certain point.
Website Migration
Namecheap’s free cPanel-to-cPanel guarantees it will handle your migration in 24 hours and with less than 15 minutes of downtime, or your first year of hosting will be free. However, this migration is limited to cPanel-based hosting accounts and WordPress sites, making it limited.
For WordPress sites, GoDaddy includes a free automated site migrator tool. You can also choose to do a manual migration if you only want to move certain parts of the site. If you have another type of site, you can move it using FTP and FileZilla or using the WHM Transfer Tool or Plesk Migrator extension.
Customer Support
GoDaddy offers 24/7 customer service with live chat to call in and speak to a real person, which is sometimes a lot easier when you have to explain a complicated issue. You can even get help via text message if you’re trying to fix an issue while on the go. For self-service, GoDaddy offers plenty of how-to videos, blog guides and even a helpful community to answer your questions.
Namecheap doesn’t have a phone number to call, so you’re limited to 24/7 chat and support tickets. It also offers a thorough knowledge base center, guru guides and how-to videos if you want to learn more on your own.
Cost of Namecheap vs. GoDaddy
Namecheap is far cheaper than GoDaddy, with the base Stellar plan starting at INR 164.82 ($1.98) per month for the first year. This plan includes 30 domain-based mailboxes, three websites and unlimited parked domains.
Stellar Plus costs just INR 248.06 ($2.98) per month for the first year and INR 539.41 ($6.48) after, and Stellar Business is INR 414.55 ($4.98) per month and INR 789.13 ($9.48) after. With Stellar Plus, you’ll get unlimited hosted domains, mailboxes and subdomains. Stellar Business increases your file limit to 600,000 and gives you your own personal name servers.
GoDaddy, on the other hand, is a lot more expensive for similar offerings. Its four plans range from INR 415.38 ($4.99) per month to INR 1247.80 ($14.99) per month and INR 1497.52 ($17.99) after.
The cheapest plan, Web Hosting Economy, only lets you have one website, five FTP users and 25GB of storage. Web Hosting Deluxe for INR 831.59 ($9.99) per month for the first year ups it to 10 websites, 25 FTP users and 50GB of storage. For INR 1247.80 ($14.99) per month for the first year, you can get the Web Hosting Ultimate plan, which hosts up to 25 websites, 50 FTP users and 75GB of storage.
Finally, the Web Hosting Maximum plan hosts 50 websites, 75 FTP users and 100GB of storage.
Customer Reviews and Reputation
Both GoDaddy and Namecheap have decent online reviews from customers. GoDaddy reviewers praise its 24/7 customer support and ability to reach a live, friendly human when you need it. However, other reviews have complained of problems transferring a domain over, as well as problems with renewing domains that lead to them being listed at higher prices in the future.
Namecheap customers, on the other hand, love the price, user-friendly platform and timely support. Some users did have trouble with inaccurate documentation, unhelpful support representatives and severe penalties for terms of service violations.
Overall, though, both companies have generally favorable online reputations.
Top Namecheap and GoDaddy Alternatives
Namecheap and GoDaddy come out on top in a lot of categories. For example, both made our list of the best domain name registrars and best WordPress hosting services. Namecheap is also one of the top cheap web hosting services, while GoDaddy makes the list of overall best web hosting services.
Still, it’s entirely possible that neither of these products is what you’re looking for. If that’s the case, we’ve selected several alternatives that offer a unique spin on web hosting.
Bottom Line
Namecheap is one of the most affordable players in the game, making it an excellent option for companies that really can’t afford a more premium service. Even with its low prices, it still provides good value if you don’t need a ton of features.
GoDaddy is a more proven name in web hosting, and because of that, it can charge more. While the cost might not necessarily be worth what you get, GoDaddy is still a reliable choice for businesses that prefer tons of freebies and good customer service.
Namecheap is best for:
- Businesses with a tight budget
- Businesses that won’t need a huge web presence
- Businesses looking for unlimited mailboxes
GoDaddy is best for:
- Businesses that want a trusted name
- Businesses that want to integrate e-commerce and marketing features
- Businesses that want a robust and easy-to-use site builder
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Which is better: GoDaddy or Namecheap?
We ranked Namecheap better than GoDaddy based on our proprietary scoring rubric. However, both services are an excellent choice for businesses requiring solid web hosting.
Is Namecheap owned by GoDaddy?
No, GoDaddy does not own Namecheap. The two are competing companies and have separate corporate structures.
Which is the best domain name provider?
We ranked Namecheap as the best overall domain name registrar. However, we considered GoDaddy the best for ultra-low intro rates. Other top contenders were Domain.com, Google Domains and DreamHost.
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/in/business/software/namecheap-vs-godaddy/
