GoDaddy and InMotion are both excellent website hosts. So, which is right for you? If you are just launching a new website, GoDaddy is a great choice. It provides plenty of features to get your site up and running. However, if you want a fast website with reliable performance, InMotion may be your best bet!

I compared both hosts using a number of features and InMotion came out on top. However, it may even be fair to call it a tie as GoDaddy is a fierce InMotion competitor. Keep reading to find out the criteria we used so you can decide for yourself.

Overall Comparison InMotion vs GoDaddy

Winner: InMotion

For great security and performance, InMotion is your go-to host. GoDaddy, however, provides a full suite of services for every kind of business. Read on to see what makes each host stand out.

About InMotion and GoDaddy

	InMotion is a web hosting company founded in 2001 and based in El Segundo, California. It offers a vast suite of digital products, including website building and design tools, Ecommerce solutions, and domain name registration. InMotion Hosting is an accredited member of the Better Business Bureau with an A+ Rating.
	GoDaddy is a well-known web hosting company. It was founded in 1997, and its headquarters are located in Phoenix, Arizona. The company offers domain registration, website hosting, and tools to help businesses of all sizes get online. GoDaddy also provides cloud computing solutions through its partner Amazon Web Services.

Round 1: Hosting features – Key Hosting Features and Services

Key InMotion Features

InMotion offers a wide range of hosting services, including shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting as well as WordPress hosting. With their shared hosting service, you get unlimited bandwidth and up to 100 GB SSD storage space.

And on their dedicated hosting plans, you can enjoy up to 10 Gbps unmetered bandwidth with up to 2x2TB SSD disk space which is great especially if you are a large company. Plus at an extra charge, you can enjoy their 7/14/30-day restore.

InMotion also offers the BoldGrid WordPress Website Builder that makes it easy to design a website from scratch without needing to code.

Key GoDaddy Features

GoDaddy provides reliable, high-quality hosting services for websites of all sizes. Whether you are looking for shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, WordPress hosting, or even a website builder, GoDaddy has it all.

GoDaddy automatically backs up your website data as long as it’s under 10GB on its shared, VPS, and reseller plans for free.

Out-of-the-box, GoDaddy also features an easy-to-use website builder that makes setting up your website as easy as it gets.

And the winner is… InMotion

It’s almost a tie as both hosts provide excellent features but InMotion’s 2×2 TB SSD, Unlimited NVMe SSD, and BolGrid WordPress builder makes it a winner in this round!

Round 2: Prices & Plans

InMotion Pricing Plans

InMotion has a range of plans with different prices suited to different needs:

• Shared hosting plans – for those on tight budgets. e.g: portfolio websites, entrepreneurs, etc.
• VPS hosting plans – best for small business websites with consistent, medium-level traffic. e.g: Ecommerce websites, blogs, and online magazines.
• WordPress hosting plans – This plan is specially designed for WordPress websites with all the required features.
• Dedicated hosting plans – this plan is required for high-quality designs. Companies and large corporations with high traffic and large volumes of data.

GoDaddy Pricing Plans  

GoDaddy also offers four different hosting services for different users.

• Shared hosting plans – for small and new websites e.g: portfolio websites, solo entrepreneurs, etc.
• VPS hosting plans – best for small business websites with consistent, medium-level traffic. e.g: Ecommerce websites, blogs, and online magazines.
• WordPress hosting plans – These plans are specially designed for WordPress websites with all the required features.
• Dedicated hosting plans – These plans are ideal for companies and large corporations with high traffic and large volumes of data.

And the Winner Is…GoDaddy

GoDaddy has a wide range of pricing plans and has divided them into different tiers. And under each hosting time, you have several options to choose from according to your needs.

Round 3: Website performance (Uptime & Speed)

Uptime is the percentage of time that a hosting server is operational (up and running). This metric is typically tracked on a monthly basis, and most hosts will advertise their uptime percentage (99.9 – 99.999%).

Website speed is one of the most important factors that affect your user experience. A slow website can lead to lower conversion rates, fewer page views, and less revenue. The load time of a website is the amount of time it takes for the page to be fully loaded. This includes all the content on the page, including images, scripts, and stylesheets.

To test each host, I performed speed tests on GMetrix and PageSpeed Insights and got these results:

InMotion Uptime & Speed

On GTMetrix, InMotion’s average speed (TTFB) was 178 ms and had an overall performance of 85%:

On PageSpeed Insights, InMotion’s TTFB was 1.1 s and had a 77% overall performance:

GoDaddy Uptime & Speed

On GTMetrix, GoDaddy’s average speed (TTFB) was 543 ms and had an overall performance of 86%:

On PageSpeed Insights, InMotion’s TTFB was 2.1 s and had a 96% overall performance:

And the Winner Is…InMotion

GoDaddy and InMotion are both impressively quick hosts but InMotion is the clear winner here.

Round 4: Customer Support – Who Has the Best Support System?

InMotion Customer Support

InMotion offers great support options. They provide 24/7 customer service via phone, live chat, and a ticketing system. They also have a vast knowledgebase with helpful articles and tutorials, as well as video guides and an active forum.

I tried chatting with an agent live, and he was responsive and answered my queries smoothly. He was quite salesy but obviously, that’s his job.

GoDaddy Customer Support

GoDaddy also provides 24/7 customer service via phone, live chat, email, and support tickets. They have an extensive knowledge base, a blog section with helpful articles, plus video guides, and a thriving community.

I chatted with two different agents live and even though they took quite some time, their responses were thorough and professional.

And the Winner Is…GoDaddy

I found GoDaddy’s live chat support agents to be extremely courteous and professional. They answered all my queries in detail – there’s a reason why their support is award-winning!

Round 5: Ease of use – Which Platform Is Easier to Use?

InMotion Ease of use

InMotion’s UI is great but I felt it would look better if it was less cluttered. I personally like a simple, intuitive user interface so that was a bummer.

InMotion has a modern cPanel that’s easy to use, and allows you to customize your website’s backend. InMotion’s cPanel is also very secure and reliable.

GoDaddy Ease of use

UI/UX: GoDaddy has a beautiful, easy-to-navigate, simple user interface that makes finding all the features on their website a breeze. They offer a host of options on their homepage but only display what’s required with pleasant colors and no clutter, which was great.

GoDaddy’s cPanel has a wide range of features and options that’ll feel like home to people who prefer the traditional control panel.

And the Winner Is… GoDaddy

GoDaddy may not be the best in other features, but its marketing and UI/UX department is praiseworthy. The UI of their website is unmatched, and it gets updated from time to time.

Round 6: Security – Which Platform is More Secure?

InMotion Security

InMotion provides a wide range of security features including a free SSL, hack and malware protection, and DDoS prevention on all plans. And if you ever need to roll back an application or restore a backup, their Backup Manager makes it easy.

SSH access is also available for added security. Plus, their 24/7/365 U.S -based support team is always there to help if you have any questions or concerns.

GoDaddy Security

GoDaddy provides an add-on “Website Security” at a price that comes with all the required security features. Although the add-on provides extra protection, GoDaddy doesn’t leave you vulnerable without it.

All plans come with 24/7 server monitoring by GoDaddy’s security team in order to catch and thwart any malicious activity. You also get DDoS protection for free as part of the package.

And the Winner Is…InMotion

InMotion provides better security features than GoDaddy. Most features come free with their basic and premium plans and you don’t have to buy a paid “add-on” to protect your website.

Round 7: Server locations

When you are choosing a hosting service, it is important to think about where the servers are located. This is because the closer the servers are to your customers, the faster your website will load. If you have a widespread audience all over the world, it’s important to choose a hosting service with a wider global server footprint.

InMotion Server location

InMotion’s servers are located in Los Angeles, California and Ashburn, Virginia.

GoDaddy Server Location

GoDaddy has its main data center in Phoenix, Arizona (USA). It has six more facilities in the USA located in Scottsdale, Mesa, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Ashburn, Virginia.

GoDaddy’s servers are also located in Amsterdam (Europe) and Singapore (Asia).

And the Winner Is… GoDaddy

GoDaddy’s wider server footprint means it’s more reliable and faster worldwide.

InMotion vs GoDaddy: Final Recommendations

When to Choose InMotion?

InMotion is an excellent host because it’s affordable yet offers high-end packages. InMotion is the ideal choice for website owners primarily targeting customers within North America. Choose InMotion if:

• Reliability and security are your main concerns
• You want a wide range of features at a bargain
• You want a highly secure website with backend features such as firewalls, malware scanning, and regular backups.
• You want to expand your website to Ecommerce and retail
• Your websites handle high-volume traffic on daily basis

Go for GoDaddy if you:

GoDaddy is an all-in-one web hosting solution. It’s ideal for most startups and entrepreneurs. Choose GoDaddy if:

• If you value great customer service
• You want to expand your business globally
• You want an affordable all-in-one hosting platform
• You are a new website and need all the tools to get started
• You value convenience over advanced features