Last verified 34 days ago·24 sources·Updated automatically
SiteGround and Bluehost compared across Company facts, Pricing, Performance & infrastructure, WordPress management, Support & security and Platform & integrations — every fact sourced and re-verified from each vendor's public material.
SiteGround
Popular managed WordPress and shared hosting with in-house performance and security tooling, on Google Cloud.
30 days30-day money-back guarantee on shared/WordPress hosting
30 days
Performance & infrastructure
Underlying Cloud
Google CloudRuns on Google Cloud
own datacenters
Datacenter Locations
1111 hosting datacenter regions across 4 continents (CDN edge network is separate and larger)
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Free CDN
Built-in CDN included free on all plans
Free CDN included on all plans (Cloudflare-powered)
Web Server
NGINXNGINX front-ends Apache (NGINX Direct Delivery enabled by default)
Apache
Built-in Object Cache
Persistent object cache (Memcached) available on all plans incl. entry, via Site Tools / Speed Optimizer
Redis object caching enabled by default on WordPress plans
Latest PHP Version
8.4PHP 8.4 generally available
8.4
Free SSL Certificate
Free SSL included on all plans, auto-renewed
Free SSL (Let's Encrypt) on all plans
WordPress management
Automatic WordPress Updates
Managed automatic WordPress core/plugin updates
Managed WordPress core updates included
Staging Environments
Staging not on entry StartUp plan; unlocks on GrowBig and above (GoGeek adds Git)
WordPress staging site included on all plans
Automatic Daily Backups
Free automatic daily backups on all plans, one-click restore
Free backups are weekly; daily automatic backups require the paid CodeGuard add-on
Backup Retention (Days)
30 days30 days of backup history retained
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Free Site Migration
Free site migrations (Migrator plugin self-serve; free expert migrations on higher tiers)
Free self-serve WordPress migration tool
SSH & WP-CLI Access
SSH and WP-CLI on all plans including entry StartUp
SSH & WP-CLI access included on standard WordPress plans
WordPress Multisite Support
WordPress Multisite officially supported (subdomain and subdirectory), documented setup
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Support & security
Uptime SLA (%)
99.9%Marketed 99.9% (no contractual SLA)
99.99%99.99% uptime SLA (server/Apache performance); remedy is a 5% monthly account credit
24/7 Support
24/7 expert support on all plans (live chat, tickets, phone); GoGeek adds priority support
24/7 support; chat on all plans, phone added on Business and above
Malware Removal / Hack Fix
Malware cleanup is a paid service, not a free hack-fix guarantee
Starter includes malware scanning only; malware detection/removal unlocks on the Business plan and above
WAF / DDoS Protection
Custom in-house WAF + DDoS protection on every server, included free on all plans
Web Application Firewall and DDoS protection included on all plans
Platform & integrations
Control Panel
customCustom Site Tools control panel (SiteGround's own, not cPanel)
customBluehost custom dashboard (cPanel available underneath)
White-Label / Agency Features
White-label access (GoGeek), collaborator/client roles, custom client packages, reseller program
No white-label/client-management tooling on the entry managed WordPress plan
Email Hosting Included
Free unlimited email accounts at your domain on all plans
Professional email is a paid add-on after a 1-month free trial (~$2.99/mo per mailbox)
The verdict
SiteGround
Best for one site that needs hands-off backups and email
SiteGround includes free daily backups (30-day retention), free email hosting, and white-label/agency tooling — all areas where Bluehost charges extra or omits them. It runs on Google Cloud with NGINX. The catch: the StartUp plan hosts only 1 site at $17.99/mo and skips staging.
Best for cheaper multi-site hosting with staging and an SLA
Bluehost's $9.99 Starter hosts 10 sites versus SiteGround's 1, includes a staging environment on entry (SiteGround locks it to higher tiers), and backs a 99.99% uptime SLA with a 5% credit. Trade-offs: free backups are weekly only, and email is a paid add-on.
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