Businesses trust GoDaddy with their websites as an astounding 77 million domain names are managed by GoDaddy.com. This makes it the largest domain name registrar on the Internet, but there are better and cheaper GoDaddy alternatives ⇣ out there.
Quick summary:
- Best overall: Bluehost ⇣ is one of the cheapest hosting providers on the market offering beginner friendly and quality web hosting. Domain name registration is included for free when you buy a web hosting plan.
- Runner-up, Best overall: Namecheap ⇣ is the best domain name registration alternative to GoDaddy, the main reason is because Namecheap offers WHOIS Privacy protection for free with all their domain names.
- Most secure GoDaddy domains alternative: Domains.Google ⇣ is the most secure and reliable option. Domains.Google is Google’s domain name registrar for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
- Deal
Price:
Businesses trust GoDaddy with their websites and although there's a lot that is good with GoDaddy, there are some things that might have you looking for an alternative to the famous domain registrar.
One such thing is higher domain name renewal prices. GoDaddy charges you a lot less for the first year than it does for renewals. It sounds like a discount but ends up costing you much more than most other domain name registrars.
Best GoDaddy alternatives in 2021
GoDaddy is one of the most popular domain names and web hosting services. Here are the best GoDaddy alternatives that are both better and cheaper.
The best GoDaddy alternatives and competitor sites right now.
1. Bluehost.com (all in one domain name, web hosting and blog)
- Official website: www.bluehost.com
- Trusted by hundreds of thousands of businesses around the world.
- Domain name comes free when you buy an annual web hosting plan.
- One of the highest rated support teams in the industry.
Why Use Bluehost Instead of GoDaddy
If your website runs on WordPress, then there's no one better in business than Bluehost. They have won numerous awards for support and are one of the recommended hosts on the official WordPress.org website.
Why Use GoDaddy Instead of Bluehost
If you run a business that is growing really fast, then you should go with GoDaddy. Bluehost's services are more suitable for small businesses and professional bloggers.
2. Namecheap.com (includes free WHOIS privacy)
- Official website: www.namecheap.com
- One of the most popular domain registrars on the Internet. Namecheap is the best alternative to GoDaddy.
- All domains from Namecheap.com come with free WHOIS domain privacy. Other domain name registrars including GoDaddy charge extra for this.
- Has been in business since year 2001.
Why Use Namecheap Instead of GoDaddy
Unlike GoDaddy, Namecheap offers WHOIS Privacy protection for free with all their domain names. And Unlike GoDaddy, Namecheap offers renewals at the same price as when you buy your domain.
Why Use GoDaddy Instead of Namecheap
Namecheap is known only as a domain name registrar, but they do offer web hosting as well. If you want the best in running your online small business and want to be able to manage everything in one place like hosting, emails, ecommerce – then go with GoDaddy.
3. HostGator.com (cheapest domain name and hosting combination)
- Official website: www.hostgator.com
- All annual shared web hosting plans come with a free domain name that renews every year for free with your subscription.
- Offers all types of web hosting services including Shared Hosting, VPS Hosting, and Managed WordPress Hosting.
Why Use HostGator Instead of GoDaddy
If you just want to run a blog or a small news site, then HostGator is the way to go. Whether you are running a boutique bicycle repair shop or a news site that gets millions of visitors, HostGator can handle it all.
Why Use GoDaddy Instead of HostGator
If you want to be able to easily scale your website to millions of visitors, then GoDaddy is the best choice. Their clients include local boutique shops to big brands.
4. Hostinger.com (cheap web hosting)
- Official website: www.hostinger.com
- The Hostinger has made a name for themselves by offering the cheapest web hosting plans.
- Plans starting from only $1.96 per month.
- All annual web hosting plans come with a free domain name.
Why Use Hostinger Instead of GoDaddy
If you are just starting out and want the cheapest web hosting prices, go with Hostinger. Although they are popular for cheap web hosting, it doesn't mean that their web hosting services can't compete with other big players on this list.
Why Use GoDaddy Instead of Hostinger
If you don't like to compromise quality for money, then Hostinger might not be the best web host for your business.
5. Domains.Google (domain names registered with Google)
- Official website: www.domains.google
- Want Google's security and reliability? Domains.Google is Google's domain name service for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
- Manage all the applications including Google Drive and Gmail for your business from one account.
Why Use Google Domains Instead of GoDaddy
Although Google Domains is not as popular as most of the other domain name providers on this list, their domain name service is trusted by thousands of businesses around the world.
Google's aim with all its services including Google Domains is to make setting up and running a website easy for business owners. If you are looking for an easy way to set up and manage your website, then you can count on the simplicity of Google's domain name services.
Why Use GoDaddy Instead of Google Domains
If you want to be able to manage everything including your web hosting accounts and domain names all under one website, then go with GoDaddy.
6. Dynadot.com (good alternative to GoDaddy)
- Official website: www.dynadot.com
- One of the oldest domain name registrars on the Internet founded in 2002.
- Offer free WHOIS privacy protection included in the base price of all their domains.
- Free Website Builder offered with all domains to allow you to build professional-looking websites within minutes.
Why Use Dynadot Instead of GoDaddy
If you want WHOIS privacy protection included in the price of your domain name, then go with Dynadot. WIth Dynadot, you aren't limited to just the free website builder; you can also host your website on a VPS server right from the same dashboard.
Why Use GoDaddy Instead of Dynadot
GoDaddy offers a wider range of services and products, which can be helpful when scaling your business.
7. DreamHost.com (trusted provider)
- Official website: www.dreamhost.com
- One of the most recommended web hosts for Bloggers and Entrepreneurs just starting out.
- All the annual shared hosting plans come with a free domain name that renews every year with your subscription.
- The support team is one of the best in the industry.
Why Use DreamHost Instead of GoDaddy
DreamHost is known for their great support team and has been the PCMag Editors Choice winner 4 years in a row. With DreamHost, you can choose vanilla shared hosting or go with a Managed WordPress hosting plan. DreamHost pricing plans and offerings can easily scale with your business.
Why Use GoDaddy Instead of DreamHost
If you want more than just web hosting and a domain name, go with GoDaddy. GoDaddy offers everything from Premium SSL certificates to Email Marketing Services.
8. Domain.com (been around for years)
- Official website: www.domain.com
- The company owns Domain.com domain name.
- Has been in business since the year 2000.
Why Use Domain.com Instead of GoDaddy
Their aim with their service offerings is to simplify the process of owning a website and make it as easy as possible. And to make it a reality, they offer a free website builder to help you publish your first site within minutes without hiring a web designer.
Why Use GoDaddy Instead of Domain.com
What I don't like about this registrar is that unlike most of the others on this list, they don't offer WHOIS privacy protection for free with their domains. You have to pay for it separately for all your domains.
If you want to be able to manage everything your website needs from one place, then go with GoDaddy.
What is GoDaddy
GoDaddy is one of the most trusted and known domain name registrars on the Internet. Their platform is where you go to buy a domain name for your website. If your website is Facebook, then your domain name will be Facebook.com.
Benefits of GoDaddy
The biggest benefit of going with GoDaddy is that they provide a wide variety of services. When you buy a domain from GoDaddy.com, you get to access all the other services required to run a website from one place.
They offer everything from web hosting, website building tools, ecommerce software, email hosting to premium enterprise-level SSL certificates.
Best GoDaddy Alternatives – Summary
Is GoDaddy the best option?
Although I like GoDaddy's services and I have been a customer for years, one of the things I don't like about them is that their renewal prices are much higher than the sign-up prices.
And unlike a lot of the domain registrars above, they don't offer WHOIS privacy protection for free. As I have covered here there are a couple of good GoDaddy alternatives out there for domain registration and web hosting.
If you are just starting out, I recommend going with Namecheap because of the free WhoisGuard domain privacy protection, or Bluehost as they have one of the best support teams in the industry and are one of the most recommended web hosts for beginners.
They are even recommended by the official WordPress.org community site.
- Deal
Price:
