Bluehost vs GoDaddy: which costs less?
GoDaddy is the bigger name, especially for domains. For hosting, Bluehost is cheaper at checkout and at renewal.
Bluehost costs less at both ends: Starter is $3.99/mo on a 3-year term against $5.99 for GoDaddy Economy, and renews at $9.99 against about $15.32 on GoDaddy's checkout. GoDaddy's Economy plan also charges $119.99 a year for SSL after year one. GoDaddy makes sense mainly if you already manage many domains there; for hosting, Bluehost is the better buy.
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Prices side by side
Six-year cost on the entry plans
Domains
GoDaddy is the world's largest registrar, and both hosts include a free domain for year one. After that, a .com renewed at $22.99 a year at GoDaddy in September, and domain privacy costs extra. Bluehost's .com renewal is about $20. Namecheap is cheaper than both and includes privacy free.
Features, support and ease of use
- Bluehost: guided WordPress setup, 10 sites on the entry plan, weekly backups, 24/7 chat and phone.
- GoDaddy: cPanel on NVMe storage, more storage on the entry plan but only 1 site, 24/7 phone and chat, many paid add-ons (SSL on Economy, email, backups).
- Cheaper at checkout and renewal
- Free SSL on every plan
- 10 sites on the entry plan
- Guided WordPress setup
- Huge domain registrar; easy if your domains are there
- cPanel
- More storage on the entry plan
- Long-standing brand
Which to pick
- Most new sites: Bluehost Starter.
- You already run dozens of domains at GoDaddy and want one bill: GoDaddy Deluxe, which avoids the Economy SSL fee.
- Lowest long-term cost: Namecheap.
Also see Bluehost pricing and SiteGround vs Bluehost vs HostGator.
Questions
Is Bluehost cheaper than GoDaddy?
Yes. Bluehost Starter is $3.99/mo on 3 years and renews at $9.99; GoDaddy Economy is $5.99 and renewed at about $15.32 at checkout in October 2026.
Does GoDaddy charge for SSL?
On the Economy plan, SSL is free for the first year and then $119.99 a year, as reported in October 2026.
Is GoDaddy good for domains?
It's the largest registrar, but renewals ($22.99 for .com) and privacy cost more than at Namecheap.
Which is better for WordPress?
Bluehost, for its guided setup and lower cost. GoDaddy runs WordPress fine but adds more paid extras.
- Each host's published pricing and checkout totals as reported by price trackers (HostAdvice, Namechk, Checkthat, Bearhost, Themeisle, Webfin, Bloggingtitan), September–October 2026
- GoDaddy checkout totals as reported by Sage and Webfin, October 2026; domain renewal from Namechk, September 2026
Based on published pricing, plan terms and specs, plus published reviews, noted above. Prices change often; check the cart before you buy.
Jean founded ShopHighSpeed after trying to find one straight answer about business internet in his own town. He has been a Comcast and Verizon Fios customer, and ranks providers on what they actually deliver, not on what they advertise.