Bluehost
Budget-friendly, WordPress.org-recommended hosting aimed at first-time site owners.
Overview
Bluehost is a WordPress.org-recommended hosting provider positioned for budget-conscious, first-time site owners. Its entry Starter plan renews at $9.99/mo on a 36-month term and covers up to 10 WordPress sites with 10 GB of NVMe SSD storage, with vendor guidance of roughly 40,000 visits per month. There is no free trial, though a 30-day money-back guarantee applies.
The managed WordPress stack includes the conveniences most site owners expect: free SSL, a free Cloudflare-powered CDN, free self-serve migration, staging, and automatic WordPress core updates, all on every plan. Sites run on Apache with PHP 8.4 and Redis object caching enabled by default, and developers get SSH and WP-CLI access. Bluehost runs its own datacenters and publishes a 99.99% uptime SLA, remedied by a 5% monthly account credit.
Security and support cover the basics: a web application firewall and DDoS protection on all plans, plus 24/7 support via chat. Administration runs through Bluehost's custom dashboard, with cPanel available underneath.
Best for
- First-time site owners and hobbyists wanting an inexpensive, WordPress-recommended host, with the Starter plan renewing at $9.99/mo and covering up to 10 sites.
- Owners who want managed-WordPress conveniences without paying extra: free SSL, a free CDN, free migration, staging, and automatic core updates are included on every plan.
- Developers who still want command-line control on a budget plan, with SSH and WP-CLI access, PHP 8.4, and Redis object caching enabled by default.
- Buyers who value a published reliability commitment, with a 99.99% uptime SLA backed by a 5% monthly account credit and 24/7 chat support.
Less ideal for
- Owners who need daily backups out of the box. Free backups are only weekly; daily automatic backups require the paid CodeGuard add-on.
- Sites that want managed malware removal at the entry tier. The Starter plan includes scanning only; malware detection and removal unlock on the Business plan and above.
- Agencies managing client sites: there is no white-label or client-management tooling on the entry managed WordPress plan.
- Buyers expecting mailboxes bundled in. Professional email is a paid add-on after a one-month free trial, billed per mailbox.
- Anyone who wants to try before committing, since there is no free trial; the only safety net is a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Pricing
Performance & infrastructure
WordPress management
Support & security
Platform & integrations
Alternatives to Bluehost
Cloudways Managed cloud hosting that runs WordPress on your choice of DigitalOcean, AWS, or Google Cloud. Owned by DigitalOcean.
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DreamHost Independent host whose DreamPress tier is managed WordPress hosting; WordPress.org-recommended.
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Flywheel Managed WordPress hosting built for designers and creative agencies; now part of WP Engine.
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