Bluehost is cheaper to start: Starter costs $3.99 a month for 36 months and hosts 10 websites, against $5.99 a month for one website on GoDaddy Economy.
GoDaddy suits a small business that wants daily backups, included email, and phone support on its cheapest plan.
Bluehost suits budget WordPress users running several sites who already have email elsewhere.
Both hosts advertise a list of free extras. Some last as long as your plan, and some quietly end after a month or a year.
This comparison sorts out which is which, using each company’s official plan and policy pages, checked on September 25, 2026.
The quick answer: GoDaddy or Bluehost
GoDaddy fits a business that wants email, daily backups, and phone help on one bill, while Bluehost fits anyone who wants the lowest three-year price and room for 10 sites.
Pick GoDaddy if you want email, daily backups, and hosting from one bill. It suits a small business that wants fewer moving parts.
Pick Bluehost if you want the lowest price for three years and room for more sites. It suits WordPress users who already have email elsewhere.
GoDaddy vs Bluehost at a glance
| GoDaddy Economy | Bluehost Starter | |
|---|---|---|
| First-term price | $5.99/mo for 36 months ($215.64) | $3.99/mo for 36 months ($143.64) |
| Price after the first term | $11.99/mo regular price | $9.99/mo on a 36-month renewal |
| Websites | 1 | 10 |
| Storage | 25 GB NVMe | 10 GB NVMe |
| Backups | Automatic daily | Weekly |
| Included (duration not stated) | 1-month Pro Email trial, then $2.99/mo | |
| Phone support | Yes, 24/7 | Not on Starter (from Business up) |
| Uptime commitment | 99.9% | 99.99%, with a 5% monthly credit if missed |
| Current plans and prices | See GoDaddy plans | See Bluehost plans |
Which GoDaddy and Bluehost free extras last, and which expire
GoDaddy Economy lists daily backups and email with no end date, while Bluehost Starter’s email is a one-month trial and its free domain lasts one year.
| Extra | GoDaddy Economy | Bluehost Starter |
|---|---|---|
| Domain | Free domain (terms not detailed on the plan page) | Free for the first year, on 12- or 36-month terms |
| SSL certificate | Free for 1 year | Free SSL |
| Free email, duration not stated | Pro Email free for 1 month, then $2.99/mo | |
| Backups | Automatic daily backups | Weekly website backup |
| CDN | Not listed on Economy | Free CDN |
| Staging and malware scanning | Not listed (site security offered as a trial) | Staging site and malware scanning included |
Plan details come from GoDaddy’s web hosting page and Bluehost’s pricing page.
Three items deserve a closer look.
Email: Bluehost’s Pro Email trial lasts one month, then renews automatically at $2.99 a month unless you cancel. Keeping it for the rest of a three-year term adds about $104.65.
GoDaddy lists free email on every plan. Its plan page doesn’t state how long the email stays free, so check the checkout summary before you pay.
SSL on GoDaddy Economy: An SSL certificate puts the padlock in your visitors’ browser. GoDaddy’s cheapest plan includes one for one year, while Deluxe and Ultimate include free, unlimited SSL.
Before year two, check whether Economy’s certificate renews at a cost. A roundup of hosts with free SSL covers how other hosts handle this.
The free domain: Bluehost’s free domain lasts one year, only on 12- or 36-month terms, and must be claimed within 90 days. After that, you pay the normal renewal price.
GoDaddy marks its free domain with an asterisk but doesn’t spell out the terms on the plan page. How a free domain with hosting usually works is a good guide.
GoDaddy vs Bluehost pricing over three years and after
Over a 36-month first term, Bluehost Starter costs $143.64 and GoDaddy Economy costs $215.64, so Bluehost saves $72 before any add-ons.
| Plan | First 36 months | Price after that | Websites | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GoDaddy Economy | $5.99/mo ($215.64 total) | $11.99/mo regular price | 1 | 25 GB NVMe |
| Bluehost Starter | $3.99/mo ($143.64 total) | $9.99/mo (36-month renewal) | 10 | 10 GB NVMe |
| GoDaddy Deluxe | $7.99/mo ($287.64 total) | $16.99/mo regular price | 10 | 50 GB NVMe |
| Bluehost Business | $6.99/mo ($251.64 total) | $13.99/mo (36-month renewal) | 50 | 50 GB NVMe |
Prices confirmed on September 25, 2026.
Prices change often, so check GoDaddy’s current prices and Bluehost’s current prices before you buy.
GoDaddy shows one regular price per plan and doesn’t break renewals down by term. Bluehost’s renewal price list, updated February 11, 2026, does.
Bluehost Starter renews at $9.99 on a 36-month term, $11.99 on a 12-month term, and $15.99 month to month. Business renews at $13.99, $15.99, and $20.99 on the same terms.
Paying for Bluehost’s Pro Email after the trial cancels the $72 saving. If you need a mailbox at your domain, the two hosts end up close on cost.
GoDaddy Economy hosts one website. Bluehost Starter hosts ten, but with less storage.
Backups: GoDaddy daily vs Bluehost weekly
GoDaddy runs automatic daily backups on all its web hosting plans, while Bluehost’s shared plans list a weekly website backup.
A backup is a saved copy of your site you can restore if something breaks. With weekly backups, a problem could cost you up to a week of changes.
For a store or a site you update daily, that gap matters.
Winner: GoDaddy.
Support and uptime: GoDaddy vs Bluehost
GoDaddy offers 24/7 phone and chat support on every web hosting plan, while Bluehost Starter has 24/7 chat only and adds phone help from its Business plan.
GoDaddy’s hosting page lists a 24/7 phone number and support by phone, chat, and SMS.
Bluehost’s phone line runs from 7 a.m. to midnight Eastern on Business and above.
On uptime, Bluehost promises 99.99% on shared hosting. If it misses that, you can claim a single 5% monthly credit within 30 days. GoDaddy promises 99.9%.
Winner: GoDaddy for support on the entry plan. Bluehost for the stronger uptime promise, though a 5% credit is small.
Data centers and platform changes: GoDaddy vs Bluehost
GoDaddy says its hosting runs in data centers in North America and Europe, while Bluehost announced seven new data center regions in October 2025.
Newfold, Bluehost’s parent company, announced new Bluehost data centers in Frankfurt, Mumbai, São Paulo, Paris, Sydney, London, and Madrid. The announcement doesn’t say whether customers can choose one.
In November 2025, Newfold also said Bluehost is moving all customers to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, with completion expected in 2026.
GoDaddy’s plan page doesn’t say whether you can pick a data center for shared hosting.
Refunds: GoDaddy vs Bluehost, and the free domain
GoDaddy and Bluehost both refund hosting within 30 days, but only GoDaddy covers monthly plans, and only for 48 hours.
GoDaddy refunds hosting within 30 days of purchase, or within 48 hours on monthly plans.
If your plan came with a free domain, GoDaddy deducts the domain’s list price, according to its refund policy.
Bluehost’s refund policy covers new sign-ups on 12- or 36-month terms. Monthly terms aren’t covered, and renewals are refundable only within a 15-day prebill window.
Bluehost also deducts a domain fee if your plan included a free domain.
Winner: GoDaddy, narrowly, because its policy also covers monthly plans. On longer terms, the two are close.
GoDaddy vs Bluehost winners by category
Bluehost wins on three-year cost, sites per plan, SSL, CDN, staging, and uptime terms, while GoDaddy wins on storage, email, backups, entry-level support, and refunds.
| Category | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Three-year cost (entry plan) | Bluehost | $143.64 vs $215.64 on 36-month terms |
| Websites per plan | Bluehost | 10 vs 1 on the cheapest plan |
| Storage (entry plan) | GoDaddy | 25 GB vs 10 GB |
| Email included | GoDaddy | Included on every plan vs a 1-month trial |
| Backups | GoDaddy | Daily vs weekly |
| Support on the entry plan | GoDaddy | 24/7 phone and chat vs chat only |
| Uptime commitment | Bluehost | 99.99% with a credit vs 99.9% |
| SSL | Bluehost at entry, tie above | GoDaddy Economy includes 1 year only |
| CDN and staging | Bluehost | Both included on Starter |
| Refund terms | GoDaddy, narrowly | 48 hours on monthly plans vs none |
Our pick: GoDaddy for a small business that wants email, daily backups, and phone help bundled. Bluehost for anyone focused on low cost and several websites, who already has email.
Which host fits your situation: GoDaddy or Bluehost?
GoDaddy fits local businesses and shops that value daily backups, while Bluehost fits budget WordPress users and people running up to 10 or 50 sites.
If you run a local business and want an email address at your own domain: GoDaddy Economy or Deluxe.
Email and daily backups come with the plan, so there’s one bill to track.
If you’re launching a few WordPress sites on a budget: Bluehost Starter.
Ten sites for $3.99 a month is hard to match, as long as 10 GB of storage is enough.
If you run an online shop: GoDaddy Deluxe, for daily backups, or Bluehost Business, for staging and 50 sites. Weekly backups are a real risk once orders come in daily.
If you manage sites for clients: Bluehost Business hosts 50 sites. For more options, our list of the best hosting for multiple websites compares others.
For a closer look at each company, the GoDaddy review and the Bluehost review cover plans, support, and limits in more depth.
Broader questions about email, security, and growth sit in our small business hosting section.
Ready to check prices? Visit GoDaddy or visit Bluehost to see today’s plans before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
Is GoDaddy better than Bluehost?
It depends on your needs. GoDaddy suits you if you want email, daily backups, and phone help included, and Bluehost if you want 10 sites for less.
Is Bluehost cheaper than GoDaddy?
Yes, before add-ons. Bluehost Starter totals $143.64 for 36 months versus $215.64 for GoDaddy Economy, though paying $2.99 a month for Bluehost email erases most of that gap.
Which includes free email, GoDaddy or Bluehost?
GoDaddy. Its plans list free email, while Bluehost gives a one-month Pro Email trial that then costs $2.99 a month.
Does GoDaddy or Bluehost offer phone support on the cheapest plan?
Only GoDaddy. Economy includes 24/7 phone help, while Bluehost reserves phone support for Business and higher plans.
Which has better uptime terms, GoDaddy or Bluehost?
Bluehost. It promises 99.99% with a 5% monthly credit if missed, against GoDaddy’s 99.9% guarantee.
Can I get a refund from GoDaddy or Bluehost?
Yes, within 30 days on longer terms at both. GoDaddy also refunds monthly plans within 48 hours, which Bluehost doesn’t, and both deduct a free domain’s cost.
How we compared GoDaddy and Bluehost
This comparison uses official sources only. For GoDaddy: its web hosting page and refund policy.
For Bluehost: the pricing page, renewal price list, and refund policy, plus Newfold Digital’s two 2025 announcements.
All prices and terms were checked on September 25, 2026.
Our Methodology and Editorial Guidelines explain how we research hosts and correct errors.
