GoDaddy's intro pricing looks sharp — it's the renewal that catches people out, along with SSL and extras billed on top. Here's a straight comparison so you can decide with the long-term cost in view, not just the signup price.
GoDaddy is a capable, ubiquitous host with genuine round-the-clock phone support. But the model leans on low introductory pricing that climbs steeply at renewal, SSL and basics billed separately, and an upsell-heavy checkout. If you'd rather have a flat price you can predict and an Australian sysadmin answering your ticket, that's the real difference.
| Web Hosting Centre | GoDaddy | |
|---|---|---|
| Price over time | The signup price is roughly your renewal price — no intro-then-spike | Low first-term pricing; published rates often roughly double (or more) at renewal |
| SSL certificate | Free, auto-renewing SSL on every site | Frequently billed separately; standalone SSL can renew around AUD $190/yr |
| Where the servers are | Hardware we own and run in Sydney & Brisbane | Global cloud footprint; AU region available, infrastructure not Australian-owned |
| Support | Australian sysadmins, direct on every ticket; live chat + 24/7 tickets | 24/7 phone, chat & SMS; tiered support, commonly offshore |
| Checkout | No pre-ticked add-ons — you order what you came for | Upsell-heavy; some extras can be pre-selected |
| Control panel | Enhance — modern, fast, no licence-fee bloat | cPanel on most shared plans |
GoDaddy pricing and policies reflect publicly advertised information at the time of writing and can change. All Web Hosting Centre prices are AUD incl. GST.
We don't run a '$X for year one, $Y forever after' multiplier. Prices may move modestly over time with inflation and data-centre costs, with notice — but there's no surprise renewal spike. What you sign up at is roughly what you'll pay next year.
Free auto-renewing SSL, full DNS record management, staging, and mailboxes are part of the plan — not à la carte line items you discover at renewal. The headline price is closer to the real price.
We own the machines in Sydney and Brisbane data centres, and your ticket is answered by the people who actually run them — not an offshore Level 1 reading a script. Fewer hops between you and a fix.
No pre-selected add-ons to hunt down and untick. You order hosting, you get hosting. The number on the plan is the number you pay.
We'd rather you pick the right host than the one with the loudest pitch. Here's when GoDaddy makes sense.
GoDaddy offers 24/7 phone support. We deliberately don't — we run on live chat and 24/7 tickets so every issue has a written record. If a phone line matters most to you, that's a genuine point in their favour.
Domains, website builder, email marketing, commerce tools — GoDaddy bundles an enormous product range. If you want everything from one mega-vendor, they cover a lot of ground.
If you'll likely move again within 12 months, the introductory price is the introductory price. For a short-lived project, that intro term can be the cheapest way to start.
No introductory-then-shock pricing. Free migration on Business and WordPress plans, and a 30-day money-back guarantee on shared plans. Two of our most popular tiers:
Small business websites
Higher performance, fewer neighbours
Want the full range? See all six plans, from $3/mo personal hosting to $120/mo high-volume e-commerce.
See how we measure up against the others.
Tell us what you're running on GoDaddy and we'll tell you honestly whether moving is worth it — and handle the migration if it is. Free on Business and WordPress plans.