Are you planning to build a website?
Whether you’re a blogger or business owner, you will need reliable web hosting.
Speaking of web hosting, DreamHost and Hostwinds are steadily becoming the most sought-after providers this 2023!
DreamHost | Hostwinds | |
Owner | New Dream Network (NDN) | Hostwinds LLC |
Basic Plan | Shared Starter | Basic |
Price | $2.59/mo | $6.74/mo |
Free Domain? | Yes | Yes |
Average Uptime | 99.98% (August 2023) | 100% (August 2023) |
Average Speed | 1,836 ms (August 2023) | 614 ms (August 2023) |
One-Click WordPress Installation? | Yes | Yes |
Free SSL? | Yes | Yes |
Number of Sites | 1 | 1 |
Free Email? | No | Yes |
Free Backup? | Automated | Automatic |
Moneyback Guarantee | Yes | Yes |
Support Channels | Live chat and Email | Live chat and Phone |
Control Panel | DreamHost Panel | cPanel |
Space | 50 GB | Unlimited |
Free CDN? | No | No |
Migration Services | Yes for WordPress | Yes |
Overall Rating | ||
Get Hosting | ||
Other Plans | Managed WordPress ($16.99), VPS ($10.00) | Business Hosting ($10.49), VPS ($4.99) |
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However, comparing hosting services to see which one is better can be overwhelming. That’s why we’ll help you by looking into these factors:
- Uptime and Speed
- Website Building
- User Migration Services
- Security
- Products and Features
With our DreamHost vs. Hostwinds 2023 comparison review, you’ll be able to see which web hosting fits YOUR needs!
DreamHost vs Hostwinds - An Overview
Founded in 1996, DreamHost has grown to host over 1.5 million websites with more than 400,000+ customers!
DreamHost is one of the most preferred web hosting for digital marketers, developers, and designers. That can only mean it is a provider you can rely on.
To prove that, they have won several awards over the years, including the ScaleUp Award (Stackworld Conference 2016) and PCMag Business Choice Award from 2014 to 2017.
Hostwinds, on the other hand, was founded in 2010 with a vision to provide client-centered web hosting.
Their philosophy is to offer 100%-owned services to quickly address all situations and help customers avoid any overhead costs.
Through their dedication to offering future-proof and reliable 2N redundancy standards, Hostwinds has won excellence awards and reviews from Inc. 500, FindMyHost.com, and PCMag.com.
DreamHost vs Hostwinds - A Side by Side Comparison Review
As we mentioned, we’ll be comparing both providers with these factors:
- Uptime and Speed
- Website Building
- User Migration Services
- Security
- Products and Pricing
Now, let’s check out the details
Uptime and Speed
While uptime and speed are different, both go hand in hand in ensuring that your website is accessible.
As of now, DreamHost has an uptime average of 99.98% (August 2023).
But DreamHost isn’t the most consistent when it comes to uptime. Sometimes it goes very high, and other times very low.
As for Hostwinds, they rarely went offline in 2023! Now, they have an uptime average of 100% (August 2023)! That’s pretty impressive!
What about speed?
DreamHost averages a speed of 1,836 ms (August 2023), which is already very fast. Hostwinds are even faster with an average of 614 ms (August 2023).
With these fast speeds, your bounce rate is likely to decrease.
WINNER: Hostwinds. With better uptime and marginally better load time, Hostwinds comes out on top as it ensures your visitors get a better experience.
Website Building
Calling all WordPress fans.
WordPress specifically endorses DreamHost as one of the best WordPress-optimized web hostings. This means that you can install WordPress and get all its features with just one click.
For people who don’t have much technical expertise, DreamHost also offers its own website builder.
As for Hostwinds, they use the Weebly drag-and-drop website builder. For those that want to use WordPress, you can still install it through their site.
WINNER: Tie. Both hosts excel with their website builders.
If you’re using WordPress, you’ll get all the support, along with optimized features from DreamHost. That said, if not using WordPress, Hostwinds gives you the option to use the Weebly website builder, which is also so easy!
Check out how easy it is to get started with DreamHost down below:
Migration Services
Both web hosting providers offer free migration services, so it’s a matter of which specific service you will be needing.
DreamHost offers free automated WordPress migration for ALL WordPress accounts. They make migration super easy –– all you have to do is install and activate the DreamHost Migration Plugin. It doesn't end there, you can also track your migration in real-time with the migration progress tracker.
Hostwinds migration services may be a little more complicated. However, you can rely on fast and reliable support to guide you. You will have to send in a Migration Request to their team to kickstart the process, which usually takes about 48 hours.
WINNER: Hostwinds. While the Hostwinds migration process may be a bit more complicated, it does support both WordPress and non-WordPress sites, ensuring you won’t need to pay any extra fees regardless of your CMS.
Security
Yes, both web hosts offer reliable security, too. But let’s get into their specific features.
DreamHost is integrated with free SSL certificates that are further enhanced by SSH and SFTP access. They also support HTTP/2, which is a huge plus for developers.
What’s more, they allow users to enable multi-factor authentication on their panel and they have developed their own firewall and DreamShield security app.
With Hostwinds, you can get free SSL certificates for Shared and Business plans. If you want to avail of their RapidSSL and Wildcard SSL certificates, you will need to pay a one-year subscription.
Another plus, they take pride in redundancy, which means that they have multiple digital centers, automatic failover, and optimized routing.
With these features, you can trust that both providers make security a priority.
WINNER: Tie. With both hosts, you’ll get great security features that’ll ensure your site remains safe for all your visitors. Encryption, bot protection, and automated backups are included in all their plans.
Products and Features
Finally, let’s talk about products and features.
DreamHost offers an astonishing list of features for their Shared Hosting, VPS, Dedicated Hosting, and Cloud Hosting. All come with unmetered bandwidth, fast SSD storage, a custom control panel, and easy WordPress Integration.
Their DreamPress packages are specifically designed for WordPress use, ensuring optimal and reliable performance.
They also have an award-winning in-house support staff and service team available 24/7/365.
Hostwinds’ most basic plan, Basic, starts at $6.74/mo, which is quite pricey for a starter web hosting plan. However, this comes with a great list of features, including unlimited space and bandwidth, traditional cPanel, and unlimited email accounts, databases, and subdomains.
They also have a dedicated Website Monitoring team on patrol 24/7. Rest assured that support engineers will automatically be informed when a problem arises.
As for their products, you can choose between Shared Hosting, VPS Hosting, Cloud Hosting, and Dedicated Hosting. You have a full set for scalability.
WINNER: Dreamhost. While Hostwinds does offer unlimited storage on their basic plan, Dreamhost offers a wide variety of affordable plans that offer similar if not better features that’ll appeal to most site creators.
DreamHost vs Hostwinds - The Verdict
Uptime and Performance | Hostwinds |
Website building | Tie |
Migration service | Hostwinds |
Security | Tie |
Products and Features | DreamHost |
From this comparison, we find that DreamHost offered better services in terms of ease of use (migration and website building) and affordability. DreamHost is the best option if you plan to use WordPress.
As for Hostwinds, they have admirable uptime and speed, security, and on-call support teams. It’s also a great option if you’re looking for a Weebly website builder, unlimited storage, and unlimited bandwidth.
Now, we hope this review has helped you make the best hosting decision!