Bluehost pricing: everything you need to know
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Understanding Bluehost pricing isn’t as straightforward as it first appears. While the advertised introductory rates look highly competitive, renewal prices, plan differences, and billing terms can significantly impact your long-term costs.
In this guide, I break down all Bluehost hosting plans – including shared, WooCommerce, cloud, VPS, and dedicated – with clear comparisons of introductory vs renewal pricing. By the end, you’ll know exactly which Bluehost plan offers the best value for your budget and project type.
Bluehost best value plans: overview
Affordable hosting plans are paramount for bloggers or growing businesses, but are just as important for established brands to minimize expenses. Let’s get started with a review of the cheapest Bluehost hosting plans.
| Bluehost plan | Cheapest 36-month plan | Cheapest 12-month plan |
| Shared hosting (Starter plan) | $1.99/month | $3.99/month |
| WooCommerce hosting (eCommerce Essentials) | $6.99/month | $15.99/month |
| Cloud hosting (Cloud 10) |
❌ No 3-year plan
|
$75.00/month
|
| VPS hosting (Standard plan) | $2.09/month |
$2.09/month
|
| Dedicated hosting (Standard plan) | $144.19/month | $142.79/month |
| Email hosting (Professional email) |
❌ No 3-year plan
|
$19.99/month
|
What is Bluehost best for?
Bluehost is best for beginners, WordPress users, and small to mid-sized websites looking for affordable introductory pricing and an easy setup process. It’s particularly attractive for new website owners who want a free domain for the first year, built-in SSL, and simple cPanel management without advanced configuration.
The provider also works well for users willing to commit to longer-term plans (36 months), as this is where Bluehost’s pricing becomes most competitive.
However, Bluehost may not be ideal for users seeking transparent long-term pricing, ultra-cheap renewal rates, or highly scalable cloud infrastructure with flexible usage-based billing. Enterprise-level projects may find more customization options elsewhere.
Bluehost hosting plans and prices explained
Bluehost's pricing plans are a puzzle to solve. At first glance, the 3-year plan monthly subscriptions can be pricier for some 12-month period plans. However, Bluehost applies lower renewal rates on longer plans.
For example, if you choose a 12-month Starter shared hosting plan and then renew it for two years, you will spend more over three years than if you were to choose the 36-month plan right from the get-go.
Let’s take a closer look at each of Bluehost’s hosting types and their plans’ pricing:
- Bluehost shared hosting
- Bluehost WooCommerce hosting
- Bluehost cloud hosting
- Bluehost VPS hosting
- Bluehost dedicated hosting
Bluehost shared hosting
Bluehost's shared hosting plans come at affordable prices to help get your website off the ground quickly. It has three tiers, each optimized for different needs – a great option for small to medium-sized websites.
Bluehost offers a variety of pricing plans, starting at $1.99/month for Starter shared hosting during the initial term. Renewal rates are higher, typically from $9.99/month. The pricing for other plans, such as Business and eCommerce Essentials, also increases upon renewal. Below is a table summarizing the pricing details.
| Plan | 1 month | 12 months | 36 months |
| Starter | $15.99/month | $3.99/month (renews at $11.99/month) | $1.99/month (renews at $9.99/month) |
| Business | $20.99/month | $6.99/month (renews at $15.99/month) | $5.99/month (renews at $13.99/month) |
| eCommerce Essentials | $32.99/month | $15.99/month (renews at $24.99/month) | $6.99/month (renews at $21.99/month) |
While initial Bluehost prices are certainly attractive, long-term costs can be much higher but come with extra features. Thus, it's best to read the fine print, evaluate your needs, and see which plan you'd benefit the most from.
Bluehost WooCommerce hosting
The WooCommerce Bluehost hosting plan is an open-source eCommerce WordPress plugin, particularly popular due to its simplicity and customization options. Bluehost offers two WooCommerce hosting plans.
As you can see, the two plans are similar. However, the eCommerce Premium plan offers more eCommerce and marketing tools and is better suited for eCommerce websites with higher overall traffic. The table below provides a rundown of all available plans and pricing.
| Plan | 1 month | 12 months | 36 months |
| eCommerce Essentials | $32.99/month | $15.99/month (renews at $24.99/month) | $6.99/month (renews at $21.99.month) |
| eCommerce Premium | $38.99/month | $24.99/month (renews at $33.99) | $21.99/month (renews at $30.99/month) |
Looking at the plans, I lean toward the eCommerce Premium. The eCommerce tools like email templates, wishlists, 1-click checkouts, and more, are worth splurging on an upgraded plan. However, it all depends on your personal needs, and both of Bluehost's WooCommerce hosting plans provide a variety of valuable features applicable to most online businesses.
Bluehost cloud hosting
The recent addition of cloud hosting places Bluehost in the same ranks as other industry-leading hosting providers. With promises of 100% uptime SLA and top-tier speeds, Bluehost offers three different plans for cloud hosting, ranging in price from $75.00/month to $250.00/month for the 1-year plan, as well as a custom plan.
The pricing is fixed regardless, which is rather underwhelming. For comparison, DreamHost’s cloud hosting service charges users based on consumption. See the table below for a full rundown of the Bluehost cloud hosting services.
| Plan | 12 months |
| Cloud 10 | $75.00/month |
| Cloud 25 | $155.00/month |
| Cloud 50 | $250.00/month |
It’s worth noting that all plans offer not only a 1-year option but also the option for 2-year or 3-year plans, leaving room for opting for a lengthier subscription (and a bit cheaper).
Bluehost VPS hosting
Bluehost VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting is an option when shared hosting is insufficient, but you don't yet require an entire dedicated server. With VPS hosting, you get a part of server resources nobody else can use, but the entire server is still shared between multiple users, reducing Bluehost website hosting costs.
The pricing for Bluehost VPS hosting varies based on the subscription term length. The plans range from $2.09/month to $49.99/month for a 36-month term, with lower monthly rates for longer commitments. Refer to the table below for all the Bluehost VPS hosting pricing (with cPanel included).
| Plan | 1 month | 12 months | 36 months |
| Standard NVMe 2 |
$9.99/month
| $2.09/month | $2.09/month |
| Standard NVMe 4 | $17.99/month |
$4.18/month | $4.18/month |
| Enhanced NVMe 8 | $30.99/month | $8.36/month | $8.36/month |
| Ultimate NVMe 16 | $59.99/month | $49.99/month | $49.99/month |
The 2-year and 3-year subscriptions offer greater savings from the start. Although the services are paid upfront, opting for a more extended subscription plan can save you more money in the long run, and the renewal prices are the same.
Bluehost dedicated hosting
Bluehost's dedicated hosting is the most advanced and, therefore, most expensive plan. It offers many customization options if you know your way around web hosting. But first, let's take a look at the available tiers and what features are provided with each subscription plan.
The dedicated hosting prices are relatively competitive on the market, ranging from $141.19/month to $312.19/month with the 1-year subscriptions. Let’s take a closer look at the full pricing breakdown.
| Plan | 1 month | 12 months | 24 months | 36 months |
| Standard NVMe 32 | $156.39/month | $154.79/month (renews at $180.32/month) | $147.99/month (renews at $180.32/month) | $144.19/month (renews at $192.32/month) |
| Enhanced NVMe 64 | $248.39/month | $238.79/month (renews at $264.37/month) | $227.99/month (renews at $259.19/month) | $220.19/month (renews at $271.19/month) |
| Premium NVMe 128 | $363.39/month | $343.79/month (renews at $86.77/month) | $327.99/month (renews at $379.19/month) | $315.19/month (renews at $391.18/month) |
The dedicated hosting option is for those seeking a solution that allows full customization, optimization, and resource management. However, dedicated hosting is expensive, so make sure you evaluate your business needs before upgrading.
Which hosting plan should you choose?
I hope my exhaustive rundown of Bluehost pricing plans gives you a better understanding of its services. To simplify it, I have summarized my findings in the table below.
| Hosting type | Best for | Price |
| Shared hosting | New websites, growing small businesses, personal blogs, low-traffic websites with cheap hosting prices | From $1.99/month |
| WooCommerce hosting | eCommerce stores, growing and established brands, optimized for WooCommerce and WordPress beginners and professionals | From $144.19/month |
| Cloud hosting | Medium-to-large business websites, high-traffic websites, users looking for reliability, scalability, and backups, enhanced security | From $75.00/month |
| VPS hosting | Websites with medium-to-large traffic, larger eCommerce, enhanced security, and users looking for stability and performance | From 2.09/month |
| Dedicated hosting | Established brands and big online stores, high-traffic websites, advanced hosting users looking for customization, control, and security features | From $7.45/month |
Other Bluehost services and their pricing
Bluehost provides a range of additional features at an extra cost to enrich and enhance your hosting experience and consolidate all the necessary services in one convenient location. Let's delve into their various beneficial features and the corresponding costs.
Domain registration prices
At Bluehost, you get a free domain for the first year. Thankfully, Bluehost applies the same discount strategy when purchasing domains, which costs less during the first year. It’s a great feature that isn’t too pricey and makes setting up your website easy and quick without outsourcing elsewhere. Here is the Bluehost domain pricing of popular top-level domains:
- .com – $12.99/year
- .org – $14.99/year
- .website – $1.99/year
- .net – $18.99/year
- .me – $17.99/year
Bluehost webmail
You can get a Bluehost business email for an additional, yet very affordable, price. Furthermore, most plans include a free Bluehost business email limited to the first three months that renews at a regular price. Here are two Bluehost email plans:
- Professional Email – $19.99/year
- Professional Email Plus – $29.99/year
Refund policy
When it comes to Bluehost’s refund policy, things get pretty confusing. Here are the main points that you should keep in mind if you want to try out their services risk-free:
- 30-day money-back guarantee. Bluehost refund policy is available only for new signups within the first 30 days. However, the renewals are only refundable within the 15-day prebill window, giving you a short time to apply.
- Refund timeframe. You should wait five to seven business days for the reimbursed funds to be returned. If the refund was made by check, expect it to arrive within 10 to 14 business days.
- Non-refundable services. Bluehost only refunds hosting-related services. You will not receive a refund for any other services, including domain registration, setup, and other service fees.
- Initiating a refund. Contact customer support directly if you wish to initiate a refund from Bluehost or cancel your recurring subscription.
If you want to learn more about Bluehost’s refund policy, visit its support page.
Payment methods
Bluehost accepts multiple payment methods, including:
- Credit/debit card (American Express, Discover, Master Card, Visa)
- PayPal
- Checks and money orders (renewals only)
As you can see, Bluehost accepts most of the popular payment methods. However, I have come to expect more varied ways of purchasing services, such as Google Pay, Apple Pay, or cryptocurrency payments.
Bluehost allows switching between the three at your convenience if you decide to use a different payment method.
Final thoughts
To summarize, Bluehost is among the best web hosting service providers and well worth the money. However, you must be wise when picking from numerous pricing plans, time-limited discounts, and additional features. Bluehost does not always state the exact renewal price upfront, which can significantly increase after the first or third year, depending on your chosen billing period.
Otherwise, Bluehost offers spectacular and affordable shared and WordPress hosting plans. You can get amazing exclusive discounts during the first 12 months, but Bluehost's pricing truly outshines most competitors when it comes to three-year subscriptions. In other words, it's best to choose Bluehost if you're willing to stick with it.
Although I'd like to see improvements regarding the free SSL and pricing display on Bluehost's website, this does not affect the quality of its services and overall high standards. All things considered, Bluehost is a great choice for hosting and has many plans available, making it a versatile option for beginners and advanced users.
In short:
- ✅ Great for beginners and long-term commitments
- ❌ Less ideal for short-term or ultra-budget hosting
If pricing transparency and predictable renewals are priorities, compare alternatives before committing.
FAQ
How much does Bluehost cost per month?
Bluehost pricing depends on the chosen service and subscription length. For example, shared hosting plans start at $1.99/month but increase to $18.95/month on the most expensive tier. On the flip side, the cheapest dedicated hosting plan costs $144.19/month for the first 36 months but can go up to $315.19/month for the Premium plan.
Does Bluehost have monthly plans?
Yes, Bluehost has monthly plans, but they do not actively display or promote them on the website. You can choose a monthly plan at checkout, but be prepared to pay a lot more. For example, the shared Starter hosting plan costs $1.99/month for the 36-month period, increasing to $15.99/month on the monthly plan.
What is the basic package for Bluehost?
Bluehost's Basic package is the cheapest shared WordPress web hosting tier. I recommend it only to new users who want to get their websites running without expecting huge traffic. Overall, Bluehost's Basic package offers 10 websites, 10GB NVMe storage space, a free SSL and domain during the first year, and chat support.
Which is cheaper, Bluehost or GoDaddy?
Bluehost is a cheaper web hosting service than GoDaddy. For example, its shared hosting starts at $1.99/month, compared to GoDaddy's $5.99/month.
