Rackspace vs GoDaddy? Rackspace is a managed cloud hosting service that provides the best of both worlds – the flexibility of a public cloud with the control and security of a private one. It is an open source, self-managed cloud computing platform that offers its customers with an array of services.
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GoDaddy is a domain registrar and web hosting company that offers its customers with domain name registration, email hosting, website building tools, and other services.
Winner Snapshot – Here is a summary table to compare: Rackspace vs GoDaddy
Compared Options | Rackspace | GoDaddy |
Pricing | No hosting plans | 4 bundles, 22 hosting plans |
Starting price | $0 / month | $5.99 / month |
Free domain | No | Yes |
Coupons | No | No |
Shared hosting plans | No | 6 plans from $5.99 to $39.99 |
VPS | No | 4 plans from $4.99 to $69.99 |
Dedicated server | No | 8 plans from $129.99 to $399.99 |
Cloud hosting support | No | No |
Website builder | No | 1 plan at $19.99 |
Data centers | 4/6 | 3/6 |
Support services | 6/6 | 5/6 |
CMS support | 4/6 | 4/6 |
OS support | 2/2 | 2/2 |
Language support | 1/8 | 1/8 |
Database support | 2/3 | 1/3 |
Winner: GoDaddy
GoDaddy seems to be the clear winner at first glance, but don’t be so sure yet. You need to consider many other factors before you pick a Web host.
That’s why we need to compare other essential factors like features, support options, pricing, ease of use, and so on. Comparing these vital factors makes it easy to host your website on the best platform.
Quick Comparison: Rackspace vs GoDaddy
Rackspace | GoDaddy | |
Features | Load balancing Rackspace CDN Cloud security Multi-cloud protection service Firewall Cloud protection Shared SSL Cache purging Custom reporting | Website builder Unlimited bandwidth & storageIntel processors on serversOnline marketing suiteMobile-friendly theme with stock imagesE-mail marketing supportCustom website design supportCustom themesBackup and restore functions |
Support | Phone Live chat Email | 24/7 Live chat supportPhone supportHow-to blogs |
Performance | Average uptime of 99.99% | Average uptime rate of 99.99% |
Ease of use | Multi-platform access | User-friendly site builder |
Security | Web Application Firewall | SSL security |
Server location | Amsterdam (Netherlands), Chicago (USA), Dallas (USA), Frankfurt (Germany), Hong Kong (China), Kansas City (USA), London (UK), New York City (USA), Queenstown (Singapore), and San Jose (USA), Shanghai (China), Sydney (Australia) Virginia (USA), | Arizona (three (3) servers in Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Mesa, AZ); other servers located in Los Angeles, Virginia, and Chicago International servers in Amsterdam and Singapore |
Free migration | Yes | Yes |
About Rackspace and GoDaddy
Rackspace | Rackspace Technology Inc. is a US-based cloud computing service with offices in six continents worldwide. The company was into app development after its founding and expanded to Web hosting services in the 2000s. Currently, it is one of the world’s most used Web hosts and serves 10+ million customers worldwide. |
GoDaddy | GoDaddy is a shared hosting service with a presence in at least three continents worldwide. The Web host offers dedicated hosting services to users and has some of the industry’s cheapest plans for ecommerce websites. |
Rackspace vs GoDaddy: A Side-by-Side Comparison
1. Key Hosting Features: Rackspace vs GoDaddy
Hosting Feature | Rackspace | GoDaddy |
Free daily backups and restore | Yes | No |
High-performance SSD storage | No (cloud storage only) | Yes |
Free WordPress installation | Yes | No |
Free site migration | Yes | Yes |
Free website builder | No | Yes |
Free domain-associated email | No | Yes |
Email accounts | Yes | Yes (500+) |
Disk space and bandwidth | Unlimited | Unmetered bandwidth |
Built-in caching system | Yes | Yes |
Free CDN (content delivery network) | Yes (Rackspace CDN) | No |
Webspace limit | Pay as you use | 25 GB (Economy plan), 60 GB (Deluxe plan), 75 GB (Unlimited plan), and 100 GB (Maximum plan) |
Free SSL | No | No (3 plans from $69.99 to $344.99) |
Sub and parked domains | No | Up to 500 subdomains for every domain name |
Option to add multiple users | Yes | Yes |
Free custom domain name | No | Yes, for an annual web hosting plans |
Git and SSH access | No | Yes |
Main Rackspace Features
Some of Rackspace’s major features include:
Pay-As-You-Use hosting
Rackspace has no defined plans, so it allows users customize their cloud hosting to suit their needs and budget.
Professional customer support
Rackspace has a dedicated customer service team tasked to offer users 24/7 support options through different channels. Positive reviews and high ratings of Rackspace’s customer service makes it one of the industry’s top Web hosts.
Built-in CDN
Rackspace has its own CDN (Rackspace CDN) designed to offer better site performance support to subscribers. The CDN helps users get great page loading speeds and longer uptimes to their websites.
Advanced security features
Rackspace provides some of the industry’s best security features like:
- DDoS protection,
- WAF security,
- Malware scanning,
- Data security protocols,
- Anti-intrusion software
- Compliance management
These features come at no extra cost and are available to all Rackspace subscribers.
Main GoDaddy Features
GoDaddy offers users the following features:
- Great uptime rating
- Shared hosting
- Dedicated server hosting
- Ecommerce hosting
Great uptime rating
GoDaddy users have access to 99.99% uptimes for their websites along with great page loading speeds. The over 99.99% rating from GoDaddy allows subscribers keep their websites live for longer with above-decent loading speeds.
Shared hosting
GoDaddy’s shared hosting plans allows users run their websites at low rates with significant resources. Shared servers provide subscribers enough server resources without diminishing page loading speeds or other performance metrics.
Dedicated server hosting
GoDaddy subscribers can access dedicated server hosting to run their websites with exclusive resources. Dedicated hosting services from GoDaddy allows users access to limitless space, unmetered bandwidth, and other great features.
As expected, GoDaddy’s dedicated server hosting plans are more expensive than regular shared packages.
Ecommerce hosting
GoDaddy has a dedicated ecommerce hosting plan to allow owners of business websites more features to run successful marketing and service campaigns.
Ecommerce plans from GoDaddy adds payment app integration, email marketing, and other great features to standard hosting.
2. Site Performance (Speed & Uptime): Rackspace vs GoDaddy
Web hosts must provide the right resources to help subscribers manage fast loading pages and great uptimes on their websites. That’s why we need to see the performance features available from Rackspace vs GoDaddy.
Rackspace Speed & Uptime
Rackspace offers great uptimes with its 99.99% rating. Users of this service should expect no more than 0.01% downtimes overall every month.
Rackspace also offers users great guarantees for network or server failure at an aggregate of 30 minutes per month. Users can expect up to 15% refunds of their hosting fee if they experience slow loading pages or downtimes for 30 minutes in a month.
GoDaddy Speed & Uptime
GoDaddy has an incredible 99.99% uptime rating, making it one of the top Web hosts when you consider site performance.
Updates to GoDaddy’s performance now support users with significant site uptimes and less than 0.01% every month. Page loading times from GoDaddy are also decent at less than 1.5 seconds overall.
Winner:
This round is an obvious tie as GoDaddy and Rackspace offer stellar performance features to users. Subscribers from both hosts should expect significant page loading speeds and fewer downtime minutes while hosting their websites.
3. Pricing & Plans: Rackspace vs GoDaddy
Web hosts have different prices and offer unique features on their plans. Let’s check out Rackspace vs GoDaddy to see what they both offer and how much users pay for their services.
Rackspace | GoDaddy | |
Entry Level plan | N / A | $5.99 / month |
Middle plan | N / A | $12.99 / month |
Highest plan | N / A | $14.99 / month |
Cloud Hosting | Yes (From $0.1 to $0.02 per month) | N / A |
Dedicated Server | N / A | $109.99/month for DS-32 $149.99/month for DS-64 $259.99/month for DS-128 $339.99/month for DS-256 |
Rackspace Prices & Plans
Rackspace has no rigid plans with limited features. The company opts for a per-terabyte system where users pay for the exact amount of data they consume.
For the first 10 TB ($0.1 per month), Rackspace offers features like:
- Cache purging
- Shared SSL security
- Custom reports
- Content routing
Other features like malware scanning, Rackspace CDN, multi-platform migration, etc. are free and available to all Rackspace subscribers.
After charging $0.1 per month for the first 10 TB, Rackspace will charge the following on subsequent uses:
- $0.09/month for the next 40 TB,
- $0.07/month for the next 150 TB,
- $0.5/month for the next 300 TB,
- $0.04/month for the next 524 TB,
- $0.04/month for the next 4 PB,
- $0.02/month for the next 5 PB and onwards
Rackspace has no free trial but offers great rates when you look at the massive services they provide.
GoDaddy Prices & Plans
GoDaddy has four plans – Basic, Standard, Premium, and Ecommerce plans.
GoDaddy Basic users must pay $5.99 per month to access standard website hosting along with an analytics dashboard and 12-month Microsoft365 subscription.
GoDaddy Standard ($8.99 per month) provides everything in Basic along with features for website optimization and SEO tools.
GoDaddy Premium ($12.99 per month) gives users everything in Standard plans along with tools for site scheduling and email marketing.
GoDaddy Ecommerce ($14.99 per month) has everything in Premium with payment app integration, marketplace builders, ecommerce support, and much more.
Note that all GoDaddy’s plans are accessible at this rate for subscribers who pay two years upfront. Monthly subscription plans are expensive and are sometimes not available on before Premium packages.
GoDaddy also has separate plans for SSL security and website builders. No discounts are available to users on multiple plans.
Winner:
There’s a tie in this round as users might prefer either Web host based on what they offer. Rackspace will easily appeal to subscribers looking for a Web host with no defined plan and a pay-as-you-use system. However, GoDaddy offers over 20 plans to users with several features tailored to meet their needs.
4. Customer Support: Rackspace vs GoDaddy
Web hosts must have proper customer support options to help customers handle complaints and resolve issues. We need to see how Rackspace vs GoDaddy stack up against each other when we compare their customer support options.
Type of Support | Rackspace | GoDaddy |
24/7 support | Yes | Yes |
Phone Support | Yes (24/7) | Yes (Business hours only) |
Live to chat | Yes | Yes |
Email Support | Yes | Yes |
Ticket support | No | Yes |
Forum Support | No | No |
Video guides | No | Yes |
Knowledgebase | No | No |
Rackspace Customer Support
Rackspace’s Fanatical Support could be of the industry’s best service teams when you consider positive reviews they get online. The service claims to offer 24/7 support to all users via email, phone, and live chat.
Very few Web hosts offer phone support and Rackspace claims to offer it round-the-clock worldwide. The live chat feature was great though, as you can easily get a response from customer support agents in moments.
GoDaddy Customer Support
GoDaddy has several customer support options through phone, live chat, and ticket support. The Web host also provides a set of video guides to support users with walkthroughs about various services.
Many GoDaddy support services are available 24/7; however, users can’t access phone support outside business hours.
Winner:
Rackspace offers better customer support services than GoDaddy. Customer service teams from Rackspace handle complaints professionally but GoDaddy’s support options are typically sub-par at best.
Similar support options from both Web hosts might make this round seem close, but Rackspace largely eclipses GoDaddy when you consider professional services they offer.
5. Ease of Use: Rackspace vs GoDaddy
Ease of use is vital, as without it, businesses would likely fail online. Web hosts need to contribute major features users need to create websites comfortably. Several ease of use features exist across Web hosts, let’s see what Rackspace vs GoDaddy has to offer.
Rackspace Ease of Use
Rackspace users get access to more tools with its multi-platform offering. Users can get direct access to Microsoft Dynamics 365 and standard Microsoft 365 to manage apps, connect platforms, and much more.
The platform also integrates tools from Oracle and SAP with Rackspace Application Services to help users create great content, manage databases, use essential tools, and more.
GoDaddy Ease of Use
GoDaddy’s drag-and-drop site builder is one of its major options to support ease of use. The service allows users create fully functional websites with minimal effort and has one of the industry’s best site builders.
Beginners and experienced website builders can easily take advantage of this feature to create professional sites easily.
GoDaddy also provides one-click installation to allow users add vital apps to their websites.
Winner:
Rackspace provides better ease of use potential than GoDaddy. The service has a user-friendly interface that might be useful to first-timers and experienced builders. GoDaddy also provides several great features to help users navigate options with ease but it doesn’t measure up to Rackspace.
6. Scalability: Rackspace vs GoDaddy
Web hosts must offer users a platform to grow their websites with comfort. Website admins usually want to grow in popularity online while they offer more features to existing users. Poor scalability options might force loyal users to migrate, so we need to see how both Web hosts encourage website growth.
Rackspace Scalability
Rackspace adopts a Pay-As-You-Use template to serve users with as much features as required. The platform offers its services according to a per-Terabyte/Petabyte template. Subscribers get to pay between $0.1 and $0.02 every month depending on the amount of data they use.
All Rackspace offers come with multiple features to help website owners run their sites at lower rates with access to more tools.
GoDaddy Scalability
GoDaddy supports users with scaling options from 20+ plans and different bundles. The platform allows individuals grow their websites into small ecommerce platforms or large sites with huge audiences.
Several GoDaddy plans come with great features like unmetered bandwidth, unlimited space, payment apps integration, and much more. The service also provides tailored plans to help businesses grow websites with great features at ideal budgets.
Winner:
Rackspace wins this round with its boundless support for scalability. Users get access to as much space and bandwidth they need to keep their websites operational. Rackspace users also get advanced tools to run their websites and add new features visitors need.
GoDaddy also does a great job with its multiple plans and scalable packages, but it doesn’t come close to Rackspace.
7. Security: Rackspace vs GoDaddy
Web hosts cannot overlook security or they might risk losing tons of followers after massive data breaches. We need to see how Rackspace vs GoDaddy stack up when we compare their security features side-by-side.
Rackspace | GoDaddy | |
Free SSL certificate | No (but allows third-party installation) | No (only standard level and available for 12 months on some plans) |
DDoS protection | Yes | Yes |
CloudFlare | No (Rackspace CDN only) | No |
Daily backups | Yes | Yes |
Malware scans | Yes | Yes |
WAF (Web Application Firewall) | Yes | Yes |
Security features | DDoS protection, WAF security, Malware scanning, Data security protocols, Anti-intrusion software Compliance management | Scheduled Site Cleanups Anti-malware scans Firewall protection Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Protection CDN Cage FS Malware removal Email privacy Cross-site injection/scripting prevention |
Rackspace Security
Rackspace doesn’t provide free SSL certificates to users, but subscribers can purchase this protection from third parties. However, Rackspace does a great job in securing users overall with multiple advanced features on all its plans.
Rackspace provides users with DDoS protection, WAF security, malware scanning, data security protocols, anti-intrusion software, and so on. Several features from Rackspace are ideal for websites designed to manage sensitive data. Security tools from Rackspace are also HIPAA and PCI DSS compliant, ensuring website users get vital data protection software to serve clients.
GoDaddy Security
GoDaddy equips websites of its users with basic security tools like malware scanners and anti-spam software. The service provides SSL certificates to support website admins with secure data transmission. Also, GoDaddy provides other features like hack protection, DDoS, and more.
Winner:
Rackspace easily wins this round as it offers much more tools than many Web hosts combined. All Rackspace users can easily access advanced security features to protect their websites from unauthorized access. GoDaddy, on the other hand, does a shoddy job overall if you compare its security features to what Rackspace provides.
8. Server Location: Rackspace vs GoDaddy
Web hosts need to station their servers at ideal locations to offer great services users need to run their websites. Poor server siting typically contributes to slow loading pages and constant downtimes.
That’s why we need to compare the server location of Rackspace vs GoDaddy to see what both Web hosts have to offer.
Rackspace Server Location
Rackspace stations its servers in six (6) continents worldwide. Some of Rackspace’s servers are in:
- Amsterdam (Netherlands),
- Chicago (USA),
- Dallas (USA),
- Frankfurt (Germany),
- Hong Kong (China),
- Kansas City (USA),
- London (UK),
- New York City (USA),
- Queenstown (Singapore), and
- San Jose (USA),
- Shanghai (China),
- Sydney (Australia)
- Virginia (USA),
The company has a broad server network and serves countless customers worldwide from its various data centers.
GoDaddy Server Location
GoDaddy has six US-based data centers at:
- Phoenix (Arizona),
- Mesa (Arizona),
- Scottsdale (Arizona),
- Los Angeles (California),
- Chicago (Illinois), and
- Virginia
The company also runs international data centers from Singapore and Amsterdam in Asia and Europe respectively.
Winner:
Rackspace wins this round easily as it offers more servers to users at more locations than GoDaddy. All Rackspace users can easily get super-fast speeds and great uptimes with its servers stationed at different locations on six continents.
GoDaddy provides an intercontinental server system but doesn’t have the range Rackspace offers users.
Rackspace vs GoDaddy: Final Recommendations
When to Choose Rackspace
You might consider Rackspace as a preferred Web host if you want:
Better site performance
Rackspace relies on cloud hosting and a vast server network to provide hosting services to customers. The Web host allows individuals and businesses run fully functional websites regardless of location at maximum speeds.
Website owners looking for a hosting platform with great resources will appreciate what Rackspace offers.
Multiple rebates
Rackspace has three guarantees – network, infrastructure, and hardware replacement guarantees. Users can get about 15% in rebates if they experience up to 30-minute downtimes on their website in a month.
All users have access to these rebates; however, it’s not commonly repaid due to Rackspace’s extensive server network and infrastructure. But if you want a Web host with all the essential features and good rebates, Rackspace could be an ideal option.
Useful security features
Security tools from Rackspace can provide protection against hacks and data theft for all kinds of websites. If you own a website and seek advanced security to prevent hacks and unauthorized access to site content, Rackspace might be what you need.
Advanced cloud hosting
Rackspace offers cloud hosting support to all its users. The company has no data restrictions and users get access to as much space and bandwidth they need to keep their websites running. The high-end cloud hosting features from Rackspace could be ideal for website admins with massive space and bandwidth requirements.
When to Choose GoDaddy
GoDaddy might be a great choice if you want:
Beginner-friendly website building and hosting
GoDaddy adopts a drag-and-drop website builder to allow beginners and experienced developers create sites with ease. The service provides simple instructions to first-timers and allows anyone build and host great sites from scratch.
If you want a straightforward platform to create easy-to-use sites, you will fancy what GoDaddy provides.
Tailored hosting plans
GoDaddy has a long list of hosting plans with over 20 packages available. The service allows users choose different plans with important features and is a great fit for individuals and businesses.
GoDaddy offers affordable plans and it may be ideal for website admins with small budgets.
Cheap domain registration
GoDaddy plans start from $5.99 per month and users get free 12-month domain registration after subscription. All GoDaddy users can access the free domain for one year regardless of their chosen plan.
Industry-standard uptime
GoDaddy has an over 99.9% uptime rating and is one of the industry’s most reliable Web hosts for shared pages. The service also provides great loading speeds to websites hosted through its servers.
Bottom Line: Rackspace vs GoDaddy
Rackspace vs GoDaddy have several great features to offer, and both hosts might be ideal for countless needs. Rackspace is an ideal fit for users keen on short-term billing plans with massive data while GoDaddy opts for an all-inclusive offer to users.
Both Web hosts offer basic security features on their starter plans, supports reporting, and site cleanups.
You can’t work with both, so you’ll have to choose one for your Web host. You’ll have to migrate between these hosts whenever you change your mind or if you plan to see what they both offer.
Choose the Web hosts with features ideal to run your website and with plans that fit into your budget.
FAQs: Rackspace vs GoDaddy
Does Rackspace Have a Money-Back Guarantee?
Rackspace doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee but provides network, infrastructure, and hardware replacement guarantees. All Rackspace customers can get up to 15% off their monthly subscription for every 30 minutes of network or server downtimes.
Does GoDaddy Have Cloud Hosting?
GoDaddy is a VPS-based hosting platform and doesn’t offer cloud services to users. All GoDaddy users can increase the efficiency of their website by purchasing extra tools like CDN or opt for dedicated hosting.
Does Rackspace Have Unlimited Bandwidth?
Rackspace doesn’t have unlimited bandwidth but prices what it offers according to the volume you use. The company doesn’t have rigid plans but chooses a pay-as-you-use template to serve customers.
Does GoDaddy Have a Free Website Builder?
GoDaddy has a website builder, but it’s not available for free. GoDaddy users must subscribe to special website builder plans (from $19.99) or sign up for a higher bundle to get website builders.
GoDaddy’s site builder operates with a drag-and-drop pattern with 100+ templates to create professional websites.