Hostinger or GoDaddy: which web host is worth it once you count the renewal?

On Hostinger's international site, shared hosting starts at Premium, which includes a domain and email free for the first year. GoDaddy's plan with the same two items is Economy. These two are the main pair of this article. SSL is free on every plan at both companies.

The article answers by horizon: what you pay in the first year, over 2 years and over 4 years, and what each plan charges to renew. GoDaddy also sells Starter, a plan with the site only, and it gets its own section further down.

For a site that will last one year, Hostinger's 12-month Premium with SONAR20 costs US$19.10. GoDaddy Economy costs US$83.88 for its first year. The difference is US$64.78 in Hostinger's favor.

Hostinger's cart had the Black Friday price already applied: the 12-month Premium showed US$1.99 a month without the code and US$1.59 a month with SONAR20, the same monthly rate as the 24- and 48-month plans. The code gives 20% off a new purchase.

For a site that will last two years, Hostinger's 24-month Premium with SONAR20 is one purchase of US$38.21. GoDaddy's 24-month Economy plan costs US$155.76, which is less than paying the first year and one renewal (US$227.76). Starter has no discount, so two years of it cost US$143.76.

The difference is in how each company charges. At Hostinger, you pay the 48 months at once and renew nothing within that time. In the cart, with the Black Friday price already applied, the 48-month Premium showed US$95.52, and SONAR20 took it to US$76.42.

At GoDaddy, the promotional price covers the first term only, and renewals are charged at the list price. The cheapest path to four years is the 36-month Economy plan at US$215.64, plus one yearly renewal of US$143.88.

GoDaddy's 60-month Economy plan costs US$359.40 and covers 5 years for about the same money as the 4-year path above.

The totals do not include renewing the domain or the email after the first year, at either company.

Once the period ends, both companies go back to the list price. SONAR20 applies to a new purchase only, so Hostinger's renewal is charged at the plan's list price. The cart says Premium renews after 48 months at US$10.99 a month for 12 months, which is US$131.88 a year. The 12-month plan renews at the same rate.

GoDaddy's cart says Economy renews in November 2027 for US$143.88. That is US$12 a year above Premium.

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Hostinger sells Premium by the month at US$12.99. SONAR20 does not apply to the monthly plan, and it renews at the same US$12.99 every month. Twelve months this way come to US$155.88, about eight times the 12-month plan with the code. It is useful only for a short test.

Starter is GoDaddy's plan with the site only: 1 site, 10 GB NVMe and cPanel, with no domain or email on the list. SSL comes through AutoSSL, like every GoDaddy plan. It has no first-year discount: the cart showed US$71.88 for 1 year, and it renews at the same US$71.88.

In the first year, over 2 years and over 4 years, Starter costs more than Premium with SONAR20. At renewal, it is the cheapest of the three plans in this article, US$60 a year below Premium.

On Premium and on Economy, the domain and the email are free for one year. After that, each one renews on its own, at both companies, and the 4-year totals above do not include them. GoDaddy's notice adds that the free domain carries the ICANN fee.

SSL does not expire. Hostinger installs a free certificate on every plan, with no extra setup or cost. GoDaddy includes AutoSSL on every plan. The Economy cart also adds a Standard SSL, free for one year and then auto-renewed at US$119.99 a year: it is a paid certificate on top of AutoSSL, and you can switch off its renewal.

Hostinger accepts a refund request within 30 days of purchase. GoDaddy's international page says the same: 30 days on the plan cards, and the footer notice gives a full refund on an annual plan within 30 days, or within 48 hours on a monthly plan. On this point, the two are tied.

Above Premium, Hostinger has Unlimited, with unlimited sites, and Cloud Startup. By the same 20% math on the page price, 48 months of Unlimited come to US$107.14 with SONAR20 and renew at US$16.99 a month; Cloud Startup comes to US$306.82 and renews at US$25.99 a month. These two were not checked in the cart. GoDaddy's Deluxe and Ultimate plans are left out because their renewal was not checked either. The code's rules are on the Hostinger coupon page.

One year, with a domain and email: Hostinger Premium for 12 months with SONAR20, at US$19.10. Economy costs US$64.78 more in the same period.

Two years, with a domain and email: Hostinger Premium for 24 months with SONAR20, at US$38.21. Economy costs US$155.76 on its 24-month plan.

Four years, with a domain and email: Hostinger Premium for 48 months with SONAR20, at US$76.42 for the whole period. Economy costs more than four times that.

Only the site, for many years: GoDaddy Starter is the plan with the cheapest renewal, US$71.88 a year, but it costs more than Premium with SONAR20 in the first year, over 2 years and over 4 years.

In every case, check the renewal price in the cart before paying: promotions change.

Em Casa com Cecília runs on Hostinger, and its domain is registered there. For GoDaddy, this text uses only what its international page and cart show in US dollars; no one on the team has used the service.