Bluehost Review: Is It the Perfect Web Hosting Solution for You? (July 2025)
Bluehost review is It the perfect web hosting solution for you?, Spend a few minutes searching for the best web hosting providers and Bluehost will appear on your radar almost immediately: it’s widely used and very popular. But what sets Bluehost apart from the rest – does it have exactly what you’re looking for, or would another provider be a better fit?
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We’ll cover the most important deciding factors in depth, but to get you started, here’s Bluehost at a glance:
Table of Contents
Best For:
Best Overall Hosting Provider
Bluehost is a hosting provider with solid customer service, uptime and excellent value for money. If you want to host a WordPress site, this is the provider for you. However, some of Bluehost’s features are better than others.
We have conducted our own research on the top hosting providers and compared our results for each provider in order to rank them as accurately as possible. The good news is that Bluehost has secured the top spot, with an overall score of 4.8 out of 5. Bluehost’s strengths are VPS, dedicated, and WordPress hosting.
Who Is Bluehost Review Best For?
Bluehost’s range of hosting types, powerful features and affordable plans for beginners make it a reliable hosting provider. That’s why we’ve rated it as the best hosting provider on the market. Bluehost is also the best choice you can make if you host a WordPress site: it has earned the title of best WordPress hosting provider in our research, with a score of 4.6 out of 5, and WordPress has been recommending Bluehost since 2005. We also think it’s very good for hosting e-commerce websites if that’s your kind of thing.
In the video below, Bluehost customer ‘Melty Way’ (a grilled cheese sandwich restaurant in Utah) talks about how Bluehost has helped grow his small business:
Utah-based Bluehost came on the scene in 2003. Since then, it has become one of the leading web hosting service providers and is currently owned by The Endurance International Group, which also owns its competitor HostGator. Bluehost currently manages more than two million websites worldwide, primarily from its Utah data center.
Get to Know Bluehost
If you’re just learning the basics about Bluehost and haven’t yet visited their website, take a moment to familiarize yourself: we’re not going anywhere!
Bluehost Pros & Cons
Reliability & Performance
Bluehost offers a 99.98% uptime guarantee. No web hosting provider can offer 100% uptime, so 99.98% is a good sample: it translates to approximately one hour and 45 minutes of downtime per year.
But don’t get too excited. We tested Bluehost’s site speed and uptime, and despite having the wow factor in other hosting areas, Bluehost is very disappointing when it comes to uptime performance, with a score of only 3 out of 5. Other hosting providers, such as HostGator and IONOS, scored above 4.
Is Bluehost Ticking Your Boxes?
Bluehost lets you down when it comes to uptime and site speed, but it makes up for it in other ways! Explore Bluehost to see if it’s right for you.
Types of Hosting & Features
Bluehost offers six different types of hosting: shared, shared WordPress, WooCommerce, VPS, managed WordPress, and dedicated. We’ve broken down the details of each type in our Bluehost pricing review, but in general, you can think of the differences this way:
Bluehost is a good choice for any type of hosting, but we know from our research that it excels in VPS, dedicated hosting and WordPress. In fact, in some areas, Bluehost has moved from third place to first place; for example, it now scores 4.6 out of 5 in VPS hosting and a whopping 4.9 out of 5 in dedicated hosting.
WordPress & Bluehost
WordPress recommends Bluehost as its number one web hosting provider, and that’s no small feat coming from a company that has dealt with countless web hosting providers throughout its history. If you’re already set on having a WordPress site, Bluehost is the best web hosting provider. And if you’re already set on having a site at Bluehost, then you should definitely consider setting up your site with WordPress.org – you can install it through your Bluehost control panel with a single click.
This step-by-step tutorial shows how easy it is to create a WordPress website with Bluehost:
Other Bluehost Features
The seamless WordPress integration is Bluehost’s most impressive feature, but it’s definitely not its only feature. While Bluehost only scores 3.3 and 3.8 out of 5 for shared and VPS features, respectively, its dedicated and WordPress hosting plans have excellent features, both scoring 4.4 out of 5. We’ve compiled the rest of Bluehost’s best offerings below:
| Website Builder | Bluehost offers a free domain to certain users when they sign up for a one-year plan. However, that perk doesn’t include the domain registration fee (between $10-15), which you’ll still have to pay. |
|---|---|
| Website builder | There’s a drag-and-drop site builder for those who have an idea of what they want to create, but don’t have sharp enough HTML and CSS skills. |
| Data transfer | Bluehost offers unlimited data transfer on many of its plans. However, Bluehost also provides CPU protection – more on this below. |
| cPanel | Bluehost uses the “cPanel” Control Panel, which is a popular site management system. The company also offers free backups so you don’t lose any key site files. |
| Storage | Domain Registration |
The fact that you can get so much in one place is a big draw for customers. When we asked our email database for first-hand experiences of Bluehost, Steffi, a consultant, told us:
“I used Bluehost, because I could do everything in one place: domain registration, email-admin, hosting, unlimited sub-spaces. The documentation was very good and what I needed at the time.”
Bluehost and CPU Protection
Bluehost employs a policy called CPU Protection for all plans using shared hosting. When using shared hosting, it means that your site is not the only one on a given server. That’s why Bluehost (and other providers) can offer such cheap web hosting: no one is paying to run their own server.
However, this means that all sites on a given server need equal access to hardware resources. That’s where CPU protection comes into play. If your site demands too much from the server, it is deliberately denied access to additional hardware resources. The end result is that your site may become inaccessible or incredibly slow.
The good news is that it is rare to end up being the target of CPU protection. However, if you have a local news blog and traffic suddenly spikes due to a major news story, you may have a problem. CPU protection can also come into play if you have poorly coded JavaScript code. However, in most cases, CPU throttling should not be something to worry about.
Are You Using WordPress?
You won’t find better WordPress hosting than Bluehost. Recommended by WordPress since 2005, it has a lot to offer: see what it has for you today!
Pricing
Bluehost ranks high in our value-for-money research, with a score of 4.7 out of 5 overall. Plus, Bluehost scores best for price when it comes to VPS, dedicated and WordPress hosting. And the best part? All Bluehost plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Shared hosting offers Bluehost’s cheapest plan, at $2.95 per month for the first year and $9.99 per month thereafter. Dedicated hosting, unsurprisingly, offers the most expensive plans, starting at $99.99 for a 12-month period.
To maintain consistency in our hosting analyses, we will focus on Bluehost’s initial prices with a 12-month term. If you commit to a longer term, the price will typically be cheaper.
Who should pay for Dedicated hosting?
With such a high introductory price, you may wonder if dedicated hosting is worthwhile. After all, Bluehost is the best-dedicated hosting provider, scoring 4.9 out of 5 in our tests. The answer to the question is yes, but only for someone running a massive site. A dedicated server means that your site is the only site on the server and can use all of its resources. Dedicated plans make sense for sites that generate huge levels of traffic (such as a successful e-commerce brand). However, there’s no doubt that it’s something you can build up over time – no website needs to start with a dedicated plan!
Did You Spot a Price You Liked?
Bluehost offers a wide range of hosting plans, so it’s worth comparing them before deciding. Explore their packages, offers and more on their website!
Bluehost Pricing vs Competitor Pricing
Eche un vistazo a la siguiente tabla para comparar los precios de nuestros tres principales proveedores de alojamiento. De nuevo, nos hemos centrado en suscripciones de 12 meses para que la comparación sea justa.
| Provider | Shared Hosting | VPS Hosting | Dedicated Hosting | WordPress Hosting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluehost | $2.95 | $29.99 | $89.98 | $2.95 |
| HostGator | $3.75 | $23.95 | $83.98 | $5.95 |
| InMotion | $2.29 | $14.99 | $89.99 | $4.49 |
Which Plan Is the Best Value for Money?
If you’re new to web hosting or your site isn’t that big, then we recommend starting with Bluehost’s shared hosting, or WordPress plans. They’re the cheapest, and still offer a decent variety of features, but Bluehost’s shared hosting only scores 3.1 out of 5 in our pricing test.
That said, Bluehost’s dedicated hosting plans are unbeatable when it comes to value for money, scoring 4.4 out of 5. Expensive, yes, but cost-effective.
Moreover, Bluehost’s dedicated plans have only improved over time. As mentioned above, Bluehost’s dedicated hosting is rated 4.9 out of 5 in our latest survey, but it was previously rated 4.5!
Plus, when your site outgrows these shared plans, you can always upgrade to the more expensive but better-equipped options, such as Bluehost’s excellent dedicated hosting deals.
Bluehost Additional Costs
Unfortunately, most hosting providers fill your virtual shopping cart with add-ons during the purchase process. These extras will increase the price of your plan, but you can always uncheck them before making the purchase.
However, some of these additional items will be worth it, depending on the type of website you want to set up. Here’s a summary of the most common extras you’ll come across:
When we reached out to our email database for feedback on Bluehost, add-on pricing came up as an area for improvement. One reader said:
“Bluehost is expensive. The more add-ons you buy, the more expensive it is.”
When asked for the one improvement they would make to Bluehost, the same reader suggested:
“Create packages of different levels for add-ons and functions.”
Canceling Your Bluehost Plan
Bluehost’s 30-day money-back guarantee gives you time to test the platform and see if it’s for you. But it’s important to make this decision within the first 30 days because after that, Bluehost offers no refunds or cancellations.
Security
The best indication of a secure website is an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate. SSL certificates let users know that any information they share on your site will be secure, and these certificates are indicated by the padlock icon and the “https” at the beginning of a web address.
All Bluehost plans include a free SSL certificate, so you never have to worry about visitors receiving a notice that your site is insecure. For more advanced security, you can also purchase a premium SSL certificate starting at $49.99 per year. This would be a good investment for e-commerce sites or any site where users must log in with a username and password or provide sensitive information (such as credit card details).
Other free Bluehost security features include Spam Assassin protection, hotlink protection and Secure Shell access. Basically, Bluehost includes more than enough security measures to get a standard site up and running – but if you’re looking to scale your site or sell online, you may want to invest in a few extras.
Bluehost offers plenty of additional security measures to choose from, but they can quickly add up and run up your bill, so it’s important to choose wisely. For example, SiteLock Find (advanced e-commerce security) only costs $1.99/month, but if you want to purchase it, you should bill it annually at $23.88/year. It’s still not a lot to guarantee protection for your online shoppers, but it can be hard not to feel surprised when paying.
Is Security Important to You?
It should be. Bluehost has it all covered, so you can get online with peace of mind. See what’s included in even their basic plans.
Migration
We know that a large portion of you read our hosting reviews because you are unhappy with your current hosting provider and want to switch. With this in mind, we’ve taken a look at how easy it is to make the switch to Bluehost.
The good news is that it’s pretty simple. There’s a DIY approach that we’ll cover shortly below, or you can pay Bluehost to move your site for you. There’s even a free migration bonus on offer for qualifying websites:
1. Moving your own site to Bluehost
Doing the migration process yourself is fairly straightforward with Bluehost, as it uses the standard cPanel control panel, so you can follow a general guide to migrating your site (like ours!) without running into surprises.
It’s a step-by-step process that can take some time, and people without a lot of technical confidence may feel nervous about trying.
2. Paying for site migration
For $149.99, Bluehost will take complete control of moving your site to their servers (in fact, you can move up to five websites and 20 email accounts for this price).
Bluehost guarantees that there will be no downtime in this process, and 24/7 support during and after it is completed. For many people, just having someone else handle this process will be worth every penny.
It is worth noting that this service is not available for reseller, VPS, or dedicated server accounts.
Not many hosting providers offer such a comprehensive migration service, so for us it’s a big plus.
Help & Support
Bluehost has a variety of support options, including live chat, email support tickets, and 24/7 phone support. For each type of hosting, Bluehost scores an average of 3.5 out of 5 for help and support, but tops out at 4.6 out of 5 for WordPress hosting support.
One user rated Bluehost’s customer service as “top notch,” citing his own experiences with the live chat option:
“I’ve had a few problems caused mainly by my own mistakes, and they’ve always helped me rectify them. It’s easy to get in touch with them through the live chat and, honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever had to wait more than ten minutes to talk to someone.”
However, Bluehost’s live chat feature has a lot to offer. When we tested it ourselves, the responsiveness of the agents to our questions highlighted Bluehost above other competitors:
“They answered all my questions promptly and accurately, and the conversation was cordial and natural.”
But it was not only the response time that impressed our testers, but also the quality of the response:
“The agent always responded with relevant and helpful information, often including links and longer answers than I expected. All in all, they seemed knowledgeable and in a good position to help me.”
And if live chat is not your preferred method of communication, Bluehost offers three different technical support numbers that you can call instead, depending on your needs:
One nice thing about the Bluehost website is that it offers instant answers right on the main help page for some of the most common problems. Say, for example, you can’t figure out how to transfer your WordPress site from another host – you can click on that issue on the help page, then it displays several ways to solve your problem, including a help article, live chat, and the specific phone number to call.
If you’re feeling especially tech-savvy, it’s worth trying to find the answer yourself on the Bluehost support forums. It’s often quicker to do the research independently, and will ultimately provide a better understanding of how a site works.
Is Expert Support Important to You?
We have used Bluehost support ourselves and found it fast, helpful and easy to use. If you need help, Bluehost is there 24/7.
Customer Satisfaction
Bluehost customers are most impressed with the platform’s help and support services. A user named Robin wrote:
“I have used Bluehost for over five years on my WordPress website. I’ve had a couple of times where my site has crashed due to problems with plugins installed, and I couldn’t figure out what to do. Each time they helped me fix the problem quickly. Highly recommended.”
Michael, another Bluehost user, had this to say:
“I’m not a website expert, so I think it’s best to ask someone before clicking and breaking something. Whenever I’ve had a question, I’ve used live chat, with an average wait time of three seconds for someone to join me. I’ve always received a quick and clear response from a friendly representative in less than five minutes.”
Aside from customer service, features and WordPress integration are also notable strengths of Bluehost. It also offers good value for money, with an overall price score of 4.7 out of 5, although beware of additional costs during the purchase process. Michael went on to write:
“Read everything carefully so you know what you’re signing up for. Also, pay attention to the plans and extras: know what your website requires and simply avoid the rest.”
And we agree.
Limitations
Many Bluehost customers have expressed frustration with the lack of pre-installed features. It’s true that Bluehost has a lot to offer, but it’s also true that you have to actively choose which of those offerings you want on your site, and often at an additional cost.
Will You Love Bluehost?
Will you become one of Bluehost’s satisfied customers? There is only one way to find out: visit Bluehost’s website and see if you meet all their requirements.
Additional Products
Now we know about the additional costs that must be purchased outside of your Bluehost plan. But there are plenty of add-ons that come included with every Bluehost plan. In fact, the most basic, bare-bones plan you can purchase with Bluehost (the basic shared hosting plan, $2.95/month introductory price) still comes with:
And if you venture up a level to the Plus Shared plan (at an introductory price of $3.95/month), the number of websites, domains, parked domains and subdomains becomes unlimited, plus you’ll double the amount of storage. Bluehost’s Shared Plus hosting plans also give you 30 days free of charge with an Office 365 mailbox, and anti-spam email filtering through Spam Experts.
Heads up!
Bluehost is not just a hosting provider: it also functions as a domain name registrar, which means that you can search for and purchase a domain without using a third-party service. It also means that you can manage your domain registration and hosting services from the same account.
Conclusion
Thanks to our hosting research, we can safely say that Bluehost is the best overall hosting provider with a score of 4.8 out of 5. It ranks ahead of hosting heavyweights such as HostGator, InMotion and GoDaddy.
In individual categories, Bluehost ranks first in VPS, dedicated and WordPress hosting. It’s also the best hosting provider for running an e-commerce site.
If it’s feature-rich plans, reliable help and support, and affordable plans you’re looking for, look no further! Despite the additional costs and extras to consider, Bluehost is our top choice for a reason.
Our bottom line? It all depends on your site’s goals, but if you’re looking for affordability and reliability, Bluehost is a solid hosting provider.
FAQ’s
Can I use Bluehost without a WordPress site?
Yes, while Bluehost is particularly easy to use for WordPress sites, it is not a necessity, and other website builders will work just fine.
What is “server status“?
Server status refers to the state of your web server – in other words, a good status means that there are no outages that could lead to downtime. Bluehost allows you to check the server status of your website at any time by searching for your domain here.
Is WordPress or Bluehost better?
Although the two services are closely related, WordPress is a website builder and content management system, while Bluehost is a hosting provider. You can host your WordPress site with Bluehost; in fact, WordPress even recommends Bluehost as a hosting service. So, your choice will depend on what you need for your website.
What are the cons of Bluehost?
While Bluehost is our top choice as a hosting provider, it does have some disadvantages. Their cheaper plans are fairly basic and will limit your growth, so you’ll have to commit to a more expensive plan if you’re looking to expand. In addition, our testing has revealed that Bluehost scores poorly on uptime and site speed. If this is important to you, we recommend an alternative hosting provider such as IONOS.
Henry Sprung is an e-commerce tech blogger with several years of experience in online retail. Alex’s blog focuses on topics such as online marketplaces, payment processing, and digital marketing for e-commerce businesses. Henry’s expertise in e-commerce provides valuable insights into the latest trends in online retail and how businesses can use these platforms to grow their sales. He is a valuable resource for online retailers and entrepreneurs looking to start their own e-commerce businesses.
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