Spaceship vs GoDaddy: The Budget Disruptor Takes on the Giant

GoDaddy is the world's largest domain registrar. They've got the Super Bowl ads, the brand recognition, and more domains under management than anyone else. But size doesn't mean value. Let's see how the budget upstart Spaceship compares to the industry giant.

The Pricing Reality Check

GoDaddy's pricing strategy is simple: hook you with cheap first-year promos, then make their money on renewals and add-ons. Spaceship's strategy: charge less across the board.

*GoDaddy often runs first-year promos ($0.01-$2.99), but renewal is always $21.99+

The Real 5-Year Cost

First-year promos are meaningless. Here's what you'll actually pay over 5 years:

That's not a typo. With WHOIS privacy included, GoDaddy costs 3× more than Spaceship over 5 years.

Why GoDaddy Costs So Much

GoDaddy's business model relies on:

GoDaddy spends massively on advertising (Super Bowl ads aren't cheap). Someone has to pay for that, and it's you.

What GoDaddy Does Better

To be fair, GoDaddy isn't all bad. They do have legitimate advantages:

Feature Comparison

Should You Switch from GoDaddy?

Yes, if:

• You're tired of $21.99 renewals
• You're paying extra for WHOIS privacy
• You don't need phone support
• You're comfortable with online-only support
• You want transparent, predictable pricing

Maybe not if:

• You heavily use GoDaddy's ecosystem (hosting, email, websites)
• You need phone support for technical issues
• You're an active domain investor using Afternic
• You have non-technical clients who trust the GoDaddy brand

How to Transfer from GoDaddy to Spaceship

The process is straightforward:

1. Unlock your domain in GoDaddy (Domain Settings → Domain Lock → Off)
2. Get your authorization/EPP code from GoDaddy
3. Initiate transfer at Spaceship (enter domain + auth code)
4. Pay the transfer fee ($9.68 for .com) — this includes 1 year added to your registration
5. Approve the transfer via email
6. Wait 5-7 days (sometimes faster)

Spaceship even has a Transfer Manager that walks you through DNS setup to avoid downtime.

The Bottom Line

GoDaddy is the biggest registrar for a reason—they're good at marketing and have a complete ecosystem. But you pay dearly for that convenience.

Spaceship offers the same core functionality at less than half the long-term cost. Unless you specifically need GoDaddy's phone support or Afternic marketplace, switching is a no-brainer.