Bluehost 2023 Review: Domain, Hosting, & Pricing

Do you want to know if Bluehost’s domain and hosting plans are any good?

Bluehost is one of the oldest and largest brand names in the domain and hosting space. They are even officially recommended by WordPress.org. So they must be good, right?

Well, even the best web hosting services have their pros and cons. In this review, we intend on exploring everything that Bluehost has to offer along with pricing and exclusive deals.

Since this is an extensive review, here’s a table of contents to help you navigate the post:

• Overview
• Bluehost Web Hosting
• Bluehost Domains
• Bluehost Website Builder
• Other Services of Bluehost
• Bluehost Support
• Best Bluehost Deals

Let’s dive right in.

Bluehost Overview

If you’re looking to build a website, then Bluehost is one of the best places to start.

Bluehost offers both domain registration and website hosting. Plus, they have a website builder and marketing tools. So you can get pretty much everything you need to start a website.

And they offer their services at really affordable rates compared to competitors.

One thing to keep in mind is that competitors like GoDaddy offer really cheap starting rates and then bump up their prices a lot in the second year.

Bluehost doesn’t do that. They have a decent offer on starting prices and follow it up with reasonable renewal rates. Plus, they’re completely transparent so there won’t be any surprises later on.

Now what’s more important is whether their web hosting services are reliable. You wouldn’t want to commit to a 1-year or 3-year plan and be stuck with bad service.

From our own experience hosting websites with Bluehost coupled with online reviews, we can say with confidence that they are reliable.

They offer a robust setup, user-friendly interface, and an extensive knowledge base. There’s also a responsive Bluehost customer support team. So you’re in good hands when you sign up with Bluehost.

We can also back up our stance with real results. Here’s a quick view of our speed test results and features offered by Bluehost:

Bluehost Review Summary

• Performance grade – A+
• Average load time – 1.48 ms
• Average response time – 1.26 ms
• Free domain – Yes
• Free SSL – Yes
• 1-click WordPress – Yes
• Support – Phone, Live Chat & Knowledge base

Although they don’t publicly display an uptime guarantee, Bluehost servers rarely go down. And if you do experience downtime, you can reach out to their support staff and any issues are usually solved in a matter of minutes (not hours and definitely not days).

That’s Bluehost in a nutshell. Let’s dive deeper into their offerings starting with their web hosting plans.

Bluehost Web Hosting

To launch a website on the Internet, you need a website server to store your data (which is really expensive). Instead, you can rent server space by purchasing a hosting plan with providers like Bluehost, SiteGround, HostGator, Dreamhost, and Namecheap.

You can also choose to create a website on fully-hosted platforms like Wix and Squarespace. However, you won’t get much control over your website settings and customizations. This may not be an issue in the beginning, but as your website grows, it can get really frustrating that you can’t modify your site the way you want.

This is why it’s much better to get your own web hosting plan and use a platform like WordPress to build your site.

If you’re new to this, signing up for your own hosting plan can seem daunting. But we’re here to tell you that it’s not the case at all.

It’s actually really simple with web hosts like Bluehost that have plans that fit everyone from beginners to seasoned web developers.

There’s even an easy-to-use control panel to manage your files, check disk space used, or how much bandwidth you are using, and more.

Plus, Bluehost offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so don’t sweat. If you’re unhappy, you can get your money back.

That said, in the hosting review below, we’ll take you through the different Bluehost hosting plans available.

• Shared Hosting
• Dedicated Hosting
• WordPress Hosting
• eCommerce Hosting
• VPS Hosting

Shared Hosting

Just getting started? Then Bluehost’s shared hosting plan might just be the perfect fit.

Shared hosting means you’ll be sharing the same server with other website owners. This is the cheapest type of hosting plan.

But the downside is you’ll usually have quite a few limits on storage space, bandwidth, and other server resources.

With this in mind, Bluehost exceeds expectations with its shared hosting plans. You can even set up professional business email accounts with Microsoft Office 365.

There are 4 Bluehost pricing plans and all of them come with a free domain name(first year), free SSL certificate, and free CDN.

Below is a breakdown of the features and pricing of each shared hosting option:

Basic: Starts at $9.99 per month. With our exclusive Bluehost deal, you can grab this for just $2.75 per month.

Here’s what you’ll get:

• 1 website
• 50 GB SSD storage
• Unmetered bandwidth
• Custom themes
• 24/7 customer support
• Site builder with WordPress integration

Plus: Host unlimited websites and get unlimited storage all for just $4.95 per month. This Plus plan renews at $13.99 per month. In addition to the Basic plan features, you’ll also get:

• Unlimited websites
• Unlimited SSD storage
• Free Office 365 for 30 days
• $200 Google Ads/Bing Credits

Choice Plus: For $5.45 per month, you’ll get more features like:

• Free domain privacy
• Free 1-year automated backup

Pro: This pro plan costs $13.95 per month and is designed for websites that have higher traffic numbers and more complex use-cases. You’ll get Optimized CPU resources that provide a lot more speed and processing power.

• Optimized CPU resources
• Free dedicated IP address
• Premium positive SSL certificate
• Automated backups

All plans give you access to the Softaculous App Installer that lets you install tools you need for your website with just one click.

With the Bluehost shared hosting package, even the highest plans are capped at 5GB database size and 10GB database usage, which is more than enough for regular sites.

If your website needs a higher capacity, then you’ll want to check out Bluehost’s Dedicated Hosting plans.

Dedicated Hosting

When you look at dedicated hosting plans, you may be overwhelmed by so many unfamiliar terms like RAM, Network bandwidth, cPanel, and WHM with Root.

All you need to know is that dedicated servers give you complete access to a single server. There’s no sharing so your server will never be affected by the actions of another website owner.

You get to customize, optimize, and manage your server resources the way you see fit.

With Bluehost’s dedicated hosting plan, you get an improved cPanel (Control Panel) to manage your domains, websites, emails, resources, and more from a central location.

You also get upgraded performance and speed, larger storage spaces, improved security features, and provisions to expand your server within 24-72 hours.

You get outstanding features but this comes with a hefty price tag. For dedicated hosting, there are 3 Bluehost plans:

Standard: Costs $79.99 per month (Renews ar $119.99) and includes the following:

• 2.3GHz CPU with 4 cores, 4 threads, and 3MB cache
• 4GB RAM
• RAID Level 1 Storage – 2 x 500GB
• 5TB network bandwidth
• 1 free domain and 2 dedicated IPs
• cPanel & WHM (Web Host Manager) with Root

Enhanced: Costs $99.99 per month (Renews ar $159.99) and includes the following:

• 2.5 GHz CPU with 4 cores, 8 threads, and 8 MB cache
• 8 GB RAM
• RAID Level 1 Storage – 2 x 1000 GB
• 10 TB network bandwidth
• 1 free domain and 4 dedicated IPs
• cPanel & WHM (Web Host Manager) with Root

Premium: Costs $119.99 per month (Renews ar $209.99) and includes the following:

• 3.3 GHz CPU with 4 cores, 8 threads, and 8 MB cache
• 16 GB RAM
• RAID Level 1 Storage – 2 x 1000 GB
• 15 TB network bandwidth
• 1 free domain and 5 dedicated IPs
• cPanel & WHM (Web Host Manager) with Root

All dedicated hosting plans come with access to a dedicated support team that’s ever-ready to walk you through any issues you may face or give you the information you need.

WordPress Hosting

Bluehost has a hosting plan that’s specifically designed for WordPress websites.

If you plan on building your site with WordPress, then this should be your go-to hosting plan. WordPress installation has never been easier because it’s automatically installed for you.

When you sign up for this plan, you simply need to click a few buttons to get started with setting up your site.

These plans are priced the same as shared hosting plans.

This web hosting provider also offers managed WordPress hosting plans in select countries. With these WordPress plans, the web host will take care of website updates, malware scans (with SiteLock), security, daily backups, and maintenance.

eCommerce Hosting

If you want to run an online store, you’re going to need a certain setup that’s specifically designed to handle eCommerce needs.

For instance, your site should be able to withstand a high influx of traffic during sale periods. It also needs a much higher level of security since you’ll be dealing with personal and payment information of customers.

To help you meet the unique needs of online stores, Bluehost offers a dedicated WordPress eCommerce hosting plan.

Most WordPress eCommerce sites are created using the WooCommerce plugin, so your hosting plan comes with WooCommerce pre-installed.

When you sign up for this plan, you can choose between Standard and Premium. You can get started at $15.95 per month. If you want advanced features, then you can upgrade to the Premium plan which starts at $32.95 per month.

Both plans come packed with all of these features:

• Preinstalled online store (website and blog)
• Jetpack Free installed
• Unlimited product listings
• Customer product reviews
• Payment processing
• Manual order creation
• Discount codes
• Web traffic analytics
• 1-year CodeGuard Basic backup
• 30 days free Office 365

With the Enhanced plan, you also get local and country tax management, product customization, online bookings, and subscriptions.

VPS Hosting

If shared hosting and dedicated hosting had a baby, it would be called VPS.

Well, kind of.

VPS hosting (Virtual Private Server) is still a shared server but your section is completely split from the rest.

With Bluehost’s VPS plan, you get dedicated RAM, CPU, and other resources that you can use the way you want. These resources are guaranteed so no matter what other users are doing, your limits will never be affected.

Added to that, here are a few highlights you’ll enjoy:

• Your site will get greater stability and performance
• You won’t share the Operating System (OS) with any other user. This means your website files get better security
• You get full root access to perform commands and make configuration changes to your hosting environment

VPS hosting gives you the benefits of dedicated hosting at a cheaper cost.

With Bluehost, you can choose from 3 VPS hosting pricing plans:

• Standard: Starts at $18.99 per month, renews at $29.99 per month.
• Enhanced: Starts at $29.99 per month, renews at $59.99 per month.
• Ultimate: Starts at $59.99 per month, renews at $119.99 per month.

All plans grant you complete root access to modify files on your virtual server.

That’s everything you need to know about Bluehost’s web hosting plans. Up next, we’ll take a look at its domain registration services.

Bluehost Domains

Bluehost is one of the top domain registrars in the world. They make it so easy to grab the domain name you want for your website. All you have to do is run a search for the domain name you want and register it right away.

If you aren’t sure what a domain is, learn more here: What is a Domain and How Does it Work? (Ultimate Guide in Plain English).

Having a hard time coming up with a domain name for your website? Try our Domain Name Generator. You simply have to enter a keyword and its AI technology will create a list of great name suggestions for you.

Now, Bluehost lets you register all TLDs (top-level domain extensions) including .com, .net, .org, .tech, .blog, .me, and much more. You can also register ccTLDs (country codes) like .uk, .us, and .ca.

Aside from that, here are the highlights of Bluehost’s domain registration service:

• Easy domain management: Easy-to-use control panel to manage all your domains from one place.
• Auto-renewal: Set your domain to renew automatically so you never lose the domain name.
• Domain lock: Prevent unauthorized domain name transfers.
• Domain forwarding: Create an automatic redirect so domain visitors are sent to desired locations on the web.
• Expert support: Connect with experts through phone or chat support anytime.
• Domain Privacy: Conceal your personal info from possible spammers and identity thieves.

When you sign up for a hosting plan with Bluehost, you’ll get the domain for free for the 1st year.

Added to that, you can also create free subdomains with your hosting plan.

Up next, we’re going to check out what the website builder has to offer.

Bluehost Website Builder

Bluehost’s website builder is relatively new. It lets you build eye-catching WordPress sites really fast. The builder works similarly to Wix and Squarespace in the sense that it’s a hosted platform.

When you sign up for a plan, you’ll get a web hosting plan and a 1-year domain registration included! This is a really great option for beginners and those with tight budgets.

The builder itself is easy to use. It’s based on AI technology that automatically suggests what you would need to make your site awesome.

You can simply drag and drop content, new sections, images, logos, and customize pretty much everything about your site without any stress.

What’s really outstanding is that even with the Basic plan, you can create unlimited websites. Here’s a complete breakdown of the website builder plans:

• Basic: Starts at $2.95 per month and renews at $10.99 per month. You’ll enjoy 300+ design templates, blog post management, image library.
• Pro: Starts at $9.95 per month and renews at $14.99 per month. Additional features in this plan include domain privacy, online payments, online store, and 10+ pricing and packaging templates.
• Online Store: Starts at $24.95 per month and renews at $39.95 per month. Extra features include discount codes, online appointment booking, subscriptions, in-cart product customization, tax management, and CodeGuard basic backups.

All plans include a free domain (1 year), free SSL, and free email marketing.

With that, we’ve covered the major offerings from Bluehost – hosting, domains, and the website builder.

There are a few more services Bluehost offers to make life a bit easier. Let’s check them out.

Other Services of Bluehost

While web hosting and domain registration form the core of Bluehost, the platform has a lot to offer to help you build and grow your website. Bluehost users can avail these add-ons:

Full-Service Website: Get ongoing design, marketing, and content assistance for your website. Bluehost gives you access to professional web designers who will build you a new, mobile-friendly website. They will also keep your website optimized with keywords for top search engines. Added to that, they’ll set up local listings on Google, Yelp, Yahoo, etc.

SEO Services: Bluehost experts will help you optimize your site with effective keywords. This will improve your site’s exposure and visibility on search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. You can access weekly reports for your SEO keywords across search engines and review website analytics to see how many visitors your site is getting.

Pay-Per-Click Services: Target potential customers and instantly drive traffic to your site once your ads go live. Bluehost experts will create various campaigns to market your website and you get to choose exactly where and when your ads are displayed. The best part is that you also get to control your monthly budget for efficiency and data across campaigns.

Website Migration: Migrate your website to Bluehost for free. You can also avail of paid site migration services for up to 5 sites.

Added to these services, Bluehost also offers something called Blue Sky. When you sign up for this service, you’ll get exclusive access to a team of seasoned experts to help you build and grow your website.

Bluehost Support

Bluehost offers world-class support that never fails to satisfy. The team is available 24/7 via chat and phone support.

Their support staff will not only help you navigate problems you may face with Bluehost’s services but they’re also ever ready to guide you with your new website setup and management.

Bluehost also has an extensive knowledge base that you can use to find any answer or tutorial that you need.

Ready to get started with Bluehost? Before you sign up, we’ve got awesome deals in store for you.

Best Bluehost Deals

Bluehost provides top-notch quality and service with all its offerings. But this does come at a premium compared to a few web hosts out there.

But we only want the best for you, so we’ve worked out a great deal with Bluehost. This will let you get started on your website right away even on a small budget.

You can get a web hosting plan for as low as $2.75 per month. Your plan will include:

• Free 1-year domain registration
• Free SSL for better security
• Free CDN for faster speed and performance

Bluehost is one of the best web hosting services out there and simply excels in reliability, ease of use, and functionality.

That’s all for today. We hope you found this Bluehost Review helpful.

If you’re ready to start building your website, see our guide: How to Start a Small Business Website (Step by Step).

This guide will help you set up your site quickly using WordPress – the best content management system and free website builder. You’ll get endless customization options to grow and scale your business.

Bluehost FAQs

1. Does Bluehost offer cloud hosting?

Yes. Bluehost’s cloud hosting is a more reliable upgrade to the shared hosting plan. It allows you to utilize multiple cloud servers, allowing your website to automatically switch to a different server in case of a hardware failure or high traffic.

2. What is Bluehost CDN?

CDN stands for content delivery network. It uses a network of data centers and servers to cache your website content. Then it serves content to users from the server that is closest to them. This speeds up your website and improves user experience. Bluehost offers free Cloudflare CDN with every plan.

3. Is Bluehost good for small business?

Yes, Bluehost offers shared and dedicated hosting plans that are perfect for small businesses. You can choose a plan based on your budget.

4. Which hosting is better than Bluehost?

We believe Bluehost is the #1 web hosting service. There are good alternatives that include SiteGround, Hostinger, and HostGator. You can also check out DreamHost and InMotion hosting.

Next, you’ll definitely want to see our guides:

• How to Create a Professional Business Email Address for Free
• 10 Best Email Marketing Software to Grow Your Business
• 8 WordPress Plugins to Step up Your SEO Rankings

These guides will help you market and grow your site.