DreamHost and Bluehost are two big names when it comes to web hosting services. And if you’re new to web hosting, trying to pick the best web hosting service for you or your business can be downright daunting.
You need to do your due diligence and research so you understand what you’re getting and how much it’ll cost you.
That’s where we come in. Today, we’re going to look at DreamHost and Bluehost so that you can choose what’s right for you or your company.
In short, both companies offer inexpensive web hosting with a bevy of solid features. DreamHost is probably better suited for people with some hosting experience, whereas Bluehost is likely a better option for beginners.
And while both are solid budget options for web hosting, they feature key differences which might help make your choice for you.
So, read on to see how these two web hosting services stack up. First, we’ll give an overview of the kinds of hosting plans that these two services offer and then do a side-by-side comparison of their main features and characteristics.
A basic hosting plan is “shared hosting,” which means that these services host your website alongside others on the same server.
Both Bluehost and DreamHost offer shared hosting plans, although DreamHost only offers one while Bluehost offers a variety.
For Bluehost, each plan receives a free domain and unmetered bandwidth, meaning that you can use as much of a given amount of bandwidth as you like.
DreamHost’s one shared plan also offers unmetered bandwidth, and annual plans receive one domain and as many email addresses as you want. They also enable you to use an intuitive WordPress builder, making your life easier when it comes to setting up your own WordPress-built sites.
What’s VPS hosting? It means your site is hosted on a virtual private server (VPS). You may want to opt for VPS hosting if your site will receive a lot of traffic.
DreamHost offers VPS plans with unlimited bandwidth as well as unlimited domains and included email.
Bluehost offers the same amount of RAM (8 GB) as DreamHost, and claims that almost all of their customers can run their sites just fine (i.e. they receive ample storage space and bandwidth).
Dedicated hosting is for larger companies.
DreamHost has a wide variety of hosting plans for dedicated hosting, including up to 2 terabytes of HDD storage.
Bluehost also provides numerous dedicated plans, topping out at 1 terabyte of storage.
Cloud hosting is hosting on… you guessed it, the cloud.
DreamHost has packages for cloud hosting starting at $4.50 per month and up to 100 GB of storage.
Bluehost also has cloud hosting plans, including an unmetered plan (for storage, not bandwidth). These plans will set you back at least $9.99 per month and also feature up to 100 GB of storage space.
These two sites appeal to WordPress users because they are both endorsed by WordPress itself.
Both DreamHost and Bluehost’s shared plans feature WordPress built-in, which is handy. Their prices are just about the same, with DreamHost’s coming in a few bucks cheaper per month at around $17 and Bluehost at $20.
No matter what you’re looking at for your company, you want to ensure that it’s appropriate for your business and won’t waste your precious money.
So, let’s take a look at each of these companies in terms of primary features and characteristics.
Reliability is immeasurably important when it comes to website hosting. The last thing you ever want is for someone to not be able to access your site.
Bluehost has a guarantee that your site will be up at least 99.9% of the time.
DreamHost one-ups this guarantee with a 100% guarantee. Plus, if your site goes down you’ll get a credit for one day for each hour that it’s unavailable.
Security is also a critical aspect of any modern-day technology. You don’t want your website hacked, of course, so a secure hosting service is key.
Bluehost does not necessarily back up your content regularly or promise to provide backups, so you should do your own. They do run daily scans for viruses and malware, though.
DreamHost offers top-of-the-line security both online and in-person, as their data centers have security cameras running constantly and technicians on-site all the time. They also run daily scans for the usual nasties.
You don’t want to be hung out to dry if your web hosting service fails to function properly.
Bluehost includes a thirty-day guarantee that applies to its hosting plans but not to other items like domain names.
DreamHost plans come with a ninety-seven-day guarantee, but this also only applies to hosting plans and no other items.
Bluehost lets you access their customer support at anytime all year round. You can opt for a live chat or call.
DreamHost also offers support all the time. You need to pay a fee to get live chat access at all times, however. And the same goes for talking with someone over the phone.
It can be helpful to look at online reviews when you’re comparing software. G2.com is a well-known site that helps with software comparison.
In their comparison, Bluehost and DreamHost have similar rankings, 3.6 and 3.8 (out of 5), respectively.
You can dig into the reviews hosted there to learn more about these two companies.
Both DreamHost and Bluehost are great options for web hosting. They have affordable plans for just about any budget as well as a host of handy features. They’re both also streamlined for WordPress, which makes them excellent choices if that’s your preferred content management system.
You can’t really go wrong with either option. DreamHost wins points for its great money-back guarantee and top-of-the-line security.
Bluehost, however, takes a slight edge in our opinion as it has a reputation for both ease of use and affordability. It’s a better option particularly if you’re new to web hosting, making for a great experience even for people who aren’t so tech-savvy.