Bluehost Review 2020 ( My Honest Review )
I'm sure you've seen dozens, if not more, of BlueHost reviews on the internet. Many of these reviews talk about the same things: BlueHost's unlimited hosting features, free domain offer, and 30-day money-back guarantee.
This is not one of those comments.
My personal experience with BlueHost
In this review, you'll get insider information, from server performance stats to user dashboard demo, from a 15-year-old BlueHost customer.
I have been using the BlueHost shared hosting service since 2005. One of my first affiliate sites was hosted on a very old BlueHost plan called "BlueHost Platinum Pak" and I have another BlueHost account registered in 2020 for a side project. I run speed tests and monitor BlueHost server availability using self-built tools, and share my first-hand experience using your latest user control panel.
So in case, you were considering BlueHost, this should be a good read! Dive in without wasting any more time.
About BlueHost Hosting
- Headquarters: Burlington, Massachusetts, USA
- Established: 2003, by Matt Heaton and Danny Ashworth
- Services: shared, VPS, dedicated, and cloud hosting.
What's in this BlueHost review?
Pros: what I like about BlueHost
1. Excellent server performance: average hosting uptime greater than 99.95%
Except for two major network outages in 2013, BlueHost has been very stable for me.
Overall, my BlueHost-hosted sites stay "active" 99.98% of the time in 2016 - 2019 - They rarely went down for more than 10 minutes.
I track BlueHost's uptime using Uptime Robot and a self-built system called HostScore. The images below are the results captured over the last 5 years. For the latest results, take a look at this page where I post the latest BlueHost performance data in beautiful charts.
Recent BlueHost Uptime Logs
BlueHost Hosting Uptime (Jan - Feb 2020)
BlueHost Hosting Uptime for Jan and Feb 2020: 100%
Past Uptime Records
* Click the pic to enlarge.
Jul 2018: 100%
Jun 2018: 99.99%
Mar 2018: 99.98%
Mar 2017: 99.99%
Jul 2016: 100%
Bluehost uptime 072016
Mar 2016: 100%
Bluehost - 201603
Sept 2015: 100%
Bluehost sept uptime - the site has not been down for 1637 hours
Apr 2015: 100%
BlueHost Uptime Score for the last 30 days (March / April 2015)
Jan 2015: 99.97%
BlueHost Uptime Score for the last 30 days (Dec 2014 / Jan 2015)
2. BlueHost speed meets expectations
When it comes to server speed, BlueHost's performance meets my expectations. With an average time to first byte (TTFB) of less than 200 ms - 600 ms * in the web page test, BlueHost is rated "A" in most of the WebpageTest.org speed tests.
BlueHost website test results
US BlueHost Speed Test - TTFB = 190ms. Our test site is hosted in the United States; therefore the latency is the lowest for the US test node
UK BlueHost Speed Test - TTFB = 612ms. Our test site is hosted in the United States, therefore the latency is higher for the test node in the United Kingdom ( check the actual test result on the web page test ).
BlueHost Bitcatcha speed test results
Bluehost speed test on bitcatcha
It took BlueHost 49 and 34 milliseconds to respond to the test nodes on the east and west coast of the United States. Web hosting rated "A +" compared to Bitcatcha's benchmark.
3. Recommended by WordPress.org
With over 20 years under its belt, BlueHost has an established track record in the hosting industry and is quite well known among seasoned bloggers and website owners. This is reinforced by the fact that WordPress.org officially recommends them as one of the preferred web servers for their platform.
BlueHost is on top of the WordPress.org Host Recommendations List. Their official statement on BlueHost hosting: "Easily scalable and backed by legendary 24/7 support by in-house WordPress experts."
4. Popular with bloggers and marketers
We have done several surveys with hosting users in the past and BlueHost is always a top recommendation from bloggers and marketers. Writers, marketers, and pro bloggers like Lori Soard, Paul Crowe, Kevin Muldoon, and Sharon Hurley all recommended BlueHost hosting.
web hosting votes
Poll (2013): 5 out of 35 bloggers answered "BlueHost" if they could only recommend a web server for bloggers.
We did other surveys with more than 200 respondents. BlueHost stood out as the # 3 most mentioned brands. The hosting company got an average rating of 2.2 out of 3, which is above average.
5. Complete self-help documents and video tutorials
Since there are a large number of own tutorials and documents available online, this makes BlueHost much easier to learn and use if you are a beginner. I was able to solve several simple problems just by reading your articles or watching the tutorial videos in the past.
BlueHost tutorials on YouTube.
6. Suitable for newbies: easy to use control panel and helpful emails
The overall boarding experience with BlueHost was excellent. My account was instantly activated and I receive a helpful getting started guide by email every day for the next 5 days after registration.
The Bluehost dashboard is organized and easily navigable, easy for both beginners and veteran website owners. However, the latter could still get a bit disoriented, as the design differs slightly from the popular cPanel interface. Still, the way it was designed offers a smooth user experience.
This is what the BlueHost client control panel looks like:
BlueHost control panel
BlueHost User Panel - Users can register a new domain, configure emails, install software, and manage security features in one place.
BlueHost control panel
The usual cPanel menu screen is in "advanced" in the BlueHost user panel, which I find quite uncomfortable at first.
BlueHost welcome email
BlueHost welcome emails come with a helpful guide and various upsell messages. Personally, I find these emails useful, especially if you're hosting a website for the first time.
7. Lots of room to grow.
If your site gets bigger, BlueHost gives your users plenty of room to grow with the ability to upgrade to different hosting plans at a reasonable price. You can upgrade your shared hosting plans to VPS and dedicated hosting.
See details of the plan in the following table.
Features Shared Vps Dedicated
Storage Unlimited 60 GB 1 TB (Mirrored)
RAM Shared 4GB 8 GB
Bandwidth Unlimited Unlimited 10 TB
IP addresses two 4
Support 24/7 24/7 24/7
Registration (36-mo) $ 5.45 / month $ 29.99 / month $ 99.99 / month
Renewal fee $ 14.99 / month $ 59.99 / month $ 159.99 / month
Cons: the not so good about BlueHost hosting
1. Price increases during renewal.
The fine print behind BlueHost offers.
Although this has been the norm for cheap hosting deals, it's worth noting that BlueHost charges a heavy price when it comes to renewing their plans.
The basic plan only jumps from $ 2.95 / mo to $ 7.99 / mo when it renews, which is a 170% (!) Price increase.
BlueHost Plans Registration (36-mo) Renewal Increase
Basic $ 2.95 / month $ 7.99 / month 170%
Plus $ 5.45 / month $ 10.99 / month 102%
Choice Plus $ 5.45 / month $ 14.99 / month 175%
Pro $ 13.95 / month $ 23.99 / month 72%
2. Unlimited BlueHost hosting is limited by various usage policies
Another downside is that their unlimited hosting is actually not "unlimited" .
As you read their policies, you will notice that there are certain caveats on their unlimited hosting, such as the fact that they do not provide unlimited space for online storage. All of this ends up making your "unlimited hosting" quite limited.
Unlimited BlueHost hosting is limited by server processing time, memory, and inodes.
BlueHost unlimited hosting has strict limitations on the use of the database.
3. Only data centers in the US.
Unfortunately, Bluehost only operates servers in data centers based in the United States. While this may be good for sites that are targeting traffic in that region, it, unfortunately, puts others at a disadvantage. This is particularly true for sites expecting traffic in the Asia region, as that area is literally all over the world.
Pricing: How much does BlueHost cost?
Shared hosting plans
BlueHost shared hosting comes in four versions: Basic, Plus, Choice Plus, and Pro. The key features and pricing for each plan are shown in the table below.
Note that BlueHost Plus and Choice Plus have the same sign-up price ($ 5.45 / month) but they roll over at a very different rate ($ 10.99 / month vs. $ 14.99 / month). If you're unsure, start with a lower plan (Plus) and upgrade later if necessary.
Features Basic Plus ChoicePlus Pro
Design of one Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Storage 50 GB Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Email account 5 Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Free domain one one one one
Automated backups It includes CodeGuard Basic
Inodes limit 50,000 * 50,000 * 300,000 300,000
Free automatic SSL
Promotional Price
(36-month Term) $ 2.95 / month $ 5.45 / month $ 5.45 / month $ 13.95 / month
Renewal
fee (36-month term) $ 7.99 / month $ 10.99 / month $ 14.99 / month $ 23.99 / month
* Official ToS indicates that, in most cases, no action will be taken until Basic and Plus users exceed 200,000 inodes.
VPS hosting plans
BlueHost VPS plans cost $ 18.99 / month, $ 29.99 / month, and $ 59.99 / month. The general characteristics and prices of BlueHost VPS hosting are up to market standards. Their prices are not cheap. compared to other similar VPS hosting providers, but they are not expensive either.
Server specifications and key features as below.
Features Standard Improved Pro
CPU Core two two 4
RAM 2 GB 4GB 8 GB
Disc space 30 GB 60 GB 120 GB
Bandwidth 1 TB 2 TB 3 TB
IP address one two two
Price $ 18.99 / month $ 29.99 / month $ 59.99 / month
BlueHost Comparison: How does BlueHost compare to the others?
1. BlueHost vs Hostgator
In their basic offerings, BlueHost and HostGator offer some very similar profiles. Both are also reputable service providers and offer similar levels of performance when it comes to more basic sites and is owned by EIG.
Features BlueHost Hostgator
Plan under review Basic Hatchling
Design of one one
Storage 50 GB Unlimited
Free domain Yes Yes
Free SSL Yes Yes
Free email account 5 Unlimited
Free website transfer No No
Money-back guarantee 30 days 45 days
Enrollment Price (36-mo subscription) $ 2.95 / month $ 2.08 / month
Renewal price $ 7.99 / month $ 6.95 / month
More about BlueHost
Frequent questions
Is BlueHost CodeGuard worth it?
CodeGuard is included with BlueHost Choice Plus and previously shared plans. If you have a more basic plan, it is not really necessary to pay extra for CodeGuard unless you are considering managing an eCommerce site or otherwise processing payments.
Does BlueHost use SSD?
Yes, BlueHost uses SSD storage on all plans.
Why is BlueHost so cheap?
Starting at $ 2.95 / month for shared hosting, BlueHost is hands down one of the most budget-oriented hosts. However, that's an introductory price and upon renewal, it increases to $ 7.99 / mo.
Is BlueHost good for the UK?
BlueHost only operates servers in its own Utah facility, which is suboptimal for those targeting UK traffic. However, it generally has a decent server performance overall.
Which Bluehost plan is the best?
For starters, BlueHost's basic plan offers a good move into the world of web hosting with a low cost of entry and decent features. If you need more resources, they also have VPS or dedicated hosting plans.
Can BlueHost be canceled at any time?
BlueHost offers a 30-day money-back guarantee during which cancellations can get full refunds. Beyond that, plans can be canceled without a refund at any time.
More than accommodation: BlueSky and full service
When it comes to business customers, Bluehost has additional services available that can pay off. These come in two levels. You can opt for full service or professional level support. Each of these options may meet your needs depending on where you are in your business.
For businesses that are finding an increasingly vital web presence but don't want to deal with bringing in a full-time team to handle it, a full service is an interesting option. You also have options that go far beyond what only a development team can do.
From conceptualization to launch and ongoing operations, Bluehost's full service offers roughly the equivalent of a full department that features development, design, content, and digital marketing (including SEO ). If you staff these services internally, you will see a significant increase in fixed overhead.
If you already have an existing site, you can still opt for the full service and have your team check your existing site before and after migration. In this way, your company can retain the key elements of its existing digital presence and migrate it with improvements.
BlueHost Bluesky Plans and Pricing
BlueHost Bluesky costs $ 29.00 / month and up. Users get expert WordPress support when they add this plan to their original hosting package.
Verdict: BlueHost is recommended.
Given the fact that you are only paying ~ $ 5 / month when signing up, BlueHost's shared hosting services are considered above average.
The web host scored 58 on our 80 point rating system and was rated a 4.5-star host.
For that, I think BlueHost is a great option for small businesses and website owners looking for a cheap hosting solution.
It's worth noting that BlueHost offers tons of the latest security and performance features: Nginx architecture, custom server cache, HTTP / 2, SSD storage, etc. However, these features are only available to those who are willing to pay more. GoPro, BlueHost's highest performing shared hosting plan, costs $ 13.95 / month upon sign-up ($ 23.99 / month on renewal). WordPress Hosting, now with a new dashboard and integrated marketplace, costs $ 19.99 / month (and $ 39.99 / month on renewal).
Quick summary
Here's the quick rundown of BlueHost's pros and cons:
Pros:
Excellent server performance - hosting uptime greater than 99.95%
Server speed meets expectations
Recognized brands in the hospitality industry.
Popular picks among bloggers and marketers
Complete self-help documents and video tutorials.
Ideal for newbies - helpful startup email and easy-to-use controls
Flexibility - upgrade to VPS and dedicated hosting
CONS
Price increases during the renovation.
Unlimited hosting is limited by various usage policies
US-based server location
Alternatives: providers like BlueHost
If you think BlueHost is not suitable for your website, here are some alternatives to consider. It is also recommended to check my list of accommodation reviews here.
A2 Hosting - Solid server performance, both shared and VPS hosting plans are priced similar to BlueHost.
GreenGeeks - 300% green hosting, suitable for users looking for an inexpensive shared hosting solution.
Hosting in Motion -
This is where I host this site (WHSR); Competitive VPS hosting plans.
Hosting - One of the best cheap hosting services in 2018; The shared hosting plan comes with an inexpensive price and innovative features.
Iart - A bit pricey but you get what you pay for; premium hosting services with first-class live chat support.
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