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How do you search for a web hosting provider? A lot of buyers’ guides you read online crown Bluehost as the top choice for web hosting. But it may not always be what you’re looking for. If you’re unsure what type of service you need, if shared hosting meets your requirements, or if you should consider cloud hosting, this Bluehost alternatives guide is just for you.
Here are the top web hosting companies, plans, and options to help you answer questions about the best website hosting for you.
What are the Best Bluehost Alternatives?
- Bluehost: Best Overall Web Hosting
- HostGator: Best Alternative for Shared Hosting
- NameCheap: Best Alternative for Affordable Hosting
- SiteGround: Best Alternative for WordPress Hosting
- Dreamhost: Best Alternative for Cloud Hosting
1. Bluehost — Best Overall Web Hosting
Pros:
- Unlimited domains and sites
- Free migration for WordPress sites
- 24/7/365 technical support
Cons:
- Servers only in the United States
- Price hikes at renewal
Bluehost’s straightforward pricing, powerful tools, and ease of use are worth praising and earn it the top spot. These features also make it ideal for beginners. Customers expecting their hosting needs to change can switch from Bluehost’s basic plans to premium packages.
Product Variety: 4.3/5.0
Bluehost offers several shared, WordPress, dedicated, and VPS hosting plans. Shared hosting packages are the best options for smaller sites that don’t receive a lot of traffic. VPS and dedicated hosting provide clients with more control over their hosting environment. Most shared packages include unlimited storage space and websites plus custom themes and WordPress integration.
You’ll see two menu options for shared and WordPress hosting when you visit Bluehost’s website. However, they’re essentially the same services. Shared hosting has WordPress integration by default. WooCommerce packages offer essential features like site analytics, payment processing, and manual order creation. If you want to use another content management system such as Drupal or Joomla, Bluehost may not be a great fit.
Security: 4.2/5.0
Bluehost provides several core security features. SSL certificates are included for free in every shared and WordPress hosting package. You can select premium SSL certificates with Pro plans, which add a visible TrustLogo security seal on your site. Shared hosting also incorporates resource protection, ensuring that your site’s resources are partitioned and protected by others on the same server.
Additional security features are available. Domain name privacy keeps your information hidden on ICANN’s public domain registry. You can also choose SiteLock, a suite of security tools including malware protection, advanced firewall protection, and Google Blacklist monitoring. CodeGuard comes with 1 GB storage plus automatic daily backups and site change monitoring. CodeGuard Basic is an extra $33 for a one-year subscription, but Professional, Premium, and Enterprise subscriptions are also available.
Bluehost Customer Support: 4.2/5.0
One bonus for Bluehost is its impressive collection of helpful resources. Clients can access its knowledge base full of how-tos, troubleshooting, and educational articles. When it comes to Bluehost Customer Support, live chat is available 24/7/365, but you can also get support via telephone. The company is gradually overcoming its reputation for slow tech support response. Recent clients report faster response times and better quality of help.
Pricing: 4.1/5.0
Bluehost offers basic shared and WordPress hosting plans for $2.95 per month. Meanwhile, professional-level WordPress and shared hosting prices out at $13.95 each month. Dedicated hosting ranges between $80 and $120 monthly. You get a free domain for a year, but pay attention to price jumps at renewal time.
Overall Score: 4.2/5.0
2. HostGator — Best Alternative for Shared Hosting
Pros:
- Uptime guarantee: 99%
- Supports many content management systems
- 24/7/365 phone and live chat support
- Windows and Linux hosting options
Cons:
- Limited Windows hosting choices
- Servers only in the United States
- Automatic site backups not included
HostGator sets itself apart thanks to its Windows and Linux web hosting options. Like SiteGround, it also supports WordPress plus Drupal and Joomla. Scalability, affordable pricing, and robust tech support make it one of the best alternatives to Bluehost.
Product Variety: 4.3/5.0
HostGator’s menu of services includes WordPress, shared, dedicated, reseller, and VPS hosting plans. Other options include domain registrations and transfers. If WordPress isn’t your thing, you can use the company’s proprietary GatorBuilder website creation tool. Services packaged with GatorBuilder include a free domain, unmetered bandwidth, and hosting. Besides WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla, HostGator also supports Magento and MediaWiki.
Security: 4.1/5.0
Free SSL certificates are included with HostGator’s WordPress and shared hosting plans. Premium plans incorporate Positive SSL, which comes with a TrustLogo seal and up to $10K in warranty protection. You can add SiteLock to your subscription, plus automated backups. However, you can get automated backups free with most other companies’ hosting plans.
Tech Support: 4.4/5.0
HostGator offers 24/7/365 live chat and telephone technical support. Customers can also access a rich online knowledge base plus an extensive blog with plenty of helpful tips and advice.
Pricing: 4.0/5.0
HostGator isn’t the cheapest company on the block, but it’s also not terribly pricey. Shared hosting starts at $2.75 per month, with a premium plan at $5.25 per month. WordPress hosting ranges between $5.95 and $9.95 monthly. Dedicated hosting prices are between $90 and $140 per month, while VPS plans range between $24 and $55 monthly.
All these rates require you to choose a three-year billing cycle. You pay more with shorter billing terms, so check your selections before committing to a plan.
Overall Score: 4.2/5.0
>>See HostGator’s best hosting plans
3. NameCheap — Best Alternative for Affordable Hosting
Pros:
- 100% uptime guarantee
- Low-cost monthly plans
- Free domain registrations
- Extensive online help center and tech support
Cons:
- Difficult to navigate the dashboard
- Significant renewal price increase
- Lack of telephone support
If you need hosting services and you’re stretched for cash, Namecheap is an excellent choice. Clients enjoy feature-riched packages for low monthly fees. Helpful online support plus a plethora of security tools make Namecheap one of the top alternatives to Bluehost.
Product Variety: 4.2/5.0
Namecheap offers shared hosting plus VPS, dedicated, WordPress, and reseller hosting plans. Email is automatically included with shared hosting services. You also get up to three domains and 30 subdomains plus site stats, script support, and database services.
Security: 4.0/5.0
Like most hosting companies, Namecheap includes SSL certificates for free. Domain privacy and Jellyfish spam protection are also packaged with shared hosting plans. Additional security features include ID verification and cyber insurance. Remember that Namecheap only does twice-weekly backups, while most providers perform them daily.
Tech Support: 3.8/5.0
Namecheap customers enjoy 24/7 live chat tech support plus robust online resources like its knowledge base and videos. Those who prefer telephone support may want to look elsewhere. Additionally, users report difficulty navigating Namecheap’s bare-bones dashboard. For many, that means more time spent in tech support chat.
Pricing: 4.4/5.0
Namecheap’s shared hosting plans start at $1.88 per month. That’s pretty affordable compared to other providers. There’s only one drawback: You must select a three-year billing cycle to get those rates. If you don’t want to get locked into a commitment, that’s not an ideal option. Dedicated hosting prices range up to $170 per month, but you may enjoy discounts with two-year billing. Watch out for significant price increases at renewal time.
Overall Score: 4.1/5.0
>>Take advantage of NameCheap’s low-cost hosting plans
4. SiteGround — Best Alternative for WordPress Hosting
Pros:
- Easy-to-understand plans and pricing
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Servers located worldwide
- 24/7/365 live chat and phone support
Cons:
- Less available storage space
- No dedicated or VPS hosting
- No Windows-based hosting
SiteGround provides some of the most affordable managed WordPress hosting services. It lacks dedicated and VPS hosting options. However, it offers WooCommerce, cloud, and reseller hosting. While SiteGround is a WordPress-focused hosting service, it provides support for Drupal and Joomla.
Product Variety: 4.1/5.0
Many features come free with WordPress hosting plans: email, e-commerce, super-caching, cloud delivery network services, and unlimited databases. SiteGround’s CDN uses a group of servers worldwide to quickly distribute internet content and efficiently manage site traffic. These plans also offer free WordPress installation plus a WP migrator tool.
Security: 4.2/5.0
Free SSL certificates are standard with every SiteGround plan. You also get free daily backups plus protection from a web application firewall that stops hackers and malicious code. SiteGround uses an AI-powered anti-bot system to tackle security threats.
Tech Support: 4.5/5.0
SiteGround provides round-the-clock live chat and telephone tech support. Its extensive knowledge base contains helpful articles and tutorials on many topics, including WordPress basics, FTP, and Cloudflare CDN. SiteGround’s Geek 2 English podcast breaks down tech topics in plainer language.
Pricing: 4.2/5.0
SiteGround offers three managed WordPress hosting plans: StartUp, GrowBig, and GoGeek. These all come with shared hosting plus 10 GB, 20 GB, and 40 GB of storage space. At press time, monthly rates range from $3.99 to $10.69. The extensive features in each plan make up somewhat for the low amounts of storage. Cloud hosting costs between $100 and $400 per month. Reseller hosting plans start at $6.69 and price up to $100 per month.
Overall Score: 4.25/5.0
>>Check SiteGround pricing plans
5. Dreamhost — Best Alternative for Cloud Hosting
Pros:
- Generous amounts of storage
- Unmetered bandwidth and site visits
- Uptime guarantee: 100%
Cons:
- No Windows hosting options
- No telephone tech support
- Email not included with hosting
Dreamhost’s Linux hosting services include shared, WordPress, VPS, and dedicated plans. Shared Starter and Shared Unlimited are popular options, offering flexibility, ease of use, and dependable services. These benefits make Dreamhost one of the best alternatives to Bluehost.
Product Variety: 4.3/5.0
Dreamhost has a wide selection of hosting plans to suit most customers’ needs. Besides its core plans, the California-based company also has managed WordPress hosting. Its DreamPress plans incorporate automatic backups and dedicated tech support. DreamPress features include server-level caching and One-Click staging to test new modifications before deployment. Dreamhost also offers WooCommerce in several plans.
The basic shared hosting package offers 50GB of storage space, a generous amount that works well for many clients. You get unlimited storage space if you choose the Shared Unlimited option. DreamPress plans offer 30 GB to 120 GB of space.
Security: 4.2/5.0
Like its competition, Dreamhost includes SSL certificates for free. Its plans also come with no-cost automated daily backups and domain privacy. DreamPress hosting packages include JetPack, a WP security feature that performs malware scans plus one-click backups and restores.
Tech Support: 4.0/5.0
Dreamhost technical support options include live chat and a searchable knowledge base. Tech support chat is available between 3 a.m. and 9 p.m. Pacific time — not around-the-clock access, but extensive enough for most clients. While Dreamhost offers email support, it does not include telephone tech support.
Pricing: 4.1/5.0
Dreamhost’s prices match most of its competitors’ plans. Shared Starter and WordPress basic packages price out at $2.59 per month, while Shared Unlimited and WordPress Unlimited cost $3.95 each month. DreamPress monthly plan prices range between $16.95 and $71.95. Dedicated and VPS hosting options cost a little more: Dedicated hosting ranges between $149 and $279 per month, while VPS monthly fees are between $10 and $80. You may need to select a one- or three-year subscription to take advantage of these prices.
If you think Dreamhost is not the right option, you can always explore Dreamhost alternatives.
Overall Score: 4.15/5.0
How We Selected the Best Bluehost Alternatives
What do you look for when evaluating web hosting services? You want to know if their plans provide exceptional value for the money you pay. We examined the same criteria when reviewing the best web hosting companies:
- Plan features and benefits
- Security strength
- Tech support reliability
- Price and value
Buyer’s Guide to Alternatives to Bluehost
Reviewing plans and features is an essential part of shopping for web hosting. You also have to know what you’re shopping for. Review this brief FAQ for detailed explanations of typical web hosting concepts.
What Is Shared Hosting?
Shared hosting allows multiple clients’ websites to exist on a single server. Each client’s site has a uniquely assigned partition containing its files and scripts. Shared hosting works well for small websites that don’t require much bandwidth, storage room, or complex code. It’s often the least expensive web hosting service offered by a provider.
How Does Cloud Hosting Work?
Cloud hosting is just what it says on the tin: Websites’ files and data live in a hosting provider’s cloud. Sites in the cloud use space and resources from multiple interconnected servers. Cloud-hosted sites benefit from having these resources because of redundancy: They have access to almost infinite space and computing power.
What Is the Difference Between Cloud and VPS Hosting?
Essentially, cloud and VPS hosting provide similar services. However, VPS hosting allocates storage space, computing power, and resources between only a few clients’ websites. Each site gets a dedicated partition with its own set of resources. VPS essentially behaves like dedicated hosting by providing enough resources to match those of a single-server environment.
What Is WordPress, and Why Is It Popular?
WordPress is a content management system that lets you create, edit, and publish content. You may have seen it on popular blogs — after all, it began as a blogging platform in 2003. According to the latest statistics, WordPress-powered sites host 43% of all content on the internet.
WordPress remains popular because of its flexibility, versatility, and user-friendly interface. You do not need to know HTML to create attractive, functional websites using WP. Developers and webmasters also like WordPress because it’s open-source, which means anyone can modify its code. Themes, widgets, and plug-ins offer more ways to customize a site’s style, content, and user experience.
Are There Any Alternatives to WordPress?
While WordPress offers many features, other content management systems may be better depending on your needs. Drupal is an open-source platform that also uses customized themes and modules. It’s ideal for websites that must handle large amounts of data.
There’s also Joomla, an open-source system with many templates and extensions. Joomla is useful for developers creating a completely custom environment. The code can be rather complex, but extensions allow for powerful e-commerce and other functionality. Other platforms include Magento, a scalable e-commerce CMS designed to handle large numbers of products and customers.
How Do I Choose the Best Web Hosting Service?
When selecting a hosting service, you should keep a few things in mind. You’ll need to know how much storage, bandwidth, and traffic to expect for your site. You may not have exact numbers, but ballpark figures can be helpful. You should also know what you want visitors to gain from your site.
Does your business sell products online? Should your site provide essential information? Do you want customers to book appointments online? Answering these questions can help you know what to look for in hosting services.
Bluehost Alternatives – Final Thoughts
Knowing your options is essential when choosing web hosting that best meets your needs. Reading a Namecheap, Dreamhost, or Bluehost review is an excellent first step. This guide outlined vital points to consider as you shop. Getting the best value should be your ultimate goal: an ideal mix of services for the money you spend on hosting.
