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Our verdict on Bluehost
Bluehost is our #1 web host for 2026. Its $1.99/month special price comes with a free domain for the first year, free SSL, a free site builder and free backups, and it’s backed by 24/7 chat and phone support. After 30 years in the business and more than 2 million domains hosted, it remains one of the easiest and most dependable ways to get a website online.
The main thing to watch is renewal pricing: like most hosts, Bluehost charges more once your first term ends.
Best for
- Beginners and first websites
- WordPress sites and blogs
- Small business websites
- Growing online stores
Not ideal for
- High-traffic apps that need dedicated resources
- Anyone shopping only on renewal price
Bluehost pros & cons
Pros
- $1.99/month special price through TopWebHosts
- Free domain for the first year, plus free SSL and CDN
- Free site builder and automatic WordPress setup
- Free backups on every plan
- 24/7 support by live chat and phone
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Hosting veteran since 1996, with 2M+ domains
- Excellent
rating
Cons
- Renewal prices are higher than the intro rate
- Starter plan mailboxes are capped at 100 MB each
- Some extras, like domain privacy, cost more on Starter
- A few customers report slower help on complex technical issues
Bluehost at a glance
Key specs for the Starter plan we feature, the one most new sites need.
- Featured plan
- Starter, $1.99/mo
- Storage
- 10 GB NVMe SSD
- Websites
- 10
- Bandwidth
- Unmetered
- Free domain
- Yes, first year
- SSL certificate
- Free
- Site builder
- Free
- Backups
- Free
- Email accounts
- Unlimited
- MySQL databases
- 100
- Control panel
- cPanel
- Uptime guarantee
- 99.9%
- Support
- 24/7 live chat & phone
- Money-back guarantee
- 30 days
- Setup fee
- Free
Key features explained
Plenty of room to grow. The Starter plan we feature hosts up to 10 websites on 10 GB of fast NVMe storage, with unmetered bandwidth, so a growing blog or small business site won’t hit traffic caps. Setup is free and instant, and you get a free domain name for your first year plus a free SSL certificate to keep your site secure.
Easy to build, with no code needed. WordPress is installed for you, and the free drag-and-drop site builder lets you design pages in minutes. Popular apps like WooCommerce, Joomla and Drupal are a click away, so you can add an online store, forum or blog whenever you’re ready.
Peace of mind built in. Free backups protect your work, email accounts are included for your domain, and 100 MySQL databases give developers plenty of headroom. Add 24/7 chat and phone support and a 30-day money-back guarantee, and it’s hard to find more value for $1.99/month.
Bluehost plans & pricing
Bluehost’s shared hosting comes in three main tiers. Starter covers most new sites; move up for more sites, storage and traffic, or for built-in store tools.
Starter
Best for a first website or blog
- 10 websites
- 10 GB NVMe storage
- About 40K visits a month
- Free site builder
- Free backups
Business
Best for growing business sites
- 50 websites
- 50 GB NVMe storage
- About 200K visits a month
- Malware removal
- Free domain privacy (1st year)
eCommerce Essentials
Best for online stores
- 100 websites
- 100 GB NVMe storage
- About 400K visits a month
- WooCommerce set up for you
- Payments, subscriptions & memberships
How Bluehost’s pricing compares
Bluehost keeps it simple: three clear tiers that grow with you. Starter covers a first website or blog, Business adds room for more sites and traffic plus malware removal, and eCommerce Essentials sets up a full WooCommerce store with payments built in. Upgrading is a few clicks, with no need to move your site.
At $1.99/month through our special deal, Bluehost’s Starter plan costs about a third less than the $3.10 average of the other hosts in our top 10, and less than well-known names like HostGator ($3.75), InMotion ($4.59) and GoDaddy ($5.99). Only IONOS starts lower, and none match Bluehost’s mix of features, support and track record at this price.
Speed & reliability
Excellent page speed and uptime. In our testing, Bluehost delivered excellent page load times and outstanding uptime. Our test sites loaded quickly for visitors and stayed online consistently, putting Bluehost among the most reliable hosts we review.
Speed starts with the hardware. Bluehost runs its own datacenters and stores sites on fast NVMe SSD drives, with static and object caching built in. A free content delivery network (CDN) keeps copies of your pages close to visitors around the world, so they load quickly wherever your audience is.
Reliability is just as strong. Bluehost’s datacenters are built with redundant power and network connections, and servers are monitored 24/7 so problems are caught and fixed fast. It’s all backed by a 99.9% uptime guarantee.
Security that keeps your site online
Every plan includes a web application firewall, DDoS protection and malware scanning to block attacks before they reach your site. Free backups mean you can roll your site back in a few clicks if something ever goes wrong, and a free SSL certificate keeps visitor data encrypted.
Customer support
Top-notch, friendly support. Every time we contacted Bluehost, we reached a real person within seconds. Agents were friendly, patient and knowledgeable, explained fixes in plain English, and stayed with us until each issue was fully solved.
Bluehost offers 24/7 support by live chat and phone, staffed by its own in-house team. Live chat is our favorite: answers come fast, and agents can walk you through anything from connecting a domain to fixing a WordPress plugin. Prefer to talk it through? Phone support is just as quick.
That matches what Bluehost customers tell us. Many of the user reviews below single out support agents by name for going above and beyond, from taking time to explain how a site works behind the scenes to processing a refund the very next day.
Ways to get help
- Live chat, 24/7: the fastest way to reach an agent
- Phone, 24/7: talk to a real person any time
- Knowledge base: step-by-step guides and video how-tos
- Support tickets: for detailed or technical requests
Ease of use
Bluehost is built for people launching their first site. Sign-up walks you through choosing a domain, WordPress is installed automatically, and the free site builder lets you design pages without code.
When you’re ready for more, staging sites, SSH and WP-CLI are included, along with the free Yoast SEO plugin to help your pages rank.
The control panel
Bluehost uses the popular cPanel control panel, so managing your hosting account is simple, even if you’ve never run a website before. Everything is laid out in clear, labeled sections with step-by-step help along the way.
From one place you can create email accounts, manage your domains, check your website stats, install apps with one click and work with your databases. Bluehost has also added its own touches on top of standard cPanel, making everyday tasks even quicker for beginners.
Bluehost rating breakdown
We score every host on the same 10 criteria. Here’s how Bluehost earned its 9.8.
What Bluehost customers say
Went above and beyond
“Dane M. went above and beyond to help me with my issue. He even took the time to educate me about the backend of my website!”
I recommend Bluehost to everyone!
“I have been a Bluehost customer for almost 9 years and their service and their customer support is stellar. I recommend it to everyone.”
Great service
“The chat tech was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. When I decided to cancel, he processed it right away, and the refund was in my account the following day.”
Years without many hiccups
“Have been with them for many years without many hiccups. Prices and support are good. Overall I do highly recommend them, especially with the special prices right now.”
Happy so far
“A friend recently set up service with them. They seem to be happy with the plan and what it offers so far. I noticed they had adequate features for the price. Can’t really comment on support, as I don’t think they’ve had to use it yet. If anything, maybe the site could run a tad faster?”
One of the best
“Having hosted with them for years now and through a few growth hiccups, they have always come through and continue to be an awesome deal for the money.”
Highly recommended
“Nearly every feature you can think of, with really fast support and hardly any downtime worth mentioning. Would be crazy not to give them a shot! If I had to give a gripe, it would be that they can’t honestly offer unlimited storage and transfer and still survive out there.”
I echo the other reviews
“Bluehost is a very solid, reputable company. I can remember back when I was just out of school they were around, and this was the mid-nineties. They also offer English-speaking techs if you need it. Can’t think of a better choice for a cheap host right off hand.”
Bluehost alternatives
Not sure Bluehost is the one? These are the other top hosts on our list.
9.6The cheapest way in, with unlimited websites, 350 GB of NVMe storage and free daily backups.
9.5Fast LiteSpeed hosting for up to 3 websites, with a free domain, an AI website builder and 24/7 support.
9.3Host up to 10 websites with a free domain, SSL, Cloudflare CDN and backups, plus month-to-month billing.
Bluehost FAQs
Is Bluehost good for beginners?
Yes. Bluehost is one of the easiest hosts to start with. WordPress installs automatically, there’s a free drag-and-drop site builder, and 24/7 chat and phone support is there if you get stuck.
How much does Bluehost cost?
Through TopWebHosts, Bluehost’s Starter plan is $1.99/month. That’s an introductory price for your first term; like most hosts, Bluehost charges more when the plan renews, so check the renewal rate at checkout.
Does Bluehost include a free domain?
Yes. Bluehost plans include a free domain name for the first year, along with a free SSL certificate and CDN.
Is Bluehost good for WordPress?
Yes. WordPress is installed for you, updates are managed, and plans include caching, staging sites, SSH and WP-CLI, plus the free Yoast SEO plugin.
Does Bluehost have a money-back guarantee?
Yes, Bluehost offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. If your plan came with a free domain, a domain fee may be kept so you can keep the domain.
Does Bluehost offer phone support?
Yes. Bluehost offers 24/7 support by live chat and phone, plus a large online knowledge base.
Can I move my existing website to Bluehost?
Yes. Bluehost has a free migration tool for WordPress sites, and a professional migration service if you’d rather have its team move your site for you.
Is Bluehost fast and reliable?
Bluehost runs sites on NVMe SSD storage with built-in caching and a free CDN, and backs its hosting with a 99.9% uptime guarantee and 24/7 server monitoring.
