DreamHost Vs BlueHost 2023 - Compare DreamHost & Bluehost

When the inexperienced try to choose a web hosting service, they often experience confusion and panic attacks. When you walk into a sector like this, it can seem like you’re stumbling through a minefield without a goal in mind because there are just too many companies offering similar services. It gets even crazier when everybody is claiming to be better than everyone else. You might soon find yourself choosing between DreamHost Vs Bluehost if you try to narrow down your options to only the best web hosts.

There is no need to worry about either company packing up and disappearing overnight because they have been around for years and aren’t going anywhere. Both companies are also well known for offering affordable and feature-rich hosting solutions, so regardless of what kind of system you are looking to set up, we’re pretty sure these hosts can accommodate you.

Comparison of the BlueHost and DreamHost hosting plans reveals that the prices and features are almost similar with little difference. DreamHost is more suitable for advanced website managers who are familiar with hosting websites. However, Bluehost would be the most appropriate choice if you want some assistance. It is important to note, however, that the final decision on which web host to choose should be determined by your hosting needs and budget. In light of that, the following paragraphs compare and contrast Bluehost vs DreamHost in order to help you make an informed decision regarding which of the two hosting companies is more appropriate for your needs.

Table of Contents

Dreamhost – What is it?

Founded as the New Dream Network in 1997, DreamHost makes web hosting a breeze. The company is headquartered in the Los Angeles area with offices worldwide. In recent years, the company has changed its name to DreamHost and hosted more than 1.5 million websites, blogs, and apps for developers, designers, and small companies.

Many hosts are more than capable of hosting your growing and increasing website traffic, but DreamHost guarantees you top-notch support. DreamHost’s in-house support team provides customers with valuable assistance all day, every day, all year round, to help them resolve problems and improve their business results.

Even though features vary depending on the plan you choose, whichever DreamHost shared hosting package you choose will give you the following:

It comes pre-installed with WordPress
The automatic updating of WordPress
Build WordPress websites with WP
includes a free SSL certificate
backed up automatically
Guaranteed uptime of 100%
Support is available 24/7

In addition to unlimited website storage and unlimited websites and domains, the more expensive Shared Unlimited plan also gives you unlimited email accounts as well.

DreamHost’s managed WordPress and WooCommerce hosting packages are also worth checking out if you’re interested.

DreamHost support agents have an in-depth understanding of web hosting. With a team of in-house support agents available when needed, DreamHost’s speedy SSD architecture, handcrafted control panel, WordPress-tailored solutions, and reliable managed services are worthy of the company’s award-winning support.

Bluehost – What is it?

More than 2 million websites are now hosted by Bluehost, a company founded nearly 20 years ago in Provo, Utah, by Danny Ashworth and Matt Heaton. After registering 1 million domains in five years, Bluehost now powers more than 2 million websites. In comparison, SiteGround wasn’t founded until a year later (in 2004), and it reached the milestone after 14 years.

2010 saw Bluehost acquired by EIG (Endurance International Group), owner of a variety of smaller web hosting companies such as FatCow, iPage, and HostGator. This purchase does not appear to have affected the company’s quality; it remains one of the best Web hosting options on the market.

There are now over 750 team members at Bluehost who are ready to assist its customers whenever they need them. Known for its affordability and usability, which both newbies and veterans can appreciate, Bluehost has gained a loyal following in the hosting community for its cost-effective offerings.

Besides offering fantastic performance at competitive prices, Bluehost also dominates the server hosting market. Your virtual or dedicated server is powerful, fast, and available virtually 24 hours a day with two to four cores and guaranteed resources. Utilizing industry-leading open-source technologies, such as KVM and OpenStack, bluehost give you the highest level of performance while maintaining the highest level of functionality.

Four shared hosting plans are available to customers, with all including the following features…

Get a free SSL certificate
accompanied by automatic WordPress updates
Install WordPress with a single click
with unlimited bandwidth
A staging environment for your website
access to cPanel
24×7 support

As one of the few WordPress hosting providers endorsed by the WordPress Core team, Bluehost stands out. Using the company’s control panel, you can install the popular blogging platform in a matter of seconds, or you can reach out to their managed services team to do it for you.

Benefits and drawbacks Of DreamHost Vs Bluehost

Bluehost Benefits and drawbacks

Benefits

Bluehost has excellent WordPress integration: Bluehost is recommended by WordPress directly, and integrates WordPress one-click installation with ease
Availability of telephone and live chat support around the clock
You can get a free domain name for your first year
SSL certificate provided for free
No CDN fees
A bandwidth that is unmetered
Hosting plans that are scalable
Money-back guarantee of 30 days for all hosting plans without questions asked

Drawbacks

The checkout process at Bluehost is very salesy. Additional products are added to your cart at checkout, which you must remove by yourself
There is no guarantee of uptime
Migration fees for websites are high
Rates of renewal are high

Dreamhost Benefits and drawbacks

Benefits

Backups of DreamHost websites every day: DreamHost makes daily backups of your website
You can get a free domain name for your first year
SSL certificate provided for free
Guaranteed uptime of 100 percent
Money back guarantee for 97 days
You can get a VPS hosting plan for as little as $10 a month

Drawbacks

DreamHost does not directly provide phone support: You can submit a ticket online to request a call from their team, but you cannot call them direct
cPanel is quite confusing since it is custom-built
A free CDN is not available

The key differences between DreamHost And Bluehost

It’s understandable that people often select a web hosting service only based on which service provides the best price. Before you make your final decision, we recommend you check out the individual features.

You can so ensure that you are actually getting good value for your money if you do that. Below are key points that you should pay attention to. Don’t overlook them!

Website Builder

In actuality, Bluehost doesn’t offer its own website builder, but it doesn’t need one anyhow. You can use the CRM as your own site builder thanks to its impressive WordPress integration. With WordPress you get access to a wide range of templates that are customizable to make your content unique.

You can use a plugin to tweak things even more and make everything look exactly the way you want. You can also use the Weebly site builder with Bluehost, but keep in mind that you only get the basic version of Weebly for free. Therefore, consider this carefully!

Meanwhile, DreamHost offers a tool known as Remixer that allows people to build their own websites. A DreamHost website can be created in minutes thanks to more than 70 pre-designed themes and click-to-edit functionality. Among the DreamHost website’s articles are some examples of companies using Remixer for their businesses. Remixer comes with two plans with a small monthly fee, however.

Databases

All hosting plans offered by both providers come with unlimited MySQL databases. Both platforms provide direct access to cPanel functionality for creating, deleting, and controlling databases. You don’t have to worry about how to start, since each company offers detailed tutorials to assist you.

Domain Registration

When you sign up for any Bluehost or DreamHost hosting plan, you will be able to get your free domain name.

The first year’s registration for a Bluehost domain costs $11.99, and its renewal costs $17.99. There are specific hosting packages that include free domain privacy protection, however, the average cost is $11.88 per year.

The company offers various domain names for sale; for example, the cost of a .com domain name is $11.99 per year at DreamHost. As part of this deal, you’ll receive free privacy protection, ensuring that no one can find out your personal information when looking up your domain.

Backups

Without charging extra fees, Bluehost provides automatic backup services weekly. As for DreamHost, its policy prohibits the storage of backups on the servers; thus, backups must be downloaded and removed from the hosts immediately after they have been created. In DreamHost’s automated backups, website data and databases are archived, but there is no guarantee of backups.

WordPress Hosting

Managed WordPress plans are available from both Bluehost and Dreamhost. The monthly fee for managed WordPress plans is usually higher than that of shared hosting plans. Managing WordPress plans adds some extra costs because they are hosted on optimized servers with some additional features, such as caching and additional security, designed to improve performance and stability. By using managed WordPress hosting services, you can leave backups and updates of your WordPress websites to the professionals, allowing you to concentrate on other things more important.

Website – migration

It is unfortunate that Bluehost and DreamHost don’t offer free site migration. In contrast, at BlueHost you’ll pay $149.99, and at DreamHost you’ll pay $99 for this service.

Guarantee of money back

The industry-standard guarantee offered by Bluehost is for 30 days, while DreamHost offers a 97-day guarantee. Therefore, you have three months and one week to determine whether your plan fits the specifications of what you expect. There is no doubt that this is the longest money-back guarantee in the hosting industry.

Comparison of ease of use between Bluehost and DreamHost

Easy one-click installation

Installing almost a hundred apps with one click is easy with Bluehost’s MOJO Marketplace one-click installer. Although there are not as many options as there are in the MOJO Marketplace, DreamHost has an easy one-click installer.

Control Panel

In order to access the plan’s features, a user logs into the control panel of their website hosting company. Although Bluehost uses cPanel, they have a quite modified interface, so regular cPanel users may have to make some adjustments.

The company chose to use its own cPanel instead of a third-party interface such as Plesk or cPanel, as it isn’t a huge fan of those interfaces. There isn’t much difference between DreamHost’s interface and that of other hosting companies, so it shouldn’t be too intimidating for those who are new to web hosting. It might seem strange to someone familiar with cPanel, but once you get used to it, it becomes second nature.

Navigating a website

You can easily compare tiers in both companies’ plans using their comparison charts, which provide all the information you need to choose the right plan. While searching DreamHost for information may not be difficult, it may take some time reading through wikis or using Google to locate some information.

Feature	DreamHost	BlueHost
SSL certificate for free	Yes	Yes
Domain name for free	A one-year annual plan is free when you enroll for it for the first time	A one-year annual plan is free when you enroll for it for the first time
Website migration for free	You have to pay $99 for it	You have to pay $144.99 for it
CDN for free	No	There is a CDN (Cloudflare, but it is not automatically enabled)
Space for storage	Unlimited	There is a 50GB limit per plan, depending on your package
Installing apps with a single click	Yes	Yes
Guarantee of money back	97 days	30 days
Cpanel	DreamHost uses its own bespoke cPanel	Yes

There isn’t much difference between Bluehost and DreamHost in terms of key features. You can see Bluehost to be the better choice for free CDN, backups, and cPanel while DreamHost is much cheaper for website migrations and comes with a longer money-back guarantee.

The ease of use of both Bluehost and DreamHost is pretty decent, though Bluehost may have the edge due to its better implementation of cPanel and more user-friendly website migration.

Comparison of BlueHost and DreamHost in terms of speed and uptime

We usually expect websites to load quickly and to be available at all times whenever we look for them. Those two hosting platforms are sensitive to customer expectations and strive to deliver services that are reliable and consistent as possible.

It’s time to find out! Who is the better candidate in this area among the two?

Comparison of the speeds of Bluehost and DreamHost

Down.com’s test of Bluehost found that its page speed was 2.89 seconds on average, with the fastest being 0.00 seconds and the slowest being 9.17 seconds. Consequently, DreamHost was able to achieve an average speed of 2.65s, which was fastest at 0.00s and slowest at 21.25s.

The Uptime Comparison Between Bluehost and DreamHost

Uptime is a metric showing how accessible and dependable a website is for its visitors. In fact, Bluehost guarantees 99.99% uptime, but it will not tell you whether you can get a refund if you don’t meet the guarantee. When you cancel an account, however, you do not incur any fees because they didn’t comply with the terms. Cancelling your account without penalty and receiving a refund for unused service portions is possible at any time.

With DreamHost, you can count on 100% uptime. Upon discovering that your website is down, you will receive a 10% credit for each hour (or part of one hour) that your website is down. Scheduled maintenance days, on the other hand, will not count towards this. Customer service contacts support with information about downtime and downtime begins immediately. Please keep in mind that if you cause your website problems, you will not receive credit. Regardless of the reason, DreamHost is not bound to provide credit, so you should be cautious about what you do on your website so as to avoid user errors.

A comparison of Bluehost and DreamHost’s reliability

A Bluehost data center is located in Utah, and it is powered and cooled with redundant sources, and diesel backups are available in the event of an emergency. It does not maintain mirrored or redundant backup copies of data, with the exception of data stored in the cloud. Backup copies will be stored for no longer than 30 days.

There are two DreamHost data centers in California, one in Los Angeles, and one in Irvine. There are plans to consolidate the California data centers into one data center in Portland. Redundant diesel backups, power and cooling systems, plus 24/7 security, are all standard at all data centers.

Speed and reliability are great, but the inability to offer an uptime guarantee by Bluehost is something to be concerned about. It is undeniable that DreamHost offers one of the best uptime guarantees in the hosting industry.

Security comparison between Bluehost and DreamHost

Your website can be vulnerable to hacking, DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service), phishing, and brute force attacks. However, your web hosting provider should ensure that your website is secure from these kinds of threats, right? The reality is that that does not always happen, so you should thoroughly review what security features your web host offers and does not provide.

Security features at Bluehost are minimal, so if you want your site to be totally protected, you’ll need to purchase add-ons. The package includes SiteLock Lite, a barebones malware scanner that scans your website five web pages per month.

For ease of mind, Bluehost forces you to purchase SiteLock Premium for protection against malware across your website, along with other essentials like protection from DDoS attacks, malicious script injection, and brute force attacks. In fact, SiteLock Premium is automatically checked when you process your payment during the checkout process, as the company is so confident you’ll buy the add-on. Those who do not wish to purchase the item must deselect it manually.

In addition to mod_security, DreamHost provides a frequently updated web application firewall (WAF) to safeguard your website against brute force attacks, malicious traffic, and cross-site scripting.Additionally, it assists in enhancing the security of DreamHost cPanel by preventing hackers from breaking in. The company offers a malware scanner called DreamShield, however it is optional, to be paid for. Developed specifically to identify malware quickly without slowing your website down, this outstanding security feature offers enhanced protection against threats.

An attack can reveal the true strength of a security system, but it can also reveal its weaknesses. Our research indicates that DreamHost includes the WAF feature to ensure that your site is protected 24/7 and is updated as soon as there is a threat. This level of security does not incur an additional charge unlike Bluehost. Clearly, DreamHost is more concerned with customer security than Bluehost. In conclusion, DreamHost deserves this one.

Comparison of customer support between Bluehost and DreamHost

We think a great hosting provider needs to offer three things – great performance, great pricing, and great customer support. So why do we give such a high priority to customer support?

The truth is, we are not all webmasters, and even experienced website owners nonetheless experience problems when managing a webpage. What can be done to help them when they encounter these issues? It’s the customer support, of course. Customer service should be accessible and helpful to ensure customer satisfaction.

Providing 24/7 customer service via multiple communication channels such as email, phone lines, and live chat is a common service provided by both companies. Furthermore, the site contains a wide variety of articles covering most relevant topics, tutorials, and access to a knowledge base.

In the client area of Bluehost, clients can open tickets that connect them with assistive staff. However, most people prefer to use live chat or phone lines when they want a prompt response.

If there aren’t a lot of support staff managing support tickets, DreamHost’s live chat is only available. Likewise, if you’ve paid their “call back” fee, you will always be able to contact them via live chat. According to the company’s website, email responses are usually answered within 24 hours, but tickets are usually handled much faster.

There is no clear winner in this round because both companies provide excellent customer support.

Comparison of Bluehost and DreamHost pricing plans

There’s no doubt that price is one of the most important factors to consider when it comes to choosing a web host. DreamHost and Bluehost offer a wide range of pricing plans, all of which have various price points and promotional offers.

You can choose from a variety of different price ranges for Bluehost’s products, including:

Starting at $2.75/month for shared WordPress hosting
Management of WordPress. A managed WordPress hosting plan from $19.95 per month.
Getting started with WordPress hosting costs as little as $6.95/month
Dedicated hosting plans start at $79.99 a month
Prices start at $18.99/month for a virtual private server
Hosting starts at $2.75 per month for shared hosting

The following DreamHost pricing plans are currently available:

Prices start at $10/month for a virtual private server
Dedicated hosting plans start at $169 a month
Starting at $2.59 per month for WordPress hosting
Web hosting costs as low as $2.59/month
Monthly fee: $2.59 for WordPress website builders
A cloud hosting service costs $0.0075/ hour

The promotional prices and the terms and conditions of Bluehost and DreamHost are quite similar. In the long-term, however, DreamHost stands out due to its lower renewal prices as once your initial contract expires.

Question & Answer Regarding DreamHost Vs Bluehost

Are there really no limits when it comes to unmetered bandwidth?

The limit on data transfer on shared hosting plans is so high that most websites won’t come close to exceeding them – in fact, BlueHost states that 99.95% of its customers have enough bandwidth and storage space to meet their needs.

Bluehost is recommended for whom?

Anyone who is interested in blogging
Anyone who needs to set up a small e-commerce website
The small and medium size business sector
Those who want to create static websites
If you’re looking for a fast-loading plan, as well as multiple customer support options, Bluehost can also be a good choice.

DreamHost is recommended for whom?

E-commerce businesses with a few operations
Anyone seeking uptime guarantees
who is concerned about their site privacy and security
Whoever is looking for a relatively stable and reliable hosting environment
Businesses with a small or medium size

Conclusion

Considering the different features offered by Bluehost versus DreamHost in the comparison above, it might appear that Bluehost has a slight advantage over DreamHost.

There are several reasons why Bluehost may appeal to you, including its flexible control panel, scalability options, and automatic backup and migration services.

Similarly, DreamHost is a good choice if you wish to have more flexibility with your dedicated server configuration, and who would prefer to protect their domain names, have SSDs as standard, etc.

There is no single solution to all your hosting needs, as mentioned earlier. It is essential to understand your hosting requirements and thoroughly examine the web hosting features on offer by the two options.