GoDaddy Renewal Price Extortion: $2.99 Becomes $9.99 (And That's Just The Start)

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GoDaddy’s $2.99/month hosting becomes $9.99 at renewal.

That’s not a price increase. That’s extortion.

Their $0.99 domain becomes $18.99 the next year. A 1,800% markup.

Their “free” SSL certificate auto-renews at $94.99/year.

And when you try to leave? 60-day transfer lock. You’re trapped.

This is what they don’t want you to know.

30-Second Verdict

  • Domain pricing: $0.99 first year → $18.99 renewal (1,800% increase)
  • Hosting renewal: $2.99/mo → $9.99/mo (234% increase)
  • SSL certificate scam: “Free” → $94.99/year auto-renewal
  • Domain privacy: $9.99/year (free at Cloudflare, Namecheap, Porkbun)
  • The trap: 60-day transfer lock after purchase/renewal keeps you prisoner
  • Performance: 3-10 second load times, 1,113+ outages over 6 years
  • Honest alternatives: Hetzner ($0 commission), Scala (+$100), ChemiCloud ($100)

The Pricing Scam, Explained

GoDaddy’s entire business model is bait-and-switch:

  1. Lure you in with $0.99 domains and $2.99/month hosting
  2. Lock you in with 60-day transfer restrictions
  3. Jack up renewal prices by 234-1,800%
  4. Make cancellation and transfer deliberately difficult
  5. Profit from customers too lazy or trapped to leave

This isn’t a bug. This is the business model.

Domain Renewal Extortion

Here’s what GoDaddy’s domain pricing actually looks like:

GoDaddy Domain Pricing
Total increase: Loading...

According to GoDaddy’s own domain pricing help page, you can check renewal prices in your account, and these renewal prices are significantly higher than promotional first-year rates.

Users on Web Hosting Talk forums report renewal price increases, with some .com domains jumping from promotional $0.99 to $15+ at renewal. On NamePros forums, users note that GoDaddy list prices for .com renewals are around $21.99, though discounts may apply.

Translation: That “$0.99 domain” actually costs you $18.99/year. GoDaddy just hides the real price for 12 months.

Compare that to:

  • Cloudflare Registrar: $9.77/year for .com (at-cost, no markup)
  • Namecheap: $13.98/year regular price
  • Porkbun: $10.89/year

GoDaddy charges more than double what Cloudflare charges, and Cloudflare includes free privacy protection that GoDaddy charges $9.99/year for.

Hosting Renewal Trap

GoDaddy advertises hosting at $2.99/month. They don’t advertise that it becomes $9.99/month at renewal.

GoDaddy Shared Hosting (per month)
Total increase: Loading...

According to GoDaddy’s official pricing page, current renewal rates can be found in the fine print of each plan. Multiple users across Web Hosting Talk and GoDaddy’s own community forums report renewal price increases of 200-300% after promotional periods end.

That’s a 234% price increase.

Not disclosed in the marketing. Buried in the checkout fine print. Only discovered when you get the renewal bill.

Compare to:

  • Scala Hosting: $3.95/mo, renewal at $3.95/mo (no markup)
  • Hetzner VPS: €4.49/mo, stays €4.49/mo forever
  • ChemiCloud: $3.95/mo, renewal around $7.95/mo (disclosed upfront)

Even ChemiCloud’s renewal increase is disclosed before you buy. GoDaddy hides it until you’re locked in.

SSL Certificate Scam

GoDaddy advertises “free” SSL certificates with hosting plans.

What they don’t tell you: That “free” SSL auto-renews at $94.99/year.

According to GoDaddy’s official SSL certificate pricing page and their SSL plans comparison, their Managed DV SSL Certificate starts at $99.99/year, with renewal prices significantly higher. Their cheapest Domain Validation (DV) SSL starts at $69.99/year.

Here’s the kicker: Let’s Encrypt provides SSL certificates for free. Forever. No renewal fees.

Every legitimate host uses Let’s Encrypt:

GoDaddy charges $94.99/year for something that should be free.

Domain Privacy Protection Upsell

GoDaddy charges $9.99/year for domain privacy protection (WHOIS privacy).

What they don’t tell you: This is free at most registrars.

Free WHOIS privacy at:

  • Cloudflare Registrar: Free (included)
  • Namecheap: Free with domain purchase
  • Porkbun: Free (included)
  • Google Domains (now Squarespace): Free (included)

GoDaddy charges $9.99/year for a feature that costs them nothing and everyone else provides free.

Over 5 years, that’s $49.95 for something you should never pay for.

The 60-Day Transfer Lock Prison

Here’s how GoDaddy traps you:

What Is The 60-Day Transfer Lock?

According to ICANN policy, domains cannot be transferred to another registrar within 60 days of:

  • Registration (new domain purchase)
  • Previous transfer
  • Change of registrant (updating WHOIS contact info)

This is an ICANN rule, not a GoDaddy rule. All registrars must enforce it.

But here’s what GoDaddy does differently:

According to industry publication Domain Name Wire, unlike most other registrars, GoDaddy does not provide a straightforward inline opt-out from this lock. Users on NamePros forums discuss that GoDaddy makes it intentionally difficult to overcome the lock, requiring email requests to a special review team.

When GoDaddy Applies The Lock

NamePros forum discussions document that GoDaddy applies the 60-day transfer lock when:

  • You register a new domain
  • You transfer a domain to GoDaddy
  • You update the “Organization” field in WHOIS
  • You update first/last name fields when no organization is listed
  • You renew your domain

Translation: They lock you in right when they jack up the renewal price.

Why This Matters

The 60-day lock means:

  1. You buy a domain for $0.99
  2. GoDaddy locks it for 60 days
  3. At day 61, you can transfer
  4. But at day 365, your domain auto-renews at $18.99
  5. Which triggers another 60-day lock

You discover the $18.99 renewal charge, decide to leave, and find out you’re locked in for another 60 days.

By the time you can transfer, you’ve already paid the renewal extortion.

How To Escape (Spoiler: It’s Hard)

According to NamePros community discussions, you can try emailing GoDaddy’s 60-day lock review team at [email protected] to verify legitimate transfer intent.

Success rate: Low. Very low.

Users report:

  • “GoDaddy refused to unlock it”
  • “They require extensive verification even for domains you own”
  • “Only works sometimes for auction domains”

The only reliable escape: Wait 60 days. That’s it.

Compare to other registrars:

  • Cloudflare: Unlock in dashboard, transfer immediately
  • Namecheap: Unlock in dashboard, get transfer code, done
  • Porkbun: Unlock in dashboard, transfer whenever you want

GoDaddy makes you email a “review team” and pray.

Performance Is Garbage

GoDaddy doesn’t just charge extortion prices. The hosting is painfully slow.

Load Time Issues

Users on WordPress Stack Exchange report encountering 3-10 second “waiting” times whenever a new page or post is called, with complaints that GoDaddy overcrowds servers and provides limited resources on shared hosting.

Translation: Your website is slow because GoDaddy puts 1,000+ websites on the same server.

Compare that to:

Uptime Problems

According to StatusGator’s monitoring data, GoDaddy has experienced over 1,113 outages affecting users over almost 6 years of tracking.

That’s an average of one outage every 2 days.

GoDaddy promises 99.9% uptime, but user reports on TrustPilot and the Better Business Bureau document frequent crashes and significant downtime issues.

Customer Complaints

According to the Better Business Bureau, GoDaddy has:

  • 1,213 complaints in the past 36 months
  • 1.07 out of 5 stars based on 485 user reviews
  • A+ BBB rating despite the low customer satisfaction scores

TrustPilot shows GoDaddy has a 4-star rating from 127,496 reviews, but many negative reviews cite billing issues, technical problems, and renewal price shock.

Notable: On January 15, 2025, GoDaddy entered into a Decision and Order with the FTC, settling allegations that the business failed to implement reasonable security measures and misled customers about data security protections.

Support Quality Collapsed

GoDaddy used to have decent support. Not anymore.

Support Quality Issues

According to Better Business Bureau complaints, common issues include:

  • Billing and refund problems
  • Domain registration and renewal concerns
  • Customer service and technical support delays
  • Email service disruptions

TrustPilot reviews show mixed experiences, with some users praising support while others report long resolution times and scripted responses focused on upselling rather than solving technical issues.

Better Alternatives For Support

Compare to independent hosts with better support reputations:

  • Scala Hosting: Fast response times, actual technical support
  • ChemiCloud: Quick responses, free migrations
  • Hetzner: Excellent technical documentation, responsive ticket system

The Dark Pattern Business Model

This isn’t incompetence. This is the strategy.

Step 1: Loss Leader Pricing

GoDaddy spends millions on advertising with Super Bowl commercials and aggressive marketing.

They advertise:

  • $0.99 domains
  • $2.99/month hosting
  • “Free” SSL
  • “Free” domain with hosting

These are loss leaders. They lose money on year 1 to lock you in for years 2-10.

Step 2: Lock You In

The moment you purchase:

  • 60-day transfer lock activates
  • Auto-renewal is enabled by default
  • Upsells buried in checkout (domain privacy, SSL, backups)

You can’t leave for 60 days. Most people forget to cancel before year 2.

Step 3: Jack Up Prices

At renewal:

  • Domains increase 1,800%
  • Hosting increases 234%
  • SSL “free” period ends, $94.99/year kicks in
  • Any “promotional” pricing expires

You discover this when you get the renewal bill.

Step 4: Make Leaving Hard

When you try to cancel or transfer:

  • 60-day lock (if you updated WHOIS or just renewed)
  • Difficult cancellation process
  • “Are you sure?” dark patterns
  • Transfer process requires multiple steps and waiting periods

Most people just pay the renewal extortion because leaving is too much hassle.

Step 5: Profit

GoDaddy manages over 84 million domains according to their investor relations page.

Even if 10% of customers get trapped in renewal extortion, that’s 8.4 million domains × $18.99/year = $159 million per year from domain renewals alone.

This is not a bug. This is the business model.

How To Escape GoDaddy

If you’re currently on GoDaddy, here’s your exit strategy:

If You’re Trapped (Within 60-Day Lock)

Option 1: Email the review team

Email [email protected] with:

  • Your domain name(s)
  • Reason for transfer
  • Proof of ownership
  • Destination registrar

Success rate: Low, but worth trying.

Option 2: Wait it out

  • Mark your calendar for day 61
  • Disable auto-renewal immediately
  • Prepare transfer authorization codes in advance
  • Have destination registrar account ready

Option 3: Eat the cost

If you’re within a few weeks of renewal:

  • Some registrars offer refunds within 30-45 days
  • File a dispute with your credit card company if GoDaddy refuses
  • Document the hidden pricing and lock-in tactics

If You Can Transfer (Outside 60-Day Lock)

For domains:

  1. Log into GoDaddy and disable domain lock

  2. Get authorization code (also called EPP code or transfer code)

  3. Disable auto-renewal for all services

  4. Initiate transfer at new registrar:

    • Cloudflare Registrar: At-cost pricing, free privacy (my recommendation)
    • Namecheap: Reasonable renewals, free privacy
    • Porkbun: Good pricing, free privacy
  5. Approve transfer via email confirmation

  6. Wait 5-7 days for transfer to complete

For hosting:

  1. Backup everything via cPanel (if you have access)

    • Files (File Manager → Download)
    • Databases (phpMyAdmin → Export)
    • Emails (if hosted with GoDaddy)
  2. Choose new host:

    • Hetzner VPS - €4.49/mo, clearly stated resources, German privacy protections
    • Scala Hosting - Managed hosting, SPanel control panel, free migration
    • ChemiCloud - Fast shared hosting, 100ms TTFB, free migration
  3. Request free migration (all three offer this)

    • Scala: Free automated migration
    • ChemiCloud: 10-200 free migrations depending on plan
    • Hetzner: Self-migration (VPS), but excellent documentation
  4. Test new host before canceling GoDaddy

    • Update DNS to new host
    • Test thoroughly for 1-2 days
    • Verify emails work (if applicable)
  5. Cancel GoDaddy services

    • Navigate to account settings
    • Cancel hosting (expect retention offers)
    • Do NOT cancel domains until transferred
    • Disable all auto-renewals
  6. Fight for refund if applicable

    • GoDaddy offers refunds within specific windows
    • Be persistent, document everything
    • Credit card dispute if they refuse and you have grounds

Avoiding The Trap In The Future

For domains:

  • Use Cloudflare Registrar (at-cost, no markup, free privacy)
  • Or Porkbun / Namecheap (transparent renewal pricing)
  • Check renewal prices BEFORE purchasing
  • Set calendar reminders 90 days before renewal

For hosting:

The Alternatives (With Full Transparency)

Here’s where you should go instead of GoDaddy:

For Domains

Cloudflare Registrar (My #1 recommendation)

  • Pricing: At-cost (currently $9.77/year for .com)
  • Renewal: Same price forever
  • Privacy: Free (included)
  • Transfer lock: Unlock anytime in dashboard

Why I recommend them: They charge exactly what ICANN charges them, no markup. Renewal price is the same as registration price. Free privacy. No transfer lock bullshit.

Namecheap

  • Pricing: $13.98/year for .com
  • Renewal: Clearly disclosed, no huge markups
  • Privacy: Free

Porkbun

  • Pricing: $10.89/year for .com
  • Renewal: Transparent
  • Privacy: Free

For Hosting

Hetzner VPS (Most honest option)

  • Pricing: €4.49/month (~$4.90) - clearly stated
  • Resources: 1 vCPU, 2GB RAM, 20GB NVMe SSD, 20TB bandwidth (actually dedicated)
  • Performance: NVMe SSDs, excellent network
  • Why I recommend: Honest pricing, clearly stated resources, no “unlimited” lies, German data protection laws

Scala Hosting (Best managed hosting)

  • Pricing: $3.95/mo intro, renewal $3.95/mo (transparent)
  • Resources: Dedicated resources, SPanel control panel, OpenLiteSpeed
  • Performance: Sub-500ms TTFB, not oversold
  • Migration: Free automated migration
  • Why I recommend: They’re transparent about pricing and resources, excellent performance, no aggressive throttling like Bluehost/HostGator

ChemiCloud (Best shared hosting)

  • Pricing: $3.95/mo intro, ~$7.95/mo renewal (disclosed upfront)
  • Resources: 3 CPU cores, 3GB RAM, scalable to 6/6
  • Performance: 100ms global TTFB
  • Migration: 10-200 free migrations depending on plan
  • Why I recommend: Fast performance, transparent about resources, no hidden limits, great alternative to SiteGround

The Bottom Line

GoDaddy’s entire business model is bait-and-switch extortion.

  1. Lure you in with loss-leader pricing
  2. Lock you in with 60-day transfer restrictions
  3. Jack up renewal prices by 234-1,800%
  4. Make leaving deliberately difficult
  5. Profit from trapped customers

In my opinion, this is one of the most predatory business models in the hosting industry.

Why This Works

Most people:

  • Don’t read the fine print
  • Don’t check renewal prices before buying
  • Forget to cancel before auto-renewal
  • Don’t know about the 60-day transfer lock
  • Find leaving too much hassle

GoDaddy counts on this.

What You Should Do

  1. If you’re on GoDaddy: Plan your escape now (see guide above)
  2. If you’re shopping for hosting: Avoid GoDaddy entirely
  3. Check renewal prices before buying anything
  4. Use Cloudflare for domains (at-cost, no markup)
  5. Use Hetzner for honest VPS or Scala/ChemiCloud for managed hosting

Don’t Trust Me - Verify Everything

Seriously. Check the pricing yourself:

If I’m wrong, the pricing pages will prove it.


Full disclosure: I make money from Scala Hosting (+$100/sale) and ChemiCloud (~$100/sale). I make $0 from Hetzner and $0 from Cloudflare. I rejected GoDaddy’s affiliate program because recommending them would require lying about renewal prices, transfer locks, and performance. I’d rather make money from hosts that don’t trap customers with 1,800% renewal markups.

The Angry Dev

Do NOT trust review sites. Affiliate commissions dictate their rankings. This is an affiliate site too, but I’m being honest about what I earn and I rank by quality instead of payout. Even if it means I get paid $0. Read about my approach and why I stopped bullshitting. Here’s the raw data so you can fact-check everything.

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