Both Namecheap and GoDaddy are the market giants in the web hosting industry. As we know that GoDaddy has gained popularity through advertising, but its ranking has been going down for the past few years.
That is not happening because other companies are gaining popularity. It is happening because GoDaddy is comparatively expensive.
Whereas, NameCheap is becoming popular day by day. It is very difficult to compare which is the best hosting provider company among these two.
But we will do a quick comparison between NameCheap and GoDaddy in terms of Pricing, Uptime and speed, Security, and lots more.
Price
Namecheap
NameCheap is the cheapest shared hosting service provider in the market. They are trying to keep their services affordable so that anyone can enjoy their services.
Besides, their pricing plans and renewal policies are completely transparent. Moreover, they are offering you a 30-days money-back guarantee as well.
NameCheap has a new set of plans that includes three pricing plans. All the pricing plans include some common features like unlimited bandwidth, free website builder, domain name privacy protection, Free automatic SSL installation, and so on. The renewal price is also affordable. Though the price is low, the service will keep the standard.
The three pricing plans are
Stellar
Stellar costs $1.44/month. You can add up to 3 websites. Besides, you will get 20 GB in disk space, 50 databases, and 30 email accounts. It has only a few services that you can compare with other plans.
Stellar Plus
Stellar Plus costs $1.88/month. Here, you can add unlimited domains. No only that, you will get Unlimited disk space, databases, and email accounts. It is the most popular pricing plan of NameCheap.
Stellar Business
The Stellar Business costs $4.44/month. Here you will get personal name servers, priority support and 50GB in disk space.
GoDaddy
There are many hosting provider companies these days who promise for a free sign up and offer low prices when you are about to start. But when you are at the final stage to check out, it looks higher than they are offering.
It is sad, but it is true for GoDaddy. They are charging so high for renewals. There might be hidden charges as well.
GoDaddy is currently offering four pricing plans. They are the Economy plan, Deluxe, the Ultimate, and the Maximum plan.
Economy Plan
The Economy Plan costs $4.49/month. The renewal fee will be $8.99/month. In this plan, an user can add only 1 website. Besides, this plan includes, 100 GB Storage, Unmetered bandwidth, Free Office 365 Email – 1st year, and 1 free domain.
Deluxe Plan
The Deluxe plan has come up with more space and flexibility for multiple websites.. This plan costs $7.49/month. The renewal price will be $11.99/month.
It is offering all the features of the Economy plan. Besides, it will give you unlimited storage and subdomains. Not only that, here you can add unlimited websites.
Ultimate Plan
The Ultimate plan costs $8.49/month. It is the popular hosting plan of GoDaddy. They are offering all the Deluxe features plus 2x processing power & memory, Free SSL Certificate for 1 year, Free Premium DNS, and Unlimited databases.
Maximum Plan
The Maximum plan costs $19.99/month. This plan supports multiple complex sites with high-res photos and videos. They are offering all the Ultimate plan features plus 2x more power and memory, 2x Maximum site traffic, Free SSL Certificate for lifetime.
Result
As you can see the pricing of NameCheap starts from $1.44/month and the highest plan costs $4.44/month. Whereas, the price of GoDaddy starts from $4.49/month to $19.99/month.
After the renewal the cost of GoDaddy’s plans will increase. Where the prices of NameCheap still remain the same. However, GoDaddy is not offering any new features or better performance after renewal. So, the extra amount will be a waste of money.
So, we think in terms of Price, NameCheap is a clear winner.
Uptime and Speed
Namecheap
If you are done comparing the price, the next step is to compare the Uptime and Speed. NameCheap has 99.9% uptime. They always ensure to keep the uptime rate consistent.
Sometimes the speed of Namecheap fluctuates. It is not up to the mark.
GoDaddy
GoDaddy is committed to offer better speed than other hosting providers. They are offering 99.97% uptime and unlimited Bandwidth. The usual speed is around 517 ms.
Result
Though the uptime of Namecheap is better. But in terms of speed GoDaddy is a clear winner.
The Domain interface or DNS Manager
Namecheap
If you want to configure your domain name, an easy interface is important. On the DNS manager page you have so many options such as setting up an email, routing your DNS hosting, subdomain setup, and so on.
While using Namecheap you will see all the options on the sidebar of its webpage. Everything is organized and easy to find out. However, namecheap is offering custom names.
GoDaddy
The domain interface of GoDaddy is complicated. They have included unnecessary options that are not needed. They have added all the options of upselling email or hosting. It will distract you and make it difficult to find what you are looking for. Besides, they don’t have custom DNS as well.
Result
When you need to configure your domain name, it is important to find an user-friendly DNS manager. I think in this case, NameCheap is the winner. They have created an user-friendly interface where everything is perfectly organized.
Whereas, GoDaddy has made it complicated.
cPanel
Namecheap
Namecheap is offering you a standard cPanel. It is available in all hosting plans except dedicated plans.Besides, some of its plans also include WHMCS features too.
GoDaddy
GoDaddy is offering an user-friendly cPanel to monitor and control your websites.
Result
For me, it is a tie. Both of them have an User-friendly cPanel.
Shared Hosting Services
Namecheap
Namecheap is a popular and affordable domain registrar. But when we talk about shared hosting, it is also a giant in the hosting industry. Namecheap is offering the cheapest shared hosting ever.
The are also using cloud-based hosting on their Managed WordPress Plans.
Namecheap has a free website builder. But they will take backup and make updates of WordPress for free.
They have the more powerful VPS plans for you as well.
GoDaddy
On the other hand, GoDaddy has a limited range of hosting plans for its clients. They do not have any kind of cloud hosting or managed cloud hosting plans.
Result
NameCheap is a clear winner in terms of Shared Hosting services. They are offering the hosting services at a least possible price. All of its pricing is completely transparent. There is no hidden charge but it is fulfilled with numerous features.
Whereas, GoDaddy is charging high from its customers but have a limited hosting plans for its clients.
Upsells
Namecheap
Namecheap is offering upsell for one-page websites. If you are creating an e-commerce website, you will get an upsell for a SSL Package at a discounted rate.
GoDaddy
It is a business policy that every company is offering upsells to promote its business. GoDaddy is also offering the same. But it is unfortunate that they are not offering any upsells for basic lower rate plans.
Result
I would prefer Namecheap here. Because they are concerned about its client. They are offering so many features that other companies don’t. Though both of them are offering upsells here but Namecheap is offering upsales in all of its plans and GoDaddy is not.
Security
Namecheap
When we think of creating an online existence, the first thing that strikes our mind is the security. NameCheap customers can protect their personal information via WhoisGuard Privacy Protection feature.
It is a complimentary gift from Namecheap. It will be applicable since you have started its free trial and it will be available until you left using Namecheap. It means this feature is free for lifetime.
GoDaddy
Whereas, in GoDaddy there will be no protection features available. It has included an SSL certificate on its plans. But GoDaddy will charge you for the security features on a monthly basis.
Result
In terms of Security, Namecheap is a way ahead than GoDaddy. Namecheap is always concerned about its users and providing the best possible service at such a price that anyone can afford it.
Migration Policy
Namecheap
If you want to migrate your website to Namecheap, they will do it for free. When you decide to migrate on Namecheap and ask their assistance, they will tell you to relax and will do everything on your behalf.
GoDaddy
It is very sad that GoDaddy does not have a free website migration policy. They will charge you around $99.99 USD for every website and it will take approximately 7 to 10 business days.
Result
Everybody knows that website migration is not an easy task and it takes time. Charging money for website migration is nothing bad. But charging around $100 USD per website is expensive.
For me, I would prefer Namecheap because they are offering a free migration policy and they will do everything on your behalf. You don’t need to do anything at all.
Supporting Namecheap is obvious. Because, spending $100 USD and pausing my website for the next 7-10 business days will not be a great idea at all.
Customer Support
Namecheap
Namecheap has a dedicated team to support its customers 24/7. They are offering live chat, email support, forum support, video guidelines, and resource center.
GoDaddy
GoDaddy claims that they have an award-winning customer support team. They are offering live chat, phone call support, email support, forum support, video guidelines, and resource center support. Unfortunately, their customer service is not efficient enough.
You have to wait in queues for a long period of time. Even they take long time to provide service.
Result
I think I would prefer Namecheap here as well. As a customer, you will need someone to assist you the fastest way possible. Secondly, you will not want to wait for so long.
While using Namecheap, I have found that they are at their service 24/7. Whenever you ask for assistance, a dedicated expert support manager will be there to assist you within seconds. If you have a minor issue they will tell you a way out. If it is a major issue, they will solve it on your behalf.
Final Words
Both Namecheap and GoDaddy are the market giants in the hosting industry. Undoubtedly, it is difficult to choose the best one among these two. But we have researched, tested, and been able to find out the best hosting provider between Namecheap and GoDaddy.
Here, I would say Namecheap is a clear winner. They are concerned about their customer, offering the lowest possible price in the market, take necessary actions to keep your information safe.
Moreover, Namecheap keeps themselves transparent, and offering a dedicated customer support for your assistance.
Whereas, GoDaddy is good at speed and it has a user-friendly cPanel but it is expensive. They are not transparent with their customers.
Whatever the price they are offering is only applicable for the first year. From next year, the price will be higher and a customer will get the same features.
So, finally I would say Namecheap is the best hosting provider than GoDaddy.