Last Updated on November 22, 2022
The name Dreamhost and Bluehost are often found in the list of best-hosting providers. Both services offer excellent features, performance, and security at a reasonable cost. Furthermore, the hostings of both providers are some of the easiest to use in the market, and the hostings of Bluehost are under the belt of the world’s biggest content management system, aka WordPress.
Although both providers share various similarities and are packed to the core with responsive and reliable features, there are also various areas where they top one another.
To make sure you are using the right hosting, we will give you a detailed Dreamhost vs Bluehost comparison.
To start this Dreamhost vs Bluehost comparison, let’s first take a look at both providers’ pros and cons.
Dreamhost Pros and Cons
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Bluehost Pros and Cons
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Bluehost Vs Dreamhost Pricing
Dreamhost Pricing is one of the biggest factors that draw a line between these hosting providers. Although Bluehost offers massive discounts on its starting plans, bear in mind that its renewal costs are high.
Starting with Bluehost, the provider offers three different hosting plans, which are, Shared, Dedicated, and VPS hosting. And as expected, the Bluehost cost and plans of each hosting are different.
- Basic: $3.65/mo
- Plus: $4.87/mo
- Choice Plus: $6.10/mo
- Pro: $17.82/mo
Dedicated Hosting
- Standard: $103.83/mo
- Enhanced: $134.36/mo
- Premium: $171.01/mo
VPS Hosting
- Standard: $22.71/mo
- Enhanced: $44.70/mo
- Ultimate: $89.41/mo
Although Bluehost has competitive pricing, its features and functions are hard to ignore. Furthermore, taking its services in mind and the fact that it is recommended by WordPress, its pricing is reasonable. Additionally, Bluehost also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing users to test the services without making a commitment.
Dreamhost, on the other hand, offers four different types of hostings, which are Shared, VPS, Managed WordPress, and Dedicated Server. Similar to Bluehost, the Dreamhost cost and plans also vary. Moreover, all the hostings of Dreamhost can be purchased either monthly, annually, or on a three-year basis.
- Shared Starter: $4.95/mo
- Shared Unlimited: $8.95/mo
VPS Hosting
- VPS Basis: $10.00/mo
- VPS Business: $20.00/mo
- VPS Professional: $40.00/mo
- VPS Enterprise: $80.00/mo
Managed WordPress Hosting
- DreamPress: $16.95/mo
- DreamPress Plus: $24.95/mo
- DreamPress Pro: $71.95/mo
Dedicated Server Hosting
- Standard: $149/mo
- Enhanced: $279/mo
Dreamhost offers easy-to-use hosting with an extensive range of reliable and responsive features. Moreover, Dreamhost also offers a money-back guarantee of 97 days. Although the hostings of Dreamhost may seem the best choice to go with, the user will need to make an additional purchase to use the best features.
All in all, in comparison, the hostings of Dreamhost are better than that of Bluehost. Although the pricing of both providers is different, their plans and features cannot be ignored. Dreamhost offers a wider range of hosting plans, making it the winner of Dreamhost vs Bluehost pricing.
Dreamhost Vs Bluehost: Ease of Use
Both hosting providers are some of the easiest to use in the market and are also compatible with WordPress, allowing users to create a fully functional website within minutes. However, after going through the nitty gritty, their control panel, dashboard, and other features are highly different.
Dashboard
The first difference between Bluehost and Dreamhost can be seen clearly in their dashboard. The biggest difference between their dashboard is installation and domain configuration. However, take note that although their dashboards are different, that does not mean that they are difficult to use.
In the dashboard comparison, the Bluehost dashboard is a bit more beginner-friendly and has an easier WordPress installation process, which basically creates the whole site. Moreover, the menu in the dashboard is also much easier to navigate in Bluehost.
Dreamhost, on the other hand, also has easy WordPress installation. However, the navigation of Dreamhost is a bit more complex and feels a bit cramped.
Although there is no doubt that the dashboard of Bluehost is much easier to use, it does not mean that the dashboard of Dreamhost cannot be used by beginners.
Control Panel
While the Dreamhost control panel is the main user dashboard, Bluehost is integrated with a classic cPanel. The cPanel of Bluehost simplifies customizing and enables administration through a standard web browser by using a three-tier structure.
As for the Dreamhost control panel, it is a bit more complicated as it is integrated into the dashboard. Although the control panel of Dreamhost is powerful, it may cause the user stress in the beginning.
Additional Website Management Features
Bluehost allows users to create a staging environment, its WordPress-based website builder. Although Dreamhost does not include site staging, it offers users two website builders.
Starting with Bluehost, the provider allows users to create a copy of their website, which is only visible to them. The copy website can be used to test endeavors, and the customization can be easily done through WordPress. Once everything is going as planned, the changes can be taken live with a single click.
As for Dreamhost, it offers two website builders, which are some of the best for beginners and can be used directly through WordPress. Moreover, additional plugins to make the website more attractive can be easily added.
In the end, both providers are easy-to-use and can be used to create websites of any niche. However, to draw the line, Bluehost takes the win as its dashboard is a bit easier to navigate, and its cPanel is powerful and can be used by beginners.
Dreamhost Vs Bluehost: Performance
In terms of performance, both Dreamhost and Bluehost are excellent choices, and as a matter of fact, both of their hostings are some of the best in the market. Although both providers have excellent performance, Dreamhost is a bit faster and more reliable. Moreover, the website load time and Dreamhost is also better than that Bluehost.
For a detailed analysis, let’s take a look at their uptime and response time, and website speed.
Uptime and Response Time
Starting with Bluehost, it only takes 361ms to paint the largest content and has an uptime of 99.99%. Furthermore, Bluehost includes bare virtual servers that can be optimized to increase performance further.
Meanwhile, the uptime of Dreamhost also touches 99.99%, which is the same as that of Bluehost. However, the difference between them can be seen in the response time; Dreamhost only takes 231ms to paint the largest content.
All in all, the uptime and response time of both providers are excellent, but in comparison, Dreamhost is slightly faster and a bit more reliable.
Website Speed
In website speed comparison, there are three measures that decide which hosting provider gives faster speed. To know which provider offers faster speed, let’s take a look at the test measures.
- Largest Content Paint (LCP): It shows how much the website takes to paint the largest content. The LCP of Bluehost takes 231ms, while Dreamhost takes 361ms.
- Fully Loaded Time: When the content of all websites is painted, that’s when it is known as fully loaded. It may sound similar to LCP, but it is not; LCP only measures page speed. The full loading time of Bluehost is 2.2s, while Dreamhost has 3.32s.
- TTFB: It refers to Time to First Byte, which is the time that a server takes to grant the request to open the website page. The TTFB time of Bluehost is 115ms, while Dreamhost has 180ms.
To sum it up, the speed and performance of Bluehost are slightly better than that of Dreamhost. Although in terms of server power, Dreamhost is better, but still lacks the power to outperform Bluehost.
Dreamhost Vs Bluehost: Security
In terms of security, both providers offer a variety of features and tools to keep users’ websites safe from cyber threats and malware attacks.
Without any additional cost, both hosting providers offer the following:
- Free SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate.
- Automated daily backups.
- Robust Firewalls.
- Real-time monitoring.
- Anti-bot system.
- Two-factor authentication.
In addition to all these features, Bluehost also offers IP whitelisting and auto-healing. Moreover, tools to restore emails, files, and databases from remote locations, spam protection, and a WordPress security plugin can be purchased additionally in Bluehost.
Dreamhost, on the other hand, offers very limited features. In order to use the advanced features of Dreamhost, users are required to make additional purchases.
All in all, without considering the additional features, Bluehost is a bit more secure than Dreamhost. However, after taking note of the additional features, the security functions of Dreamhost get much stronger than that of Bluehost.
Bluehost Vs Dreamhost: Customer Support
Both providers offer 24/7 customer support from their basic plan. Dreamhost customer support increases in its more advanced plans and premium add-ons as they offer 24/7 slack channel and ticketing support.
Bluehost, on the other hand, offers 24/7 live chat support, email, and phone call support from its starting plan. Moreover, in comparison, the customer support of Bluehost is much friendlier and quicker than that of Dreamhost.
For additional support, both Bluehost and Dreamhost include various articles, FAQs, and other helpful resources to help users throughout their queries.
All in all, the customer support of both providers is responsive and reliable and is more than enough to solve queries related to their services. However, in comparison, the customer support of Bluehost is better, as it offers everything from the starting plan, while Dreamhost offers advanced support to its bigger members only.
Dreamhost or Bluehost
Dreamhost can be used to create any type of website easily and quickly. Although its interface is a bit complex, users can get around it without having any issues. However, if you do encounter any issues, they can be easily sorted with its helpful resources and customer support. Although the pricing of Dreamhost is a bit more competitive than Bluehost, its hostings are ideal for those who want to enjoy more advanced features.
Bluehost, on the other hand, is the ideal platform for creating websites on WordPress, and the hostings of Bluehost can be used to create websites of any niche. Thanks to its WordPress compatibility, it empowers users to unleash their creativity. However, take note that to make the best out of its hosting, choose a plan according to your needs.
FAQs
Do Dreamhost and Bluehost Have a Money-Back Guarantee?
Yes, both providers offer a money-back guarantee. Dreamhost includes a money-back guarantee of 97-days on all of its plans. While Bluehost, on the other hand, offers a 30-day money guarantee on all plans. The duration of both money-back guarantees is generous and is more than enough to completely test the service.
Which Hosting is Better For WordPress?
Bluehost is the better choice of hosting for WordPress, and as a matter of fact, its hostings are even recommended by WordPress. The provider offers various strong and reliable features for WordPress.
Is Bluehost Better Than Dreamhost for Beginners?
The hostings of Bluehost are a bit easier to use as its dashboard is easier to navigate, and the cPanel can be used by beginners. Dreamhost, on the other hand, has its cPanel integrated into its dashboard and may require the user to be a bit tech-savvy to use the platform.
To Conclude
Both hosting providers offer excellent security, features, and speed at a reasonable price. Although the pricing of Bluehost is higher than Dreamhost, let’s not forget it includes various advanced features on all of its plans, and the pricing of Bluehost is much lower compared to the competitors.
Both providers are the leading brand in the market and offer various tools to help user launch, maintain, and grow their sites. However, in the Dreamhost vs Bluehost comparison, Bluehost is the winner as it offers faster response time and a wider array of security features and is also much easier to use than Dreamhost.
