7 Best Bluehost Alternatives

I think you will agree when I say: Choosing the right hosting provider for your website or blog is a crucial yet challenging task. There are many things to consider ranging from cost, security, speed, support, and the specific needs of your site.

Many beginners usually spring for the first cheap hosting package they find, and that’s alright. One of the most affordable and most popular web hosting providers for beginners is Bluehost. They offer a wide range of features and hosting plans to help you hit the ground running.

Still, Bluehost isn’t the only great hosting service out there. There are many Bluehost alternatives, as you will learn shortly. If you would like to move away from Bluehost, you’ll love today’s post. I offer you six of the best Bluehost alternatives.

I cover the main features, pros, cons, and one big reason why the alternative is better than Bluehost. Don’t get me wrong, Bluehost is a great host, and recommended by WordPress.org. However, their service can disappoint you at times, forcing you to go with an alternative.

For instance, I was hacked on Bluehost twice, and I had to move to a new host when they couldn’t recover my backups because they were corrupted too!

The customer support that I got at that depressing time didn’t help much either, and I ended up ranting on social media before finally moving to SiteGround.

To be fair, however, it wasn’t entirely Bluehost’s fault because I hadn’t updated some of my test websites in a long time. Still, I feel I could have stuck with Bluehost if only they could recover my backups, which they sadly couldn’t. And the customer support sucked big time, but this is just my isolated case. Many other people have great experiences at Bluehost.

That being said, let us start by talking a little bit more about Bluehost. After that, I will cover the alternatives, which include SiteGround, HostGator, Hostinger, and GreenGeeks, among others. I hope you find an excellent choice from our list, but if you don’t see your favorite host, let us know.

What is Bluehost?

Bluehost is one of the largest web hosting providers powering over two million websites worldwide. Founded in 2003 by Matt Heaton and Danny Ashworth, the web hosting company has grown in leaps and bounds and employs more than 750 people today. It’s now part of the Endurance International Group (EIG), which owns a large number of renowned brands.

Bluehost offers you a wide range of hosting packages to suit your needs, no matter how diverse. They offer shared hosting, virtual private server (VPS) hosting, dedicated hosting, reseller hosting, and managed WordPress hosting. On top of that, they provide domain names, email, and professional marketing services.

Additionally, you get cPanel where you can install WordPress and manage your site easily. As such, you can quickly deploy customizable websites and be awesome. To offer fast hosting, they offer free worldwide CDN and SSD-only servers. When starting, they offer you a free domain name and an SSL certificate for a year.

They offer great prices as well. Bluehost plans start at $2.95/month, VPS hosting at $19.99/month, dedicated hosting at $79.99/month, managed WordPress hosting at $19.95/month, and WooCommerce eCommerce hosting at $6.95/month. For the latest promo prices visit the Bluehost website.

Pros and Cons of Bluehost

Buying the best web hosting service isn’t a decision you should make at random. I have been with several hosts in the past.

I started at HostGator, but I moved to Bluehost since the former didn’t support Oxwall, a social networking script I was using back then. At Bluehost, hackers wreaked havoc, and I had to move once again.

I would have saved myself the trouble of starting at HostGator if I had done my due diligence beforehand. In my defense, I was a complete noob. So, I bought hosting at HostGator but sadly couldn’t build the website I needed.

For this very reason, I urge you to carry out your own research and read our honest website hosting reviews before going with any company. You can also check out my Bluehost review for a full list of pros and cons.

That out of the way, here are the pros and cons of Bluehost, so you can make the right decision when choosing an alternative.

Bluehost Pros

Bluehost comes with a list of pros. It’s only standard for any hosting provider.

• Dirt-cheap hosting – Bluehost offers some of the cheapest hosting plans around.
• Free domain – You get a free domain name for one year with Bluehost.
• 30-day money-back guarantee – You can test any plan without risk
• Unlimited web traffic and unlimited storage – Some plans have limits though
• Unmetered bandwidth – Bluehost doesn’t limit the traffic your website gets
• Reliable uptime – Bluehost performs well in uptime tests.

Bluehost Cons

While they offer an excellent service, Bluehost comes with several cons that will quickly send you to an alternative.

• Poor support – Bluehost has one of the worst support teams, one of the reasons I moved away. One of the live chat support rep at Bluehost told me to take my business elsewhere if I wasn’t happy. The nerve.
• No free website migration – This can be a problem if you’re an absolute beginner looking to move your website.
• No free daily website backups & restore – Again, another reason why I moved away from Bluehost. They had no backups to restore my hacked sites. They said the reserves were corrupt too.
• Slow-ish speeds – Tests show that Bluehost offers some of the slowest page speeds in the industry.
• Only-US servers – Visitors from other regions could face a slow website. (However, using the free CDN will take care of this)

My biggest problem with Bluehost was the shoddy support when I was desperate to get my websites back online. It was one hell of a day.

The fact that I had to rebuild the websites from scratch turned me off completely, and I didn’t think twice before moving to another web host. I also signed up with ManageWP for regular off-site backups.

Bluehost is ideal for small websites and blogs without a lot of traffic. If you need advanced hosting features, say you run a big e-commerce website, you should check out the Bluehost alternatives I cover in the following section.

Bluehost Alternatives

Here is my rundown of the top Bluehost alternatives right now.

SiteGround

Founded by Ivo Tzenov back in 2014, SiteGround is one of the best hosting services out there. Thanks to a team of over 500 employees, the company can comfortably provide top-notch hosting services to over 2 million sites.

Unlike Bluehost, SiteGround offers you high-performance managed WordPress hosting on all plans. It’s the perfect hosting provider if you care about security, speed, uptime, and superb customer support. It is a reliable web hosting provider for all types of websites ranging from simple websites to complex WooCommerce stores.

Their plans cost more than Bluehost, but they are well worth the extra money. The company offers you plenty of features to get online in a matter of clicks. In comparison, Bluehost has nothing on SiteGround. Not even close.

Main Features

• Multiple plans including shared hosting, cloud hosting, managed WordPress hosting, reseller hosting, managed WooCommerce hosting, enterprise hosting, dedicated server hosting, and VPS hosting
• Free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate
• Free Cloudflare CDN
• Fast loading servers powered by Google Cloud Platform
• SSD storage
• Daily backup
• Free professional site transfer
• Staging and Git
• White-label
• Custom web application firewall (WAF)
• Dynamic caching
• Multiple data centers in four continents
• And so much more! (read my SiteGround review)

SiteGround Plans

SiteGround offers a good number of robust plans perfect for any need and budget.

• Web hosting packages cost between $3.95 and $34.95 per month
• Managed cloud hosting costs between $80 and $240 a month
• You will have to contact SiteGround for a custom quote if you need enterprise hosting

SiteGround Pros

• Automatic WordPress installation
• Super-fast servers
• Fast world-class customer 24 7 support via phone or live chat
• 30 days money back guarantee
• 99.99% server uptime guarantee
• Military-grade security

SiteGround Cons

• Data storage limits
• $14.95 set up fee for monthly billing
• Strict data over-usage policy

Why SiteGround is Better Than Bluehost

SiteGround outshines Bluehost in two main areas. For starters, SiteGround offers you better website performance than Bluehost. They offer you fast loading websites thanks to their robust infrastructure, which banks on Google Cloud, SSD storage, built-in CDN, and caching, among other things.

On top of that, SiteGround offers you more security options to secure your WordPress site with a few clicks than Bluehost. Thirdly, the Bluehost 24 7 support team needs to borrow a leaf from the guys at SiteGround, because the latter offers stellar customer service.

Hostgator

Another EIG brand, Hostgator is one of the better-known web hosting companies with a global reach.

Brent Oxley founded the company in 2002 in a dorm room at Florida Atlantic University. Over the years, the company has grown into a leading provider of hosting services.

They also offer cloud and managed WordPress hosting, their two best plans. Their hosting plans are cheap and comparable to Bluehost in terms of performance. If you’d like better performance and security, you should shun their entry-level packages and opt for cloud hosting.

Still, their entry plans are great for basic websites that don’t need a lot of power. If you’re a beginner and need to start a quick blog, you can spring for their beginner hosting packages. When your website grows, however, you want to consider VPS and dedicated hosting.

If you plan to go big, it’s best to go with either managed WordPress or cloud hosting services.

HostGator Main Features

• Free SSL certificate
• Free domain name
• Easy WordPress installs
• A fantastic website builder
• Free site transfers
• 99.9% server uptime guarantee
• Google AdWords and Bing Ads credits
• 24/7/365 technical support
• Unmetered bandwidth
• And so much more! (read my HostGator review)

HostGator Plans

HostGator offers you plenty of pricing plans from which to choose. There is something from everybody:

• Entry hosting packages start at $2.75/month
• The website builder plan starts at just $3.84 and helps you to build an e-commerce friendly website drag-and-drop style
• WordPress hosting starts at $5.95/month
• VPS hosting will set you back $19.95 per month
• Dedicated server hosting costs $89.98 monthly

Keep in mind all these are special introductory prices to get you through the door. Regular prices are a tad bit higher but still affordable.

HostGator Pros

Why would you choose HostGator over Bluehost? Here are the pros:

• 45-day money-back guarantee
• One-click WordPress installs
• Custom firewalls to stop DDoS attacks
• Daily backup
• Automatic malware removal but only in the cloud and WordPress plans

HostGator Cons

• You can only get the best speeds and performance in the cloud and managed WordPress packages
• Annoying upsells
• Expensive domain names
• Limited features

Why HostGator is a Better Bluehost alternative

Both HostGator and Bluehost are longtime players in the web hosting industry. They are both owned by the same parent company (EIG). They both offer similarly priced plans meaning the cost of hosting isn’t much of a deciding factor.

HostGator offers you a 45-day money-back guarantee, meaning you have 15 more days to test their hosting service, which makes them a good Bluehost alternative. At the same time, HostGator provides more features in their hosting plans than Bluehost.

Hostinger

I have had the pleasure of working with the team at Hostinger directly, and can only say good things. They are a lovely team and helped me so much at a point in my blogging career. But that’s not why we are here; I just had to put in a good word for these guys.

Hostinger is a web hosting company headquartered in Kaunas, Lithuania. On top of that, they have 40 offices around the globe, full of people working to provide you a fantastic hosting experience. At the time of writing, the company has over 29 million users.

Hostinger offers a lot of hosting options, including shared hosting, cloud hosting, WordPress hosting, email hosting, VPS hosting, Windows VPS, and Minecraft hosting, so you can share your Minecraft experience.

Additionally, they provide a website builder that helps you to create beautiful websites quickly and free zero-ad hosting via 000webhost.

Main Features

• 1 to unlimited websites
• 100GB to unlimited bandwidth
• Unlimited databases
• Free SSL certificates
• Free domain registration
• Daily and weekly backups
• 99.9% uptime guarantee
• Powerful control panel
• 1-click app installer
• And so much more! (read my Hostinger review)

Hostinger Plans

Hostinger offers you a lot of hosting plans at incredibly low prices:

• Hosting plans start at just $0.99 per month
• Cloud hosting starts at $7.45 a month
• WordPress plans start at $2.15/month
• They have up to 6 VPS plans starting at $3.95/month
• Minecraft hosting starts at $8.95 monthly
• Windows VPS plans start at $26.00 per month

Note that these are special introductory prices, and you have a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Hostinger Pros

Hostinger has a lot of good things going for them. Here are a couple of pros:

• Fast servers and speeds
• Easy and intuitive admin dashboard
• Great security and privacy
• Detailed knowledge base
• Incredible cheap hosting
• Free website builder

Hostinger Cons

• Sluggish customer service, but once you get connected, the support team is outstanding
• Unclear pricing structure
• You have to install SSL certificates on addon domains manually

Why is Hostinger Better Than Bluehost?

Hostinger is an excellent alternative to Bluehost if you are looking for low prices (from $0.99/mo) and fast page speeds. They also offer a wide range of hosting options except dedicated server hosting. Hostinger’s support team can be hard to reach at times, but when you’re connected, they are great to work with, something I wouldn’t say about Bluehost.

GreenGeeks

GreenGeeks is the world’s number one green energy website hosting providers. They are an environmentally responsible company founded by Trey Gardner in California back in 2008.

GreenGeeks prides itself as a reputable provider of green hosting since they replace, with wind energy credits, 3x the power your website uses.

The company hosts over 500,000 websites, has over 40,000 customers and manages to replace over 600,000 KWH/year using green energy.

They offer a wide range of screaming fast SSD-based hosting options, including shared, reseller, VPS, and WordPress hosting.

GreenGeeks uses cutting edge technology in their data centers to ensure you get blazing fast page speeds, security, and superior website performance. They provide you a 99.9% uptime guarantee and an unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee so that you can test the waters without any risk.

Main Features

• Scalable computer resources
• Exhilarating website speeds
• SSD drives
• Litespeed and MariaDB databases
• Free CDN
• In-house caching technology
• HTTP/3 and PHP 7
• Hosting account isolation for an extra layer of security
• Real-time security scanning

GreenGeeks Plans

GreenGeeks focuses on four types of website hosting services, i.e., shared, reseller, WordPress, and VPS hosting. Here is a quick list of the prices you can expect:

• Entry level plans start at $2.95/month, but you must commit yourself for three years to get that price 🙁
• Reseller hosting costs between $19.95 and $59.95 per month
• WordPress hosting starts at $2.95/month but, again, you must commit yourself for three years
• VPS hosting at GreenGeeks ranges between $39.95 and $109.95 per month (billed monthly)
• And so much more! (read my GreenGeeks review)

GreenGeeks Pros

The eco-friendly company is best known for the following advantages:

• 300% green website hosting provider powered by renewable energy
• Latest speed technology
• Reliable infrastructure with 5 data centers in Phoenix, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, and Amsterdam
• Tight security and reliable uptime
• Excellent customer support and live chat
• Website builder

GreenGeeks Cons

Even good things like GreenGeeks website hosting comes with downsides. Here a few demerits of choosing GreenGeeks as your alternative.

• Misleading price structure
• $15 setup fee for monthly billing
• Domain and setup fees are nonrefundable
• Limited domain TLDs

Why is GreenGeeks a Better Bluehost Alternative

If you are looking for excellent support, super-fast speeds, and top security, you’ll find a home at GreenGeeks as opposed to Bluehost. Also, you have a chance to conserve the environment by using a website hosting service that runs on clean green energy.

A2 Hosting

A2 Hosting is one of the best web hosting companies in the industry, promising you up to 20x faster web hosting.

To offer these seemingly unrealistic speeds, they have invested in new NVMe AMD EPYC servers with 40% faster CPU performance.

To sweeten the deal, they are offering a massive discount of 66% at the time of writing, making their website hosting affordable for all and sundry.

A2 Hosting offers you typical hosting, including shared, WordPress, VPS, dedicated, and reseller.

Main Features

• Unlimited SSD disk space
• Unmetered bandwidth
• Free site migration
• Free SSL certificates
• Automatic daily backups
• And so much more! (read my A2 Hosting review)

A2 Hosting Pros

Why would anyone consider choosing A2 Hosting over Bluehost? Here, the juicy merits:

• Anytime money-back guarantee
• 99.9% uptime
• 24/7/365 Guru Crew support.
• Turbo servers that offer you 20x website speeds
• Perpetual security with HackScan Protection, firewalls, virus scanning, and brute force protection
• Scalability
• Developer friendly hosting
• You can pre-install your website on the order form.

A2 Hosting Cons

A2 Hosting is an excellent website hosting service, but do they have some shortcomings? Are there cons? Of course, yes:

• There are migration fees – For example, you pay $25 when you move to another data center without upgrading to a high-priced plan.
• Misleading plan info – For instance, you can only enjoy 20x faster speeds if you buy the most expensive of the three hosting plans.
• You must have a support PIN to live chat, which means you need an account.
• Pricier domain names compared to, say, Namecheap and Hostinger.

Why is A2 Hosting a Better Bluehost alternative

Every time, Bluehost is losing the fight for poor customer support. A2 Hosting, on the other hand, provides exceptional support to its customers.

Also, A2 Hosting provides a lot of domain extensions when you’re starting, unlike Bluehost, which is limiting. Without a doubt, Bluehost is the cheaper option, but remember you get what you pay for.

A2 Hosting is the absolute winner here in terms of features and customer support. Plus, they have Turbo Servers for 20x faster speeds.

FastComet

FastComet is a privately owned website hosting provider ran by a small group of creative people that offer you a personalized web hosting experience.

FastComet offers affordable plans ideal for startups and beginners looking to start right away, without the enormous costs and confusion that come with big hosting companies.

With relatively cheap hosting plans, FastComet offers the lowest entry price of all Bluehost alternatives in our post.

On top of that, they offer a broader set of features than many competitors, including Bluehost. The company was founded in 2013 by Micheal Quinn, and the HQ is in San Francisco.

Plans start at just $2.95 per month. Fully managed SSD cloud VPS plans start at $47.95 per month. Dedicated CPU servers start at $111.19 per month.

Main Features

• SSD-only cloud
• 10+ data centers across the globe
• Free Cloudflare CDN
• Daily and weekly backups
• Free managed migrations
• Advanced web app hosting
• Integrated security features
• And so much more! (read my FastComet review)

FastComet Pros

• Steady uptime of 99.97%
• Fast and personalized support and live chat
• 45-day money-back guarantee
• Free SSL certificate
• Free domain for life

FastComet Cons

• Some users have reported slow speeds
• RocketBooster speed and advanced security features are only available in the most expensive hosting plan; FastCloud Extra

Why FastComet is One the Best Bluehost Alternatives

FastComet wins when it comes to supporting their customers. They have friendly live agents that respond to your queries within seconds. Sadly, I can’t say the same for Bluehost. Additionally, FastComet offers more features at a lower price making them one of the top Bluehost alternatives.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Bluehost?

Bluehost is one of the largest web hosting providers powering over two million websites worldwide. Founded in 2003 by Matt Heaton and Danny Ashworth. It's part of the Endurance International Group (EIG), which owns a large number of renowned brands.

How much does Bluehost cost?

Bluehost hosting starts at $2.95/month, VPS hosting at $19.99/month, dedicated hosting at $79.99/month, managed WordPress hosting at $19.95/month, and WooCommerce eCommerce hosting at $6.95/month. For the latest promo prices visit the Bluehost website.

What are the pros and cons of Bluehost?

Bluehost offers some of the cheapest hosting plans around. You get a free domain name for one year with Bluehost. You get a 30-day money-back guarantee. Hosting plans come with unlimited web traffic and disk space. Bluehost has one of the most criticized support teams in the industry. No free website migration. No free daily website backups and restore.

Does Bluehost support WordPress?

Bluehost is officially endorsed by WordPress.org and offers 1-click WordPress installation on their hosting plans. Bluehost also offers fully managed WordPress hosting plans.

Who are the best Bluehost alternatives?

The leading Bluehost competitor is SiteGround, which offers better overall web hosting features when it comes to speed, security, and reliability. Hostinger is another good alternative that offers cheaper web hosting plans than Bluehost.

Bluehost Alternatives: Summary

If you’re looking to get online quickly, all the above website hosting providers (and Bluehost alternatives) are great options. While Bluehost offers a really good hosting service, the above Bluehost competitors provide more options, modern tools, and better features and prices (for what you’re getting).

If you’d like to hit the ground running, complete with a pre-installed website, you should consider A2 Hosting. Consider checking out HostGator if you need more features in your VPS plans than what Bluehost offers.

Hostinger is a cheap and fast web host, but their live chat team can take a bit of time to get back to you. If you don’t mind waiting, they are outstanding. GreenGeeks is the perfect choice for eco-friendly people looking for fabulous web hosting.

The best Bluehost alternative, overall, is SiteGround. They offer an all-round website hosting package that’s suitable for personal blogs, business websites, and large e-commerce portals. SiteGround provides a lot of features at incredibly affordable prices coupled with exceptional customer support.