Liquid Web vs GoDaddy – Hard to Choose, but I Did [2021]

Liquid Web and GoDaddy are both popular web hosts, but they’re suitable for different users. Liquid Web targets high-end users and enterprises, whereas GoDaddy focuses on small to medium-sized businesses and the casual blogger.

Unlike GoDaddy, Liquid Web doesn’t have shared hosting plans, so if you need shared hosting, I recommend a more reliable and feature-packed host like Hostinger.

To make a proper comparison between Liquid Web and GoDaddy, I tested both services across different parameters, including (but not limited to) pricing, features, and performance. Liquid Web defeated GoDaddy in three out of five categories, making it the winner of this battle.

Click here to see Liquid Web’s latest deals or keep reading to find out what makes Liquid Web the winner of this comparison.

1. Plans and Pricing

Liquid Web Has More WordPress Hosting Plans, but GoDaddy Is Cheaper

Liquid Web is tailored for developers, demanding businesses, and enterprises, so its prices are higher than budget hosting services such as GoDaddy. Also, since Liquid Web doesn’t sell shared hosting, I’ll compare its WordPress hosting plans with GoDaddy’s.

Liquid Web offers seven fully managed WordPress hosting plans, whereas GoDaddy has just four. Liquid Web’s packages also come with more resources and sophisticated technology (details in the Features section), explaining why they’re so expensive.

With Liquid Web, you can choose monthly or annual billing cycles. GoDaddy, on the other hand, has monthly, annual, biennial, or triennial subscriptions. GoDaddy also provides a free domain with annual terms, but Liquid Web doesn’t.

Both hosts come with free website migration on WordPress hosting plans. Liquid Web has a 14-day free trial, while GoDaddy offers a 30-day money-back guarantee with annual subscriptions and a 48-hour refund with monthly accounts.

The winner? GoDaddy. It has more budget-friendly prices for small to medium websites and a free domain. In saying that, Liquid Web is relatively affordable compared to other enterprise-level hosting services.

2. Features

Liquid Web Has More Resources and Value-Added Features for WordPress

All of Liquid Web’s fully managed WordPress hosting plans run on Nexcess’s high-performance cloud platform, and you get full server access.

With Liquid Web’s seven plans, you get from 15 GB to 800 GB SSD storage, 2 TB to 10 TB bandwidth, and unlimited email accounts. You can also host from 1 to 250 websites.

All plans come with a free CDN, free SSL certificate, unlimited page views, daily backups (up to 30 days), a staging environment, developer tools (SSH, Git, and WP-CLI), iThemes Security Pro and iThemes Sync, and Beaver Lite website builder.

In contrast, GoDaddy’s four managed WordPress hosting plans include 30 GB to unlimited regular storage (not SSD), 25K to unlimited monthly visitors, and free business email (for one year). On a negative note, you’re only allowed to host one website, and you only get a free SSL certificate with the higher-tier packages (Ultimate and E-commerce).

Packages come with daily backups (up to 90 days), free CDN, and an SEO optimizer (except for the smallest plan).

See more differences between Liquid Web and GoDaddy in the following side-by-side table:

The winner? Liquid Web. As you can see, Liquid Web offers more WordPress-optimized packages, more freebies, and more value-added features in comparison with GoDaddy.

3. Performance

It’s a Tie! Both Hosts Deliver Great Performance

Liquid Web has two server locations in the U.S.A. and one in the Netherlands. GoDaddy, on the other hand, has one data center in the U.S.A. and another in India.

Liquid Web uses SSD storage with all plans, while GoDaddy only uses it with some. Compared to regular HDD, SSD storage boosts your website’s loading speed, stability, and overall performance as it performs much faster in terms of website data processing.

You will get a free CDN (Content Delivery Network) with all of Liquid Web’s plans, but GoDaddy only includes this with its WordPress hosting. Among other benefits, a CDN boosts your website’s loading speed from different locations around the world by placing it on a global network of cloud servers.

Both hosts have a 99.9% uptime guarantee. When tested, Liquid Web exceeded that promise, but GoDaddy reported occasional downtimes. Despite this, GoDaddy’s overall uptime is still rated as one of the best in the market.

When our expert tested Liquid Web’s global loading speeds, most locations showed promising results while a small number had slower load times. Check out the test details in Liquid Web’s full review.

Alternatively, GoDaddy showed excellent loading speeds in all locations we tested except for one. That wasn’t enough to lower the global score below perfect. Here’s the full review if you want to see the detailed test results.

GoDaddy fell behind in actual uptime, but it made up for it in loading speeds. In other words, both hosts showed perfect performance in one area or the other, making this round a tie.

4. Security

Liquid Web Offers More Advanced Security Features

Both Liquid Web and GoDaddy have 24/7 server monitoring, DDoS protection, strong firewalls, and free automatic daily backups with all plans.

These hosts also use CloudLinux OS with Linux-based plans, which securely isolates your account from others on the same server to protect it against unwanted threats. It also ensures the fair allocation of the server’s resources.

As previously mentioned, Liquid Web includes a free CDN with all its plans, while GoDaddy only provides it with some. Besides its performance-boosting purpose, a CDN acts as an additional layer of DDoS protection on a network level.

Liquid Web also includes HTTP intrusion protection and daily security audits.

While GoDaddy and Liquid Web are relatively limited in terms of security features, Liquid Web has a slightly more advanced range, making it the more secure option.

5. Support

Liquid Web Has More Support Channels and Responsive Staff

Liquid Web’s knowledgebase is more comprehensive and organized than GoDaddy’s, making it easier to navigate and find the information you’re looking for.

Liquid Web has 24/7 support via live chat, phone, and support ticket. When I went for the live chat, I instantly connected to a representative who promptly answered all my questions.

You can also access GoDaddy’s support via live chat and phone. The phone support is available through multiple call centers around the world. Even though GoDaddy promises that the live chat is available 24/7, it was offline the first time I tried. When it was online, it took some time to connect to a representative, and there were numerous pauses during our conversation.

Liquid Web wins in the support round due to its higher responsiveness and more support options.

It’s a Victory for Liquid Web

Even though GoDaddy has cheaper prices and the hosts tied in the performance round, Liquid Web offers more resource allocations, more premium features, better security, and better support. For these reasons, Liquid Web snatches the winning title of this comparison.

Liquid Web is also listed among our top 10 best web hosting services.

FAQ

Is Liquid Web a good host?Liquid Web is one of the best web hosting services in the market today for developers, growing businesses, and heavily-trafficked websites. It supports multiple platforms, boasts a robust infrastructure, and has scalable hosting solutions.Does Liquid Web Offer VPS hosting?Yes. Liquid Web has a variety of feature-rich and fully managed VPS hosting plans for Linux and Windows. Liquid Web is also featured in our expert list of the best cheap and trusted VPS services.Does GoDaddy use SSD?Not with all plans. GoDaddy only offers SSD storage with VPS plans (managed or unmanaged) and dedicated servers. GoDaddy isn’t quite right for you? Check out these cheap and fast SSD hosting services.Does GoDaddy offer a free domain?Only with certain plans. GoDaddy provides a free domain with annual subscriptions (12 months, 24 months, or 36 months) for web hosting or managed WordPress hosting packages. Struggling to choose the right domain name? Don’t miss this ultimate guide to choosing and buying a domain name.