Bluehost vs DreamHost – Which Web Hosting is Better?

If you’ve been on the lookout for web hosting for your new business or to market yourself online, you’re probably overwhelmed with the number of options available

Now, on your search, you probably came upon Bluehost and DreamHost, two well-known web hosting providers.

In this article, I’ll go over both options, giving you a side-by-side comparison to hopefully give you a better idea of which one is best suited to your needs.

So let’s get into it.

Bluehost vs DreamHost: A Side by Side Comparison 

I’ve evaluated each provider based on the factors below:

• Uptime and performance
• Ease of use
• Migration services
• Products and features
• Security
• Pricing
• Customer Support

Keep reading for an in-depth look at each aspect.

Uptime and Performance 

Both Bluehost and DreamHost are excellent options when it comes to reliability with near-perfect uptime. 

This means you’ll rarely encounter any downtime with both hosting providers, which will prevent your site from being ranked lower by the Google algorithm. This will also give you the best chance of marketing your site to users.

DreamHost and Bluehost have some of the best uptime in the industry. Each year, both improve more and more with exceptional uptime, 99.98% (August 2023) and 99.93% (August 2023) respectively. Pretty hard to beat.

Ease of Use

Both Bluehost and DreamHost score high when it comes to user-friendy plans, with both hosting providers having easy-to-use tools perfect for beginners.

Both are recommended by WordPress and allow you to create professional sites in no time with hundreds of templates, plus the WP builder which works best on their optimized service.

Both providers have an easy-to-use cPanel that contains everything you need to manage your site, install software, and manage emails in one easy-to-use dashboard, simplifying the site management process.

With a range of different software plug-ins that’ll support e-commerce and more, they make flexibility easy because both support 1 click software install. 

With both hosts, you’ll also get to test your site first and work out the bugs and issues before making it live.

Want to know how easy it is to make a website with BlueHost? Check out this video:

Migration Service

Both web hosts provide free migration if you’re looking to upgrade your web hosting package to support your growing site’s needs.

You’ll also get free migration as long as your site is hosted on WordPress. 

If your site doesn’t fall into these categories, you’ll have to pay to migrate.

If you have multiple sites that you need to migrate, then Bluehost provides a cheap way to do just that, migrating a full 5 sites for under $150.

You can choose to handle the migration process yourself, in which case you won’t have to pay any extra fees, but this is only an option if you’re well versed in website design. So I don’t recommend it to all you tech newbies out there.

Both web hosting providers have experienced teams of technical support staff that’ll ensure your site won’t suffer from any bugs once it’s on their platform.

Product and Features 

Both Bluehost and DreamHost have a whole host of features to give you the best hosting service possible.

Both web hosting providers offer 50 GB of lightning-fast SSD storage and unlimited bandwidth to keep your site quick and prevent it from becoming unavailable due to excess traffic.

But 50GB can be a bit restricting, especially if you’re looking to upload loads of videos and content. Nothing to worry about, though, as both hosting providers do offer other plans to meet your needs for an extra price.

Both providers also have a no-questions-asked return policy. Bluehost has a 30-day window to get your money back if you change your mind. DreamHost, on the other hand, has one of the longest return policies in the industry with a whole 97 days or over 3 months to get a refund!

Regardless, you’ll have a lot of time to experience both offerings to see if it’s the one for you or not. 

Security 

Both web hosting providers are trusted and well known. They support millions of sites that cater to local web design enthusiasts to large corporations alike, so security is definitely a priority.

Along with the free SSL certification, both providers regularly update WordPress and code for you to ensure hackers don’t find a backdoor into your site.

DreamHost has even partnered with StopTheHacker to provide specialized cybersecurity teams and experts to work out bugs and issues before hackers can find them.

You can avail of their add-on, DreamShield, that regularly scans site content and installed software to automatically detect and fix problems as they arise. Take note that this will cost you an extra $3 per month.

When it comes to server security, both Bluehost and DreamHost have backup generators to keep your site up and running in the event of any power issues on their side, which ensures greater reliability.

Both hosting providers also give you the ability to backup files, but with Bluehost, you’ll have to manually backup your content as opposed to DreamHost’s automatic method. 

Pricing 

Pricing shall vary depending on the type of package you’ll select and how much you pay in advance.

Both hosting providers offer cheaper introductory pricing and cheaper monthly fees if you pay in advance, with maximum savings if you pay for 3 years upfront.

When it comes to shared web hosting, Bluehost pricing can vary from $2.95 to $13.95 on their advanced shared hosting packages that support unlimited sites.

DreamHost, on the other hand, has fewer options to choose from, providing only two basic packages costing $2.59 and $3.95 respectively.

However, both providers have advanced VPS, managed, and dedicated server offerings that can provide you more storage and features for a higher price, with heavy-duty offerings exceeding $100 a month.

Overall, both hosting providers provide value to money offerings that, when compared to the other hosting providers out there, are economically priced.

Customer Support

Both picks have 24/7 customer support available to help you with any questions or concerns.

But Bluehost has a greater variety of contact options to choose from, with support by phone and email, in addition to live chat.

DreamHost only provides live chat. You’ll have to pay extra for their call-back feature, where they’ll get in touch with you.

Generally, waiting times are lower on Bluehost, and issues are resolved a tad bit faster overall.

But both Bluehost and Dreamhost have detailed FAQ sections to guide you through general problems you may face. This can save time by making it easier to solve your problem without having to wait on customer support.

Wrap Up

So all in all, both options are great picks if you’re looking for affordable, reliable, and secure web hosting. 

The option you pick will depend on what you’re looking for.

If you want more attentive customer support and cheaper migration for multiple sites, then Bluehost is the better pick.

But if you want exceptional uptime and a longer money-back guarantee to explore all the features, then DreamHost may be the pick for you.

Regardless of the hosting provider you pick, you’ll get an exceptional experience with both web hosting providers.

Have we missed anything out? Have any further questions?

Comment them down below.

Good luck with your site!