Shopify vs GoDaddy: Which E-Commerce Website Builder to Choose in 2026?

Shopify and GoDaddy are two of the most prominent names fueling the success of online businesses. As we all know, the prominence of Shopify as an e-commerce giant, GoDaddy, wasn’t always synonymous with e-commerce. Initially started as a domain name and website hosting company, GoDaddy has evolved and has added e-commerce functionality to its platform, making it easier for users to build an online store and sell and ship products. This evolution has led to the fierce battle between Shopify vs GoDaddy for the e-commerce giant crown. 

Both of these website builders allow businesses to build and manage websites, but have slight differences in their offerings. While GoDaddy allows the development of portfolios, online stores, and business and personal websites, Shopify is limited to online stores and Business websites. So, does it make GoDaddy better than Shopify? To find out, we need a detailed comparison between these two e-commerce giants.    

But how do they compare? Even if you know their capabilities, how would you decide to choose either? When we evaluated Shopify vs GoDaddy side by side in terms of e-commerce functionalities, we discovered a number of differences that we will discuss in this article. Our points of comparison will be based on features, pricing, customer support, efficiency, and market share. This article will be helpful for you in deciding which platform is best for you in 2026.   

Shopify vs GoDaddy: General Overview

To better understand what both these platforms offer and how they work, let’s start with a general overview of Shopify vs GoDaddy.                       

What is Shopify?              

Shopify is a specialized e-commerce platform that started in 2006 and is targeted at businesses of all sizes. This purpose-built platform was launched with the aim of offering comprehensive e-commerce services in one place. The best part about Shopify is that it lets you set up your online store without any coding experience or development team at hand. 

Although Shopify has seen steady growth since its inception, its popularity skyrocketed during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. It is now one of the largest e-commerce platforms around, holding over 25% of the total market share. The platform is ideal for online businesses, growing stores, dropshippers, and more. 

The prominent clients of Shopify include Red Bull, Heinz, Jenny Craig, and Kylie Cosmetics. Apart from being an online store builder, it is an omnichannel e-commerce solution that integrates all sales channels into a centralized system. Alongside this, it offers back-end management, content creation & marketing tools for businesses.                   

What is GoDaddy?

GoDaddy is a domain name and hosting company founded in 1997 by Bob Parsons. Since its inception, the platform has expanded with over 21 million customers, 80+ million domain names, and over 6600 employees worldwide. 

Over the years, GoDaddy has added advanced and modern service offerings, from simple domain name registrations and website hosting to building online e-commerce stores. 

The company introduced an e-commerce service offering in 2015, but its recent offerings of out-of-the-box store builder solutions make it a worthy competitor to Shopify. 

GoDaddy vs Shopify: Market Share

GoDaddy powers over 41 million global websites that use its services in any form. Of these numbers, 17 million are live websites, and approximately 1.9 million are using the GoDaddy website builder. The platform operates worldwide. 

However, in terms of e-commerce, the GoDaddy Online Store is just a starter, with much more modest numbers. Only 4000 live websites use GoDaddy Online Store services, and most of them are based in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.    

Meanwhile, Shopify claims to have 4.1 million live stores worldwide, with 2,7 million in the US alone. Of these, over 21,500 rank among the world’s top 1 million websites and 400 among world-leading websites using Shopify. Although most Shopify users are based in the US, it has expanded its reach to over 175 countries. 

Shopify vs GoDaddy: Comparison of Features

The goal of building an online e-commerce store isn’t only to make it look good. It should be integrated with advanced functionalities that create a flawless shopping experience. So, how do Shopify vs GoDaddy compare to each other in terms of features? Let’s find out: 

Key Features of Shopify 

Advanced Sales Functionalities

With Shopify, store owners can manage sales across many different channels from one central hub. This platform is great for international selling, offering powerful tools to reach customers worldwide. Except for the Starter plan, all Shopify plans include advanced point-of-sale (POS) options, which are better than those from GoDaddy. They even provide free hardware and software for offline stores, along with automatic inventory syncing.

Shopify’s social media tools are quite helpful for social media selling, and also on platforms like Amazon, Walmart, Google, Pinterest, Snapchat, and in-person. It integrates with over 100 payment gateways, supports multiple languages, and allows selling in various currencies immediately, making it ideal for stores with big international ambitions.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Shopify gives you a lot of freedom to improve your site's SEO. You can easily change URLs, set up redirects, and update page titles. Shopify also provides tools to make your site faster, which is important for SEO rankings.

In contrast, GoDaddy's SEO options are more limited. With the Basic plan, you don't get access to many essential SEO features. This makes Shopify a better choice if you want more control over your site's SEO.

Integration with Third-party Apps

One of the best things about Shopify is that it works great right from the start. However, if you need more features, Shopify has plenty of tools to help. You can access over 6,000 apps in the Shopify app store. 

These apps can help with various tasks like designing your store, marketing, finding products, managing orders and shipping, and overall store management. Most of these apps are easy to install, and many are free to use, providing a lot of extra functionality as needed. This makes Shopify very flexible and helpful for growing your online business.

Quick-loading Pages

Slow page loading times can harm the customer experience and negatively impact your store’s performance. Fortunately, Shopify ensures that store pages load quickly. The platform also offers a store speed report, which helps you identify and fix any issues that could be slowing down your site. Using these tools, you can improve load times and provide a better customer experience, keeping your store running smoothly and efficiently.   

Multiple Payment Gateways

Shopify provides a built-in payment gateway known as Shopify Payments, which is powered by Stripe and available in 20 countries worldwide. This feature makes it easy for store owners to process payments directly through the platform. 

Additionally, Shopify supports integration with over 100 third-party payment gateways, allowing customers to pay using various methods like Google Pay and Bitcoin. 

Key Features of GoDaddy

Seamless Email Marketing Integration

GoDaddy offers robust email marketing capabilities with its higher-tier plans. On the Premium and Commerce plans, users can send up to 25,000 emails per month. For even larger campaigns, the Commerce Plus plan allows up to 100,000 emails per month. 

Additionally, GoDaddy provides useful tools like email subscriber sign-up forms and email list segmentation. These features help businesses effectively manage their email marketing campaigns and target specific customer groups more efficiently.

Fast and Easy to Use

GoDaddy is known for its user-friendly website builder. The editor is straightforward and allows for easy customization of pages. You can simply click and edit any pre-loaded text boxes or add and delete them with just a click. 

Adding images is just as easy; you can drag and drop images from your computer and use the media uploader to include them on your site. This makes creating a website quick and simple, even for beginners.

Free Templates/Themes

All the templates on the GoDaddy platform are free to use and come included with your plan. This is a great advantage, as you don’t have to worry about extra costs. In contrast, Shopify often has paid themes, which can feel like an additional hidden fee. 

Despite being free, GoDaddy's templates are professional and stylish, so you should be able to find a design that suits your needs and gives your website a polished look.

Partnership with WooCommerce

In 2019, GoDaddy teamed up with Automattic, the company behind WooCommerce, to enhance its e-commerce capabilities. WooCommerce is a strong competitor to Shopify, and this partnership aims to bolster GoDaddy's e-commerce offerings. 

In December 2022, GoDaddy introduced its managed WooCommerce Stores solution. This new feature simplifies the process of running a WordPress online store, making it easier for businesses to manage their e-commerce operations efficiently. With this collaboration, we can expect even more improvements and features in the future.

Shopify vs GoDaddy: Pricing & Plans

When thinking about the costs of running an e-commerce store, there are monthly fees and extra charges to keep in mind. Both Shopify and GoDaddy have monthly fees, but GoDaddy offers a free mobile-friendly website option with support and marketing tools—though it doesn't include e-commerce features.

To sell products online with GoDaddy, you need the Commerce or Commerce Plus plan. Here are the current paid Website Builder plans from GoDaddy:

• Basic: $9.99/month (renews at $11.99/month after the first year)
• Premium: $14.99/month (renews at $21.99/month after the first year)
• Commerce: $16.99/month (renews at $24.99/month after the first year)
• Commerce Plus: $29.99/month (renews at $44.99/month after the first year)

These prices apply when you pay annually, offering a discount for the first year.

On the other hand, Shopify's plans are more expensive:

• Basic Shopify: $39/month
• Shopify: $105/month
• Advanced Shopify: $399/month

Shopify also offers plans for beginners and large businesses:

• Starter Plan: $5/month for a Shopify "buy" button on an existing site or Facebook
• Shopify Plus Plan: Starts at $2,000/month for enterprise clients

All Shopify plans allow unlimited products, while GoDaddy's Commerce account limits you to 5,000 products. GoDaddy does not have an enterprise version, and point-of-sale devices cost extra (they are free with Shopify).

Shopify provides two staff accounts with the Basic plan, five with the Shopify plan, and up to fifteen with the Advanced plan. You can try Shopify for free for three days, while GoDaddy offers a one-month free trial.

Shopify vs GoDaddy: Additional Costs

GoDaddy offers over 100 mobile-friendly designs for its website builder, and you can start building your website for free. However, if you want e-commerce features, you must upgrade to a paid plan.

On the other hand, Shopify offers only 11 free themes and around 100 paid premium themes. The premium themes cost between $200 to $300 from Shopify or $30 to $100 from third-party sites.

Shopify Pay is available in 20 countries, allowing you to avoid using another payment gateway. If you choose a third-party gateway, Shopify integrates with over 100 gateways but charges extra fees ranging from 0.5% to 2% per transaction, plus credit card processing fees of 2.4% + $30 to 2.9% + $30.

GoDaddy Payments charges a credit card processing fee of 2.3% + $30 per transaction but is only available in the US. If you use a third-party gateway with GoDaddy, there are no additional charges from GoDaddy, but your choices are limited to PayPal, Stripe, or Square, and you will still pay standard processing fees.

Another thing to consider with Shopify is the extra cost of paid apps if you want to extend your store's functionality, as many Shopify merchants do.

Shopify vs GoDaddy: Customer support

Shopify offers excellent 24/7 customer support through email, live chat, and phone for all its plans. However, before contacting a real person, Shopify requires you to search for a solution in their online Help Center, which some merchants might find frustrating.

GoDaddy also provides comprehensive support, with 24/7 phone and live chat support across all its plans. Additionally, GoDaddy has support accounts on Twitter, WhatsApp (in some regions), and 24/7 SMS support in the US.

GoDaddy’s resource center offers video and article tutorials, but finding precise information about their online store product can be challenging due to their wide range of products. In the customer support comparison between Shopify and GoDaddy, GoDaddy may have an edge.

Which is Better, GoDaddy or Shopify?

Some solo entrepreneurs and small business owners might choose GoDaddy for their e-commerce stores due to its affordable monthly pricing. However, they need to consider the platform's limitations. GoDaddy is suitable for basic stores but lacks some advanced features.

For most e-commerce business owners aiming to create more than a simple store or sell in multiple languages and currencies, Shopify is the better choice. 

Shopify's flexibility and scalability make it ideal for many businesses, from dropshippers to small-to-medium-sized stores and even larger enterprises. Its advanced features and support for international sales help businesses grow and thrive in the competitive e-commerce market.

Conclusion

This detailed comparison between Shopify vs GoDaddy provided a detailed overview of both platforms and compared them on different points. No matter what you choose, Shopify or GoDaddy, your decision should be based on your requirements and budget rather than on someone’s recommendation.

Above, we have evaluated both platforms to help you get a clear picture of their features, pricing, and customer support. As we are wrapping up this article, here’s a piece of advice we would give you: Although these platforms let you build your online store with ease, the customized options are somewhat limited, and you end up with a generic and simple-looking store. 

So, if your requirements are beyond just a simple online store and you want a highly customized and visually appealing e-commerce website, you need a professional development partner. 

Mtoag Technologies is a leading Shopify development company with 16+ years of experience in the e-commerce domain and has so far fueled the digitalization of 500+ companies. It's your turn now to boost your sales with an advanced, visually appealing e-commerce store.             

FAQs

What is the Difference Between Shopify and GoDaddy? 

Shopify is a robust e-commerce platform designed specifically for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. It offers extensive customization, multiple payment options, and advanced features for scaling businesses. On the other hand, GoDaddy started as a domain registrar and web hosting service, and its e-commerce features are more basic, making it suitable for simpler online stores.

Can I Use Shopify with GoDaddy? 

Yes, you can use Shopify with GoDaddy. Many businesses use GoDaddy for domain registration and web hosting while using Shopify to manage their online store. You can connect your GoDaddy domain to your Shopify store, allowing you to take advantage of both services.

Can I Transfer My Website from GoDaddy to Shopify? 

Yes, you can transfer your website from GoDaddy to Shopify. The process involves migrating your domain, setting up your Shopify store, and transferring your content and products. Shopify provides detailed guides and support to help you through the transfer process to ensure a smooth transition.

Is a GoDaddy eCommerce Plan Worth It? 

A GoDaddy eCommerce plan can be worth it for small businesses or individuals looking for a simple and cost-effective way to sell online. It offers basic e-commerce features, integration with major payment gateways, and ease of use. However, for more advanced e-commerce needs, Shopify may offer more robust features and flexibility.

What is the Best eCommerce Website Builder? 

The best eCommerce website builder depends on your specific needs. Shopify is highly recommended for its extensive features, scalability, and user-friendly interface, making it ideal for growing businesses. Other popular options include WooCommerce for WordPress users and GoDaddy for those seeking a simple, all-in-one solution.

How Much is Shopify a Month? 

Shopify has different pricing plans. The Basic Shopify plan costs $39 per month, the Shopify plan is $105 per month, and the Advanced Shopify plan is $399 per month. They also offer a Starter plan for $5 per month for a “buy” button and a Shopify Plus plan starting at $2,000 per month for enterprise clients.

Can I Transfer My Shopify Domain to GoDaddy?

 Yes, you can transfer your Shopify domain to GoDaddy. To do this, you need to unlock the domain in Shopify, get the authorization code, and then initiate the transfer process in your GoDaddy account. GoDaddy provides support and guides to help you complete the transfer smoothly.