Bluehost hosting review
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We last reviewed Bluehost in October 2026. Every price here was read directly from Bluehost's own plan pages, including both the Standard and High Performance tabs, and the policy details come from Bluehost's help center (refund policy, data center selection, site setup). We cross-checked them against Website Builder Expert's February 2026 hands-on review. We did not buy a plan for this update, so speed and support observations are credited to their source.
Overview
Bluehost has been hosting websites since 2003 and today belongs to Newfold Digital, the group that also owns HostGator. It reports more than 5 million customers in over 100 countries, and WordPress.org lists it as one of its three recommended hosts.
Its strength is beginner-friendly WordPress hosting with an AI-guided setup. Its weak spots are renewal prices and the add-ons offered at checkout. Below we break down the plans, the features that set it apart, and the fine print.
Features of Bluehost
Building a site with Bluehost
After you buy a plan and install WordPress from the Bluehost Portal, the WordPress Builder Start wizard opens. You can start from a template, follow a step-by-step flow, migrate an existing site, or go straight to the hosting panel.
- Choose the site type (personal, business or online store), language, title and a short description.
- Upload a logo if you have one (PNG or JPG, up to 5 MB).
- Set your WordPress experience level: Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced.
- Pick one of three designs generated from your answers.
- Edit the text, menu and buttons, add royalty-free images, then click Save & Publish.
From there you keep working in the regular WordPress dashboard.
Bluehost pricing
Web Hosting (Shared)
| Plan | Discount price | Regular price | Term | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $3.99/mo | $9.99/mo | 36 months | 60% |
| Business | $6.99/mo | $13.99/mo | 36 months | 50% |
| eCommerce Essentials | $14.99/mo | $21.99/mo | 36 months | 32% |
Web Hosting (High Performance)
| Plan | Discount price | Regular price | Term | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro (5X CPU, 100 GB) | $9.99/mo | $16.99/mo | 36 months | 41% |
| Premium (6X CPU, 150 GB) | $13.99/mo | $20.99/mo | 36 months | 33% |
| Enhanced (8X CPU, 200 GB) | $16.99/mo | $24.99/mo | 36 months | 32% |
| Elite (10X CPU, 250 GB) | $19.99/mo | $28.99/mo | 36 months | 31% |
WordPress Hosting
| Plan | Discount price | Regular price | Term | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $3.99/mo | $9.99/mo | 36 months | 60% |
| Business | $6.99/mo | $13.99/mo | 36 months | 50% |
| eCommerce Essentials | $14.99/mo | $21.99/mo | 36 months | 32% |
VPS Hosting (Self-Managed)
| Plan | Discount price | Regular price | Term | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVMe 2 (1 vCPU / 2GB) | $4.69/mo | $5.69/mo | 24 months | 18% |
| NVMe 4 (2 vCPU / 4GB) | $9.49/mo | $11.99/mo | 24 months | 21% |
| NVMe 8 (4 vCPU / 8GB) | $12.99/mo | $28.99/mo | 24 months | 55% |
| NVMe 16 (8 vCPU / 16GB) | $25.99/mo | $49.99/mo | 24 months | 48% |
Managed VPS Hosting
| Plan | Discount price | Regular price | Term | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard NVMe 4 (2 vCPU / 4GB) | $49.99/mo | $68.99/mo | 36 months | 28% |
| Enhanced NVMe 8 (4 vCPU / 8GB) | $68.99/mo | $98.99/mo | 36 months | 30% |
| Ultimate NVMe 16 (8 vCPU / 16GB) | $97.99/mo | $143.99/mo | 36 months | 32% |
Cloud Hosting
| Plan | Discount price | Regular price | Term | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud 10 (up to 10 sites) | $65.00/mo | $65.00/mo | 36 months | — |
| Cloud 25 (up to 25 sites) | $140.00/mo | $140.00/mo | 36 months | — |
| Cloud 50 (up to 50 sites) | $230.00/mo | $230.00/mo | 36 months | — |
Dedicated Hosting
| Plan | Discount price | Regular price | Term | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard NVMe 32 (8-core / 32GB) | $144.19/mo | $191.79/mo | 36 months | 25% |
| Enhanced NVMe 64 (16-core / 64GB) | $220.19/mo | $274.19/mo | 36 months | 20% |
| Premium NVMe 128 (32-core / 128GB) | $315.19/mo | $394.19/mo | 36 months | 20% |
Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS)
| Plan | Discount price | Regular price | Term | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dedicated 1 (1 vCPU / 6GB) | $13.59/mo | $13.59/mo | — | — |
| Dedicated 2 (2 vCPU / 12GB) | $26.69/mo | $26.69/mo | — | — |
| Dedicated 4 (4 vCPU / 24GB) | $53.09/mo | $53.09/mo | — | — |
| Dedicated 8 (8 vCPU / 48GB) | $105.69/mo | $105.69/mo | — | — |
| Dedicated 16 (16 vCPU / 96GB, High Performance) | $202.89/mo | $202.89/mo | — | — |
| Dedicated 32 (32 vCPU / 192GB, High Performance) | $383.49/mo | $383.49/mo | — | — |
| Dedicated 64 (64 vCPU / 384GB, High Performance) | $725.59/mo | $725.59/mo | — | — |
WooCommerce Hosting
| Plan | Discount price | Regular price | Term | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| eCommerce Essentials | $14.99/mo | $21.99/mo | 36 months | 32% |
| eCommerce Premium | $21.99/mo | $30.99/mo | 36 months | 29% |
Bluehost support
Live chat is available 24/7 on every plan. Bluehost's contact page also lists US-based phone support around the clock, though one of its own help articles gives phone hours of 7 am to midnight ET. Phone support is not included on the entry-level Starter plan. In Website Builder Expert's test, the chat asked a few automated questions before a human agent joined. A searchable knowledge base covers setup, billing and WordPress topics.
Pros and cons
What is Bluehost in 2026?
Bluehost is a US web host founded in 2003 and owned by Newfold Digital since 2021. It reports more than 5 million customers in over 100 countries and is one of three hosts on WordPress.org's recommended hosting page, alongside Pressable and Hostinger. Plans run from $3.99/mo shared hosting up to VPS, cloud, VDS and dedicated servers.
What do you get on a Bluehost shared plan?
Every standard shared plan (Starter, Business and eCommerce Essentials) includes NVMe storage (10, 50 or 100 GB), a free domain for the first year, a free CDN, Let's Encrypt SSL, weekly backups, a WordPress staging site, SSH and WP-CLI access, and a free site migration tool. Bluehost backs these plans with a 99.99% uptime SLA. Business and higher add a web application firewall, DDoS protection and a year of free domain privacy.
A separate High Performance tab lists four more plans, Pro, Premium, Enhanced and Elite, from $9.99 to $19.99/mo on a 36-month term. They host up to 100 sites with 100 to 250 GB NVMe storage and, according to Bluehost, 5X to 10X the CPU power of the standard plans.
Is Bluehost good for online stores?
eCommerce Essentials ($14.99/mo intro, renews at $21.99/mo) installs WooCommerce automatically and adds payment processing, product subscriptions, memberships, paid courses and an affiliate program. eCommerce Premium ($21.99/mo intro, renews at $30.99/mo) adds gift cards, bookings and appointments, points and rewards, wishlists and advanced reviews. All shared plans include the free Yoast SEO plugin.
What should you watch out for?
The headline prices require a 36-month term and renew at two to two and a half times the intro rate: Starter goes from $3.99 to $9.99/mo. Website Builder Expert flags paid add-ons offered at checkout, such as SiteLock, CodeGuard and domain privacy, and Bluehost's refund policy excludes most add-ons. In the same reviewer's January 2026 test, Bluehost's US server responded in about 0.58 seconds, slower than Hostinger (0.33 s) and DreamHost (0.12 s). The Starter plan also has no phone support.
Is Bluehost right for you?
You're a beginner or small-business owner launching a WordPress site on a budget, want a genuinely easy setup with a free domain for the first year, and your traffic is low to moderate: a blog, portfolio or brochure site.
You run a high-traffic blog, a busy WooCommerce store or a business-critical site where speed and scalability matter most. Reviewers consistently find Bluehost's shared plans slow down under load, so a performance-focused host is a better fit.
Frequently asked questions
