Dreamhost vs. Bluehost: Which Is Best For You?

Dreamhost vs. Bluehost?  

Both feel similar, and each provides hosting that works for the budget-conscious.

In this article, we will briefly explore each and provide you with our thoughts on how to select the right one for you.

The guidance above should help you in making your decision, but let’s explore further to ensure you have all the information needed to make this decision.

Pricing

We both know that the “starting at” price is rarely the one representing your full cost – most of us want a little bit more than the rock-bottom offer.

Let’s compare Bluehost vs Dreamhost for the cost of a simple website with:

• A new domain name and an SSL certificate
• Sales Tax

Dreamhost

We purchased the shared starter plan on Dreamhost, the lowest cost option, which comes with a free SSL certificate.  

We then bought this domain name for an additional $17.99/year. 

This cost, plus the $35.40 for the shared starter plan, gives us a total yearly price of $53.39.

Bluehost

On Bluehost, we also bought the least expensive plan.  This plan included WordPress hosting, an SSL certificate, and a domain name. 

This cost us $89.77 per year, significantly more than the cost of Dreamhost.

✓ Dreamhost wins on pricing.

Ease of Use

Bluehost does a better job of guiding users through the first-time setup of WordPress.

However, in all other cases, the ease of use is essentially the same between the two solutions.

✓ This is a tie—except for first-time WordPress users who will prefer Bluehost.

Performance and Scalability

Bluehost is slightly better performing, but only slightly.

✓ Bluehost comes in a little ahead.

Other Capabilities

Dreamhost and Bluehost are fairly even in all other areas.

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First-time WordPress site builders will prefer Bluehost.  All others, especially those focused on the cost as the primary decision-maker, will prefer Dreamhost.