Bluehost Review 2023: Is Bluehost ANY Good? [Including Speed & Performance Tests]

Bluehost Web Hosting

Name: Bluehost

Offer price: $2.95

Currency: USD

Operating System: Any

Application Category: Web Hosting

4.5

Summary

I found Bluehost’s web hosting service fast and effective in delivering performance. The test site I used recorded 99.99% uptime for a span of 30 days. The customer support agents are highly trained here and attentive, usually replying in seconds.

Bluehost comes with a free domain name, daily automated backups, easy-to-use cPanel, free migration, and a 30-day money refund policy. 

Pricing is reasonable, starting at just $2.95. I found the Bluehost Choice Plus plan more valuable in terms of money & features.

• Try Bluehost Choice Plus [$5.45/mo]

Are you looking for an honest Bluehost review in 2023? You’re in the right place.

I have been using Bluehost for more than 10 years on a few of my blogs.

Bluehost is hands down one of the most popular web hosts trusted by over 2 million users across the globe.

In this Bluehost Review post, I will share my personal experience covering everything about Bluehost, including;

• Bluehost performance (speed, uptime, support)
• Hosting features
• Ease of use
• Bluehost pricing 
• Backups
• Alternatives
• Benefits and drawbacks of using Bluehost

Without much ado, let’s dive into the honest review of Bluehost.

Honest Bluehost Review: Is It Worth Your Money In 2023?

Top 7 Benefits To Consider Bluehost

I found the following benefits after testing and analyzing each aspect of Bluehost hosting.

1. Starting with Bluehost is easy & affordable

Starting with Bluehost is a hassle-free and cost-effective way to launch your website. You can get your website up and running with their starting plan at just $2.95 per month.

With accessible pricing, user-friendly tools, and the flexibility to expand as your website grows, Bluehost is an excellent choice for individuals and businesses to establish an online presence without breaking the bank.

Whether you are searching for shared web hosting for your small site or dedicated server hosting for a big complex site, you will get both at affordable pricing. Plus, domain registration & domain transfer can also be done from a single place.

2. Easy to Install Websites

Bluehost provides 1-Click WordPress installation for popular website-building platforms like WordPress. You don’t need to have advanced technical skills or coding knowledge to set up your website. You can install and set up your WordPress blog and website with just a few clicks.

Bluehost also provides a user-friendly control panel (cPanel) that simplifies the website management process. You can easily navigate through various settings, install applications, manage email accounts, and perform other essential tasks related to your website.

3. Free Website Migration & Free Domain

Migrating from one hosting provider to another can be time-consuming and complex, especially if you lack technical skills.

However, if you’re dissatisfied with your current hosting and wish to switch to Bluehost, you’re in luck. Bluehost offers a free website migration service, moving your sites from your current hosting provider to their servers.

I found the Bluehost migration service extremely easy.

Here are the simple steps to migrate your website to Bluehost.

Bluehost provides only 1 WordPress website migration upon the purchase of a Bluehost hosting account. You can migrate the website for free within 30 days after your Bluehost account purchase.

Personally, I feel only 1 free migration seems somewhat limited. Bluehost should consider providing up to five free migrations, especially for their higher-end hosting plans.

You also get access to a free domain for 1 year with every Bluehost Hosting. You can register a free com/net/org/info/EU domain for the first year.

It helps you save an extra $10 to $20 and also avoids the hassles of DNS configuration.

4. Plenty of security measures are available

I found almost all security measures available inside Bluehost work on an automated basis. If you are a beginner, then don’t have to worry about configuration and all.

The list of Bluehost Security Features that safeguard your site 24*7 are:

• Resource Protection
• CodeGuard Automated Backups
• Website Firewall
• 24*7 Malware Scanning
• 24*7 Network Monitoring
• Domain Privacy
• Spam Protection
• Hotlink Protection
• SiteLock

5. Free CDN & SSL Certificate:

Bluehost offers a free CDN (Content Delivery Network) as part of its hosting services that helps to improve the performance and loading speed of your website.

You also get a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate that ensures the data transferred between your website and your visitors is secure.

SSL certificate from Bluehost ensures the security and trustworthiness of your website, positively impacting SEO, and the overall user experience.

You don’t need to be tech-savvy to use CDN and SSL certificates. With just one click, you can enable CDN and SSL certificates on your website.

6. 24/7 Fast customer support

Bluehost is known for its speedy customer support, ensuring immediate issue resolution. You get 24/7 live chat support in addition to email and phone support.

I have personally tested their live chat support. The customer representative joined the chat within seconds, displaying their readiness to provide assistance..

Along with this, you get a vast knowledge base full of articles, guides, how-tos, and YouTube Channel on everything related to web hosting from the bluehost to resolve your issues.

7. Daily Automated Backups:

Some users had previously raised concerns about the lack of daily backup options. After that, Bluehost introduced a feature called “Daily Automated Backups” through Codeguard in all of its plans except Basic.

You get a daily automated backup for free for the 1st year. After that, you can purchase CodeGuard Backup for an additional $2.99 per month fee.

Bluehost Performance Test Results

Website Performance directly impacts the website’s SEO and rankings in SERP. Your site must be loaded at lightning-fast speed to deliver a better user experience. For this, you need a high-performance web host server.

Let’s check out the Bluehost performance test.

Bluehost Speed Test:

To find out what Bluehost has for you in terms of speed,

I have measured the real-time speed of a blog hosted on Bluehost for over some years now. I used the top 3 website performance testing tools: GTMetrix, Pingdom, and Google PageSpeed Insights to analyze the speed performance.

Bluehost GTMetrix speed test result:

I got 97% overall performance and below 1.0s loading time, which is just amazing.

Bluehost Pingdom speed test result:

I got a 91 (A) performance grade and .51s loading time, faster than the GTMetrix results.

Bluehost Google PageSpeed Results:

I got a 94-speed score for the desktop and 82 for the mobile version, which is impressive too.

Bluehost Uptime Test:

Many hosting companies promise a 99.99% uptime guarantee; Bluehost is one of them.

I want to verify the bluehost’s claims. I have set the uptime tracking for my blog hosted on Bluehost with the help of the UptimeRobot tool.

Here is a detailed look at Bluehost server uptime. Surprisingly, it was 100%.

You can see in the image above it’s been more than 1 year since I started tracking, and there was no downtime recorded.

This is just performance proof of one Bluehost-hosted site.

Bluehost Uptime Test By by HRANK

I used the real uptime tracker by HRANK to reverify the Bluehost uptime.

HRANK is a trusted platform that tracks millions of Bluehost websites every day, to bring you objective statistics about every hosting provider.

Here is the Bluehost uptime for the last 30 days: 99.978%, which is almost 99.9% as claimed by Bluehost itself.

Bluehost Server Response Time:

The Data Center (Server location) directly impacts the server response time. The closer the server is to your audience’s IP address, the better the website loading speed they will get.

Unlike other web hosting services, Bluehost never disclosed its server location to users. Yes, they won’t allow you to choose it as well during the website configuration process.

So, it’s not possible for me to disclose my Bluehost test site server location. But I can guess my server location is somewhere in the USA, as I purchased my hosting from Bluehost.com

Quick Note: Bluehost offers a free Cloudflare CDN integration, which means you don’t have to worry about server location. Cloudflare CDN ensures your visitors will get your webpage delivered from the closest data center possible.

To check server response time, I have used this amazing tool BitCatcha. This tool basically sends automated traffic to the site from various locations, which helps us to determine how well the Bluehost site performed in all scenarios.

• Read: How to Speed up Your WordPress Site: Top 10 Hacks

Bluehost Customer Reviews & Rating

Bluehost has received mixed reviews from customers across the web. While one segment of users has expressed satisfaction with the service, another segment has rated it poorly.

Here are a few of Bluehost reviews from real customers on the major review platforms;

4.2 out of 5 score on Trustpilot

On Trustpilot, Bluehost get 4.2 ratings out of 5 from over 9100 customers.

About 66% of users give it 5 star rating. On the other side, 26% users also give it a poor rating of 1 star.

Bluehost Customer rating On Capterra;

On Capterra, Bluehost got an excellent rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars.

Bluehost Customer rating On G2;

Bluehost has received an average rating of 3.6 out of 5 from over 250 reviews on G2. The diverse ratings indicate that customers have had varying experiences with Bluehost, with some expressing satisfaction and others experiencing issues or concerns.

I have read a lot of Bluehost reviews on different platforms to summarize all the positive and negative feedback from the customers.

Plus Points:

• Users are highly impressed with the Bluehost performance & security they get at affordable pricing.
• Not a single person feels difficulty in operating the Bluehost cPanel or completing the onboarding process.
• Users are die-hard fans of Bluehost customer support. You can contact Bluehost even in Midnight, and they will respond in seconds for sure.

Negative Points:

• Plenty of users have an issue with their confusion about what features or add-ons they should install or not. Bluehost has tons of tools in its marketplace, and because of extra charges, users won’t feel motivated to buy them.
• 80% of them are complaining about the absence of manual data center selection options.
• Many customers complain about the higher renewal charges.

Bluehost Pros And Cons

Let’s talk about Bluehost’s pros and cons.

Pros:

Cons:

Bluehost Hosting Types & Pricing Plans

Bluehost offers a wide range of web hosting services, including Shared Hosting, Online Store Hosting, VPS hosting, and Dedicated hosting.

• Shared hosting: Shared hosting is a cost-effective option where your website shares server resources with other websites. If you are just starting your website, then shared hosting is ideal for you.
• WordPress Shared hosting: WordPress hosting is optimized for WordPress websites. It offers features like one-click WordPress installation and managed updates. It’s ideal for those who run WordPress-based sites.
• WordPress Managed hosting: Managed WordPress hosting is a specialized hosting service designed exclusively for WordPress websites. Highly optimized & performance-oriented plans where the WordPress backend-related optimization is done by the Bluehost engineers.
• WooCommerce hosting: WooCommerce hosting is best for e-commerce websites using the WooCommerce plugin. It includes features like pre-installed WooCommerce, SSL, and dedicated IP for online stores.
• VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting: VPS hosting provides you with a virtual server that acts like a dedicated server. It offers more resources and control than shared hosting. It’s suitable for websites with higher resource demands.
• Dedicated hosting server: It provides you with an entire physical server exclusively for your website. This offers the highest level of performance and control.

Different Bluehost Hostings details

Bluehost Pricing Review

Bluehost offers 4 Shared plans: Basic, Choice Plus, Online Store and Pro plans.

1. Basic: This is the entry-level plan by Bluehost that costs you $2.95 per month. You get all the features that you would need to start your first site. The basic plan has the following features

• Install 1 website
• 10 GB SSD Storage
• Free CDN
• Free domain for the first year
• Custom WP theme
• Free SSL for 1st year

2. Choice Plus: This is the most popular plan by Bluehost, with added privacy and backup features. The plan cost you $5.45 per month. You get the following features

• Install 3 websites
• 40 GB SSD Storage
• Free CDN
• Free domain for the first year
• Custom WP theme
• Free SSL
• Daily Website Backups – Free 1st year
• Domain Privacy – Free 1st year
• Malware Scanning

3. Online Store: This is the recently released plan by Bluehost, especially for eCommerce store-based sites. You will have to pay $9.95/mo for this plan. You get the following additional benefits above the Choice Plus plan benefits.

• Exclusive Store Theme
• Store Analytics
• Secure Online Payments
• Shipping Labels
• Product Search & Filtering
• Gift Cards
• Wishlist
• Customer Account Creation

4. Pro: This is the most advanced plan by Bluehost, best suited for growth seekers. Pro plan will facilitate you with more power with Optimized CPU Resources. This plan costs you $13.95 per month and comes with the following features.

• Install 5 websites
• 100 GB SSD Storage
• Optimized for high-traffic
• Free CDN
• Free domain for the first year
• Custom WP theme
• Free SSL
• Daily Website Backups – Free 1st year
• Domain Privacy – Free 1st year
• Malware Scanning

Despite cheaper plans, Bluehost has a bad renewal cost policy and some hidden charges. You can learn all of them from this Bluehost hosting plans post.

Which Bluehost Hosting Plan is more money-oriented?

Out of all Bluehost plans, Shared hosting plans are widely picked by users because of the pocket-friendliness, high-level performance, and freebies included (Free domain, Free CDN, Free SSL).

I must say, pick WordPress shared plans because the advantage of WordPress optimization is included in the same pricing and features.

Bluehost also provides a 30-day money-back guarantee that allows you to try their services risk-free for 30 days.

Here is the side-by-side comparison of each Bluehost hosting plan;

Top 3 Bluehost Alternatives

So many web hosting services are available in the market. If you still feel Bluehost is not for you, here are best Bluehost alternatives you can go for;

1. Hostinger

If you’re really tight on budget, then you can choose Hostinger, which starts from only $1.79 per month. Not just in starting, Hostinger can save your pocket in further years because of low renewal costs compared to Bluehost.

Unlike Bluehost, Hostinger allows you to manually pick a data center of your choice, which ultimately is another good reason to go with Hostinger instead of Bluehost. 

We are using Hostinger on one of our side blogs, and we genuinely found it very cost-effective.

Pricing: 

Hostinger currently offers 4 shared hosting plans, which are listed below.

1. Single shared hosting: This is the cheapest hosting plan from Hostinger, which costs you only Rs. 69 per month. You can install 1 website with 30 GB storage, and it is suitable for up to 10K visits/mo.

2. Premium shared hosting: This plan costs you Rs. 149 per month. You can install 100 websites with 100 GB storage, and it is suitable for up to 25K visits/mo.

3. Business shared hosting: This plan costs you Rs. 269 per month. You can install 100 websites with 200 GB storage and suitable for up to 100K visits/mo.

4. Cloud Startup shared hosting: This plan costs you Rs 699 per month. You can install 300 websites with 200 GB storage and suitable for up to 100K visits/mo.

• Read: Hostinger Coupon Code 2023: Up to 90% Discount + Free Domain
• Read: Bluehost vs Hostinger: Which one is better in 2023?

2. A2 Hosting

If budget is not an issue, then you can go for A2 hosting, having Turbo Servers featuring up to 20X faster page loads compared to competing web hosting services. The shared plans of A2 are more rich feature-wise than Bluehost shared plans.

Pricing: A2 Hosting offers 4 shared hosting plans, which are mentioned below.

1. StartUp: This is the cheapest A2 Hosting plan where you can install 1 Website along with 100 GB SSD storage and free site migration. This plan costs you $2.99 per month

2. Drive: This plan costs you $5.99 per month, where you can install unlimited sites with unlimited storage. In this plan, you’ll get all the features from the StartUp plan, along with free automatic backups.

3. Turbo Boost: This plan costs you $6.99 per month, where you get turbo speed (20x times faster). In this plan, you’ll get all the features from the Drive plan, along with free automatic backups.

4: Turbo Max: This plan costs you $14.99 per month, where you’ll get all the features from the Turbo Boost plan along with 5x more resources than other plans.

 3. HostArmada

HostArmada is one of the best web hosts and a great alternative to Bluehost Hosting. HostArmada uses cutting-edge Cloud Technology to provide faster, more secure, and affordable web hosting solutions.

Pricing: HostArmada shared hosting offers 3 different plans.

1. Start Dock: If you want to install just one website and looking for the cheapest plan, this is the right choice as it only costs $2.49 per month. You’ll also get a free domain along with 15 GB SSD Storage, 2 Cores CPU, 2 GB RAM, and 7 free daily backups.

2. Web Warp: If you want to install unlimited websites, this is the right choice, and it costs $4.11 per month. You’ll also get a free domain along with 30 GB SSD Storage, 4 Cores CPU, 4 GB RAM, and 14 free daily backups.

3. Speed Reaper: If you want to install unlimited websites and want more speed, this is the best plan, and it costs $4.94 per month. You’ll also get a free domain along with 40 GB SSD Storage, 6 Cores CPU, 6 GB RAM, and 21 free daily backups.

Few More Web Hosting Services You Might Wants to Consider:

• HostArmada Review: Is It A Game-Changing Web Host?
• MilesWeb Review 2023: Is This Hosting Worth The Hype And Money?
• Hostinger Review 2023: Should You Host Your WordPress Site on Hostinger?
• WPX Hosting Review With 50% OFF: Our 6 Years Hosting Experience
• ChemiCloud Review: Why Are We Recommending Them?
• InMotion Hosting Review 2023 with Uptime & Speed Test
• Cloudways Review 2023: Is It the Best Managed Cloud Host?

FAQs About Bluehost Web Hosting

Who is Bluehost For? Final Words on Bluehost

After testing & reviewing Bluehost hosting in-depth, I can say beginners should give a shot to Bluehost. All the required resources with a high performance server are available. The technical hurdles won’t bother them at all as everything (from wordpress installation to backups) is automated here.

Starting with Bluehost is easy, you just need a couple of bucks for onboarding.

For high traffic requirement sites or eCommerce sites, Bluehost top tier performance oriented plans are available. There won’t be any lack of resources. 99.99% uptime ensures smooth web page deliverability across all parts of the world. 

Avoid Bluehost if you are looking to purchase hosting for a year only. Purchase the hosting for 36 months, which will give you a relief from Bluehost’s most disappointing thing: High renewal cost.

Do you have any more questions about Bluehost Hosting? Let us know in the comments.

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