GoDaddy vs Site5 – Which One Is Actually Better? [2024]

Apart from being the world’s largest domain registrar, GoDaddy also offers a wide variety of hosting plans to suit almost any needs. Site5 too offers different hosting plans though its plan variety is less than GoDaddy’s. Some may think both providers to be similar but they aren’t. I tested both providers thoroughly on important parameters like features, pricing, performance, etc. GoDaddy emerged as the winner due to its full array of reasonably-priced hosting products that come with user-friendly features, deliver excellent performance, and boast of comprehensive security.

You can read more to find out where GoDaddy shines or you can click here for GoDaddy’s best deals1.

1. Plans and Pricing

GoDaddy has lower signup prices and more plan variety while Site5 has generous refunds and lower renewal prices

GoDaddy offers shared web hosting (Linux/Windows), WordPress hosting, reseller hosting, VPS, and dedicated servers.

From Site5, you’ll get shared hosting, reseller hosting, and fully managed VPS.

GoDaddy’s shared Linux plans are available in 4-tiered pricing with monthly, annual, biennial, and triennial billing cycles. Site5’s shared plans with 3-tiered pricing offer monthly, annual, and biennial payment terms. Both providers offer the cheapest rates with the longest commitment.

Site5’s plans are more expensive than GoDaddy’s with the starting shared plan costing close to twice that of GoDaddy’s (provided you choose the longest term of both). GoDaddy’s renewal prices are much steeper though where its two higher plans cost more than Site5’s similar plans.

GoDaddy’s monthly plans come with a 48-hour refund. Its annual plans offer a standard 30-day money-back guarantee though.

Site5 offers a more generous 45-day money-back guarantee for its shared and reseller hosting plans but for VPS, it’s a 15-day money-back guarantee.

GoDaddy has a wider selection of hosting services and lower signup costs. However, Site5 has lower renewal prices and instills more confidence with its generous money-back guarantee for the shared plans.

2. Features

GoDaddy outshines its competitor with its slightly better features

GoDaddy’s Linux shared plans use CloudLinux OS and cPanel. They offer daily automatic backups, free1-click app installer (to install 125+ applications), SSL certificate (free only for the initial purchase term of the highest plan), SSH access, and free website migration. With its WordPress plans, GoDaddy offers a CDN and pre-built sites plus a drag-and-drop page editor.

Site5’s shared hosting plans come with a centralized Backstage interface to help you access, edit and review your account information. You’ll also get cPanel, nightly backups, Softaculous auto-installer (to install popular applications with a single click including e-commerce apps like osCommerce, CubeCart, and Zen Cart), free migration, and SSH access. If you need Site5 SSL (PositiveSSL/Wildcard) certificates, you’ll have to pay for them. To help you analyze your site’s performance, Site5 also offers AWStats.

To compare GoDaddy and Site5​’s key features, you can check this comparison table below:

With slightly better features that offer more value for money, GoDaddy wins this round.

3. Performance

GoDaddy delivers a 99.9%+ uptime consistently but Site5 falters  

GoDaddy’s datacenters are in Europe, the U.S., and Asia, thus offering you better coverage worldwide.

Your options are limited with Site5 whose servers are located in Dallas, U.S.

GoDaddy uses CloudLinux with its shared plans to improve server stability. With its WordPress hosting plans, you’ll get the Yoast SEO optimizer that helps in optimizing your website for search engines. Thanks to load-balanced servers and CDN (with WordPress), your website load times will get a boost by up to 50%. Every Site5 server uses (at least) Dual E5-2630 Sandy Bridge processors with RAID-10 arrays, 8 cores, and 64 GB RAM.

Due to its better performance, GoDaddy wins this round.

4. Security

GoDaddy’s comprehensive security measures make it race ahead

With GoDaddy, you’ll get rock-solid security. This includes basic features such as free and paid SSL certificates, Cage FS, daily malware scans, and data backups. Additionally, you’ll get advanced features like WAF (web application firewall) that stops and checks incoming data to remove malicious codes while safeguarding your website against damages.

With its dedicated servers, GoDaddy uses RAID-1. You may even use GoDaddy’s paid website security plans that offer advanced DDoS mitigation, brute force attack prevention, brand reputation monitoring, cross-site scripting/injection prevention, and Google blacklist monitoring and removal, among others.

Apart from nightly backups and paid SSL certificates, Site5 uses RAID-10 for data redundancy. It also has malware protection and cleanup service that checks your website actively 24/7 for any phishing, malware, or hacking attempts. If it detects anything, it’ll alert you and proactively clean up your website.

With its comprehensive security features, tools, and packages, GoDaddy has the lead in this round. However, most of these are paid, which is a bit disappointing.

Support

Site5’s quick support is a bit better than GoDaddy’s erratic support

GoDaddy offers 24/7 live chat and phone support but with long wait times, getting answers to your questions may be a lengthy process. This is especially true as the support staff often needs time to check things back while putting your call on hold or asking you to wait on chat, which isn’t helpful. I noticed several GoDaddy hosting reviews on third-party sites complaining about its unreliable support. GoDaddy’s makes up for it somewhat with its comprehensive knowledgebase and community forums where you’ll get adequate self-help.

Site5 offers 24/7 live chat, telephone, and ticket support. I tested the live chat feature and received prompt responses to my inquiries, although the agent took a bit of time to fully comprehend one of my questions, which is not a positive indicator. If you’re looking for self-help options, you can explore Site5’s knowledgebase, which contains 560 articles covering 73 categories.

GoDaddy’s erratic support lags behind Site5’s faster support.

GoDaddy Is Indeed the Right Choice

Despite scoring a tie in the pricing category and being outshined by Site5 in the support category, GoDaddy makes up for it in the other categories (features, performance, and security) to emerge the overall winner. So, I have no hesitation in declaring GoDaddy the winner in this competition.

But if you think neither GoDaddy nor Site5 meets your requirements, you can check the best web hosting services to take your pick.

Comparison Table

FAQ

Is ​GoDaddy better than Site5​?

Yes, GoDaddy is the better choice between the two. It offers more features than Site5 and strong performance, which means you get better value for your money. If you’re not sure which host is right for you, don’t miss our list of ​the best web hosting services​.

Does ​GoDaddy offer WordPress hosting?

​Yes, GoDaddy has specialized WordPress hosting plans, with servers optimized for WordPress and additional features to keep your website running smoothly. But before you make any final decisions, you should check our list of the best managed WordPress hosting providers​.

Does Site5 offer VPS hosting?

Yes, it does offer fully managed SSD VPS, but its plans are a bit pricey. I recommend you read our list of the best cheap VPS hosting services​​ to find a web host that is both reliable and affordable.