DreamHost vs Bluehost: Which Web Host is the Winner in 2023

Looking for an honest comparison of DreamHost vs Bluehost? Are you searching for affordable web hosts that offer exceptional value? Your search ends here.

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.

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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:

Bluehost features:

• SSD storage
• Free CDN
• Free SSL certificates
• Automated security updates
• Backup data protection
• Free WordPress-based builder
• Custom themes
• 30-days money-back guarantee
• 24/7 expert customer support

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 Choice Ps plan if you’re on a limited budget as it only costs $65.40 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 $65.40!

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.

1. Shared Starter costs you $2.59 per month where you can install 1 website and you’ll get free site migrations, free domain, free SSL, etc
2. Shared Unlimited costs you $3.95 per month where you can install unlimited websites and you’ll get free site migrations, unlimited emails, free domain, free SSL, etc

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.

1. Basic plan: This is the cheapest hosting plan, costs you $2.95 per month, where you can install 1 website with 10 GB storage.
2. Choice Plus plan: This is the MOST recommended plan, costs you $5.45 per month, and you can install 3 websites with 40 GB storage. You’ll also get a free domain and CDN.
3. Online Store: This is an eCommerce hosting plan costs you $9.95 per month, where you can install 3 websites with 40 GB storage. You’ll also get a free domain and CDN with eCommerce plugins which are worth over $450.
4. Pro plan: This is their high-end shared hosting plan, which costs you $13.95 per month, where you can install 5 websites with 100 GB storage. You’ll also get a free domain and CDN.

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.

1. 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.

2. DreamPress Plus: This plan costs you $24.95 per month and gives you access to the following features.

3. DreamPress Pro: This plan costs you $71.95 per month and gives you access to the following features.

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

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. 

1. Google Ads (with $100 credit) which can be redeemed by logging into an active Google Ads account and spending at least $25 on your Google Ads campaign
2. Bing Ads (with $100 credit) can be redeemed by logging into an active Bing Ads account. There is no minimum spend limit with Bing Ads

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 

FAQs

Here are some of the frequently asked questions around DreamHost and Bluehost web hosts.

Recommended Web Hosting Resources:

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• 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?
• Hostinger Promo Codes 2023: Get Hostinger at 90% Off

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.