Microsoft’s suite of productivity software, called Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365), is the backbone of many businesses worldwide. These businesses pay for it to access software like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as email, cloud storage, and various collaboration tools. However, confusingly, not every user of Microsoft’s productivity suite has purchased it from Microsoft directly.
In fact, many businesses and individuals have acquired their Microsoft 365 subscriptions through third-party providers, with GoDaddy being one of the most popular options. But have they made the right choice? In this article, we will compare GoDaddy Office 365 (also called GoDaddy Microsoft 365) and Microsoft 365 to help you understand which solution is better for your personal or business needs.
Not interested in the details? In this case, have a look at our quick summary!
GoDaddy Office 365 vs Microsoft 365 Comparison:
Bonus:
Summary: Key Differences Between GoDaddy Office 365 and Microsoft 365
While both GoDaddy Office 365 and Microsoft 365 provide access to Microsoft’s suite of productivity tools, there are several important differences between these two offerings that you should know about because they can create major problems down the line if not considered carefully.
Here’s a brief summary:
| Feature | GoDaddy Office 365 | Microsoft 365 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative Control | Limited, simplified interface | ✅ Full access to admin center | Microsoft |
| Customer Support | ⭐️ Slower and less helpful | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Direct, comprehensive support | Microsoft |
| Scalability | Limited to 300 users | ✅ Enterprise-level plans available | Microsoft |
| Integrations | Limited first and third-party integrations | ✅ Extensive integration capabilities | Microsoft |
| Pricing | Lower first-year costs but higher renewal rates | Higher initial costs but better long-term value | Tie |
The Comparison:
GoDaddy Office 365 vs Microsoft 365
When comparing Office 365 solutions, we’ve identified five criteria that are especially important for small and large businesses alike:
- Administrative control and customization
- Customer support & and troubleshooting
- Scalability
- Integration with other Microsoft and third-party services
- Price
So let’s have a look at the details and find out which provider offers the better solution!
Criteria 01:
Administrative Control and Customization
Microsoft Admin Panel:
When you choose Microsoft 365 directly from Microsoft, you gain full administrative control over your account and services. This means access to the complete Microsoft 365 admin center, where you can manage user accounts, security settings, service configurations, and more.
GoDaddy Admin Panel:
In contrast, GoDaddy Office 365 offers a simplified admin interface. While this can be easier to navigate for small businesses without dedicated IT staff, it also limits your access to settings and customization options.
What’s more, the fact that GoDaddy’s admin interface is different also means that you won’t be able to follow most guides and other helpful resources besides those provided by GoDaddy. That can be a huge problem because customer support isn’t one of GoDaddy’s strengths – it’s the opposite.
🥇 Winner: Microsoft
Criteria 02:
Customer Support and Troubleshooting
Microsoft Support:
Microsoft offers comprehensive support for its direct customers, including extensive documentation, community forums, and direct support channels. For businesses with premium plans, Microsoft provides 24/7 phone and web support, often with rapid response times for critical issues.
GoDaddy Support:
GoDaddy, on the other hand, has a reputation for less-than-stellar customer support. While they do offer support for their Office 365 products, users often report long wait times, difficulty reaching knowledgeable representatives, and challenges in resolving complex issues.
Often, a GoDaddy Office 365 user contacts GoDaddy support staff with an issue, only to find that the support team needs to escalate the problem to Microsoft. This additional step in the support process can greatly prolong the time it takes to resolve issues.
🥇 Winner: Microsoft
Criteria 03:
Scalability
GoDaddy currently offers the following Microsoft 365 plans:
- Microsoft 365 Online Business Essentials
- Microsoft 365 Business Professional
- Microsoft 365 with Advanced Security Bundle
These plans roughly correspond to Microsoft’s Business Basic, Business Standard, and Business Premium plans, respectively. No matter how hard you look, you won’t find anything comparable to Microsoft’s enterprise plans (Microsoft 365 E3, E5, and F3) in GoDaddy’s offerings.
The lack of enterprise plans becomes a significant problem when your business grows beyond 300 users, which is the maximum limit for GoDaddy’s Microsoft 365 Business Professional plan.
While 300 users might seem like a lot now, there are many companies that have started with a handful of employees and grown to hundreds in just a few years, and you don’t want to be limited by your productivity suite choice should that happen
🥇 Winner: Microsoft
Criteria 04:
Integration with Other Microsoft and Third-Party Services
Direct Microsoft 365 subscriptions offer seamless integration with the full range of Microsoft’s cloud services and business applications. This includes Power BI for business analytics, Dynamics 365 for customer relationship management, Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) for advanced identity and access management, or Microsoft Intune for mobile device management.
Moreover, Microsoft 365 provides extensive support for third-party integrations through its robust API system, so you can easily connect your productivity suite with popular business tools like Salesforce, Slack, Trello, and many others. Unfortunately, most of these first- and third-party integrations are either limited or completely unavailable with GoDaddy Office 365.
🥇 Winner: Microsoft
Criteria 05:
Price
GoDaddy frequently offers promotional pricing for the first year, which can make their plans seem significantly cheaper than Microsoft’s direct offerings. For instance, at the time of writing this article, GoDaddy’s Business Professional plan starts at $8.99 per user per month for the first year, compared to Microsoft 365 Business Standard at $12.50 per user per month.
However, the same Business Professional plan from GoDaddy renews at $19.99 per month after the promotional period ends. That’s $7.49 more than the renewal price of the Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan, which stays exactly the same as the initial price.
For an organization with 50 users, the increased renewal price would mean spending $4,494 more with GoDaddy than with Microsoft in the second year alone. So, unless you’re interested only in a short-term solution, buying directly from Microsoft is always more cost-effective.
🥇 Winner: Tie (while GoDaddy Office 365 may win on initial pricing, Microsoft 365 offers better long-term value)
How to:Migrate from GoDaddy Office 365 to Microsoft
Given that Microsoft 365 is the better choice than GoDaddy Office 365 in virtually every aspect except for first-year pricing, all existing GoDaddy Office 365 users reading this article are probably asking the same question right now: Is it possible to migrate to Microsoft 365? The good news is that it is!
The bad news is that the migration process is far from straightforward, requiring you to complete the following steps:
- Choose a Microsoft 365 subscription that fits your personal or business needs.
- Create your new tenant in Microsoft 365 and replicate your user accounts.
- Use an email migration tool like MailJerry to transfer your emails from GoDaddy to Microsoft 365.
- Contact GoDaddy support to have your custom domain released from their services.
- Configure your domain within your new Microsoft 365 tenant.
- Update your user accounts in Microsoft 365 to use your custom domain for email addresses.
For detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to complete the migration process, please refer to our comprehensive guide on how to migrate from GoDaddy to Office 365.
