DreamHost vs. Bluehost: At a Glance
DreamHost had its modest starts in a dormitory in 1997. Ever since, it’s expanded to solution over 400,000 consumers throughout 100 nations. It’s probably best understood for its common holding, yet it likewise uses durable WordPress holding, VPS holding, devoted web server holding, cloud organizing, email holding and domain solutions.
Bluehost also has actually shared organizing, devoted holding and VPS holding, along with WordPress holding, email holding and domain solutions. It’s been around because 2003 and presently solutions over 2 million customers around the world.
Both included attributes such as one-click WordPress installers, website movement devices and web site home builders. The primary distinction in between both? These functions are all consisted of with DreamHost strategies, yet you need to pay additional for them sometimes with Bluehost. Various other free offers that DreamHost uses consist of a life time SSL certification and first-year domain name. Bluehost likewise provides these, however, for the initial year just.
Generally, we such as all the bells and whistles DreamHost needs to supply– including its 97-day money-back assurance. We believe it’s finest for local business simply trying to find one company web site. Its consisted of website contractor additionally suggests it functions well for companies without a developer on personnel.
Bluehost includes even more subdomains than DreamHost, indicating it’s far better for services that wish to take care of a couple of various sites for different facets of their business. The bigger variety of strategies likewise offers you much more modification when selecting the functions you desire– fantastic for firms that do not wish to lose cash on devices they do not require.
How DreamHost and Bluehost Stack Up
Comparing DreamHost vs. Bluehost is easier when you can see the stats side by side. Use this table to better understand how they stack up.
Both web hosts offer a free domain, but just for the first year. DreamHost wins the automated daily backup battle, as Bluehost only offers this function on its three more expensive plans. And while both hosts do offer the option for unlimited website hosting, they both start at just one website on their base plans.
Strangely enough, Bluehost doesn’t offer an uptime guarantee, which is pretty standard among web hosts. DreamHost’s guarantee is 100%, which is a lofty goal to maintain—though it could result in a refund if your site ever goes down.
Email Hosting
One big drawback of DreamHost’s base plan is that it doesn’t offer email. You can add this on, but it costs $1.67 per mailbox per month on an annual plan.
Bluehost offers up to five free email accounts on its base plan—perfect if you just have a few employees that’ll need email access. Otherwise, you can pay $3 per month per user (renews at $6) for email access.
If you need a lot of email accounts, you’re likely just better off upgrading to the more expensive plans from either host, as they all include unlimited email.
Website Builder
DreamHost’s included website builder is actually a drag-and-drop WordPress tool. It comes with a quick-start wizard as well as over 200 starter templates. You can even get real-time SEO recommendations as you edit.
Bluehost does offer custom WordPress themes on its hosting plans, but to truly dig deep into design, you’ll need to pay for access to its Website Builder tool. It lets you edit without any coding with Gutenberg blocks, custom fonts, slides and carousels, animated headlines and more. While pricing starts at $4.95 per month, it jumps up to $10.99 per month at renewal.
Bandwidth and Storage
Both hosting solutions offer unmetered bandwidth. This means your site’s visitors can upload and download as much data as they want without it being measured.
DreamHost offers 50GB of storage vs. Bluehost’s 10GB, so it’s the clear victor here. However, 10GB might be plenty if all you’ll need are a few graphics and images on your site. For more resource-heavy sites, such as online catalogs or in-depth product guides, you’ll need more space.
Cost of DreamHost vs. Bluehost
DreamHost and Bluehost have identical costs for the first year. Both starter plans can cost $2.95 per month depending on your configuration. However, when it’s time to renew, you’ll pay $10.99 for the Basic Bluehost plan and $6.99 for the Shared Starter DreamHost plan, so DreamHost wins in that regard.
In fact, DreamHost’s prices are cheaper all around. DreamHost’s top-tier plan, Shared Unlimited, also starts at a low $2.95 per month, but it jumps to $12.99 per month after renewal. Meanwhile, Bluehost comes with three top-tier plans: Choice Plus at $5.45 per month ($19.99 at renewal), Online Store at $9.95 per month ($24.95 at renewal) and Pro at $13.95 per month ($28.99 at renewal).
DreamHost has monthly, yearly and three-year terms, while Bluehost has just yearly and three-year terms.
Customer Reviews and Reputation
Both DreamHost and Bluehost have solid customer reviews on the web.
For DreamHost, customers praise its 24/7 support team, which can help you when you’re stuck setting up your site and beyond. They also praised its speed and uptime, noting their sites rarely (if ever) went down. However, reviews aren’t all positive. Some of the negative ones talked about difficulties with malware and bugs in the backend that caused problems with their sites.
Bluehost reviews note how user-friendly the site is, including how to renew and connect domains. Customer service was also a selling point, as knowledgeable representatives are available any time of day. Some people did complain that the servers are slow, resulting in long loading times. This could be a major drawback for businesses wanting to present a fast and sleek website to customers.
Gentry