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As of October 2026, the main GoDaddy alternatives by need are Hostinger for the cheapest shared hosting ($2.99 a month on a 48-month prepay, renewing at $10.99), Cloudways for several sites on one managed cloud server (from $24 a month at the size it recommends for live sites), and Liquid Web, Kinsta or WP Engine for managed WordPress ($19 to $35 a month for one site). GoDaddy’s own entry plan, Economy, costs $5.99 a month for the first 3-year term against a listed regular price of $11.99, and hosts 1 website.
This comparison is based on each host’s published plans, documentation and terms, checked in October 2026; it does not include our own speed tests.
Our Web Hosting Price Index lists 22 hosting plans, GoDaddy included, with intro and renewal prices side by side.
In this guide
GoDaddy alternatives at a glance
Entry plans from GoDaddy and sites like it, as each host publishes them:
| Host and plan | Intro price (USD) and term | Renewal | Sites | Storage | Email included? | Money-back |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GoDaddy Economy | $5.99/mo, first 3-year term | $11.99/mo regular price | 1 | 25 GB NVMe | Trial mailbox, then paid; cPanel email option | 30 days (annual), 48 hours (monthly) |
| Hostinger Premium | $2.99/mo, 48-month prepay ($143.52) | $10.99/mo | 3 | 20 GB SSD | 2 per site, free for 1 year | 30 days, renewals too |
| Bluehost Starter | $3.99/mo, 36-month term | $9.99/mo | 10 | 10 GB NVMe | Pro Email free trial | 30 days |
| Cloudways, DigitalOcean | $11/mo (1GB) or $24/mo (2GB), hourly, no prepay | Same price | Unlimited | 25 GB or 50 GB SSD | No; $1.50 per mailbox | None published; 3-day trial |
| Liquid Web Pro | $19/mo, or $17.10/mo billed annually | No intro rate shown | 1 | 15 GB | Not listed | Terms: non-refundable |
| Kinsta Single 35k | $35/mo, or $350 a year | No intro rate listed | 1 | 10 GB | No | 30 days, first-time customers |
| WP Engine Essential | $35/mo, or $336 for the first year | Not published | 1 | 10 GB | No | None published |
| 10Web AI Starter | $20/mo, or $120 for 12 months | Regular price: $240 a year | 1 | 10 GB | Not listed | Conflicting terms |
What GoDaddy’s entry plans include
GoDaddy’s web hosting page lists two entry plans at $5.99 a month for the first 3-year term, which adds up to $215.64. Economy shows a regular price of $11.99 and includes 1 website, 25 GB of NVMe storage and cPanel. Hosting for WordPress Basic shows a regular $14.99, with 1 website, 10 GB of NVMe storage and WordPress pre-installed. Both list a free domain, free email, SSL and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
The fine print is where the reasons to compare GoDaddy hosting alternatives show up:
- Renewal. Intro pricing covers the initial term only, renewal pricing is “subject to change,” and plans renew automatically until cancelled. Our Hostinger vs GoDaddy comparison works through the 4-year cost.
- One site. Both entry plans host 1 website; Deluxe, at $7.99 a month for the first 3-year term (regular $16.99), lists 10.
- Email. The “free email” is a trial mailbox that, once activated, renews “at the then-current price until canceled.” Free cPanel email is also an option.
- SSL. Economy’s certificate is free for 1 year, then renews at the then-current price. WordPress Basic lists “no renewal fees.”
- Domain. Free for the first year on plans of 12 months or longer, plus an ICANN fee of $0.20 a year, then GoDaddy’s current renewal price.
- Backups. Web Hosting plans restore the account from the previous day; keeping 7, 14 or 30 days is a paid upgrade.
- Refunds. Within 30 days for annual plans, but only 48 hours for monthly plans.
Cheapest shared hosting: Hostinger
Hostinger sells shared hosting on LiteSpeed servers, run from its own hPanel instead of cPanel. Its web hosting page prices Premium at $2.99 a month when you prepay 48 months, $143.52 up front, and it renews at $10.99 a month.
Premium includes 3 websites, 20 GB of SSD storage, free weekly backups, a domain free for the first year, 2 mailboxes per website free for 1 year, and unlimited free migrations. A CDN, daily backups and priority support start on Unlimited, at $3.99 a month for 48 months, renewing at $16.99. The refund policy covers new purchases and renewals for 30 days, but may deduct the free domain’s standard price.
Fits: 1 to 3 small sites, if you can prepay 4 years. Its 48 months cost less than GoDaddy Economy’s first 36. See our Hostinger review, or see Hostinger’s current plans.
Also worth a look: Bluehost’s Starter plan costs $3.99 a month on a 36-month term and renews at $9.99, the lowest renewal of the three shared plans here. It lists 10 websites, 10 GB of NVMe storage, weekly backups (per the plan card; its FAQ says daily) and a Pro Email free trial, but no phone support. See our Bluehost alternatives guide.
Several sites on one server: Cloudways
Cloudways runs a managed server on DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS or Google Cloud, and charges per server, with unlimited websites. Its pricing page starts at $11 a month ($0.0164 an hour) for a 1GB DigitalOcean server, with no prepay and no intro rate.
Treat $11 as a test price. Cloudways’ getting started FAQ calls 1GB servers “primarily intended for testing and staging” and advises 2GB or more for live sites, which costs $24 a month. It says a 2GB server can handle 4 to 5 small sites with up to 110,000 combined page views a month.
Cloudways doesn’t host email on its own servers; Rackspace mailboxes cost $1.50 each a month, and offsite backup storage is $0.033 per GB. It uses its own panel, not cPanel. The first managed migration and a WordPress migrator plugin are free. There’s a 3-day trial without a card, but no money-back guarantee on the pricing page.
Fits: several small sites, run by someone comfortable picking a server size. See our Cloudways review and pricing guide, or try Cloudways free.
Managed WordPress: Liquid Web, Kinsta, WP Engine
These hosts run WordPress for you and price plans by sites and monthly traffic. None lists mailboxes on its entry plan, so budget for email elsewhere.
Liquid Web
Liquid Web’s managed WordPress page prices its entry Pro plan at $19 a month, or $17.10 a month billed annually, for 1 site with 50,000 monthly visitors and 15 GB of storage. It includes 14-day daily backups, staging, automatic WordPress updates and a self-serve migration tool; add-ons such as Performance Shield and usage-based charges such as CDN overage are extra. The catch: its terms say all fees are non-refundable. Read our Liquid Web review, or see Liquid Web’s plans.
Kinsta
Kinsta’s pricing page lists Single 35k at $35 a month or $350 a year, for 1 site, 35,000 monthly visits and 10 GB of storage, with unlimited free migrations by its team; each extra site costs $30 a month. New customers get a first month free on select plans, then a 30-day money-back guarantee limited to first-time customers. Kinsta doesn’t provide email. See our Kinsta review, or see Kinsta’s current plans.
WP Engine
WP Engine’s plans page prices Essential for 1 site at $35 a month, or $336 for the first year for new customers; renewal pricing is “subject to change.” It includes 25,000 monthly visits and 10 GB of storage, keeps backups 30 to 60 days, and charges $20 a month per extra site. WP Engine’s scope of support says it doesn’t provide email servers, and its terms say fees aren’t refundable except as stated. See our WP Engine review and pricing guide, or see WP Engine’s plans.
A site built for you: 10Web
If you want a builder more than a hosting account, 10Web generates a WordPress site with AI and hosts it. Its pricing page lists AI Starter at $20 a month, or $120 for 12 months, for 1 website, 10,000 monthly visitors, 10 GB of storage and 100 AI credits a month, with daily backups, staging and a first domain free up to $30. Each extra site adds $20 a month on monthly billing.
Check refunds first. The pricing page offers a 30-day money-back guarantee “until you claim your free domain,” while 10Web’s terms of service say platform subscriptions aren’t refunded and point to a 7-day free trial instead. See our 10Web pricing guide and website builder comparison, or see 10Web’s plans.
How to switch from GoDaddy
1. Keep a copy, then migrate
GoDaddy’s included backup goes back one day, so download your own full copy first. Then run the new host’s migration tool.
2. Decide where the domain lives
The domain can stay at GoDaddy: ICANN’s registrant FAQ notes you can change hosting providers instead of registrars by updating nameservers or the hosting IP address. To move it too, GoDaddy’s transfer guide says to remove the domain lock, turn off Domain Privacy, downgrade Domain Protection and copy the authorization code. ICANN says a registrar must provide that code within 5 calendar days and may refuse a transfer within 60 days of registration or a previous transfer. GoDaddy says transfers typically take 5 to 7 days.
3. Point DNS at the new host
With the domain at GoDaddy, keep its nameservers and change the A record, or switch to the new host’s nameservers. GoDaddy’s nameserver guide warns that a nameserver change “may break existing connections to your website or email.” Most DNS changes take effect within an hour but can take up to 48 hours.
4. Move email before you cancel
Set up mailboxes at their new home and update the MX records before touching GoDaddy. Hostinger includes 2 mailboxes per site for the first year and Cloudways sells them at $1.50 each; the managed WordPress hosts above don’t list mailboxes.
5. Cancel at the right time
Per GoDaddy’s refund guide, you delete the product first, then ask by phone, SMS or chat; email requests aren’t processed, and products bundled in one subscription can’t be refunded separately. Past the refund window, cancelling keeps the product until the term ends, then GoDaddy deletes it and its files.
How to decide
- Lowest cost for 1 to 3 small sites: Hostinger Premium, if you can prepay 48 months. Bluehost Starter renews $1 a month lower.
- Several sites, no prepay: a 2GB Cloudways server at $24 a month.
- One business site, managed: Liquid Web at $19 if you accept no refunds, or Kinsta at $35 for a money-back window.
- Want a site built for you: 10Web.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good alternative to GoDaddy?
On published prices, Hostinger Premium is the cheapest entry at $2.99 a month for 48 months, with 3 sites against GoDaddy Economy’s 1. Cloudways suits several sites on one server from $24 a month, and Liquid Web, Kinsta and WP Engine sell managed WordPress from $19 to $35 a month.
Is it hard to move a website away from GoDaddy?
The documented steps are short: copy the site, migrate it with the new host’s tool, and repoint DNS, which GoDaddy says usually updates within an hour and at most 48 hours. The domain can stay at GoDaddy. Moving the domain too needs an authorization code, can be refused within 60 days of registration or a previous transfer, and typically takes 5 to 7 days.
Which GoDaddy alternative is cheapest after renewal?
Among the shared plans, Bluehost Starter renews at $9.99 a month, Hostinger Premium at $10.99, and GoDaddy lists $11.99 as Economy’s regular price. Liquid Web’s $19 managed WordPress plan shows no intro rate, but its terms say fees are non-refundable.
Last checked: October 2026. Prices and plans change; check the vendor’s page before you buy.