BlueHost Plans & Pricing
If you’ve been looking for cheap web hosting, you’ve likely come across BlueHost. And if you’re wondering whether it’s worth purchasing a BlueHost plan, you may be stuck deciding which BlueHost pricing package is right for you.
It’s no surprise that BlueHost’s web hosting can be confusing yet intriguing. By visiting their website, you’re instantly hit with BlueHost’s offers, discounts, and freebies, so where should you start?
I’m here to take you through BlueHost’s pricing plans in details, discussing which services they have and what one is right for you.
Note: Most web hosts advertise promotional prices for the first year or first term. These will be shown in this article, but we will also show you the price at renewal so you are under no illusion about BlueHost’s true pricing.
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BlueHost Pricing: What Services Do BlueHost Have?
BlueHost’s shared hosting starts from $3.95 per month for the first term (36-month term) then renews at $8.99 per month. Shared hosting ranges from $3.95 per month to $13.95 per month ($26.99 at renewal) and will auto renew at the regular rate.
BlueHost offers a variety of hosting services, as well as domains, a website builder, and other professional services.
Here is a list of the hosting services they offer including price ranges at renewal (regular rate with no discount):
- Shared Hosting: From $8.99 to $26.99 per month (based on a 36 month term)
- Shared WordPress Hosting: From $8.99 to $16.99 per month (based on a 36 month term)
- Managed WordPress Hosting: From $29.99 to $59.99 per month (based on a 36 month term)
- Dedicated Hosting: From $119.99 to $209.99 per month
- VPS Hosting: From $29.99 to $119.99 per month
BlueHost Shared Hosting Pricing
BlueHost’s shared hosting plans are suitable for small to medium sized websites. Unless your website receives a lot of traffic, or you’re selling products or services online, shared hosting is often the cheapest alternative and your best option.
BlueHost’s shared hosting includes:
- Domain Manager
- Resource Protection
- Scalability
- SSL Certificates
- Google Ads
- Google My Business
What Shared Hosting Plan Is Right For You?
BlueHost’s Basic plan is ideal for small projects and blogs that don’t require hosting for more than one website. The 50GB SSD storage included is plenty to cover most website’s needs, and you’ll have access to 5 email accounts.
If you need to host more than one website, the Plus plan is the next logical step forward. It includes unlimited websites and storage.
However, for just $1 more (and often BlueHost price the Plus and Choice Plus plan the same), the Choice Plus plan gives you free domain privacy and free automated backup which I believe are well worth the extra dollar.
The Pro plan seems a little unnecessary to me, but that’s just my opinion. It’s a lot more expensive and really you’re only getting a dedicated IP and advanced site backup options. If your website demands these kind of features, you may want to consider cloud or VPS hosting which will be better value for money.
BlueHost VPS Hosting Pricing
BlueHost’s VPS hosting is a step up from shared hosting in terms of capabilities, features, and pricing. VPS hosting offers more control, much like a dedicated server. However, VPS hosting is still shared with other customers, just not as many as shared hosting.
BlueHost’s VPS hosting plans run on SSD storage. SSD drives are much faster than traditional drives, improving the overall speed of your website. For the price you pay for VPS servers, I wouldn’t expect anything else, but it’s good to see BlueHost are offering this. All of BlueHost’s VPS plans include 24/7 support and a free domain.
BlueHost Managed WordPress Hosting Pricing
BlueHost’s standard WordPress hosting is much like their shared hosting, with a few added extras. For that reason, I’m focussing on BlueHost’s managed WordPress hosting as it’s in a league of its own. It’s built on top of a VPS server and is optimized for WordPress. As you’ll see, the price is pretty steep, but if you’re serious about hosting a large WordPress site, this is the plan to go for.
Note: WordPress recommends BlueHost as a WordPress hosting provider, so you’re guaranteed to receive a good service from them, as well as speed and performance.
What Is Managed WordPress?
Managed WordPress hosting is where you can focus on building your website and creating awesome content for it. In the background, BlueHost will deal with the daily maintenance, updates, and applications to ensure your website runs smoothly.
Whether you’re new to WordPress or you’re experienced with the platform, managed WordPress hosting takes the pressure off you so you can focus on what’s really important.
BlueHost Dedicated Server Pricing
If you’re looking for the ultimate hosting solution with full control and high performance, a dedicated server is the right choice. When renting a dedicated server, it’s all yours – you won’t have to share it with anyone, so all of the resources are dedicated to your website.
BlueHost Domain Name Pricing
As well as offering hosting services, BlueHost also act as a domain registrar so you can purchase your domain name through them. Each domain name purchased includes easy management, auto-renewal (but you can turn this off), and domain lock.
Remember: Most of BlueHost’s hosting plans include a domain name for free for the first year. When your domain name is up for renewal, I would recommend looking at other domain registrars like 123Reg or NameCheap as they are much more affordable!
If you decide you want to purchase your domain name with BlueHost, be aware that they automatically include Privacy + Protection by adding it to your cart. This costs $11.88 for the first year. That’s fine if you want the service, but I personally think it’s a bit cheeky adding it on without asking first!
Once you’ve decided whether you want domain privacy and protection included (or not), you can then proceed to checkout. Unfortunately BlueHost is well-known for pushing extras and addons at checkout, so you’ll have to be careful and check the final price.
BlueHost offer up 30 days of free web hosting with every domain name purchased. As you can see in the print below the button, once the free 30 day trial ends, you’ll automatically renew your BlueHost web hosting at $9.99 per month. This is more expensive than purchasing a hosting plan via their plan pages that we’ve mentioned above!
BlueHost Discount Code
Although BlueHost’s introductory pricing isn’t exactly breaking the bank, it’s always nice to apply a discount code at checkout if you have the option to! Web Hosting Prof have negotiated a special price with BlueHost and are pleased to be able to offer you an exclusive up to 85% off the standard pricing of your BlueHost pricing plan.
This is an exclusive offer we have negotiated with Bluehost to share with our readers. Bluehost has consistently been our #1 recommended web host, and now we’re able to offer you an even better price.
BlueHost Pricing FAQs
As we’ve seen already, BlueHost like to make a habit of charging for extras and addons that you haven’t asked for. Of course, these can be removed at checkout, but it’s pretty annoying! Make sure you thoroughly check everything before you purchase your services from BlueHost to ensure you know what you’re paying for.
Yes! BlueHost offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you don’t like your BlueHost products or services they will refund your money during the first 30 days of your hosting plan. However, this doesn’t apply to all of their products, e.g. domains.
You can purchase an email hosting plan from BlueHost. Email hosting starts from $2.99 per license per month for the first year. It then renews at $4.99 per license per month. This includes 15GB email storage, Outlook Web Access, and a custom email for your domain.
You can cancel your BlueHost hosting at any time through your dashboard. You need to navigate to the Billing Information section and select Do Not Renew. If you need to cancel your BlueHost account before the renewal, speak to BlueHost’s customer support team who are available 24/7.