Compare Hosting Providers on July 27, 2021 by Joanna Gatapia

Don’t know which to choose between DreamHost and SiteGround? 


DreamHost

SiteGround

Owner

New Dream Network (NDN)

SiteGround LTD

Basic Plan

Shared Starter

StartUp

Price

$2.59/mo

$3.99/mo

Free Domain?

Yes

No

Average Uptime

99.98% (August 2023)

100% (August 2023)

Average Speed

1,836 ms (August 2023)

352 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

10 GB

Free CDN?

No

Yes

Migration Services

Yes for WordPress

Yes for WordPress

Overall Rating

Get Hosting

Other Plans

Managed WordPress ($16.99), VPS ($10.00)

Cloud Hosting ($100)

Cell

*Uptime and Speed data from Pingdom and Hrank


I’m here to help. 

DreamHost is one of the most popular web hosts offering affordable Shared hosting plans. But when compared with SiteGround, is it still the best option? 

SiteGround may be more expensive, but it has received a lot of great reviews for its performance.

So which web host is better for YOU?

DreamHost vs SiteGround Comparison 

In this article, I’ll compare DreamHost vs SiteGround. I’ll review their:

  • Uptime and performance
  • Website building
  • Migration services
  • Products and features
  • Security
  • Pricing
  • Customer Support

These categories will help us know what areas these two web hosts shine in.

So let’s get started!

DreamHost vs SiteGround: Uptime and Performance

Which among the two has the highest uptime? 

DreamHost has a 100% uptime guarantee. This means, for 97 days after purchase, you can get a refund whenever your site experiences downtimes. 

DreamHost is consistent with this uptime of 99.98% (August 2023).

On the other hand, SiteGround beats DreamHost, boasting an uptime of 100% (August 2023)!

DreamHost vs SiteGround - Which Web Hosting is Better SiteGround


As expected, uptime goes up and down. But you can be sure that these two providers are reliable enough. 

As for performance, SiteGround has amazing site speeds of 352 ms (August 2023).

They’re one of the fastest web hosts in the market and this is mainly because of their numerous data centers and performance boosters. 

Even their StartUp plan has a full range of performance boosters and SSD storage that increases site speed. 

Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for DreamHost. Though I wouldn’t say their speeds are slow, it’s just that you can find much faster providers.

WINNER: SiteGround. With greater reliability and faster load times, SiteGround ensures you’ll be able to offer your users an exceptional experience, compared to the average one you get with Dreamhost.


DreamHost vs SiteGround: Website Building

For site builders, I prefer SiteGround over DreamHost any day. 

SiteGround has both WordPress and Weebly site builders, so this gives users more choices on what site to do. On top of that, their site builders are very user-friendly thanks to the drag-and-drop feature. 

DreamHost only has a site builder for WordPress. And this feature is fairly new, too. So when it comes to creating a site, your capabilities might be limited with DreamHost.

WINNER: SiteGround. One of the few hosts to be actually recommended by WordPress, SiteGround ensures great website building tools. You get premium features such as site staging and optimized software to guarantee simplicity.


Check out SiteGround’s easy site creation process below:


DreamHost vs SiteGround: Migration Services

Both DreamHost and SiteGround have free migration services for WordPress sites. 

If not WordPress, then you’ll have to pay a fee of $99 for DreamHost, and $30 for SiteGround. 

But while DreamHost’s price is fixed, SiteGround’s can increase based on their quotations. So it can be more or less expensive, depending on the quotation. 

WINNER: SiteGround. While both hosts only offer free WordPress migrations, you’ll get cheaper non-WordPress migrations on average with SiteGround, putting it slightly ahead.


DreamHost vs SiteGround: Products and Features

What’s inside the basic shared hosting plans of DreamHost and SiteGround? 

Let’s take a look:


DreamHost

SiteGround

Domain:

Free 3 months

For an additional fee

Email Address:

For an additional fee

Unlimited

SSL Certificates:

Free

Free

Control Panel:

DreamHost Panel

cPanel

Storage:

50 GB

10 GB

Backups:

Automated daily

Automated daily


I know I’ve mentioned SiteGround’s performance above, but it’s worth noting again since they have a lot of features helping you to have a faster site. 

For their basic shared plans, SiteGround uses SSD (solid-state drivers) that have a faster output and input than regular drivers. It also has servers found in 4 continents. And you get to pick which data center you will use, too! 

Even though DreamHost uses SSDs for storage, it only has 2 data centers and they’re only found in the US. This is the main reason why DreamHost has slower site speeds when servicing sites from other continents.

DreamHost vs SiteGround - Which Web Hosting is Better DreamHost


However, if you look at the table above, you’ll see that DreamHost offers a little more in their basic plan. This includes a free domain and 50GB storage.  

WINNER: Dreamhost. Despite the few data center locations, Dreamhost offers greater features with their basic plan, with 50GB of storage and even a free domain.


DreamHost vs SiteGround: Security

Do DreamHost and SiteGround offer free SSL certificates?

Yes, they do! 

And they have this for all of their plans, too, regardless of the type of hosting.

As an additional security measure, DreamHost gives automated daily backups and free domain privacy to increase your website’s protection. 

On the other hand, SiteGround has spam protection, anti-hack systems, and free daily backups. 

When it comes to security, I’d say that these two web hosts are both good and secure.

WINNER: Tie. Both hosts will offer you all the standard security features you need to keep your files and users safe on your site.


DreamHost vs SiteGround: Pricing

Since both web hosts offer different types of web hosting plans, here’s a complete list of their price range:


DreamHost

GreenGeeks

Shared Hosting

$2.59 - $3.59/mo

$3.99 - $10.69/mo

WordPress Hosting

$2.59 - $3.59/mo

$3.99 - $10.69/mo

VPS Hosting

$10 - $80/mo

--

Dedicated Server Hosting

$149 - $279/mo

--

Cloud Hosting

Usage-based billing

$100 - $400/mo

Based on the prices above, SiteGround’s plans are a lot more expensive than DreamHost. However, SiteGround has more features in terms of website building and performance optimization, so that’s understandable. 

Another thing you might have noticed is that SiteGround doesn’t have VPS and Dedicated hosting plans, while DreamHost doesn’t have Cloud hosting plans. 

While it would be better if these plans had a wider range of products, it’s safe to say that if you are looking into larger plans and more features, you can either pick DreamHost for VPS and Dedicated servers or SiteGround for Cloud hosting.

WINNER: Dreamhost. With cheaper starting packages, budget-conscious site creators will get affordable hosting with Dreamhost. Not to mention, DreamHost offers more products with a wide range of prices.


DreamHost vs SiteGround: Customer Support

When it comes to giving responsive customer support, both DreamHost and SiteGround have great teams that will assist you right away. 

I had no problem with their customer service. Plus, they’re not aggressive with upselling whenever you experience technical issues. 

You can also take advantage of both hosts’ knowledge bases for some of your questions.

WINNER: Tie. Both hosts have great customer support that is willing to answer any question and/or help with any issues.


DreamHost vs SiteGround: The Verdict

It seems to be a close fight between DreamHost and SiteGround, especially since both have amazing features for several categories. 

Uptime and Performance

SiteGround

Website building

SiteGround

Migration service

SiteGround

Products and features

DreamHost

Security

Tie

Pricing

DreamHost

Customer support

Tie


So if you’re still unsure of what to pick, just take a look at what’s most important to you in terms of site performance, budget, and features so that you can pick the web host that wins in those factors.

Good luck!

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