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As two well-known web hosting providers, DreamHost and Bluehost can make your business website ideas a reality. They’ll provide many of the features you need to reach customers online, including free SSL certificates, unmetered bandwidth and a free domain name.
All told, both systems have a lot to offer small business users. But deciding between the two can be tricky. In our DreamHost vs. Bluehost comparison, we’ll compare their features and provide our take on which businesses would best benefit from each.
DreamHost vs. Bluehost: At a Glance
DreamHost had its humble beginnings in a dorm room in 1997. Since then, it’s grown to service over 400,000 customers across 100 countries. It’s perhaps best known for its shared hosting, but it also offers robust WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated server hosting, cloud hosting, email hosting and domain name services.
Bluehost likewise has shared hosting, dedicated hosting and VPS hosting, in addition to WordPress hosting, email hosting and domain name services. It’s been around since 2003 and currently services over 2 million users across the globe.
Both come with features such as one-click WordPress installers, site migration tools and website builders. The main difference between the two? These features are all included with DreamHost plans, but you have to pay extra for them in some cases with Bluehost. Other freebies that DreamHost offers include a lifetime SSL certificate and first-year domain. Bluehost also offers these, but for the first year only.
Overall, we like all the bells and whistles DreamHost has to offer—including its 97-day money-back guarantee. We think it’s best for small businesses just looking for one business website. Its included site builder also means it works well for businesses without a designer on staff.
Bluehost comes with more subdomains than DreamHost, meaning it’s better for businesses that want to manage a few different websites for various aspects of their company. The larger number of plans also gives you more customization when choosing the features you want—great for companies that don’t want to waste money on tools they don’t need.
DreamHost
Pricing starts at
INR 244.53 ($2.95) per month
Pricing starts at
INR 244.53 ($2.95) per month
Why We Picked It
DreamHost’s two shared web hosting plans are simple and cheap. While the Starter plan just gives you one business site and 50GB of storage, the more expensive plan lets you host unlimited sites and storage. You’ll also enjoy automated daily backups on all plans, as well as free domain privacy. While the Starter plan doesn’t offer email accounts, the higher-priced plan does.
Pros & Cons
- 97-day money-back guarantee
- Free SSL certificate for as long as you host
- 100% uptime guarantee
- 50GB of storage on base plan
- No phone customer support
- Only one site on base plan
- Email is paid add-on
- No one-click staging options
Bluehost
Pricing starts at
INR 244.53 ($2.95) per month (first year)
Pricing starts at
INR 244.53 ($2.95) per month (first year)
Why We Picked It
Bluehost offers four different shared web hosting plans, meaning you can easily find one that meets your needs. While the base plan just gives you one website and 10GB storage, the rest offer unlimited sites and up to 100GB storage. These plans also offer unlimited email accounts, while the base plan still offers an impressive five email accounts with 100MB of storage. The highest plans even come with a free dedicated IP and domain privacy.
Pros & Cons
- Five free email accounts
- Phone customer support available
- Free CDN
- Staging environments available on higher plans
- No uptime guarantee
- No included website builder
- Only 10GB of storage on base plan
- Free SSL is only for first year
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 INR 138.43 ($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 INR 248.68 ($3) per month per user, and renew at INR 497.35 ($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 INR 410.31 ($4.95) per month, it jumps up to INR 910.98 ($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 INR 244.53 ($2.95) per month depending on your configuration. However, when it’s time to renew, you’ll pay INR 910.98 ($10.99) for the Basic Bluehost plan and INR 579.41 ($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 INR 244.53 ($2.95) per month, but it jumps to INR 1076.76 ($12.99) per month after renewal. Meanwhile, Bluehost comes with three top-tier plans: Choice Plus at INR 451.76 ($5.45) per month, Online Store at INR 824.77 ($9.95) per month, and Pro at INR 1156.34 ($13.95) per month.
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.
Top DreamHost and Bluehost Alternatives
When it comes to the best web hosting for small business, both Bluehost and DreamHost are among our top picks. They also made the cut for the best shared hosting and best web hosting, so they’re clearly powerhouse companies that are doing something right.
But if you’re still on the fence, here are a few more top-ranked companies that might be a better match for your business.
Bottom Line
Choosing either DreamHost or Bluehost will likely be a positive experience for your company. They’re both well-known, well-liked players in the web hosting game with plenty of features to make your website creation a success. Freebies such as SSL certificates, first-year domains and 24/7 support help you feel like you’re getting a good bang for your buck.
Overall, we think DreamHost is a good idea if your company is looking for a simple website with a lot of storage space. The included 50GB of storage on the base plan is more than enough for a simple website.
However, if getting a good deal while also optimizing your business email is a priority, consider Bluehost. The free accounts can go a long way in helping you appear more legit and professional.
DreamHost is best for:
- Businesses that need help building and maintaining a website
- Businesses that want to prioritize cost savings
- Businesses looking for included domain privacy
Bluehost is best for:
- Businesses that want professional email accounts at no cost
- Businesses that prefer talking to customer support on the phone
- Businesses that want a CDN to help them deliver content to a large number of users
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the difference between Bluehost and DreamHost?
Bluehost and DreamHost are very similar web hosting providers. Bluehost plans renew at INR 910.98 ($10.99) per month and include five free email accounts, a CDN and unmetered bandwidth. DreamHost plans renew at $5.99 per month on a three-year plan and come with free SSL, free website privacy and unmetered bandwidth.
Is DreamHost good for WordPress hosting?
Yes, DreamHost is great for WordPress hosting. In fact, it made our list of the best WordPress hosting services because of its well-trained WordPress tech support.
What are the pros and cons of using Bluehost?
Bluehost offers free email, 10GB of storage and a first-year domain name for free. That said, a free SSL certificate is only available for the first year, and features such as automated daily backups are add-ons.
