GoDaddy fails at all 3 core parts of hosting (speed, security, support).
An underlying issue is GoDaddy’s outdated technology which leads to performance/security issues. While other hosts are innovating with faster LiteSpeed servers, NVMe storage, cache plugins, and adding powerful CDNs like Cloudflare Enterprise to improve TTFB (time to first byte), GoDaddy has done the absolute bare minimum to improve their service after their IPO.
They still run Apache servers with slower SATA SSDs, a slow DNS on dnsperf.com, and don’t have a proper firewall/DDoS protection, while other hosts use a security suite like Imunify360. This causes frequent data breaches (my account also got hacked) and malware-infected sites.
It’s like paying for an expensive, run down apartment with 0 amenities. Considering GoDaddy isn’t that cheap, there’s no reason to use them. There are plenty of similarly priced LiteSpeed hosts that will outperform GoDaddy with better performance, security, support, and features.
- Poor specs
- Slow DNS, CDN, and TTFB
- Overcrowded Apache servers
- Limited cores, RAM, inodes
- History of malware + security breaches
- Frequent downtimes
- Upsells on every corner
- Limited to 1 website
- Limited control panel
- Blacklisted WordPress plugins
- Support took a turn for the worse
- GoDaddy gets bashed in Facebook groups
- 5 LiteSpeed/cloud hosts that are better than GoDaddy
1. Poor Specs
Other than more storage and lower renewals, GoDaddy is inferior to similar hosts/plans.
| GoDaddy Managed WP Deluxe Plan | FastComet FastCloud Extra Plan | ChemiCloud WordPress Turbo Plan | NameHero Turbo WordPress Plan | Scala Entry WP Cloud Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Shared | Shared | Shared | Shared | Cloud |
| Server | Apache + Nginx | LiteSpeed | LiteSpeed | LiteSpeed | LiteSpeed |
| Storage | 60GB SATA | 35GB SATA | 40GB NVMe on 9/11 locations | Unlimited NVMe on US location | 50GB NVMe on US location |
| Cores/RAM | 2 cores/1GB | 6 cores/6GB | 3 cores/3GB (scalable to 6/6) | 3 cores/3GB | No limit |
| Object cache | Memcached | Memcached | Memcached | Redis | Redis |
| Database | MySQL | MySQL | MariaDB | MariaDB | MariaDB |
| Data centers | 9 | 11 | 11 | 2 (US + EU) | 3 (US + EU) |
| Cache plugin | x | LiteSpeed Cache | LiteSpeed Cache | LiteSpeed Cache | LiteSpeed Cache |
| CDN | GoDaddy CDN (free) | QUIC.cloud ($.02-.08/GB) | QUIC.cloud ($.02-.08/GB) | QUIC.cloud ($.02-.08/GB) | QUIC.cloud ($.02-.08/GB) |
| Full page caching | x | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Control panel | Custom | cPanel | cPanel | cPanel | sPanel |
| Inodes | 250,000 | 500,000 | 500,000 | 500,000 | Unlimited |
| Major incidents | Malware, several data breaches | 2022 DDoS attack on 3 data centers | None | 2011 2-day node outage | None |
| Migrations | Paid | 3 free | 200 cPanel + 10 non-cPanel | 1 free | 1 free |
| Support | D | B | B | B | B |
| TrustPilot rating | 4.7/5 | 4.9/5 | 4.9/5 | 4.6/5 | 4.9/5 |
| Monthly price | $10.49 (2 years) | $5.49 (1-3 years) | $5.99 (3 years) | $9.98 (3 years) | $14.95 (3 years) |
| Renewals | $14.99/mo | $21.95/mo | $19.95/mo | $19.95/mo | $24.95/mo |
2. Slow DNS, CDN, And TTFB
GoDaddy’s DNS has poor performance on dnsperf.com. This causes higher latency/TTFB. If you purchased a domain on GoDaddy, you can switch to Cloudflare’s DNS by changing nameservers.
GoDaddy’s CDN hardly lists any specs (most CDNs list basic features like # of locations and whether it supports full page caching, load balancing, and DDoS protection). GoDaddy’s CDN does not support full page caching which makes your site slow for visitors far away from your server, especially if it’s a website that creates lots of dynamic requests (such as WooCommerce and membership sites). Don’t bother with GoDaddy’s CDN and use Cloudflare with APO instead.
Between GoDaddy’s slow DNS/CDN, this can lead to a poor TTFB which you can test in 10 locations using KeyCDN’s performance test (GTmetrix/PageSpeed Insights only test 1 location).
3. Overcrowded Apache Servers
iThemes already called out GoDaddy for overcrowded servers.
They also explain how GoDaddy uses a non-traditional setup… instead of using a single server to host your website: they use one server to process code and serve static files, then another for the database. GoDaddy’s database servers can be slow from overcrowding and network latency.
GoDaddy also uses Apache servers when LiteSpeed is faster. Many WordPress users have been moving to the LiteSpeed setup (LiteSpeed hosting + LiteSpeed Cache plugin + QUIC.cloud CDN). LiteSpeed Cache is faster than WP Rocket and QUIC.cloud CDN supports full page caching with many other speed/security features. This is arguably the fastest shared hosting setup right now.
4. Limited Cores, RAM, Inodes
GoDaddy’s resource limits show how many cores, RAM, inodes, and other resources you get. Even on the $11.99/mo Deluxe plan, you only get 1 CPU core, 512MB RAM, and 250,000 inodes.
| Linux Hosting Plan | Free Trial & Starter | Economy | Deluxe | Ultimate | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0/mo | $8.99/mo | $11.99/mo | $18.99/mo | $19.99/mo |
| CPU (Accessible cores) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Memory/RAM (MB) | 512 | 512 | 512 | 1000 | 2000 |
| I/O (KB/sec) | 10240 | 10240 | 10240 | 10240 | 10240 |
| Entry processes (Concurrent connections) |
100 | 100 | 100 | 125 | 150 |
| NProcs (Number of available processing units) |
115 | 115 | 115 | 140 | 165 |
| Files (inodes) | 250,000 | 250,000 | 250,000 | 250,000 | 250,000 |
| Disk space | 30 GB | 100 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Maximum email accounts | 10 | 100 | 500 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Now let’s compare it to another host. I used NameHero’s Turbo WordPress plan in this example which includes 3 CPU cores, 3GB RAM, and 500,000 inodes. Cheaper with double the resources.
It should also be noted on their hosting agreement page, they talk about resource throttling. Not only does GoDaddy lack server resources in their plans, but you’re not even allowed to use 25% of the 1 CPU core you have access to. This is why 503 errors are very common on GoDaddy.
GoDaddy explains that: all Linux hosting plans are subject to the following limitations: no more than a) 25% of one CPU core; b) 512MB of RAM; c) 100 website connections; d) 100 active processes; e) 1 MB/s disk IO. In the event these limitations are exceeded, your site may slow down or not be served until more resources are added for additional fees.
Inode limits are usually exceeded if you use your hosting for email too. Because GoDaddy’s inode limits are so low, you should really keep your web/email hosting separate. This is best practice either way especially since moving emails can be a pain (I suggest Google Workspace).
I also have a tutorial on speeding up GoDaddy sites if you want more tips.
5. History Of Malware + Security Breaches
It’s fair to say you can expect a security issue with GoDaddy every year:
- In 2018, GoDaddy was one of the top malware hosting networks.
- In 2018, 31,000 GoDaddy servers were exposed by Amazon AWS.
- In 2019, 28,000 accounts were compromised but weren’t found until 2019.
- In 2021, SFTP and database credentials of 1.2M clients were compromised.
- In 2022, there was a malware increase on their Managed WordPress Hosting.
- In 2023, GoDaddy confirmed a multi-year security breach which led to malware.
They also have an alarming amount of malware reports on TrustPilot.
GoDaddy is happy to run malware scans then say your website has issues and needs to be fixed (a paid service they offer usually exceeding $500). But they do very little to actually protect you.
I’ve also had my GoDaddy account hacked. Someone from Turkey was able to login to my account, use my saved credit card to purchase services, and forward my website to a different domain. When I contacted GoDaddy’s support, the most frustrating part was they initially didn’t believe me. I had to push them to take it seriously, and once they saw GoDaddy’s services were purchased with Turkish lira, they did eventually refund me. Make sure to setup that two-factor!
6. Frequent Downtimes
Ignore BS uptime reports and GoDaddy’s 99.9% uptime guarantee.
Schedule maintenance doesn’t count as downtimes, so as long as it’s classified as that, it doesn’t count. Uptimes tests don’t matter since they only test 1 server/node for a limited amount of time. GoDaddy has tons of servers and not all of them go down at the same time.
Instead, search GoDaddy’s TrustPilot reviews for “down” or view their Downdetector profile.
7. Upsells On Every Corner
GoDaddy has so many upsells they have a product catalog.
Microsoft 365 Email Essentials is automatically added to your cart when you sign up. Then you’re hit with email offers (even though email hosting is usually free), and other offers inside your dashboard. Upsells also extend to GoDaddy’s support who loves telling you to upgrade.
I had a client who was paying upwards of $1,000/year to GoDaddy and most of it was upsells. She didn’t know if she needed them or not (she also had some money) so she was paying for many things she didn’t need. Some upsells are fine, but GoDaddy preys on vulnerable people. They’ve also charged customers for higher PHP versions by making them sign up for a new plan.
8. Limited To 1 Website
All GoDaddy Managed WordPress Hosting plans can only host 1 website.
9. Limited Control Panel
GoDaddy’s control panel is limited and buggy.
Besides very basic things like upgrading PHP versions, taking backups, and accessing the file browser, it barely lets you do anything. GoDaddy’s control panel was truly designed for noobs.
10. Blacklisted WordPress Plugins
GoDaddy blacklists quite a few WordPress plugins.
Several backup and cache plugins are also blacklisted. GoDaddy says it’s because they use server caching, but cache plugins do a lot more (for core web vitals) than just caching. Which means you’ll need to pay for a premium cache plugin (I recommend FlyingPress). You can use LiteSpeed Cache but without using a LiteSpeed server, you’ll be missing out on a lot of features.
11. Support Took A Turn For The Worse
Do yourself a favor and look at GoDaddy’s TrustPilot reviews about support.
Like most hosts, most of the good reviews are solicited by their support team. It’s a shame because GoDaddy’s support used to be awesome when it was based in Arizona, but that was before their IPO. Now you can expect long wait times, upsells, and unresolved issues. They’re not interested in fixing problems unless it involves giving them money. You get what you pay for.
12. GoDaddy Gets Bashed In Facebook Groups
How many times do you have to hear it? Stay away from GoDaddy!
Join the WP Speed Matters Facebook group to see what real people are saying (and on a side note, several major Facebook groups are moderated by SiteGround and their team of “brand ambassadors” who censor posts, promote SiteGround, and don’t disclose they work for them). SiteGround’s corruption in Facebook groups is the only reason they’re “endorsed” everywhere.
13. 5 LiteSpeed/Cloud Hosts That Are Better Than GoDaddy
For shared hosting, use LiteSpeed.
You will use the free LiteSpeed Cache plugin which does an excellent job with core web vitals, then use my tutorial to configure the plugin settings. You’ll also use LiteSpeed Cache to setup QUIC.cloud’s CDN which supports full page caching and several other speed/security features.
FastComet, ChemiCloud, NameHero, or Scala are the LiteSpeed hosts I recommend (just whatever you do, don’t use Hostinger). FastComet has the best pricing but uses SATA SSDs. ChemiCloud costs more but most of their data centers use fast NVMe SSDs (they also have a Turbo+ Boost add-on which doubles CPU/RAM to 6 CPU + 6GB RAM)… which means even if you sign up for 3 years, it’s scalable. NameHero and Scala are great for US-based sites and use NVMe SSDs on their US data centers (use NameHero for shared, Scala for cloud). They all use cPanel (except Scala uses sPanel), have at least 2x the inodes as GoDaddy, with better uptimes.
But Tom, why do you use Rocket.net?
Simple. Because they average a <100ms global TTFB since it’s cloud hosting with Cloudflare Enterprise, 32 CPU Cores 128GB RAM, NVMe SSDs, and faster than SiteGround’s cloud hosting, Kinsta, Cloudways, and pretty much any other cloud host. The catch is – they cost more! The lowest plan is $25/mo and has just 50GB bandwidth. But if you’re willing to pay more for what I’ll call the “best/fastest hosting” I’ve used in 10 years of writing hosting reviews, that’s who I use. Since it’s a bigger investment, you should probably read my Rocket.net review beforehand.
You can try them for $1 your first month with code OMM1.
My other reports (like GTmetrix and WP Hosting Benchmarks) on Rocket.net:
Cheers,
Tom
This review seems dated? I have been with GoDaddy for the past two months and their Managed WordPress hosting is amazing and I have tried Hostgator, Bluehost and Siteground before. They offer Cloudflare CDN + WAF on “all” plans and have malware detection “and” removal built-in so they offer the best performance and security I could find in the sub $10/month WordPress hosting market and I did run performance and uptime tests. They consistently came out ahead, close to Siteground but definitely beating the others I tried. Their support was “ok”. Not great but I have experienced worse. They did offer plans with multiple sites as well, not just single site plans. I do like their easy site migration tool and how intuitive their omboarding experience was. Overall, I am super happy with them.
Hey James,
Glad you had a good experience with them. Maybe the review needs a little updating with the firewall. And I’ve also seen GoDaddy’s servers outperform those hosts you mentioned. Maybe you got a good server.
I doubt I’ll ever recommend them though because of their long history of security issues (including the one that just happened in February), malware issues (just because they detect malware doesn’t mean they prevent or remove it), lackluster performance, and Cloudflare + WAF still isn’t great for a CDN. If it had full page caching with APO than maybe.
Instead of comparing them Bluehost/SG/HostGator (which all suck IMO, and two of which are owned by the same parent company Newfold Digital), I try to write my reviews like I’m comparing them to the best possible alternative. In this case, I would say it’s ChemiCloud with LiteSpeed, NVMe SSDs, QUIC.cloud’s CDN with firewall + full page caching, and more resources (cores, RAM, inodes)… which should almost always outperform all 4 of those hosts.
BUT, I do understand everyone has a different experience. Really just depends who you’re comparing them against.
Go Daddy is best for taking domains hostage in very nominal rates. and also provide premium security and backup.
Godaddy is hosting my website and it was compromised even though I have Godaddy premium security and backup. The security did not prevent my website from been compromised and my data was not backed up. I have been trying to get someone on Godaddy to resolve that issue and no one is taking responsibility. I keep getting told I will receive a call back, close to a month now and no one has called and my issue has still not been resolved. For a company that does data storage, it is worrying.
You better AVOID this company since they are not reliable. This become my experience while choosing hosting company. Then, I finally left them and moved my site to Asphostportal. I tested them before committed for long term with them. I tested their backup and it can restore my files 2 weeks old, their support is supportive and helped me to restore it.
Recently, Godaddy took my databases hostage after I threatened to leave.
I used my usual FTP client and no file transactions would work for any file name containing a similar pattern.
Thankfully I foresaw something untoward happening and had made good backups of my databases shortly before.
But what disgusting practices!
But yes, I remember how support used to be awesome at one point and a joy to deal with. The same certainly can’t be said now. They keep bigging up their WhatsApp support which is great if you like fairground rides. You just end up going round and round and round again.
I share Tom´s memories. Also, I never minded GD´s high prices when the knowledgeable friendly people in Arizona he mentions were there. As wait times got longer, services cut, workers became third world call center figures, and yesterday I was on hold 11 minutes before being disconnected, and the suppirt email is dead, I´m just sick and mad as hell that late stage Capitalism treats us all as to feeding tubes to hemorrhage our capital. Microsoft breaking its Office year by year, shoving us onto Cloud, the WWW nothing but paid ads for lixo (Portuguese for garbage), Censored on all social media I´m just fracking sick of it all. This is what facscism looks like: late stage capitalism.
Release a good product, let users grow, then screw them over by lowering the service and pushing more marketing. Definitely the typical cycle of hosting companies :/
I remember GoDaddy taking domains hostage. Dunno if they still do, but what they did is when you search for the availability of domain on godaddy.com, go away then come back, they will take that domain hostage. As in, they will buy it (or pretend to buy it) and the price will now be 2x, 3x, 5x, or more than it previously was. That’s sickening.
That happened to me. I was about the buy mediapr.com and they snagged it as soon as I left the website to think about it.
Would think you shouldn’t need to write this, but it’s a good public service announcement for newcomers that may get duped.
For a chuckle, plug godaddy.sucks into hosting checker or a browser. They know it too. :)
That’s all I wrote it for was a PSA. I don’t see the godaddy.sucks? It just redirects to GoDaddy’s website. I think I remember this though…
Go Daddy is a seriously unscrupulous company, they ransom your web address back to you if you miss your renewal, the ransom slowly increases the longer you don’t pay
Do not use them, I cannot believe they can get away with such criminal methods