Cloudways vs GoDaddy
A managed cloud server with one price against the biggest domain seller in the world. The scores are further apart than the prices.
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Cloudways
Managed cloud hosting with no limit on sites.
GoDaddy
The domain giant, hosting included.
Prices last checked on
| Feature | Cloudways | GoDaddy |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 4.2 / 5 | 3.7 / 5 |
| Price | From $11/mo | From $5.99/mo |
| Renews at | n/a | $11.99/mo |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Best for | Multiple sites | Domain-first convenience |
| Category | Managed WordPress | Starter hosting |
| Provider | Cloudways (DigitalOcean) | GoDaddy Inc. |
| Visit Cloudways | Visit GoDaddy |
Our verdict
Cloudways wins on almost everything except the first year, and our scores say so: 4.2 against 3.7, the lowest rating of any host on this site. GoDaddy Economy is $5.99 a month on the 12 month promo, $71.88 for year one, renewing at $11.99 a month, $143.88 a year.
Cloudways DO Starter is $11 a month, $132 a year, flat. After renewal GoDaddy is $11.88 a year more expensive than Cloudways, for shared hosting instead of a managed server. That is the whole comparison in one line. GoDaddy is convenient if your domain already lives there and you want one bill.
That convenience is genuinely worth something, and it is the main reason the product sells. The honest downside of GoDaddy is the relentless upselling during checkout and the fact that useful things like backups are frequently a paid extra rather than included.
The honest downside of Cloudways is that you pay $132 in year one where GoDaddy asks $71.88, and the panel expects you to understand what a server is. You want one supplier for domain and hosting and you value that above all: GoDaddy. Anything else, including a second website: Cloudways.
“Host unlimited sites and pay per server size: with multiple sites this is far cheaper than the competition. Slightly more technical, but the strongest price-to-performance you will find in managed hosting.”Editorial team, on Cloudways
“The biggest name in domains will happily host your site too, and for a simple site it works. But the renewal prices, the upsells, and the cluttered dashboard make better-value rivals easy to recommend.”Editorial team, on GoDaddy
Frequently asked questions
Is GoDaddy cheaper than Cloudways?
Only in the first year: $71.88 against $132. GoDaddy Economy then renews at $11.99 a month, $143.88 a year, which is $11.88 more than the $132 Cloudways charges permanently. From year two Cloudways is the cheaper of the two and gives you a whole server for it.
Why does GoDaddy score lower here?
It scores 4.2 against 3.7 in our editorial rating, and that is our judgement rather than a lab result. The points come off for the upselling during checkout and for extras like backups being sold separately rather than included, which makes the advertised price hard to trust.
Can I keep my domain at GoDaddy and host elsewhere?
Yes, and it is a common setup. You point the domain's nameservers or DNS records at the other host and nothing else changes. Keeping the domain where it is avoids a transfer, so the convenience argument for hosting at GoDaddy is weaker than it looks.