HostGator vs. Dreamhost vs. BlueHost Hosting: Comparison

FeatureHostgatorBluehostDreamhost
PlansShared
WordPress
VPS
Dedicated
Shared
WordPress
VPS
Dedicated
Shared
WordPress
VPS
Dedicated
Price/yearHatchling: $3.75/mo
Baby: $4.50/mo
Business: $6.25/mo
Basic: $2.95/mo
Choice Plus: $5.45/mo
Pro: $13.95/mo
Starter: $2.59/mo
Unlimited: $3.95/mo
Free DomainYes (1st year)Yes (1st year)Yes (1st year)
New Domain Price$12.95 (first year)$12.99 (first year)$8.99
Domain Renewal$19.99$21.99$19.99
Disk Space10 – 40 GB10 -100 GBUnlimited
BandwidthUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimited
Domains allowed1 – 3 sites1 – 5 sitesUnlimited
Live SupportYesYesYes (Poor quality)
cPanelYescPanelCustom cPanel
Payment OptionPayPal
Credit Card
PayPal
Credit Card
PayPal
Credit Card
WordPress compatibleYesYesYes
Twitter SupportYesNoYes but slow
Coupon codeHGusersAdded in the linkDreamsavings50
Rating/54.552.5

Choosing the right web hosting company is one of the first crucial things for starting your online business.

A good web host will ensure that your site remains up, and you don’t need to get into any tech hassles including hacking or managing your hosting space.

When it comes to WordPress shared hosting, there are a few popular names out there like Bluehost, Hostgator, Dreamhost, and so on. In the last ten years, I have tried all of these hosting companies, and I know what are the pros and cons of each.

Also see: BlueHost Vs HostGator for WordPress: Which is Better?

One major problem that a newbie faces is, deciding which hosting to buy in between these three. Since all of them have a good reputation and great uptime. Like any hosting, they do have their downside like Dreamhost support is not as good as Hostgator or Bluehost.

Hostgator Vs-Dreamhost Vs Bluehost

Here I will be doing a comparison between Hostgator Vs Dreamhost Vs Bluehost and will help you to decide which hosting you should go for, and which will be best for your limited budget. In the end, I will conclude and rate these hosting, based on all the parameters and my experience with them. Do remember,

Remember, I have only used them for the WordPress platform, and this article is based on my experience with them as WordPress hosting.

All these three Webhosting companies offer unlimited Webhosting resources and are perfect for hosting our WordPress sites. However, the major difference comes in pricing and support. Dreamhost hosting here offers custom cPanel, whereas Hostgator and Bluehost offer standard cPanel. In 2019, Bluehost also offers a custom panel for managing our WordPress sites.

Also, on Dreamhost, you will not find Fantastico to install WordPress as they are using the custom script.

Comparison chart: Bluehost Vs Dreamhost vs. Hostgator

First, let’s look at the chart that shows the major difference between these three hosts.  I had shared hosting plans with all of them, and this review is particularly for shared hosting plans from these hosting companies. In this

In this case, I’m considering the Baby plan from HostGator because it is good for starters.

I have worked with various Clients and most of the time I work on these 3 hostings. From my experience, I would suggest Bluehost as it’s also officially recommended by the WordPress team.

Dreamhost vs. Bluehost:

I have used Dreamhost in the past, and it was good, but when I compare it with Bluehost or HostGator, I always recommend the other two first. What DreamHost lacks is prompt support like Bluehost. Also, both of them offers free domain and free AdWords coupon. In terms of the resources provided with the package, both are equal and good.

The major difference comes in Quality of service, where BlueHost is two steps ahead of Dreamhost.

  • So, my recommendation is BlueHost over DreamHost.
  • DreamHost Web Hosting is useful when you are in limited budget and need a super-budget hosting.
  • One year of Dreamhost hosting costs $119
  • On BlueHost you can get one year of hosting + 1 domain for around $60, with the below-discounted link.

So the price is also a driving factor, and if you were looking for a choice between these two, I would recommend opting for Bluehost for better peace of mind.

Conclusion:

Among these three hosting, if you were looking for a single recommendation, I would suggest buying hosting from BlueHost.

BlueHost has done an excellent job recently and now offers various hosting packages. You can start with their shared hosting, and when you need more resources, upgrade to their VPS or dedicated hosting package.

Do let me know which shared hosting you like the most and why.

Subscribe

Contents

Harsh Agrawal

Harsh Agrawal

A blog scientist by mind and a passionate blogger by heart. Blogging on WordPress platform since 2008. Sharing his learning about WordPress hosting to help other bloggers & entrepreneurs make better decisions.

21 thoughts on “HostGator vs. Dreamhost vs. BlueHost Hosting: Comparison”

  1. Well how I stated on your FB I would lean more to choose anything that has VPS just for the simple reason that You get more for the buck with a VPS set up. More control allows for more access to others.. All shared hosting are designed to up-scale you later! STRAIGHTALK

  2. I have a correction to make, the comparison table specifies 3 plans for HostGator.
    It also includes the Hatchling plan and below mentions Domains Allowed – Unlimited

    Baby & Business allow unlimited but I doubt if you have unlimited domains for hatching. Could you please confirm the same?

    1. Wordpress Webhosting discount

      Hey Vaibhav
      You are right and I already mentioned above the table, that I’m taking baby plan as an example for Hostgator
      “In this case I’m considering Baby plan from Hostgator because that has unlimited hosting.”
      Thanks for dropping by and for your comment.

  3. I am missing speed and backup plans here. Don’t care about free adwords as long as the server or response time of the server is slow !

    1. Wordpress Webhosting discount

      Thanks for letting me know what I missed here.. I will again do a research and will try to update this post or will come up with a new post 🙂
      Meanwhile Dreamhost allow personal backup!!

  4. I’ve been using dreamhost server from the last 3 years and I found them good. Really, no major problem at all. In between, I tried hostgator also, and their support timing is best. They immediately answer your query like they are sitting just for you. Dreamhost support is Ok. But I switched back to dreamhost as Hostgator has limitation as far as some PHP modules are concerned.

  5. TechJ@price in India

    Hostgator is dumb, I am having an issue of migrating a DB that is around 50MB to Hostgator and after 10 emails conversation issues is not resolved yet. They have limited everything. Also, I would like to know how I can migrate a big DB..

  6. I have heard about Bluehost that the server crash and there are many problems adopting this one as compared to Hostgator is it true please tell !!

  7. I Love bluehost and really it’s amazing when it comes to technical support they help you configure each and everything… Have heard a lot of negative comments about Hostgator but not sure about Dreamhost…

    Thanks for sharing this awasome post….

  8. Dreamhost server works well, hostgator who knows. They are both very different so its hard to make a good summary

  9. All three have some pros and cons,, Most people recommends Blue host and Dream host, Even WordPress also recommend these two. Very effectively compared and elaborated post. Thanks for sharing.

  10. Hello harsh,
    I have read you blog and found amazing information about these web hosts. All three are fantastic web hosts that offer wonderful hosting services and help in generating massive traffic on the websites. But, I want to know that Wp Engine is also as much powerful web host as these popular web hosts or it could not result in reliable performance like these three? Do reply me as I am having the free coupons for using services from WP Engine.
    Thanks

    1. @Vickie
      WPEngine is pretty cool & it won’t be wise to compare WPEngine with Hostgator/Bluehost/Dreamhost as WPEngine is a premium hosting for WordPress. If you have free coupons, it would be good to go ahead with them. Do check their pricing & other factors, as once your free period is over, you will be charged according to your pageviews & resources. Here are two posts about WPEngine that you should read:
      http://www.shoutmeloud.com/wpengine-review-wordpress-engine.html
      http://www.shoutmeloud.com/wpengine-cons-picing.html

  11. Hi Harsh,
    I found your blog so much useful…But I want to ask that how many extra plugins can I use for getting wonderful performance from the hosting services of these companies…..

  12. Hi Harsh,
    Thanks for this lovely review. The three web hosting companies are great in their own way. I have used Hostgator and BlueHost and must say they are both reliable and efficient. But BlueHost has a little edge over Hostgator in terms of speed.I can comfortably recommend them to anyone because of my personal experience with them. I have been using Hostgator since 2009 and they have not disappointed me. Their customer support is great.

    However, I have not used Dreamhost, though I heard they are also good. From your comparison chart, they have the least rating. But looking at the features closely, the differences between them and Hostgator are really not much. I am sure some people would find it comfortable to go with them.

    Thanks once again for the review. Do have a lovely day.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap