I’ve been working with various web hosting providers for over 10 years, testing dozens of hosting companies and managing websites for clients across different industries.
Through this experience, I’ve learned what separates reliable hosting providers from those that promise much but deliver little.
Today, I’m comparing two popular hosting services: InMotion Hosting vs GoDaddy, to help you make the right choice for your website.
Table Of Contents
What is InMotion Hosting?
InMotion Hosting is a web hosting company that focuses on providing reliable hosting solutions for businesses and individuals. Founded in 2001, they offer shared hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated servers. What sets InMotion apart is their commitment to customer service and performance.
InMotion hosting provides free SSL certificates, free daily backups, and unlimited storage on most of their hosting plans. They also include a free domain name with annual plans and offer a 90-day money back guarantee, which is much longer than most hosting providers.
Their data centers are located in the United States, and they focus heavily on WordPress hosting with specialized WordPress plans.
From my experience testing their services, InMotion delivers consistent performance and their support team actually knows what they’re talking about when technical issues arise.
What is GoDaddy?
GoDaddy is probably the biggest name in web hosting and domain registration. Founded in 1997, GoDaddy offers everything from domain names to website builders, shared hosting, WordPress hosting, and VPS services. They’re known for their aggressive marketing and low introductory prices.
GoDaddy offers basic hosting plans that include a free domain for the first year, free SSL certificate, and various WordPress plans. They have data centers worldwide and serve millions of customers.
However, their pricing structure can be confusing, and many features that should be standard often come at extra cost.
In my experience, GoDaddy’s main appeal is their brand recognition and initial pricing, but the renewal costs and additional fees can add up quickly.
“We’re focused on helping small businesses succeed online with tools that are both powerful and easy to use.”
– Aman Bhuani, GoDaddy CEO
InMotion Hosting vs GoDaddy Comparison
Security
InMotion Hosting
InMotion takes security seriously with multiple layers of protection. They provide free SSL certificates on all plans, including Wildcard SSL for higher-tier plans. Their security features include DDoS protection, malware scanning, and automatic security patches. All accounts get free daily backups stored for up to 10 versions, so you can restore your site if something goes wrong.
I’ve personally used their backup system when a client’s website got corrupted, and the restore process was straightforward through their control panel.
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GoDaddy
GoDaddy offers basic security features including free SSL certificates and malware scanning on their paid plans. However, many advanced security features cost extra. While they do provide backups, the free backup options are limited, and you often need to pay for comprehensive backup solutions
Hosting Plans and Pricing
InMotion Hosting
InMotion’s pricing plans are straightforward and transparent. Their shared hosting starts around $6.39/month for the annual plan, and this includes unlimited storage, free SSL, and free daily backups. They don’t hit you with surprise renewal rates that double your costs. Their WordPress hosting plans are reasonably priced and include staging environments and enhanced performance features.
GoDaddy
GoDaddy attracts customers with very low introductory prices, sometimes starting at $2.99/month. However, the renewal rates jump significantly, often doubling or tripling after the first term. GoDaddy charges extra for many features that other hosts include free, like premium DNS or advanced security features.
Uptime
InMotion Hosting
InMotion offers a 99.99% uptime guarantee backed by SLA credits if they don’t meet this standard. In my monitoring of several client websites hosted with InMotion, they consistently deliver on this promise. Their servers are reliable, and planned maintenance is scheduled during low-traffic hours.
GoDaddy
GoDaddy promises 99.9% uptime, which is slightly lower than InMotion’s guarantee. While they generally maintain decent uptime, I’ve experienced more frequent short outages compared to InMotion, particularly during peak traffic periods.
Ease of Use
InMotion Hosting
InMotion uses cPanel, which is the industry standard control panel that most users find intuitive. Their one-click WordPress installation is smooth, and they provide helpful migration tools for moving existing websites. The sign up process is simple, and their account management interface is clean and organized.
GoDaddy
GoDaddy has developed their own custom control panel, which can be confusing for users familiar with cPanel. While they’ve improved their interface over the years, it still feels cluttered with upsell offers and can be overwhelming for beginners.
Customer Service
InMotion Hosting
InMotion provides 24/7 customer support through phone, live chat, and email. What impressed me most is that their support team consists of actual technical experts, not just script readers. When I contacted them about server configuration issues, they provided detailed solutions and even helped implement fixes. They also offer free website transfers performed by their team.
GoDaddy
GoDaddy offers 24/7 support, but the quality varies significantly. Their first-level support often follows scripts and may not understand complex technical issues. Getting to knowledgeable technical support can require multiple transfers. Their knowledge base is extensive, but finding specific answers can be challenging.
Performance
InMotion Hosting
InMotion uses SSD storage across all their plans and includes free CDN support to speed up loading times. Their servers are optimized for WordPress, and they offer various caching solutions. In my performance tests, websites hosted on InMotion consistently loaded faster than those on GoDaddy, especially for WordPress sites.
GoDaddy
GoDaddy’s performance is acceptable but not exceptional. They use a mix of storage types, and SSD storage isn’t guaranteed on all plans. Their CDN service costs extra, and their servers can be slower during peak times.
Which Web Host Should You Choose?
While InMotion Hosting performs better than GoDaddy in most categories, both hosting providers have significant problems that make them less than ideal choices. InMotion’s pricing is higher than competitors and GoDaddy’s aggressive upselling tactics create unpleasant surprises.
Which is why I always recommend Scala Hosting as the better option. Scala delivers lightning-fast SSD performance with 99.99% uptime reliability that keeps your website running smoothly 24/7. Their revolutionary SPanel control panel makes website management effortless, while their dedicated support agents provide expert help within minutes.
With transparent pricing that never surprises you at renewal and multiple global data centers ensuring blazing-fast loading speeds worldwide, Scala Hosting delivers premium enterprise-level hosting at affordable prices that actually save you money long-term.
Our #1 Recommendation: ScalaHosting
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Support
Disk Space
Security
Pricing
