Godaddy vs Hivelocity: guide for 2024

Final verdict

Looking over GoDaddy vs. Hivelocity, it’s clear why both hosts are so popular. They have both hosted millions of
websites that run on WordPress for decades, building up a loyal customer base.

• 
  GoDaddy (Overall grade: 7.8)
  
  
  offers a versatile hosting experience with a range of features suitable for both beginners and advanced users. Its strengths lie in the comprehensive hosting plans, featuring free domains, SSL certificates, and email hosting, along with an intuitive cPanel that simplifies site management. GoDaddy’s optimized servers, boasting up to 40% faster response times, and a robust global network of data centers ensure rapid page loads and reliable performance. Downsides include occasional short downtimes in certain plans and inconsistent customer support experiences. Nonetheless, the company’s affordability and ease of use make it a strong contender, especially for small businesses and personal users.
  
• 
  Hivelocity (Overall grade: 7.7)
  
  
  stands out for its superior uptime reliability and excellent managed services, making it a top choice for high-traffic sites and agencies requiring advanced hosting solutions. The provider’s exceptional infrastructure featuring redundant power and network systems delivers consistent 100% uptime since 2011, ensuring unwavering stability. Hivelocity also excels in user management with detailed roles and permissions, making it ideal for more complex setups. Although it lacks some of the bundled extras such as free domains and SSL certificates, its proactive security measures and superior technical support offset these limitations. The slight downside is the higher cost and complexity, but for businesses seeking robust hosting performance, Hivelocity remains a compelling option.
  

Hosting types offered

Both platforms provide a variety of hosting types, each designed to meet the different needs of users.

Although both offer a variety of hosting plans tailored to different needs, in certain cases, one platform may prove to be more suitable.

Detailed comparison

Section 1:

Winner Hivelocity: Exceptional uptime and reliability make Hivelocity stand out among hosting providers.

Section 2:

GoDaddy offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee and performed well during testing, achieving a 99.98% uptime rate. Their server response time averages 341ms, which is faster than the shared hosting standard, with strong performance in global speed tests. However, users of GoDaddy may experience frequent short downtimes, particularly with WordPress hosting plans.

Section 3:

Hivelocity promises a 99.99% uptime guarantee and has consistently delivered 100% uptime since 2011. Their infrastructure includes redundant power and network systems, ensuring reliability. Customers benefit from their data centers’ high security and compliance certifications, making Hivelocity an excellent choice for those needing unwavering performance and stability.

🏆 Winner GoDaddy: Offers high reliability with optimized servers and extensive security features.

GoDaddy and Hivelocity both provide solid hosting services but differ in a few key areas that impact overall performance. GoDaddy boasts optimized servers with up to 40% faster response times and a network of global data centers in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. This ensures rapid page loads and a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Hivelocity also delivers strong performance features, including a self-healing international network and over a dozen Tier-1 carriers, which culminate in a 99.99% uptime. However, GoDaddy’s extensive server optimization and wide-reaching data centers give it an edge in hosting speed and reliability.

Website Speed

GoDaddy excels in website speed with its NVMe storage that offers up to 3X faster speeds. The optimized servers result in a swift server response time of up to 40% quicker than standard. Hivelocity is no slouch with high-end hardware options featuring Intel and AMD processors and swift SSD storage. However, GoDaddy’s autoSSL feature and built-in WordPress optimization plugins further enhance website speed, making it a slightly better option for those who prioritize performance.

Scalability

GoDaddy provides more straightforward scalability options with clear upgrade paths from shared to dedicated resources. Users can easily choose plans that fit their needs, whether economical shared hosting or more robust Web Hosting Plus plans. Hivelocity’s pricing and scaling details are less clear-cut, though they offer tailored solutions for custom server needs, private clouds, and server clusters. GoDaddy’s VPS hosting also comes with adjustable resources to increase RAM, CPU, and storage as needed, making it easier and potentially less expensive to scale compared to Hivelocity’s offerings.

🏆 Winner
Hivelocity Hosting: Offers robust and reliable security features suitable for businesses requiring stringent security and compliance standards.

Both GoDaddy and Hivelocity, have notable differences in their approaches to technical and operational
security, as well as in their compliance with regulations.

Technical security measures:

GoDaddy offers AutoSSL, managed, and self-managed SSL certificates. They ensure PHP is updated with long-term support for versions 7.4 and 8.0. Hivelocity provides industry-standard SSL certificates categorized into Basic, Business, and Premium SSLs. While GoDaddy emphasizes features like Web Application Firewall (WAF), malware scanning and removal, Hivelocity bolsters security using robust firewall and network security, proactive malware scanning with Maldet, and brute force detection through cpHulk. Both offer DDoS protection, though Hivelocity adds advanced encryption and proactive measures.

Operational security measures:

GoDaddy’s operational security includes automatic daily backups, DDoS protection, 24/7 support via phone and chat, and global data centers for faster page loads. In comparison, Hivelocity focuses on 24/7 monitoring and support, proactive malware scanning, virus and spam protection, and service monitoring with email alerts. Additionally, Hivelocity provides hardware diagnostics, remote and manual reboots, and RAID monitoring when applicable. Both providers aim to minimize downtime and data loss, but Hivelocity’s additional proactive measures and robust monitoring give it an edge.

Compliance and certifications:

GoDaddy is fully GDPR compliant, allowing data management and transparent policies on stored data. It also offers PCI-compliant solutions for payment processing through recommended third-party vendors. Hivelocity stands out with SSAE-16 and HIPAA certifications in addition to PCI compliance. While GoDaddy focuses on GDPR and PCI, Hivelocity covers a broader compliance spectrum, particularly beneficial for industries like healthcare that require HIPAA compliance.

🏆 Winner: GoDaddy: A versatile hosting provider with impressive features for both beginners and advanced users.

GoDaddy and Hivelocity both offer diverse hosting features geared toward different user needs. GoDaddy provides a variety of web hosting plans, including Standard, Deluxe, Ultimate, and Maximum Performance, which range from supporting a single website to up to 50 websites. Their offerings come with free domains, email hosting, and SSL certificates, which can be particularly appealing to small business owners and personal bloggers. Additionally, GoDaddy offers managed WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, and other features like a free WordPress migration tool, which adds to its appeal for WordPress users. Its 30-day money-back guarantee also offers peace of mind for new customers.

On the other hand, Hivelocity shines with its high-quality managed services, including 24/7 support, network intrusion monitoring, and proactive security updates using KernelCare. While it doesn’t offer a built-in website builder or bundled freebies like free domains or SSL certificates, it excels in providing control panels and operating systems for more technical users. The inclusion of features like rapid restore backup, load balancing, and robust DDoS mitigation makes it an excellent option for those looking to manage more complex hosting needs or enterprise environments. The availability of various control panels and Operating systems enhances its flexibility for advanced users.

Both providers support a range of users from beginners to experts with user-friendly website builders and WordPress staging areas. However, in terms of developer tools, both GoDaddy and Hivelocity offer robust options including SSH access, support for multiple programming languages, and Git for version control, thus appealing to developers looking for advanced capabilities.

Email services:

GoDaddy includes free email hosting as part of its plans, allowing users to set up email accounts with ease. This service is particularly useful for small businesses or personal websites that need a professional email address. In contrast, Hivelocity does not offer email hosting services as part of its package. Instead, it focuses on providing managed services and security features, which might require users to seek third-party email hosting solutions. This difference could be a deciding factor for users who prioritize integrated email services.

🏆 Winner
Hivelocity: A versatile hosting provider with a wide array of plans and competitive pricing.

Evaluating the pricing of plans among various hosting providers can be complex due to their differing pricing and renewal strategies. Additionally, certain plans require annual commitments, which adds to the difficulty of making comparisons. The prices listed are based on monthly commitments; plans requiring annual commitments are indicated. Additionally, although some providers offer identical plans for WordPress and shared hosting, we have created separate tables for each to enhance clarity.

Enterprise plans

GoDaddy offers Managed WooCommerce Store solutions catering to different enterprise needs. Their plans range from $24.99 to $129.99 per month, offering a variety of eCommerce features, including support for digital goods, memberships, abandoned cart emails, and discounted shipping rates.

Hivelocity’s enterprise hosting options include custom-built bare metal dedicated server solutions and a comprehensive selection of managed services. With global data center locations and advanced enhancements such as firewalls, daily backup and restore points, Hivelocity provides extensive scalability and support for enterprise-level hosting requirements.

🏆 Winner GoDaddy: GoDaddy offers a highly user-friendly setup and migration process.

GoDaddy provides an industry-standard cPanel, known for its simplicity and ease of use. This control panel is accessible to both beginners and those with more technical experience, offering intuitive navigation and straightforward management tasks. One-click installs for WordPress and other applications ensure that users can get started without unnecessary complications. In contrast, Hivelocity offers a variety of control panels, including cPanel, DirectAdmin, Plesk, and others, which can be confusing for non-technical users. While this selection is advantageous for those in need of more customized setups, it may pose a learning curve for less experienced individuals.

Both providers facilitate website management, but GoDaddy’s approach is more streamlined, especially for individuals who are not heavily versed in technical nuances. Hivelocity’s offering is exceptionally versatile, benefiting users who require complex setups and appreciate having multiple control panel options. GoDaddy’s control panel focuses on convenience and ease of usage, making it accessible and straightforward, which is why it edges out Hivelocity in this comparison.

GoDaddy provides a free WordPress migration tool, enabling users to transfer their existing WordPress sites without any added cost. This automated tool simplifies the migration process, making it accessible even for non-technical users. Conversely, Hivelocity’s migration services are not explicitly detailed as free. The provider’s managed service options might include migration support; however, this could involve extra fees depending on the service package chosen.

When evaluating the quality and accessibility of help center resources, both providers offer extensive support. GoDaddy features 24/7 support through phone, chat, and SMS, alongside a comprehensive knowledge base with FAQs and numerous help articles. They also provide personal guidance through their GoDaddy Guides. Hivelocity also offers robust support through chat, open tickets, and phone. Its knowledge base is well-categorized and frequently updated with useful articles. Both providers excel in support, with GoDaddy marginally taking the lead due to its more beginner-friendly resources.

The platforms provide extensive knowledge bases filled with guides, how-to articles, and instructional content. GoDaddy offers a wide range of resources alongside 24/7 chat and phone support. Hivelocity also boasts a detailed help center with an intuitive search function and around-the-clock support via live chat, phone, and ticketing, ensuring comprehensive user support.

🏆 Winner Hivelocity: Offers superior user management features ensuring a more flexible and efficient experience.

When comparing GoDaddy and Hivelocity in managing user roles, permissions, and accessibility, Hivelocity stands out as the more capable provider. GoDaddy provides a standard array of user management features, but the specifics are generally accessed through their support or documentation. On the other hand, Hivelocity is well-regarded for its robust user management capabilities, allowing users to define detailed roles and permissions. This flexibility makes Hivelocity a more versatile option for managing teams with varying levels of access and responsibilities.

Both platforms offer user interfaces that cater to managing users effectively. GoDaddy’s interface is user-friendly and straightforward, suitable for those who may not need extensive customization. Hivelocity, however, extends its interface with advanced tools, granting users greater control over their settings. It offers a more detailed and customizable dashboard, allowing users to tweak settings to match their needs closely. The enhanced toolset provided by Hivelocity is particularly advantageous for users requiring more sophisticated user management features.

Access control measures are another critical aspect where Hivelocity excels. GoDaddy’s access controls are sufficient for small to medium-sized outfits but might need additional configurations as the number of users grows. Hivelocity, equipped with more advanced access control systems, ensures efficient user management even with a larger user base. The ease with which Hivelocity scales its user management capabilities aligns well with businesses anticipating growth or handling extensive team structures.

Hivelocity User Roles Table:

🏆 Winner Hivelocity: Hivelocity earns the top spot with its exceptional uptime reliability and comprehensive customer service options.

GoDaddy offers 24/7 support through phone, email, and its expansive knowledgebase, with live chat support available specifically on the United States subdomain. Customers benefit from additional support channels like SMS, free WordPress migration tools, automatic daily backups, and robust security measures including DDoS protection. The company also provides a 30-day money-back guarantee, ensuring customer satisfaction.

Hivelocity matches GoDaddy by providing 24/7/365 support via live chat, phone, and a ticketing system. Hivelocity stands out with its unparalleled uptime reliability and extensive network of data centers across the globe. Their customer reviews reflect high satisfaction, emphasizing their custom-built servers, redundant network connections, high-end security, and flexible payment options including cryptocurrency. Despite slightly higher costs, their comprehensive service package delivers excellent value.

User feedback

GoDaddy generally receives praise for its ease of use, affordability, comprehensive service offerings, and user-friendly interface, making it a popular choice for domain registration and basic web hosting. Many users appreciate the ability to purchase domains, web hosting, email services, and other digital products all in one place, along with frequent discounts for new customers. However, customer service experiences are inconsistent; while some users find it helpful and responsive, others report long wait times and unknowledgeable support staff. Additionally, recurring issues include high renewal costs, persistent upselling, and occasional technical difficulties.

Hivelocity is highly praised for its exceptional customer service, reliable server performance, and knowledgeable technical support. Long-term users, some with over a decade of experience, commend the company for its personalized support and rapid response times, often highlighting near-instant ticket resolutions and a proactive approach to addressing issues. Additionally, the infrastructure and network reliability receive strong accolades, with many users experiencing minimal to no downtime. While a few noted the increasing prices and occasional variability in support quality, the consensus is that Hivelocity offers an outstanding hosting service marked by dependability and top-tier customer support.

FAQ