ScalaHosting vs GoDaddy
ScalaHosting and GoDaddy compared on measured uptime, response time, pricing and features from our own tests. ScalaHosting scores higher overall.
By Jennifer T. · Updated
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Verdict
ScalaHostingWins overall
Dallas and Sofia host with its own SPanel, an anytime prorated refund and a credit table that reaches 100 percent
The largest registrar's cPanel hosting: three plans on a three-year term with a free domain and daily backups
ScalaHosting wins 5 of the six sub-scores and comes out ahead overall (8.1 vs 7.2).
How do the scores compare?
ScalaHosting leads on 5 sub-scores, GoDaddy on 0. Higher is better.
| ScalaHosting | GoDaddy | |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | 8.0 (better) | 7.5 |
| Uptime | 8.5 (better) | 8.0 |
| Support | 8.5 (better) | 7.0 |
| Features | 8.0 (better) | 6.5 |
| Value | 7.5 (better) | 6.0 |
| Ease of use | 7.5 | 7.5 |
Which one is faster and more reliable?
| ScalaHosting | GoDaddy | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 8.1 (better) | 7.2 |
| Uptime (published)Kripesh Adwani 365 d vs HostingStep 365 d; methods differ | 99.99% | 99.99% |
| Response time (published)WPBeginner vs HostingStep; methods differ | 526 ms | 344 ms (better) |
Which one costs less?
On renewal, ScalaHosting is cheaper ($11.95/mo vs $11.99/mo). Intro prices need the listed term.
| ScalaHosting | GoDaddy | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan | Mini | Economy |
| Intro price | $2.95/mo (better) | $5.99/mo |
| Renewal price | $11.95/mo (better) | $11.99/mo |
| Required term | 36 months | 36 months |
| Websites | 1 | 1 |
| Storage | 10 GB | 25 GB |
| Money back | 30 days, then prorated at any time (better) | 30 days |
What does each include?
| ScalaHosting | GoDaddy | |
|---|---|---|
| Free domain | Start, Advanced and Entry Cloud; not on Mini | First year on every plan, marked with an asterisk whose disclaimer the page keeps collapsed |
| Free SSL | Yes | One year on Economy; unlimited certificates for all sites on Deluxe and Ultimate, auto-renewed through AutoSSL |
| Automated backups | Daily, 7 restore points kept for the last 7 days | Not stated |
| Free migration | Website and email migration | No |
| Control panel | SPanel (free, with SShield security and spam protection) or cPanel | Not stated |
| CDN | CDN integration | Not stated |
| WP-CLI and SSH | Yes | Not stated |
| Malware protection | Real-time, on every plan | Not stated |
| Staging | Not listed on the plan cards | No |
| Uptime guarantee | 99.9%; credits from 10% at 99.8% up to 100% below 99%, claimed through billing | 99.9% per month in the hosting agreement, with a credit of 5% of the monthly fee on request, usable for future purchases |
| Money-back guarantee | Full refund within 30 days; prorated refund of unused time at any time after that; new clients only; web, reseller and VPS hosting | Not stated |
| Choice of data center | Dallas, New York, Seattle or Sofia on ScalaHosting's own infrastructure; partner cloud and AWS regions for cloud plans | Not stated |
| Phone support | Yes | 24/7 chat, phone and email through GoDaddy Guides |
| Windows hosting | No | No |
| Backups | Not stated | Automatic daily backups, with recovery of the whole account from the previous day |
| Free CDN | Not stated | The page lists CDN and firewall among the included essentials without naming the provider |
| Caching | Not stated | No |
| Node.js and languages | Not stated | Node.js on every plan; the dashboard exposes CPU, memory, entry processes and I/O controls |
| Resource limits | Not stated | 250,000 inodes and 100 GB per account in the hosting agreement; no CPU or RAM figures on the plan page |
| Data center choice | Not stated | No |
| Security | Not stated | DDoS protection and network monitoring on every plan; a site security suite is included on the cards |
| Not stated | Free email is listed on every plan without a mailbox count |
Company facts
| ScalaHosting | GoDaddy | |
|---|---|---|
| Control panel | SPanel (ScalaHosting's own) or cPanel | cPanel behind GoDaddy's dashboard |
| Data centers | 5 (better) | 1 |
| Support channels | chat, ticket, phone, knowledge-base | chat, phone, email, knowledge-base |
| Founded | 2007 | 1997 |