This is a guide on comparing the three major hosting companies on the web – BlueHost, GoDaddy, and HostGator.
These providers combined host millions on websites around the internet including the one you are reading now.
BlueHost, GoDaddy, and HostGator all strive to keep up with the technological demands of their users by providing the latests web based software for their clients to install.
Since there is little difference in the technology behind these hosts, let’s look at some price comparisons and different options. For ease of comparison, I assumed a minimum of 2 years worth of hosting would be purchased, and divided this by 2 for the yearly cost. This seemed the fairest way to compare.
I’ve also included two cost case scenarios, the first set of pricing highlighting “just the basics” includes what you would need to run a basic informational based website, or blog. The second includes an SSL certificate which is required for eCommerce based websites.
In most cases, if you are setting up an eCommerce website, it’s smart to know this before hand as you will save a lot of money on SSL certificate purchases.
BlueHost
BlueHost is the host I have selected for hosting this blog. They are always responsive to support queries and their cPanel interface makes administration quite simple. Click here to check out BlueHost’s plans and sign up.
Cost Comparison
Just The Basics
| Plan |
Estimated Monthly Cost |
Dedicated IP |
Domain Cost |
Estimated Yearly Cost |
| Standard | $6.95 | $2.50 | 1 free forever domain (no renewal costs) | $113.40 |
Extra Details:
- Additional domains will set you back a flat fee of $10 per domain.
- Bandwidth is unlimited.
- Storage is unlimited.
- SSL certificates purchased via BlueHost cost $45 per year.
With SSL
| Plan |
Estimated Monthly Cost |
Dedicated IP |
Domain Cost |
Estimated Yearly Cost |
| Pro Package Upgrade (purchased afterwards) | $14.95 | Included | 3 free forever domains (no renewal costs) | $179.40 |
Extra Details:
- Additional domains will set you back a flat fee of $10 per domain.
- Bandwidth is unlimited.
- Storage is unlimited.
- SSL certificate is included.
GoDaddy
I’ve used GoDaddy in the past for hosting basic websites. Their support is quite good and in particular when I have contacted them attempting to install various web software systems and they were more than happy to help me sort it out. Click here to check out GoDaddy’s plans and sign up.
Cost Comparison
Just The Basics
| Plan |
Estimated Monthly Cost |
Dedicated IP |
Domain Cost |
Estimated Yearly Cost |
| Deluxe Plan | $6.29 | $2.99 | $1.99 (when purchased with hosting) | $113.35 |
Extra Details:
- Additional domains will set you back $9.99+ per domain.
- Bandwidth is restricted to 10GB per month.
- Storage is restricted to 300GB.
- SSL certificates purchased via GoDaddy cost $29.99 per year.
With SSL
| Plan |
Estimated Monthly Cost |
Dedicated IP |
Domain Cost |
Estimated Yearly Cost |
| Unlimited Plan | $13.49 | Included | $1.99 (when purchased with hosting) | $163.87 |
Extra Details:
- Additional domains will set you back $9.99+ per domain.
- Bandwidth is unlimited.
- Storage is unlimited.
- SSL certificate is included.
HostGator
HostGator uses a similar back end to BlueHost so making the switch from one to the other wouldn’t be too much of a leap. I personally haven’t trailled HostGator, but I hear mostly positive things. Click here to check out HostGator’s plans and sign up.
Cost Comparison
Just The Basics
| Plan |
Estimated Monthly Cost |
Dedicated IP |
Domain Cost |
Estimated Yearly Cost |
| Baby Plan | $7.95 | $2.00 | $15.00 | $134.40 |
Extra Details:
- Additional domains will set you back a flat fee of $15 per domain.
- Bandwidth is unlimited.
- Storage is unlimited.
- SSL certificates purchased via HostGator cost $75 per year.
With SSL
| Plan |
Estimated Monthly Cost |
Dedicated IP |
Domain Cost |
Estimated Yearly Cost |
| Business Plan | $12.95 | Included | $15.00 | $170.40 |
Extra Details:
- Additional domains will set you back a flat fee of $15 per domain.
- Bandwidth is unlimited.
- Storage is unlimited.
- SSL certificate is included.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it looks as though it depends on what your designing the site for. The impact of SSL certificate purchasing makes the choice a little harder, so if you’re planning an eCommerce site, you need to factor this cost in.
This guide was intended just as a impartial look at the “big three” hosting companies. There are plenty of good smaller hosts available that provide more personalised or dedicated services. Please suggest some in the comments below if you have positive experiences.
I find these three hosts in particular are good for DIY websites where you aren’t setting up anything that needs high availability, or constant support contact.
Obviously from the numbers, GoDaddy appears to be the cheapest, but this shouldn’t be the only thing you consider. Other factors such as support responsiveness, ease of use from an administrative side, accessibility and downtime all play a part.
[...] an in-depth comparison on which hosting company to go for, check out my post comparing BlueHost, GoDaddy, and HostGator. var addthis_pub = 'jkohlbach'; var addthis_language = 'en';var addthis_options = 'twitter, digg, [...]
Most of these codes (anything that ends in 1,2,or 3) expired 6-16-09.
Here are the Go daddy coupon codes I found that all work.
ZINE7 – $7.49 .com domains and renewals
ZINE6 – $5 discount on all orders of $30+
ZINE5 – 10% off anything
ZINE25 – $25 off on any $100 or more order
The Zine godaddy discount codes are going to be working through mid-2010, so please feel free to
reblog these newly active replacement coupons. I know a lot of online people and internet
marketers that type domain name based Seo tactics for creating backlinks, ecommerce platforms,
etc. I’ve looked all over and these are the best Godaddy.com coupon codes out there for .com
domains, domain renewals or any other web development need.
Excellent, thanks hoover. I didn’t take into account discount codes in the above comparison, but it’s definitely worth a search around the place as it can save you a few extra dollars.