Inside this Article 1. Plans and Pricing2. Features3. Performance4. SecuritySupportGoDaddy Is Indeed the Right ChoiceComparison TableFAQ

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 deals.

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 Hosting Web HostingPlan NameStorageBandwidthFree SSLNumber of SitesPricePlan NameStorageBandwidthFree SSLNumber of SitesPriceEconomy – Linux and Windows100 GBunlimited-1$5.99More detailsDeluxe – Linux and Windowsunlimitedunlimited-unlimited$7.99More detailsUltimate – Linux and Windowsunlimitedunlimited+unlimited$12.99More detailsMaximumunlimitedunlimited+unlimited$19.99More detailsMore detailsA Free Domain is included when purchasing any hosting service from GoDaddy Hosting Site5 Web HostingPlan NameStorageBandwidthNumber of SitesPricePlan NameStorageBandwidthNumber of SitesPricehostBasicunlimitedunlimited1$6.95More detailshostProunlimitedunlimitedunlimited$10.95More detailshostPro + Turbounlimitedunlimitedunlimited$13.95More detailsMore details

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.

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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:

GoDaddySite5Hosting TypesShared hosting (Linux and Windows), WordPress hosting, reseller hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated serversShared hosting, reseller hosting, and fully managed VPSFree Domain ✓(conditional)×Free SSL Certificate✓(for initial purchase term of the highest plan)×Disk Space30GB- unlimitedUnmeteredBandwidthUnmeteredUnmeteredAutomatic BackupsDailyNightlyControl PanelcPanelcPanelFree CDN✓(with WordPress hosting)×Free Site Migration✓✓Money-Back Guarantee48-hour (monthly plans) and 30 days (annual plans)30 days

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

See GoDaddy’s Latest Plans

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.

Both web hosts provide a 99.9% uptime guarantee. When I tested my WordPress website hosted with GoDaddy, its actual performance was much better since it consistently maintained a 99.9%+ uptime for most months. You can get the details at this expert GoDaddy review.

Site5’s performance wasn’t the best but it wasn’t the worst either. Many users have complained about hit-or-miss performance with this web host. You can know more about it at this detailed Site5 review.

Due to its better performance, GoDaddy wins this round.

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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.

See GoDaddy’s Best Plans

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 tried its live chat and had quick answers to my queries though the agent took some time to properly understand one of my questions, which isn’t a good sign. For self-help, you can visit Site5’s knowledgebase that has 560 articles spread across 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

GoDaddySite5Plans and PricingCheaper shared hosting (long-term commitment) along with WordPress hosting, reseller hosting, VPS, and dedicated serversPricier shared hosting along with reseller hosting and fully managed VPSKey FeaturesCloudLinux OS, cPanel, free domain (conditional), daily automatic backups, free 1-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; CDN and pre-built sites plus a drag-and-drop page editor (with its WordPress plans)Centralized Backstage, cPanel, nightly backups, Softaculous auto-installer, free migration, SSH access, paid SSL (PositiveSSL/Wildcard) certificates, and AWStatsPerformance99.9% uptime guarantee; uses CloudLinux, Yoast SEO optimizer load-balanced servers, and CDN (the last 3 with its WordPress hosting plans)99.9%  uptime guarantee; uses (at least) Dual E5-2630 Sandy Bridge processors with RAID-10 arrays, 8 cores, and 64 GB RAMSecurityFree and paid SSL certificates, Cage FS, daily malware scans, data backups, WAF, RAID-1 (with dedicated servers), and 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 othersNightly backups, paid SSL certificates, RAID-10, and a malware protection and cleanup serviceSupport24/7 live chat and phone support; comprehensive knowledgebase and community forums  for self-help24/7 live chat, telephone, and ticket support; extensive knowledgebase for self-helpSee Deals >>See Deals >>

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.