Exabytes Malaysia vs GoDaddy: Quick Summary
I found Exabytes Malaysia delivers 40-85% lower pricing across all hosting types while actually outperforming GoDaddy in real-world speed tests (84% vs 53% GTmetrix score, 6.1s vs 31.7s fully loaded).
GoDaddy’s strengths lie in its global infrastructure, enterprise-grade security features, and genuinely 24/7 support, but you’re paying a significant premium for brand recognition rather than superior performance.
Unless you absolutely need worldwide data centres or can’t risk downtime outside business hours, Exabytes offers better speed, longer backup retention, and unbeatable value that makes GoDaddy’s premium pricing hard to justify.
1. Prices and Plans Comparison
Exabytes’ Budget-Friendly Plans Undercut GoDaddy’s Premium Pricing
Exabytes emerges as the clear winner for price-conscious users. Their entry-level shared hosting starts at just $0.99/month versus GoDaddy’s $6.71/month. That’s an 85% savings. Exabytes bundles free domains, daily backups, and 100-day money-back guarantees across most plans, while GoDaddy charges extra for many of these features or limits them to higher tiers.
Both offer WordPress hosting, VPS, and dedicated servers, but Exabytes consistently prices 40-60% lower across all categories.
However, GoDaddy’s global infrastructure and claimed 2x faster performance might justify the premium if you’re targeting international audiences. For Southeast Asian users or those prioritising value over brand recognition, Exabytes is the budget champion.
2. Customer Support Comparison: Who’s Got Your Back?
GoDaddy’s 24/7 Multi-Channel Support Outperforms Exabytes’ Limited Availability.
Exabytes Customer Support
Exabytes offers multiple support channels including live chat, ticket submission, phone support, and an extensive knowledge base organised by product category.
The knowledge base is impressively organised into specific categories:
- Exabytes Int – Billing (payment and billing system)
- Domain (domain management, DNS records)
- WordPress Hosting (getting started guides)
- Business Hosting Knowledge
- Email/Email Clients (Webmail, Outlook, Thunderbird)
- Others (Ebuzzzz, SPAMExperts, Sitelock, M365, SSL), etc.
I spent time browsing the knowledge base before contacting support. The articles are detailed and include step-by-step instructions with screenshots, which is excellent for self-service troubleshooting.
However, some articles felt outdated. References to older control panel versions and interface screenshots that didn’t match my current dashboard.
Testing Live Chat Support
To test Exabytes’ support quality, I initiated a live chat session with a technical question about VPS hosting and Python/Django application compatibility.
I asked: “I’m planning to migrate a Django/Python application that currently runs on a VPS with 4GB RAM and uses PostgreSQL database. Which of your VPS plans would you recommend, and does your LiteSpeed server configuration support WSGI applications natively?”
I clicked the live chat icon on the support page during business hours.
At the top of the chat widget, a reassuring message displayed: “Technical Support – SG” with “Currently replying in under 2 minutes.”
This is where my experience took a disappointing turn. Despite the promised sub-2-minute response time, I waited 34 minutes before an agent finally joined the chat.
No automated messages explained the delay, no queue position updates, just silence. I kept the browser tab open, checking periodically to see if anyone would respond, growing increasingly frustrated.
After over half an hour, an agent named Sachin finally appeared with a generic greeting: “Welcome to Support Live Chat service! I am Sachin, how may I assist you?”
Since so much time had passed, I wasn’t sure if my initial message was even visible, so I retyped my question about Django/Python VPS hosting and WSGI support with LiteSpeed.
Sachin’s first response came about 3 minutes later: “Need to check this with server team.” He then asked for my account’s registered email address so they could “update support on my behalf.”
This confused me. I was asking a pre-sales technical question to help me decide whether to purchase their service. I explained: “I haven’t registered an account yet. I’m inquiring.”
Four minutes later, Sachin replied with a simple recommendation: “SSD VPS 4” and included a link to their VPS plans page (https://www.exabytes.sg/servers/ssd-vps).
He then added: “I would suggest you to email us at sales@exabytes.sg to get brief details. Apart from this is there anything else I can help you with?”
This experience was deeply frustrating on multiple levels:
- Massive Wait Time Discrepancy: The chat widget promised responses “in under 2 minutes,” but I waited 34 minutes. This isn’t just disappointing. It’s misleading.
- No Technical Answer: Sachin didn’t address my actual question about WSGI support or PostgreSQL compatibility. He simply recommended a VPS plan based on the RAM requirement I mentioned (4GB), which I could have determined myself by looking at their pricing page.
- Deflection to Email: Rather than attempting to answer or escalating within the chat system, I was directed to email the sales team. This defeats the entire purpose of live chat.
- Lack of Pre-Sales Support: The request for my registered email address suggested their support system is primarily designed for existing customers troubleshooting issues, not prospective customers evaluating technical compatibility.
- Generic, Scripted Response: The interaction felt entirely scripted. Sachin showed no genuine engagement with my technical question, no curiosity about my use case, and no effort to provide value beyond the bare minimum.
This experience suggests several systemic issues with Exabytes’ support:
- Understaffed support teams leading to extreme wait times despite promises
- First-level agents lack authority or knowledge to handle technical pre-sales questions
- Support infrastructure optimised for existing customer troubleshooting, not sales inquiries
- Disconnect between marketing promises (“under 2 minutes”) and operational reality (34 minutes)
For basic questions like “How do I reset my password?” or “Where do I find my cPanel login?”, Exabytes support might perform adequately.
But for the technical, consultative support that helps you make informed purchasing decisions or solve complex configuration challenges, my experience suggests you’ll be disappointed and better served by their ticket system or direct email to specialised teams.
GoDaddy Customer Support
To assess GoDaddy’s support quality and response time, I initiated a live chat session with a moderately technical question about VPS hosting management options.
I asked: “What are the differences between self-managed and fully managed VPS hosting? I’m trying to decide which is better for running a WordPress site with about 100,000 monthly visitors.”
The AI bot responded within seconds with a structured answer outlining the key differences:
- Self-Managed VPS: You handle security updates, server monitoring, software installation, and troubleshooting
- Fully Managed VPS: GoDaddy handles security patches, monitoring, backups, and provides emergency support
The response was accurate and well-organised, but fairly basic. It included links to relevant help articles but didn’t provide personalised recommendations for my specific use case.
I typed “Can I speak with a live agent?” to test the escalation process. The AI bot confirmed I would be transferred and informed me of an estimated wait time of one minute. This transparency was excellent. Knowing the wait time eliminated the frustration of wondering how long I’d be on hold.
After approximately 1 minute and 15 seconds, a support agent named Rakshitha Bellapukonda joined the chat with a friendly greeting: “Hi there! I’m Rakshitha, and I’ll be happy to help you today.”
I repeated my question, adding that I wanted to understand which option would be better for my skill level. Rakshitha responded within about 90 seconds with a much more detailed and personalised answer:
She explained that for my use case (WordPress site, 100K monthly visitors, intermediate technical skills), Fully Managed WordPress Hosting would be more appropriate than a self-managed VPS because:
- GoDaddy handles all server optimisation specifically for WordPress
- Automatic security updates and malware scanning are included
- The performance would be sufficient for 100K visitors without manual tuning
- I’d avoid the complexity and time investment of server administration
She then mentioned that if I specifically needed VPS-level resources and control, the Fully Managed VPS would be the safer choice given my skill level, but it would be more expensive than necessary for a single WordPress site.
To test the depth of knowledge further, I asked: “If I went with self-managed VPS, would I be able to upgrade to fully managed later if I found it too complex?” Rakshitha confirmed this was possible and explained the process: I’d need to contact support to migrate my data to a new fully managed instance, as it’s not an in-place upgrade. She noted there might be a brief downtime (usually 30-60 minutes) during migration but GoDaddy’s team would handle the technical work.
My Impression:
The entire interaction was exceptional. Response times were consistently under 2 minutes, even at 9 PM EST. Rakshitha demonstrated genuine technical knowledge.
The AI bot initial response, while basic, was actually quite helpful for simple questions and would likely resolve many common inquiries without needing human escalation. The seamless handoff from bot to human was smooth and well-communicated.
3. Hosting Features Comparison
Exabytes Packs More Features Into Budget-Friendly Plans
Exabytes Features
I tested Exabytes’ hosting, and honestly, the feature density surprised me for the price point. The LiteSpeed server technology delivered noticeably faster load times than traditional Apache setups I’ve used.
What impressed me most was the backup system: daily automated backups with 14-30 day retention (depending on your plan).
The Website Security360 protection caught several malware scan attempts during my testing period, and the one-click hardening feature locked down my WordPress installation without requiring terminal access. I appreciated having both Plesk and cPanel options depending on the hosting type.
The free domain inclusion (on annual plans) and 100-day money-back guarantee meant I could test everything risk-free. My site migration from my previous host took about 4 hours with their professional migration service. They handled the technical heavy lifting while I just pointed DNS records.
GoDaddy Features
Testing GoDaddy’s Web Hosting Deluxe plan revealed why they’re an industry leader, even at premium prices. The NVMe storage delivered blazing-fast database queries. My WooCommerce store with 500 products loaded product pages 40% faster than on my previous SSD-based host.
The cPanel interface was the standard industry version, which meant zero learning curve for me. I particularly valued the unmetered bandwidth combined with their 99.9% uptime guarantee. The automatic daily backups were convenient, though only keeping the previous day’s backup felt limiting compared to competitors offering longer retention periods.
GoDaddy’s Airo Site Designer impressed me with its AI capabilities. I built a test site in under 15 minutes by answering a few questions, and the AI generated professional layouts with relevant stock images.
The staging environment on higher-tier WordPress plans let me test plugin updates safely before pushing to production. However, I found the email accounts situation frustrating. The entry-level Starter plan includes zero email accounts, forcing you to upgrade or purchase separately.
The free SSL certificate auto-renewed seamlessly through AutoSSL, and the Web Application Firewall (WAF) blocked several suspicious login attempts I monitored in the security logs.
4. Website Performance Comparison
Exabytes Delivers Faster Load Times and Better Overall Performance.
Exabytes Performance Results
Exabytes delivered impressive performance metrics that demonstrate well-optimised infrastructure and efficient content delivery.
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The test results demonstrate that Exabytes practices what they preach. Their 84% performance score and 95% structure score indicate they’ve invested in proper optimisation: image compression, efficient caching, minimal render-blocking resources, and clean code. The near-perfect Core Web Vitals (especially the 0 CLS) show attention to user experience details.
For a hosting provider serving primarily Southeast Asian audiences from their Malaysia/Singapore data centres, these Tokyo-based test results prove their infrastructure performs well even across geographic distances.
The slightly higher TTFB (964ms vs. GoDaddy’s 419ms) suggests either more complex backend processing or slightly slower server response from their specific data centre location. However, this disadvantage is more than compensated by superior overall optimisation, resulting in faster interactivity and better user experience.
GoDaddy Performance Results
GoDaddy’s performance results were surprisingly disappointing given their market position and premium pricing, revealing significant optimisation issues despite some individual strong metrics.
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The test results paint a concerning picture. GoDaddy has excellent raw infrastructure. Their 419ms TTFB and 1.4s LCP prove their servers are fast and powerful. However, they’ve completely failed at frontend optimisation.
The 1.4-second Total Blocking Time indicates excessive JavaScript execution that locks up the browser. The 31.7-second fully loaded time suggests bloated resources, unoptimised images, or inefficient code delivery.
This is particularly troubling because this is GoDaddy’s own corporate website. Presumably, they have the best engineers and resources working on it. If their flagship site performs this poorly, it raises serious questions about whether customer sites receive adequate performance optimisation support.
The stark contrast between excellent infrastructure metrics (TTFB, LCP) and terrible overall performance (53% grade, 31.7s fully loaded) suggests GoDaddy prioritises raw server power over smart optimisation. They’re trying to brute-force performance with powerful hardware rather than building efficient, lean websites.
5. Ease of Use Comparison: Which Platform Is Easier to Use?
GoDaddy’s Streamlined Interface Edges Out Exabytes’ Feature-Rich Dashboard
Registration and Creating a New Account
The registration process is your first real interaction with a hosting provider, and it sets the tone for everything that follows.
I specifically looked for pricing transparency, hidden upsells, and how many steps stood between me and actually using my hosting.
Exabytes Registration Experience
I began with Exabytes to see how easy it is to sign up and if the process is intuitive and straightforward.
The Exabytes sign-up process is a standard, multi-step flow that is highly visual and transparent with its pricing, though it follows the industry trend of including an explicit upsell opportunity.
I navigated to the “Hosting” menu, which took me to the shared hosting plans. I then selected Business Web Hosting at the top.
The hosting plans were clearly laid out. The summary clearly showed high-value features like a free .COM domain, unlimited email accounts, and 120 GB Fast SSD Storage. I settled on EBiz 12 Pro plan and clicked the pink “Order Now” button.
The next page, “Choose a Domain…”, presented three clear options:
- Register a new domain name
- Transfer your domain from another registrar
- I have a domain name (the option I chose, which allows me to use an existing domain with the new hosting)
This section is very clear and provides all the necessary paths for a new customer.
The next page, the “Configure” page focuses on the billing term and additional services. The term choices are clear, offering discounts for longer commitments: Monthly, Annually (Save 64%), and Triennially (Save 80%).
To maximise the discount, I selected the Triennially option. The Order Summary instantly updated to show the Total Recurring: USD323.64 and the Total Due Today: USD323.64, maintaining excellent price transparency.
Below the billing cycle, the “Additional Services” section presented a single upsell: SpamExperts Spam Filter priced at USD21.60 Annually.
Crucially, this upsell was NOT pre-checked. I was required to actively select it, which is a commendable practice that avoids the deceptive upselling tactics of some other providers.
I then clicked “Continue.”
The final “Review & Checkout” page consolidates billing, account creation, and payment. This section is well-designed, offering a clear area to enter a promo code and a choice to either “Sign In” or “Create a New Account.” The availability of “Sign in with Google or Facebook” is a modern convenience that speeds up the registration process.
The form is comprehensive, requiring Personal Information, Billing Address, and Account Security details, including a Password and a Security Question/Answer. Exabytes offers standard payment options: PayPal and Credit Card, with the latter accepting Visa, Mastercard, and Amex.
The option to “Join our mailing list” is presented with a clear ON/OFF toggle, respecting user preferences for commercial communications. A clear security note at the bottom informs the user that the form is secured and protects their IP address.
After reviewing the total and accepting the terms, I proceeded to checkout, where my card was charged and an immediate confirmation email was received.
Overall Impression: The Exabytes sign-up process is very clean, professional, and highly transparent. It offers a superb balance between promotional pricing and clarity, especially with its excellent presentation of billing cycle discounts. The most user-friendly aspect is the non-intrusive presentation of upsells, which respects the customer’s choice and makes the final price easy to calculate.
GoDaddy Registration Experience
Next, I went to GoDaddy to compare the registration process.
On the GoDaddy homepage, I clicked “Hosting” in the top menu, then selected “Web Hosting” from the dropdown.
This took me to the web hosting plans page, where I chose the Web Hosting Deluxe plan and clicked “Buy Now.”
A cart pop-up appeared from the left showing my selection: “Free domain for 1 year with purchase” and the Web Hosting Deluxe plan for 12 months with renewal information clearly stated. I also saw that Professional Email Individual was included free for 1 month. After confirming everything looked good, I clicked “Continue to cart.”
The account creation screen appeared, offering multiple signup options. This is where GoDaddy really shines in terms of convenience. I could create an account by continuing with Facebook, Google, or Email.
I chose email signup. The screen clearly stated “By clicking ‘continue’ or ‘sign in’ below you agree to GoDaddy’s Universal Terms of Service and Privacy Policy,” which I appreciated for transparency. There was also an option to sign in if I already had an account.
After entering my email, I chose a username and password. GoDaddy immediately prompted me to verify my email with the message “Let’s secure your account. Verify your email to ensure you won’t lose access to your account.” I could either send a verification code or skip this step, though I chose to verify for security.
Once verified, I reached the cart page. Here’s where I needed to be careful. GoDaddy showed “Recommended for you” upsells, including Web Security Standard with SSL certificate, Web Application Firewall, and malware scanning; SSL Setup Service for one site; and website design services.
These aren’t automatically added to your cart, but they’re prominently displayed to tempt you. If you’re not careful, you might add services you don’t actually need, increasing your bill significantly.
After confirming I only wanted what I originally selected, I clicked “Ready for Checkout.” I could also pay via PayPal if I preferred. I used my debit card for the checkout process. Immediately after completing payment, I received a confirmation email with my order details and next steps.
Overall Impression: GoDaddy’s registration was faster and more streamlined than Exabytes, particularly with the social login options. However, the upsell presentation was more aggressive. While nothing was pre-selected, the prominence and persuasive copy made it more tempting to add unnecessary services. The email verification step added security but also an extra few minutes to the process.
User Interface – Client Area and Dashboard
I wanted to see how quickly I could find essential functions, whether the interface was intuitive, and if important information was readily visible without digging through menus.
Exabytes Client Area Dashboard
After successfully completing the Exabytes sign-up and receiving the confirmation email, I was directed to the Client Area Dashboard. This hub is the operational centre for managing all purchased services, account details, and support interactions.
The Exabytes dashboard is designed to be a comprehensive and organised portal, typical of established hosting providers. It balances a wealth of information with a clean, actionable layout.
The dashboard utilises a standard, effective three-column layout:
- Top Navigation: A persistent bar contains all high-level product categories, including Domains, Web Design, Hosting, Servers, and Web Security
- Left Sidebar: Focuses on personal account management (Your Info, Contacts, Shortcuts)
- Main Content Area: Displays product status, support options, and advertisements
The central section provides immediate clarity on my account’s status:
- Service Counters: Clear counters show 5 MY SERVICES, 0 DOMAINS, and 1 INVOICES. This instant summary confirms the number of services I have running and my payment status, which is essential for quick administrative checks.
- Account Management: The left sidebar provides direct access to view and “Update” my personal information. The Shortcuts section offers convenient links to “Order New Services” and “Register a New Domain,” promoting easy expansion.
Focus: Service and Support Access
- Active Products/Services: The “Your Active Products/Services” panel clearly lists the services I have purchased. This list includes a mix of offerings, such as Linux VPS Hosting, SiteLock WebSite Scanning, and Linux Web Hosting with cPanel. This immediate visibility is a prerequisite for good usability, allowing the user to select the correct product to manage.
- Support and Sales: Exabytes prominently features its support commitment with the “Award-Winning 24/7 Support & Sales” section. The inclusion of a clear “Live Chat” button and an illustration of a support agent makes the process of seeking help immediate and inviting.
- Advertising and Context: A large, unmissable banner promotes “cPanel – New Pricing Tiers.” While this is an advertisement, it is also relevant information about the control panel I will be using to manage my shared hosting, which is good context.
My Experience: I found the Exabytes dashboard information-rich but slightly overwhelming at first glance. Everything I needed was there, but it took a moment to orient myself.
The numerous promotional banners, while relevant, added visual clutter. That said, once I understood the layout, navigation became second nature. The prominent live chat button was reassuring, knowing help was just a click away.
GoDaddy Client Area Dashboard
Next, I went to GoDaddy. The moment I logged into GoDaddy, I felt relieved. The dashboard was clean, minimalist, and immediately intuitive.
The layout used a standard left sidebar with simple, focused navigation: Home, Clients, Sites (marked NEW), Projects, Benefits, and All Products. The inclusion of Clients and Projects showed that GoDaddy also caters to web professionals managing multiple client sites.
At the top was a prominent search bar that read “Search using your business name or desired domain name,” making it easy to quickly find specific services or get product suggestions. There was a gentle upsell prompt at the top (“Protect your brand by getting another domain”), but it wasn’t intrusive or annoying.
The centre of the dashboard showed “All Products and Services,” which was exactly what I needed. Services were logically organised under expandable sections: Domains, Web Hosting, and Additional Products. Under Web Hosting, my active “Web Hosting Deluxe” plan was clearly listed alongside its associated domain.
The most important element was the large, unmistakable “Manage” button next to my hosting plan. This is the direct path to my hosting control panel. One click and I’d be managing my website. There was also an “Options” link for billing, upgrades, or configuration settings, but the primary action was crystal clear.
My Experience: GoDaddy’s dashboard felt like a breath of fresh air compared to Exabytes. It was instantly intuitive. I knew exactly where to click to manage my hosting, check my domains, or access billing information.
The minimalist design eliminated decision paralysis, and the prominent “Manage” button removed any guesswork. For someone new to hosting or managing multiple sites, GoDaddy’s dashboard is significantly easier to navigate.
Hosting Setup: Creating a New WordPress Website
I wanted to see if both providers offered one-click installation, how many steps were involved, and whether the process was intuitive enough for someone with no technical experience.
Installing WordPress on Exabytes
Remember, with Exabytes, you can directly purchase WP hosting. This will come with WordPress ready to go. You will not need to install WordPress again. It’s pre-installed and configured, which is fantastic for beginners who want to skip technical setup entirely.
However, for other hosting types (like cPanel or VPS hosting), you can still install WordPress manually. I wanted to test this process to see how it compares.
Installing WordPress under Linux Hosting (cPanel)
Here are the steps I followed:
- Log in to cPanel: I accessed cPanel.
- Navigate to Softaculous: In cPanel, I went to Software/Services and clicked on the Softaculous icon.
- Select WordPress: I found WordPress in the installation section and clicked the “Install” link.
- Complete the Setup: A form appeared asking me to fill in several fields:
- Choose Domain: I selected the domain where I wanted to install WordPress from the dropdown menu
- In Directory: I left this field empty to install directly on the domain (not in a subfolder like example.com/blog)
- Admin Username: I created a username for logging into the WordPress Dashboard
- Admin Password: I chose a secure password for Dashboard access
- Admin Email: I provided a valid email address (the system auto-fills an invalid email, so I had to replace it)
- Install: After filling out the form, I clicked “Install,” and Softaculous handled the rest—creating the database, uploading WordPress files, and configuring everything automatically.
My Experience: The Exabytes WordPress installation through Softaculous was straightforward and took about 5-7 minutes from start to finish. However, it required navigating through cPanel first, finding Softaculous, and manually filling out several fields.
The form itself was clear, but there were enough fields that a complete beginner might pause and wonder what to enter. The pre-installed WordPress option on dedicated WP hosting is much simpler and eliminates all these steps entirely.
Installing WordPress on GoDaddy
With GoDaddy, the process was dramatically simpler. I went to my GoDaddy product page, and under “Web Hosting,” I clicked “Manage” next to my Web Hosting (cPanel) account.
In the account Dashboard, I found the “Websites” section, and below my domain name, I clicked “Install Application.” This took me to the Installatron Applications Browser page, a one-click installer tool.
In the “Apps for Content Management” section, I clicked on “WordPress blog,” then clicked “+ install this application.” A form appeared with several fields to complete:
- Location – Domain: I selected my domain name from the dropdown
- Location – Directory: I left this blank because I wanted WordPress installed at my main domain (not in a subdirectory)
- Version: The latest version was pre-selected
- Settings: This section had auto-generated details, but I changed the Administrator Username and Administrator Password to something I’d remember, and updated the Administrator Email to my actual email address. I also changed the Website Title to my site’s name and the Website Tagline to describe what my site was about (important for SEO)
- Advanced Options: The form had options for Two-Factor Authentication, Limit Login Attempts, and Enable Multi-Site, but I left these at their defaults for now. Under “Advanced,” I selected “Automatically manage advanced settings for me” so GoDaddy would handle database creation and backups automatically
After double-checking everything, I clicked “Install.” Within 2-3 minutes, WordPress was fully installed, and I received a confirmation with my login details. I could immediately access my WordPress admin panel at mywebsite.com/wp-admin and start building my site.
My Experience: The entire process took about 10 minutes, and I never had to touch a command line, configure DNS settings, or manually install SSL certificates. GoDaddy’s Installatron was slightly more polished than Exabytes’ Softaculous.
Hosting Management
Once your hosting is set up and WordPress is installed, you’ll need to manage your server regularly. I wanted to evaluate how easily I could access essential server management tools and whether the interface was intuitive enough for non-technical users while still providing advanced options for power users.
Managing Hosting on Exabytes
Following the initial dashboard review, my next action was to assess the practical tools Exabytes provides for hosting management. This is the moment where the service transitions from a purchase to a working platform.
To manage my hosting, I navigated to the “My Services” drop-down menu in the top navigation bar and selected “My Products/Services.”
The resulting page provided an excellent, administrative view of my entire service portfolio:
- Filter Options: On the left, a comprehensive “View” menu allows me to filter by service status: Active, Pending, Suspended, Terminated, and Cancelled. This is highly effective for large accounts or for quickly determining the status of a specific product.
- Service Table: The main table listed all my products with key administrative details: Product/Service Name, Pricing, Next Due Date, and Status.
- The Management Gateway: The final column featured a prominent “Manage Product” button next to each item. This button is the gateway to all product-specific controls.
After clicking “Manage Product” next to my hosting plan, the system presented the dedicated management page for that specific hosting package.
This panel is the administrative hub, offering critical options such as:
- Upgrade/Downgrade: Options to change the plan tier (e.g., from Pro to Max)
- Change Billing Cycle: Allows adjusting the renewal term
- cPanel Login: The most important feature for shared hosting users—a direct, one-click button is prominently displayed, labelled “Login to cPanel” or “Access Control Panel”
Exabytes, like most shared hosting providers, utilises cPanel for its shared hosting. This choice significantly contributes to ease of use because cPanel is the ubiquitous standard.
Once logged into cPanel, I gained complete control over my website’s operation:
- Application Installation (Softaculous): I could use the integrated one-click installer to deploy WordPress, Joomla, or other CMS platforms in minutes, without any manual file or database setup
- Email Administration: I could create, delete, and configure all my domain-based email accounts
- File Management: The File Manager allowed for manual uploads, file editing, and permission changes
- Backup & Restore: I could initiate manual backups and restore the site from previous versions
- Security: Managing SSL certificates, IP blockers, password-protected directories
My Experience: Exabytes provides an exceptionally well-structured and logical path to server management. The clean separation of administrative details (My Products/Services page) from the core operational access (Manage Product page) is a strong point. However, I found the journey from dashboard to cPanel involved more clicks than necessary—dashboard → My Services dropdown → My Products/Services → Manage Product → Login to cPanel.
Once inside cPanel, everything was familiar and well-organised, but the path to get there felt slightly convoluted compared to more streamlined competitors.
Managing Hosting on GoDaddy
With GoDaddy, server management happens primarily through cPanel, and the difference was night and day.
After clicking “Manage” on my hosting plan from the main dashboard, I landed directly in cPanel.
cPanel gave me intuitive access to everything I needed:
- File Manager: A web-based file browser where I could upload, download, edit, delete, and organise files without needing FTP software
- Databases: MySQL database creation and management through phpMyAdmin
- Email Accounts: Creating email addresses, setting up forwarders, configuring autoresponders, and managing spam filters
- Domains: Adding addon domains, subdomains, and parked domains all from one interface
- Metrics: Viewing bandwidth usage, disk space, visitor statistics, and error logs
- Security: Managing SSL certificates, IP blockers, password-protected directories, and SSH access
- Softaculous/Installatron: One-click installation of 150+ applications, including WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Magento, and more
Everything was organised with icons and clear labels. If I wanted to create an email account, I clicked “Email Accounts” under the Email section, filled out a simple form, and it was done.
If I needed to back up my site, I clicked “Backup” and could download a complete backup or schedule automatic ones.
GoDaddy also offers SSH access, though it’s not enabled by default. To enable it, I went to my GoDaddy product page, selected “Manage All” next to Managed WordPress, clicked “Settings” for my site, found “SSH/SFTP login” under Production Site, and clicked “View or Change.”
After selecting “Create New Login” and switching SSH from Disabled to Enabled, I got my SSH credentials. This was great for advanced users who want command-line access, but beginners never need to touch it.
My Experience: GoDaddy’s cPanel makes server management accessible to anyone, regardless of technical skill. Everything is visual, organised, and self-explanatory. The path from dashboard to cPanel was significantly shorter (just one click on “Manage”) compared to Exabytes’ multi-step journey.
Once inside cPanel, both providers offer essentially the same tools (since they both use cPanel), but GoDaddy’s streamlined access made routine management tasks feel faster and less cumbersome.
6. Privacy and Security Comparison: Which Platform is More Secure?
GoDaddy’s Enterprise-Grade Security Infrastructure Outpaces Exabytes’ Basic Protection
Exabytes Privacy and Security
Exabytes provides solid foundational security features across its hosting plans, though many advanced protections require separate purchases. Every plan includes free SSL certificates that installed automatically through Plesk within minutes on my test site.
The Website Security360 protection caught malware during my testing. I uploaded a harmless EICAR test file and the system quarantined it automatically, though I couldn’t find options to customise scan frequency.
DDoS mitigation operates at the network level in their Tier 3 Malaysian data centres, and mandatory Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for billing accounts adds an extra security layer I appreciated.
However, the biggest gap is the absence of an included Web Application Firewall on shared hosting. Cloudflare integration is available but requires manual DNS configuration. It’s not automatic. For comprehensive WAF protection and aggressive malware removal, you’ll need to purchase Sucuri as a paid add-on. Physical security includes 24/7 CCTV surveillance and biometric access controls at data centres, backed by ISO/IEC 27001 and PCI DSS certifications.
GoDaddy Privacy and Security
GoDaddy’s security implementation is significantly more comprehensive and integrated than Exabytes’. Every hosting plan includes free SSL certificates with SHA-2 and 2048-bit encryption that auto-renew through AutoSSL.
Malware scanning can run as frequently as every 30 minutes on higher-tier plans, and I received email alerts within 2 minutes when suspicious files were detected during testing.
What truly differentiates GoDaddy is automatic malware removal. On the Premium plan ($19.03/month), I intentionally infected my test site with WordPress malware, and GoDaddy’s team cleaned it within 4 hours with a detailed report. The continuous monitoring tracks blocklist status, SEO spam, SSL changes, and uptime. I received real-time notifications for all events during my 60-day testing period.
The backup system only retains the previous day on standard plans (vs. Exabytes’ 14-30 days), but Advanced and Premium Website Security plans offer 25GB to unlimited storage with one-click restore that worked flawlessly in under 5 minutes. The CDN provides both speed improvements (40% faster load times in my international testing) and DDoS protection by absorbing malicious traffic at the network edge. File change monitoring alerted me within 10 minutes when I modified a PHP file through FTP.
The downside: GoDaddy’s strongest security features require separate Website Security plans costing $7.83-$19.03/month on top of hosting fees, and 2FA is optional rather than mandatory like Exabytes.
7. Server Locations Comparison
GoDaddy’s Global Network Dominates Exabytes’ Regional Focus
When evaluating server locations, I looked for geographic diversity, proximity to target audiences, and network infrastructure quality.
Exabytes Server Locations
Exabytes operates a regionally focused infrastructure with four data centre locations, all concentrated in Asia-Pacific and one in the United States:
- Malaysia Data Centre. Exabytes’ primary facility is located in Malaysia with multiple Tier 1 ISP backbones providing global reach.
- Singapore Data Centre. Located at Rack Central 1 (RC1) in Tai Seng Drive, this carrier-class Tier 3 facility serves as Exabytes’ Asia hosting hub. It houses over 60 multinational customers and more than 10 local and international telcos.
- Indonesia Data Centre. Hosted in NEX Data Centre in the Kuningan area of South Jakarta, this Tier 3 certified facility has operated since 2009 with ISO 9001 certification.
- US Data Centre. Located in the Denver Tech Centre area (about 25 minutes south of downtown Denver), Exabytes’ US facility boasts over 15 years of continuous uptime.
Exabytes’ four-location strategy works well if your primary audience is in Southeast Asia or North America, but it leaves significant gaps. There are no data centres in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, or Australia.
GoDaddy Server Locations
GoDaddy operates a fundamentally different infrastructure strategy, leveraging a global Anycast network with significantly broader geographic distribution:
GoDaddy’s Web Application Firewall and CDN run on an Anycast network with Points of Presence (POP) in 10+ major global locations. Anycast is a networking technique where the same IP address is announced from multiple locations simultaneously, and incoming requests are automatically routed to the nearest available server.
This means your website content is served from whichever location is closest to each visitor, dramatically reducing latency worldwide.
For VPS and dedicated hosting, GoDaddy offers data centre selection during purchase, with primary locations in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The specific location is shown in your product dashboard and comes with a unique IP address.
Exabytes Malaysia vs GoDaddy: The Bottom Line
I chose Exabytes as the overall winner because it delivers exceptional value without sacrificing performance. During my testing, Exabytes consistently outperformed GoDaddy in actual speed (84% vs 53% performance score) while costing 40-85% less across all hosting types.
You get superior backup retention, comparable features, and better real-world performance, making GoDaddy’s premium pricing unjustifiable unless you specifically need global infrastructure or guaranteed 24/7 support.
| Category | Winner | Why |
| Pricing and Plans | Exabytes | Starting at $0.99/mo vs $6.71/mo, Exabytes is 40-85% cheaper across all hosting types while including free lifetime domains, 100-day money-back guarantee, and comparable features at every tier. |
| Support | GoDaddy | True 24/7 availability with sub-2-minute response times even at 3 AM, deeper technical knowledge, and multiple support channels (WhatsApp, text, phone). Exabytes only offers business hours support with 34-minute wait times in my test. |
| Hosting Features | Exabytes | More comprehensive features per dollar. Daily backups with 14-30 day retention (vs 1 day), unlimited email accounts on mid-tier plans, LiteSpeed acceleration, and included AI tools. GoDaddy counters with NVMe storage and AI site builder. |
| Website Performance | Exabytes | 84% GTmetrix performance score, 6.1s fully loaded, 2.7s interactivity vs GoDaddy’s concerning 53% score, 31.7s load time, 7.3s interactivity. Better optimisation delivers faster real-world experience despite slower raw TTFB. |
| Ease of Use | GoDaddy | Cleaner dashboard, single-click access to cPanel, faster WordPress installation, and more intuitive navigation. Exabytes requires more clicks and has a busier interface, though both use standard cPanel once you’re inside. |
| Privacy and Security | GoDaddy | Integrated WAF, aggressive malware scanning (up to 2x daily), automatic professional malware removal, continuous monitoring, and file change detection. Exabytes lacks included WAF and requires paid add-ons for comprehensive protection. |
| Server Locations | GoDaddy | Global Anycast network with 10+ confirmed locations across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, plus CloudFlare integration potentially extending to 300+ data centres worldwide. Delivered 40-70% faster international load times. Exabytes’ 4 locations serve Southeast Asia excellently but leave massive geographic gaps. |
