DreamHost vs Bluehost (2023 Comparison) – Forbes Advisor

Comparing DreamHost vs. Bluehost is easier when you can see the stats side by side. Use this table to better understand how they stack up.

Both web hosts offer a free domain, but just for the first year. DreamHost wins the automated daily backup battle, as Bluehost only offers this function on its three more expensive plans. And while both hosts do offer the option for unlimited website hosting, they both start at just one website on their base plans.

Strangely enough, Bluehost doesn’t offer an uptime guarantee, which is pretty standard among web hosts. DreamHost’s guarantee is 100%, which is a lofty goal to maintain—though it could result in a refund if your site ever goes down.

Email Hosting

One big drawback of DreamHost’s base plan is that it doesn’t offer email. You can add this on, but it costs $1.67 per mailbox per month on an annual plan.

Bluehost offers up to five free email accounts on its base plan—perfect if you just have a few employees that’ll need email access. Otherwise, you can pay $3 per month per user (renews at $6) for email access.

If you need a lot of email accounts, you’re likely just better off upgrading to the more expensive plans from either host, as they all include unlimited email.

Website Builder

DreamHost’s included website builder is actually a drag-and-drop WordPress tool. It comes with a quick-start wizard as well as over 200 starter templates. You can even get real-time SEO recommendations as you edit.

Bluehost does offer custom WordPress themes on its hosting plans, but to truly dig deep into design, you’ll need to pay for access to its Website Builder tool. It lets you edit without any coding with Gutenberg blocks, custom fonts, slides and carousels, animated headlines and more. While pricing starts at $4.95 per month, it jumps up to $10.99 per month at renewal.

Bandwidth and Storage

Both hosting solutions offer unmetered bandwidth. This means your site’s visitors can upload and download as much data as they want without it being measured.

DreamHost offers 50GB of storage vs. Bluehost’s 10GB, so it’s the clear victor here. However, 10GB might be plenty if all you’ll need are a few graphics and images on your site. For more resource-heavy sites, such as online catalogs or in-depth product guides, you’ll need more space.