Are you trying to decide between Flywheel and GoDaddy for your web hosting needs? Both companies are popular choices, but knowing which is the best fit for you can be tricky. This blog post will pit Flywheel vs. GoDaddy in a head-to-head battle to see which one comes out on top. We’ll compare their features, performance, security, plans and pricing, and customer support to help you decide. So if you’re wondering whether Flywheel or GoDaddy is the right choice, read on!
Flywheel Overview
Flywheel is a premium WordPress hosting provider that offers a variety of features and services designed to make your life easier. With features like one-click staging, white-label services, and nightly backups, they concentrate on giving developers and businesses an excellent experience. They also offer a free CDN and free site migrations to help you get started quickly and easily.
Flywheel was founded in 2012 by WordPress experts who saw the need for a better way to host WordPress sites. Their goal was to create a hosting platform that would make it easy for anyone to create and manage a WordPress site without sacrificing performance or security. Today, Flywheel is one of the leading WordPress hosting providers in the world, powering over 500,000 websites.
Flywheel Pros
High-level Performance
Flywheel is a high-performance hosting provider with excellent uptime and fast loading speeds. Their servers are optimized for WordPress websites, so you can be sure that your site will run smoothly and quickly. Additionally, they provide a free CDN (Content Delivery Network) with each plan, accelerating loading times even more.
Flywheel Offers Excellent 24/7 Customer Support
Flywheel offers 24/7 customer support via live chat, email, and phone. Their support team is knowledgeable and helpful and is always available to help you with any issues. Additionally, they provide a free site migration service, so if you’re moving your website from another host, they will assist you in doing so for no charge.
Flywheel Has Great Customer Reviews
Flywheel has consistently great customer reviews across the web. People love their high-performance hosting, excellent customer support, and simple user interface. Flywheel is a fantastic choice if you’re looking for a reputable hosting company with satisfied clients.
The User Interface Is Tidy And Straightforward To Use.
The Flywheel user interface is clean and straightforward, even for beginners. Their dashboard is simple to use, and they provide one-click staging so you can quickly test modifications to your website before going live. Overall, their user experience is excellent, which makes managing your website easy and stress-free.
They Also Offer One-Click Staging
One of the best features Flywheel offers is one-click staging. This allows you to create a copy of your live website on a separate server, so you can make and test changes before going live with your site. This is a handy tool for developers or anyone who wants to ensure their changes won’t break their website before pushing them live.
Flywheel Cons
No SSH Access
One of the critical features that Flywheel is missing is SSH access. You can’t access your site’s files directly on the server, and you have to use their control panel to make site changes, which can be a bit limiting for more advanced users.
No Built-in Git
Another downside of Flywheel is that they don’t have built-in Git support. You can’t easily deploy your website from a git repository, and you would need to use a third-party service like Bitbucket or GitHub to do this.
They Are Not A Domain Registrar
Flywheel is also not a domain registrar, so you can’t buy domains directly from them. You would need to use a separate service like GoDaddy or Namecheap to purchase your domain name.
They Don’t Provide Email Hosting
Flywheel also doesn’t provide email hosting services. This means you need to use a third-party service like Google Apps or Microsoft Exchange to set up email for your domain name.
While these are all valid points, it’s important to remember that Flywheel offers many other features that make up for these shortcomings. Their high-level performance, excellent customer support, and simple user interface are some reasons why Flywheel is such a popular hosting provider.
Flywheel Key Features
Free Site Migrations
Flywheel offers free site migrations for all new customers. Since switching hosts can be a challenging and time-consuming process, this feature is fantastic for those who want to do so. Flywheel will handle the entire migration process, so you can focus on running your business.
Free CDN
Flywheel’s proprietary CDN is called Flycache, which is included with all hosting plans and enabled by default. The CDN will help speed up your website’s load times and improve its security. You can even integrate Cloudflare with your Flywheel hosting if you prefer.
Auto-Healing Technology
Flywheel’s auto-healing technology is designed to keep your website up and running in the event of an error or crash. This feature is fantastic for those who need their website to be accessible round-the-clock.
White Label Services
Flywheel’s white-label services allow you to resell their hosting plans under your brand name. This is a great way to grow your business and offer your customers a top-quality product.
Nightly backups
All Flywheel customers benefit from nightly backups of their websites. With these features, your website is backed up daily, so if something goes wrong with your website, it can be restored easily.
GoDaddy Overview
GoDaddy is one of the world’s largest web hosting providers, offering various services such as domain registration, web hosting, email hosting, and more. GoDaddy is an excellent option for those looking for cheap web hosting services. However, they have some drawbacks, such as a lack of customer support and reliability issues. GoDaddy also has a limited base plan and high renewal rates.
GoDaddy Pros
Largest And Most Trusted Domain Registrar In The World
GoDaddy is the largest and most trusted domain registrar in the world. They have over 59 million domains under management and over 18 million customers. GoDaddy is a publicly-traded company with over $2 billion in annual revenue.
They Offer A Variety Of Services
GoDaddy offers various services, including web hosting, website building, online marketing, and more. They are among the industry’s most comprehensive providers.
Web Hosting Services Are Cheap
GoDaddy’s web hosting services are some of the cheapest in the industry. Their Starter plan starts at around $2 per month and includes unlimited bandwidth and 30 GB of storage.
Frequent Discount Offers Are Available
GoDaddy frequently offers discounts on its services, and GoDaddy often has sales where you can save up to 50% on your first year of service.
Unlimited Websites Can Be Hosted With The Deluxe Plan.
The GoDaddy deluxe plan allows you to host unlimited websites for just $8.99 per month. If you need to host several websites, this is a fantastic deal.
GoDaddy Cons
Customer Support Is Lacking
The poor customer service at GoDaddy is among the most common criticisms. While they have an extensive knowledge base and 24/7 live chat, their customer support is often unhelpful and unprofessional. Many users have reported being on hold for hours, only to be disconnected or transferred to another department.
Performance And Reliability Are Not Always The Best
While GoDaddy has improved its performance and reliability in recent years, they still lag behind other hosting providers. Their uptime is not as good as it should be, and their page loading times are often slow.
Too Many Upsells
GoDaddy is known for its upsells. During the account signup process, you will be bombarded with offers for additional services and products. While some of these upsells can be helpful, many are unnecessary and overpriced.
Limited Base Plan
The base plan offered by GoDaddy is minimal, and it includes only 30 GB of storage and allows you only to host a single website. In addition, you’re only allowed to create one database, but it is very cheap, making it suitable for beginners just starting their online journey.
High Renewal Rates
The renewal rates for GoDaddy hosting plans are higher than average. This means that if you decide to stay with GoDaddy after your initial contract expires, you will likely pay more than you would with other hosting providers.
GoDaddy Key Features
Personalized Marketing Tools
GoDaddy’s Personalized Marketing Tools help you reach your target audience and promote your brand effectively. With GoDaddy, you can create custom marketing campaigns, track their performance, and measure your ROI. You can also use GoDaddy’s Email Marketing services to stay in touch with your customers and prospects.
Website Builder
With the help of GoDaddy’s Website Builder, you can quickly and easily build a professional website. You can choose from over 100 templates or create your own custom website from scratch. GoDaddy’s Website Builder is also mobile-friendly, so you can build a responsive website that looks great on all devices.
Unlimited Bandwidth
Go Daddy offers unlimited bandwidth on all their hosting plans, so you never have to worry about exceeding your limit. Without worrying about additional costs, your website can get as much traffic as it wants.
Unlimited Storage On Higher Plans
Go Daddy also offers unlimited storage on their higher-priced hosting plans. This allows you to store as much media or data as you require without running out of storage.
Windows Or Linux Hosting Available
Go Daddy offers Windows and Linux hosting plans, so you can choose the best platform that suits your needs. If your website requires more resources and power, Go Daddy offers the option to upgrade to a VPS or Dedicated server.
Flywheel vs. GoDaddy: Features
Flywheel offers a variety of features that make it an excellent choice for web hosting. For starters, Flywheel provides free site migrations. If you’re migrating your website from another host to Flywheel, they’ll handle the entire process for free. Additionally, Flywheel offers 24/7 support and a 99.9% uptime guarantee. They also have a unique feature called “Fly-by-night backups,” which allows you to restore your website to a previous state if something catastrophic happens to your website. Flywheel’s auto-healing technology is a great feature that can help keep your site up and running in the event of an issue. They also offer white-label services, which is perfect if you’re an agency or freelancer working with clients. CDN is included and enabled by default if you host your website with Flywheel, which can dramatically increase your website speed.
GoDaddy’s main selling point is its large selection of services. They are the world’s largest domain registrar and offer various web hosting plans at different price points. Their deluxe plan allows you to host unlimited websites, which is perfect if you have multiple projects or clients. However, their base plan is limited and may not suit everyone.
GoDaddy also has a plethora of features that make it an excellent web hosting option. One of the most notable features is their 24/7 customer support. They also offer a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and they offer site migrations as an add-on which is not free. Another great feature of GoDaddy is their automatic WordPress updates. So you can rest assured that your WordPress site is always up-to-date with the latest security patches and features.
Flywheel offers a more comprehensive suite of features than GoDaddy, and Flywheel gives you a lot of extra features. Many of the higher-end features on GoDaddy are usually extras, and you’d have to pay more for them, which will probably cost you more in the long run.
Flywheel vs. GoDaddy: Performance
When it comes to web hosting, performance is vital, and you want your website to load quickly and smoothly without any hiccups. So, how do Flywheel and GoDaddy stack up in this department?
Let’s start with Flywheel. Flywheel is a managed WordPress hosting provider that takes care of all the technical details for you. As a result, you have more time to devote to developing content and expanding your company. And because Flywheel specializes in WordPress hosting, you can be sure that your website will be optimally configured for speed and performance.
Regarding actual numbers, Flywheel sites typically load in under a second. That’s lightning fast!. Flywheel offers many features included with all plans that help increase the performance of your website. These features include Flycaching, CDN, Genesis Framework, and Global Availability.
Now let’s take a look at GoDaddy. One of the most well-known names in web hosting is GoDaddy, which offers a variety of plans to meet different needs. However, their basic shared hosting plans are not optimized for WordPress websites. As a result, your site may not perform as well as it could on another host.
GoDaddy does offer some managed WordPress plans, but these are more expensive than their regular shared hosting plans. And even on the managed WordPress plans, GoDaddy doesn’t include some of the advanced features that come standard with Flywheel.
In terms of performance, Flywheel is the clear winner. Flywheel offers high-level performance with features like free CDN, auto-healing technology, and nightly backups. GoDaddy, on the other hand, has been known to have reliability and performance issues.
Flywheel vs. GoDaddy: Security
When it comes to security, both Flywheel and GoDaddy offer a variety of features to keep your website safe. However, Flywheel goes above and beyond in this area, offering features that GoDaddy does not.
For starters, Flywheel offers free SSL certificates with all plans. This is a great way to encrypt your website and protect your visitors’ information. Additionally, all plans from Flywheel include automatic malware scanning and removal, which can save you a ton of time and trouble if your website is compromised.
In addition, Flywheel offers a few other security features that GoDaddy does not. These include two-factor authentication, password protection for backups, and IP whitelisting. Overall, Flywheel is the clear winner when it comes to security features.
Flywheel vs. GoDaddy: Plans And Pricing
Flywheel has four main plans: Tiny, Starter, Freelance, and Agency.
The Tiny Plan is ideal for starters and is their cheapest plan available. This plan costs $15/month and allows you to host 1 WordPress site, and it also limits you to 5k monthly visits, 5 GB storage, and 20 GB bandwidth.
If you’re just starting out, we advise using their starter plan, which gives you access to a lot more resources than the Tiny plan. The Starter plan is $30/month and includes 1 site, 10 GB storage, 20 GB bandwidth, and 25k monthly visits.
The Freelance plan will be your ideal solution if you are a growing business. The Freelance plan is $115/month and allows you to host up to 10 sites. They also allow you 20 GB storage, 200 GB bandwidth, and 100k monthly visits.
If you’re already an established business and need something with more resources, then The Agency plan is perfect for you. The Agency plan is $290/month and includes 30 sites, 50GB storage, 500GB bandwidth, and 400k monthly visits.
GoDaddy Pricing
GoDaddy has four main plans: Starter, Economy, Deluxe, Ultimate, and Ultimate.
The Starter plan is $3.99/month and includes 1 website, 30 GB storage, unmetered bandwidth, daily backups, and a 1-click WordPress install.
The $5.99/month Economy plan offers one website, 100 GB of storage, unrestricted bandwidth, a free domain for a year, and one-click WordPress installation.
The Deluxe plan is $7.99/month. On the Deluxe plan, you can host unlimited websites with unlimited bandwidth, and there is no storage limit. You can also create up to 25 databases with this plan. You also receive a free professional email address for the 1st year and a free domain name.
The Ulitmate plan is $12.99/month which includes unlimited websites, storage, databases, bandwidth, and increased processing power for better performance.
Regarding pricing, GoDaddy is the clear winner as they are one of the most affordable hosting providers on the market, along with Ionos, Hostinger, and Namecheap. If you are looking for a cheap solution to get your website up and running, then GoDaddy is definitely the preferred choice in this comparison.
Flywheel vs. GoDaddy: Customer Support
Customer support is one of the most important factors when choosing a web hosting provider. After all, you’ll need to be able to contact someone for assistance if something goes wrong with your website.
Flywheel offers excellent customer support. They provide a live chat feature, a 24/7 phone line, and a knowledge base with hundreds of articles on common issues that other users experience. Their customer service representatives are knowledgeable and helpful.
GoDaddy’s customer support is not as good as Flywheel’s. They have a knowledge base, but it’s not as comprehensive as Flywheel’s. They also have a live chat option, but their wait times are often very long. And their phone support is available only during business hours.
So, if customer support is essential to you, Flywheel is the better choice.
What Are The Key Takeaways?
Flywheel Is A Much Better Hosting Provider
There’s no doubt that Flywheel is the better hosting provider when pitted against GoDaddy. Flywheel offers higher-level performance, excellent customer support, a clean and straightforward user interface, and one-click staging. They also have free site migrations and a complimentary CDN. However, they don’t offer SSH access or built-in Git, and they’re not a domain registrar.
GoDaddy Is A Great Domain Registrar, But There Are Better Hosting Providers Out There
GoDaddy is the largest and most trusted domain registrar in the world, but there are better hosting providers out there. GoDaddy’s customer support is lacking, performance and reliability are not always the best, and there are too many upsells. However, their web hosting services are cheap, they offer frequent discounts, and their deluxe plan allows you to host unlimited websites.
Flywheel Offers Better Value For Money
Flywheel offers more features than GoDaddy for a slightly higher price. However, when you consider all of the features that Flywheel offers (free site migrations, free CDN, auto-healing technology, and white-label services, just to name a few), it’s clear that they provide better value for money. If you’re looking for the most comprehensive and scalable hosting solution possible, Flywheel is the way to go.
GoDaddy Is Great If You’re Just Trying To Save Money
GoDaddy is an excellent option if all you’re after is the most affordable solution. Their base plan is minimal, but it’s also very affordable. You can also find great deals on their web hosting services if you’re willing to put up with their upsells and sporadic lack of customer support. Overall, GoDaddy offers excellent value for money, and we would recommend them to beginners starting out on a budget.
Conclusion
If you’re trying to decide between Flywheel and GoDaddy for your web hosting needs, pricing is likely to be a significant factor in your decision. So how do these two companies stack up?
Flywheel offers a variety of plans starting at $15/month, and GoDaddy’s cheapest plan starts at $3.99/month. However, it’s worth noting that Flywheel’s plans include far more features than GoDaddy’s, so you’ll have to decide whether the more advanced features are worth the additional cost.
In conclusion, it really depends on your needs as to which company is the better value. If you need a simple web hosting solution without any bells and whistles, GoDaddy is probably the way to go. But if you need more robust features and don’t mind paying a bit more, Flywheel is definitely worth considering.
FAQ’s
Does Flywheel Offer Shared Hosting?
There is currently no option for shared hosting. Flywheel, however, is one of the best if you’re looking to host a WordPress website.
Why Is Flywheel More Expensive Than GoDaddy?
Flywheel is more expensive than GoDaddy because they offer a higher level of performance and security, and they also have a more robust set of features.
Who Owns Flywheel Hosting?
Flywheel is owned by WPengine. WPengine is another great hosting provider that prioritizes speed and performance for WordPress hosting.
Who Is GoDaddy’s Main Competitor?
GoDaddy’s main competitor is Namecheap. Namecheap is a cheaper option for domain registration and web hosting services. However, they don’t offer as many features as GoDaddy does.
What Companies Use GoDaddy?
Some of the world’s largest companies, including Microsoft, Adobe, AT&T, Verizon, General Motors, and The Guardian newspaper, use GoDaddy to power their websites.