DreamHost pricing plans start at $2.59 per month whereas Bluehost pricing plans start at $2.95 per month. Both Bluehost and DreamHost are used by millions of people worldwide and they both offer a ton of incredible hosting features. So which one should you go for? In this post, we’ll talk about;
Features of DreamHost and Bluehost Performance of both the web hosts Pros & cons Uptime and response time of Bluehost and DreamHost Customer ratings Pricing plans and much more
So are you ready to find out the BEST web host among Bluehost vs DreamHost? Let’s jump into the details. Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, if you use them to make a purchase we will earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support 🙂
DreamHost Vs Bluehost 2023: Performance, Features, Pros, Cons, Pricing & More
About DreamHost & Bluehost
DreamHost has been providing web hosting services for 20+ years and it is hosting over 1.5 million websites worldwide. DreamHost is owned by New Dream Network, LLC, founded in 1996. DreamHost is an employee-owned company whereas Bluehost is owned by Endurance International Group which also owns other notable companies including HostGator, Constant Contact, iPage, SiteBuilder, and more. Bluehost is owned by Endurance International Group and it is one of the 20 largest web hosts. Bluehost is hosting over 2 million websites throughout the world and it was founded in 2003.
Features
Here are the features offered by both Bluehost and DreamHost. DreamHost features: Click Here to Try DreamHost (at $2.59/mo only) Bluehost features: Click Here to Try Bluehost (at $2.95/mo only) Who’s the winner? It’s a tie between the two web hosts as both web hosts offer almost similar features.
Performance
So how do both these web hosts perform? What about their uptime and response time? Let’s find out. Uptime and response time of DreamHost As you can see above, DreamHost’s uptime is pretty good at 99.984% in the last 30 days and response time is just 522 milliseconds which is amazing. Uptime and response time of Bluehost As you can see above, Bluehost’s uptime is pretty good at 99.979% (almost the same as DreamHost) in the last 30 days, and response time is 1743 milliseconds which is average. Who’s the winner? DreamHost is the clear winner as it offers slightly better uptime and much better response time when compared to Bluehost.
How to start a blog on DreamHost?
Here’s a QUICK tutorial on starting a blog using DreamHost. Click on this link to visit DreamHost’s website. Once you’re on their website, select the “Shared Website Hosting” option under the Hosting section in the menu. Here’s how it looks like; You’ll be then taken to their shared hosting plans which look like this; Choose any shared hosting plan that suits your budget and click on the Sign Up Now button to continue. Side note: We recommend DreamHost’s Shared Unlimited plan as it only costs $3.95 per month where you can install unlimited websites. DreamHost offers a FREE domain with all annual terms. You can either choose a domain now or later. Important: If you do not use the free domain registration within the first 3 months, then it’s no longer available to use. Once it’s done, you’ll be taken to the secure checkout page where you need to enter your payment details and create an account with DreamHost. Once the payment is made, you’ll get an email from DreamHost along with your control panel login details. That’s it. DreamHost offers pre-installed WordPress on your site, so you’re ready to roll!
How to start a blog on Bluehost?
Here’s a QUICK tutorial on starting a blog using Bluehost. Visit this special link to start your WordPress blog on Bluehost web hosting. Once you visit the link, you’ll be taken to the Bluehost website where you’ll see special discounts for the BloggersPassion audience (pay only $2.95/mo instead of $8.99/mo). Here’s how it looks like; Simply click on the “Get Started” button to continue. You’ll be taken to their shared hosting plans which look like this; Pick any hosting plan that suits your budget and website needs. Side note: We recommend Bluehost Basic plan if you’re on a limited budget as it only costs $35.40 for 12 months. After that, you’ll be asked to choose a domain name (Bluehost offers free domain name registration for 1 year). Either you can register a domain for free or do it later (it will be free even if you skip the step now). In the final step, you’ll need to create an account with Bluehost where you need to enter the account and payment information to finish. Here’s the payment information if you go with the Bluehost Basic plan for 1 year. As you can see above, the Basic plan for 12 months only costs you $35.40! Once the payment is done, you’ll get a confirmation email along with your login details. That’s it, you’re done!
Pricing & Types of Hosting Offered
DreamHost offers various price packages for its products which are listed below.
Shared hosting: starts from $2.59/month Dedicated hosting: starts from $149/month VPS hosting: starts from $10/month Shared WordPress hosting: starts from $2.59/month Managed WordPress hosting (also known as DreamPress): starts from $16.95/month WooCommerce hosting: starts from $16.95/month
DreamHost currently offers the following 2 pricing plans in shared hosting. So what are you still waiting for? Try DreamHost just for $2.59/mo Bluehost offers various price ranges for its products which are listed below.
Shared hosting: starts from $2.95/ month Dedicated hosting: starts from $79.99/month VPS hosting: starts from $18.99/month Shared WordPress hosting: starts from $2.95/month Managed WordPress hosting: starts from $14.95/month WooCommerce hosting: starts from $12.95/month
Bluehost currently offers the following 4 pricing plans in shared hosting. So what are you waiting for? Try Bluehost ONLY for $2.95/month Who’s the winner? DreamHost is the winner as it offers slightly cheaper hosting plans (starting only at $2.59/mo) in shared hosting.
Managed WordPress Hosting
What is managed WordPress hosting? Managed WordPress hosting is a hosting service where all technical aspects of running WordPress are managed by the web host so you can just focus on creating content and products. Both DreamHost and Bluehost offer managed WordPress hosting and provide features like automatic WordPress update, automatic backups, better performance, security, and more. DreamHost offers a hosting plan called “DreamPress” which offers managed WordPress hosting and it currently has the following 3 pricing packages.
- DreamPress: This is the cheapest managed WordPress hosting plan from DreamHost which costs you $16.95 per month and gives you access to the following features.
- DreamPress Plus: This plan costs you $24.95 per month and gives you access to the following features.
- DreamPress Pro: This plan costs you $71.95 per month and gives you access to the following features. So what are you still waiting for? Try DreamHost Managed WordPress Hosting today Bluehost offers the following 3 pricing packages in managed WordPress hosting. 1-Site: This is the cheapest managed hosting plan from Bluehost where you can install 1 website and it costs you $14.95 per month and gives you the following features.
Install 1 website Best for up to 50,000 visitors per month 20 GB storage 200+ global edge servers Free SSL Staging environment
3-Sites: This plan costs you $29.95 per month where you can install up to 3 websites and gives you the following list of features.
Install 3 websites Best for up to 50,000 visitors per month 60 GB storage 200+ global edge servers Free SSL Staging environment
5-Sites: This plan costs you $49.95 per month where you can install up to 5 websites and gives you the following list of features.
Install 5 websites Best for up to 50,000 visitors per month 100 GB storage 200+ global edge servers Free SSL Staging environment
So what are you waiting for? Try Bluehost Managed WordPress Hosting now! Who’s the winner? In terms of pricing, Bluehost is the clear winner as it offers cheaper managed hosting plans. But if you’ve high-traffic websites, DreamHost is great as its DreamPress Pro plan handles up to 1 million visitors.
Customer Support
DreamHost offers sales assistance 24/7/365 through the chat widget. All DreamHost customers can contact their support team via chat (through the control panel) every day from 3:00 AM to 9:30 PM PT DreamHost Customer Support email works 24/7/365 through the panel. Bluehost provides 24/7 phone support to answer your questions and solve your problems. It also offers 24/7 customer support accessible through live chat. Who’s the winner? It’s a tie between the two as both these web hosts offer 24/7 customer support.
Pros & Cons
Here’s the list of pros and cons of both Bluehost and DreamHost. Pros & Cons of DreamHost: Pros: Cons: Pros & Cons of Bluehost: Pros: Cons:
3 Reasons to Choose DreamHost Over Bluehost
Why should you pick DreamHost instead of Bluehost or any other web host? Here are THREE major benefits of using DreamHost.
1. 100% uptime guarantee
One major benefit of using DreamHost is that it offers a 100% uptime guarantee. DreamHost uses multiple data center locations, redundant cooling, emergency generators, and constant monitoring to keep your site fully functioning all the time. If DreamHost’s servers are down for ANY reason, you’ll get a refund for the time your website wasn’t up. Here’s how the DreamHost’s uptime guarantee works. You’ll get DreamHost credit equal to your current hosting cost for 1 day of service for each 1 hour of service interruption (up to a maximum of 10% of the customer’s next pre-paid hosting renewal fee). Worried about your site going down? DreamHost is a perfect fit for you.
2. 97-Day Money-Back Guarantee
DreamHost offers a 97-day money-back guarantee. There are very few web hosts that offer such a huge refund policy. A 97-day guarantee is offered for shared hosting and a 30-day guarantee for VPS and Managed WordPress Hosting. Quick note: This 97-day money-back refund policy is only applicable to credit & debit card payments for shared web hosting. DreamPress (managed WordPress hosting) customers can cancel within 30 days to receive the refund. So if for any reason you’re not satisfied with DreamHost’s shared hosting features or services, you can ask for a refund within the first 97 days after signing up.
3. Free Automated WordPress Migrations
If you’re already using WordPress and looking to migrate over to DreamHost, it’s extremely easy. You can quickly migrate your existing WordPress site over to DreamHost using the free DreamHost Automated Migration plugin. The DreamHost Automated Migration plugin is available for free to DreamHost users. Here’s how it works.
Log in to your existing website’s WordPress dashboard once you purchase any WordPress hosting plan from DreamHost. Then, search for the DreamHost Automated Migration plugin, install and activate it Generate a unique migration key from your new DreamHost dashboard with one click That’s it, you’re done (you can also track your migration progress)
You can watch this quick video to learn how to transfer your website using their plugin for free. Quick note: In case you want DreamHost to move your WordPress site from your current host, they’ll charge $99 per website.
3 Reasons to Pick Bluehost Over DreamHost
So why should you go for Bluehost over DreamHost or any other web hosting platform? Here are the 3 biggest benefits of using Bluehost.
1. Bluehost cPanel
One major reason to pick Bluehost over DreamHost is that Bluehost offers an easy-to-use control panel called cPanel which is easy to navigate. DreamHost offers its own control panel, and it might take a bit longer to understand it at the start. If you’re curious, here’s how the Bluehost’s control panel looks like; As you can see above, you can manage everything from the Bluehost control panel, including installing WordPress, website management, emails, etc.
2. Bullet-proof security
No matter what web hosting platform you choose, always go for a web host that offers better security features. Here’s where Bluehost excels as it offers a wide range of security features which are listed below.
Offers Spam protection where you’ll get 3 layers of anti-spam protection in the form of Spam Experts, Spam Hammer, and Apache SpamAssassin It offers an IP blacklist feature that blocks various IPs from hackers (Bluehost blacklists an IP address if they find a high number of failed login attempts to your control panel, email accounts, site builders, etc) Offers Secure Shell (SSH) access which allows you to access configuration files individually and securely
3. $200 Marketing credits
Bluehost offers you $200 worth of marketing credits which can be used to promote your website. There are two marketing credits included with Bluehost’s shared hosting packages which are listed below. So if you want to promote a new website or blog using Google Ads or Bing Ads, Bluehost is a great choice for you.
Customer Ratings
Let’s find out the customer ratings of both web hosts. Customer ratings of DreamHost On TrustPilot, DreamHost got a customer rating of 4.8 out of 5. Customer ratings of Bluehost On TrustPilot, Bluehost got a customer rating of 3.2 out of 5. Who’s the winner? When it comes to customer ratings, DreamHost is much ahead when compared to Bluehost.
Bluehost vs DreamHost: Common Things
Here are some of the common things you can find in both web hosts: Bluehost and DreamHost. Both are recommended officially by WordPress.org It’s fascinating to know that WordPress.org officially recommends both Bluehost and DreamHost. Free domain for the first year Both these web hosts offer a free domain for the first year even on their basic plans. A domain costs anywhere around $10 to $20 per year – so you’ll be saving a few bucks when you pick either of these web hosts. A ton of similar features Both Bluehost and DreamHost offer almost similar hosting features which include;
Free SSL SSD storage Unlimited bandwidth 24/7 expert support Free domain 24/7 network monitoring Free email addresses 1-click installer Instant WordPress setup and more
What’s our pick?
If you’ve gone through the whole DreamHost vs Bluehost comparison, it’s clear that DreamHost beats Bluehost in many areas including performance, pricing, uptime, money-back guarantee, and more. That being said, Bluehost isn’t far behind either as it offers an extremely user-friendly interface at affordable prices.
If you’re looking for better speed and uptime, DreamHost is a great choice If you’re looking for great customer support and an easy web hosting platform, Bluehost is a perfect fit
Here are some of the frequently asked questions around DreamHost and Bluehost web hosts. Recommended Web Hosting Resources:
HostGator and Bluehost Comparison: Which One Is Better And Why? 10 Best DreamHost Alternatives to Try SiteGround vs Bluehost: The Best Web Hosting Revealed WPEngine vs Bluehost: Which is Better in 2023? WPX Hosting vs Bluehost Review: Which Is The Best Web Hosting Platform? Bluehost vs GoDaddy: An Honest Comparison of Two Hosts Hostinger vs Bluehost 2023: Which One is Cheaper and Better?
Final Verdict
Both Bluehost and DreamHost are affordable web hosting choices for most bloggers. Bluehost is great for those who’re looking for a feature-rich web host and DreamHost is suitable for those who’re looking for a budget-friendly web hosting service that offers excellent uptime. So which one is your favorite? Is it Bluehost or DreamHost? Do you have any questions about Bluehost and DreamHost? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
