Bluehost
5.4/10Bluehost is a web host owned by Newfold Digital. It sells WordPress-focused shared hosting, self-managed VPS and dedicated servers, mainly to small businesses and individual site owners.
Data last updated November 2026 · Our methodology
Overview
Bluehost has hosted websites since 2003 and is now part of Newfold Digital. Its core product is WordPress-oriented shared hosting. Every shared plan includes managed WordPress updates, a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate, a CDN, weekly backups, staging sites, SSH and WP-CLI access, malware scanning and a free domain for the first year. The Business tier adds a web application firewall, DDoS protection and phone support. eCommerce Essentials adds WooCommerce, subscriptions, memberships and paid courses. For more control, Bluehost sells self-managed NVMe VPS plans with root SSH and API access, and dedicated servers that come with cPanel and WHM. Servers are hosted in Virginia, Arizona, Toronto, London and Amsterdam. Pricing is based on promotional rates for long commitments. Shared plans start at $3.99 a month on a 36-month term and renew at $9.99. VPS plans are quoted on 24-month terms, and dedicated servers start at $144.19 a month on 36-month terms. All plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee, and refunds apply to the first purchase only. Bluehost suits small businesses, bloggers and freelancers who want an easy WordPress setup. The main limitation is that renewal prices rise sharply, often 2 to 3 times the intro rate. Reviewers also report paid add-ons at checkout, uneven support and slowdowns on shared plans under heavy traffic. It is not a developer cloud: there is no managed Kubernetes, serverless or object storage.
Our Rating
Who Bluehost is best for
Good fit
Cheap entry plans, a free domain and one-click WordPress cover what most small business sites need.
- Content Creators7/10
WordPress-centric plans include Yoast SEO, caching and staging for bloggers.
The Starter plan hosts 10 sites at a low intro price, which suits solo site owners.
Less suited
The eCommerce Essentials tier bundles WooCommerce, subscriptions and memberships, but shared hosting slows under heavy load.
SSH, WP-CLI and root VPS access are available, but there are no developer cloud services such as Kubernetes, serverless or object storage.
A custom enterprise tier exists, but the product range and reviews point to small sites.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Every shared plan includes a free CDN, Let's Encrypt SSL, weekly backups, staging and a first-year domain.
- Low entry price: $3.99 a month on a 36-month term for up to 10 sites.
- Clear upgrade path from shared hosting to NVMe VPS and dedicated servers, with data centers in the US, Canada, the UK and the Netherlands.
- The 99.99% uptime SLA carries a service credit.
- Very large review base, with a 4.6 rating on Trustpilot.
Cons
- Renewal prices are roughly 2 to 3 times the intro rate, for example Starter rises from $3.99 to $9.99.
- The best prices require 24 to 36 month prepaid terms, and renewals cannot be refunded.
- Reviewers report paid add-ons at checkout and difficult cancellations.
- The SLA credit is a single 5% monthly credit, which is small.
- VPS plans are self-managed, with no cPanel or priority support included.
- Ratings on G2 and Capterra are mediocre (about 3.4 to 3.6), with complaints about support and performance.
Key Features
Bluehost Pricing
Starter
- 10 websites
- 10 GB NVMe storage
- About 40K visits per month
- Free CDN, SSL and weekly backups
- Chat support only, no phone support
- Intro rate on a 36-month term; renews at $9.99/mo
VPS NVMe 2
- Self-managed
- Root SSH and API access
- 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 50 GB NVMe
- Intro rate on a 24-month term; renews at $5.69/mo
Business
- 50 websites
- Phone support
- 50 GB NVMe storage
- About 200K visits per month
- AI malware detection and removal
- Web application firewall and DDoS protection
- Intro rate on a 36-month term; renews at $13.99/mo
VPS NVMe 4
- Unmetered bandwidth
- 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 100 GB NVMe
- Intro rate on a 24-month term; renews at $11.99/mo
VPS NVMe 8
- 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 200 GB NVMe
- Intro rate on a 24-month term; renews at $28.99/mo
eCommerce Essentials
- 100 websites
- 100 GB NVMe storage
- WooCommerce auto-install
- About 400K visits per month
- Subscriptions, memberships and paid courses
- Intro rate on a 36-month term; renews at $21.99/mo
VPS NVMe 16
- 8 vCPU, 16 GB RAM, 450 GB NVMe
- Intro rate on a 24-month term; renews at $49.99/mo
Dedicated Standard NVMe 32
- 8 cores, 32 GB DDR5, 1 TB NVMe
- cPanel and WHM, 3 dedicated IPs
- Intro rate on a 36-month term; renews at $191.79/mo
Dedicated Enhanced NVMe 64
- 16 cores, 64 GB DDR5, 2 TB NVMe
- Intro rate on a 36-month term; renews at $274.19/mo
Dedicated Premium NVMe 128
- 32 cores, 128 GB DDR5, 3 TB NVMe
- Intro rate on a 36-month term; renews at $394.19/mo
Enterprise & Custom
- Custom resources
- Large catalog support
- Dedicated solution design team
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Hosting cancelled within 30 days gets a full refund, minus a domain fee if a free domain was included. No refunds are given after 30 days or on renewals.
Shared plans renew at $9.99, $13.99 and $21.99 a month for Starter, Business and eCommerce Essentials, up from intro rates of $3.99, $6.99 and $14.99.
Yes. All VPS tiers include root SSH and API access, but they are self-managed. cPanel costs an extra $14.99 a month.
VPS and dedicated servers can be placed in Virginia (Ashburn), Arizona (Phoenix), Toronto, London or Amsterdam. On dedicated servers the location is fixed after provisioning.
The web application firewall and DDoS protection come with Business and higher shared plans. Dedicated servers include dedicated firewalls.
Bluehost advertises 99.99% uptime. If it is missed, customers can claim a single 5% monthly credit within 30 days.
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