Bluehost pricing: everything you need to know
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Bluehost is a time-tested and reliable web hosting brand due to its solid performance and security features. In our explicit Bluehost review, the research team and I have already tested the technical ins and outs of the hosting provider; however, with the abundance of Bluehost’s plans, I have decided to delve deeper into pricing.
If you want to discover how much Bluehost costs and which plans suit you best, read on as I break down all Bluehost plans for website hosting – shared, WooCommerce, cloud, VPS, and dedicated – and their pricing, renewals, and money-back guarantee. By the end of this Bluehost pricing review, you will be confident in picking the right plan.
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 12-month plan | Cheapest 36-month plan |
| Shared hosting (Basic plan) | $1.99/month | $4.95/month |
| WooCommerce hosting (Online Store) | $7.45/month | $12.95/month |
| Cloud hosting (Cloud 1) | $29.99/month | ❌ No 3-year plan |
| VPS hosting (Standard plan) | $46.99/month | $34.99/month |
| Dedicated hosting (Standard plan) | $141.19/month | $129.19/month |
| Email hosting (Professional email) | $24.99/year | ❌ No 3-year plan |
Bluehost hosting plans and prices explained
Bluehost's pricing plans are a puzzle to solve. At first glance, the 3-year plan monthly subscription is pricier than the 12-month one. However, Bluehost applies lower renewal rates on longer plans.
For example, if you choose a 12-month Basic 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 Bluehost’s hosting types and their plans’ pricing:
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Bluehost shared hosting
- Bluehost WooCommerce hosting
- Bluehost cloud hosting
- Bluehost VPS hosting
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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 four 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 Basic shared hosting during the initial term. Renewal rates are higher, typically around $7.99/month. The pricing for other plans, such as Choice Plus, Online Store, and Pro, also increases upon renewal. Below is a table summarizing the pricing details.
| Plan | 1 month | 12 months | 36 months |
| Basic | $15.99/month | $1.99/month (renews at $7.99) | $4.95/month (renews at $6.99) |
| Choice Plus | $27.99/month | $3.99/month (renews at $13.99) | $7.45/month (renews at $13.99) |
| Online Store | $32.99/month | $7.45/month (renews at $18.99) | $12.95/month (renews at $17.99) |
| Pro | $34.99/month | $9.99/month (renews at $20.99) | $18.95/month (renews at $18.99) |
Bluehost's pricing varies significantly based on the chosen plan and the length of the term. Initial prices start as low as $1.99/month but, as you can see, increase considerably upon renewal. While initial 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 Online Store + Marketplace plan offers more SSD storage and websites and is more suited for eCommerce websites with higher traffic overall. The table below provides a rundown of all available plans and pricing.
| Plan | 1 month | 12 months | 36 months |
| Online Store | $32.99 | $7.45/month (renews at $18.99) | $12.95/month (renews at $25.99) |
| Online Store + Marketplace | $49.95 | $12.95/month (renews at $39.95) | $19.95/month (renews at $39.95) |
Looking at the plans, I gravitate towards the Online Store + Marketplace. The 100GB SSD storage and multi-channel inventory make the price tag 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 has four different plans available for cloud hosting, with prices ranging from $29.99 to $109.99 a month with the 1-year 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 1 | $29.99/month (renews at $79.99) |
| Cloud 10 | $49.99/month (renews at $109.99) |
| Cloud 25 | $89.99/month (renews at $169.99) |
| Cloud 50 | $109.99/month (renews at $249.99) |
It’s worth noting that only the Cloud 1 plan has the monthly subscription option ($91.99/month). What I find disappointing is that the upgraded plans only have the 1-year option, not leaving room for opting for a lengthier subscription option if that would save more money in the long run.
Bluehost VPS hosting
Bluehost VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting is there 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 $59.99 to $141.99 for a one-month term, with lower monthly rates for longer commitments. Refer to the table below for all the Bluehost VPS hosting pricing.
| Plan | 1 month | 12 months | 24 months | 36 months |
| Standard | $59.99 | $46.99/month (renews at $65.99) | $35.99/month (renews at $53.99) | $34.99/month (renews at $53.99) |
| Enhanced | $92.99 | $65.99/month (renews at $95.99) | $55.99/month (renews at $83.99) | $53.99/month (renews at $83.99) |
| Premium | $141.99 | $94.99/month (renews at $140.99) | $84.99/month (renews at $129.99) | $82.99/month (renews at $128.99) |
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 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 in 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 | $156.39/month | $141.19/month (renews at $188.79) | $135.99/month (renews at $176.79) | $129.19/month (renews at $176.79) |
| Enhanced | $248.39/month | $217.19/month (renews at $271.19) | $215.99/month (renews at $259.19) | $205.19/month (renews at $259.19) |
| Premium | $363.39/month | $312.19/month (renews at $391.19) | $315.99/month (renews at $379.19) | $300.19/month (renews at $379.19) |
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 their 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 $141.19month |
| Cloud hosting | Medium-to-large business websites, high-traffic websites, users looking for reliability, scalability, and backups, enhanced security | |
| VPS hosting | Websites with medium-to-large traffic, larger eCommerce, enhanced security, users looking for stability and performance | From $46.99/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 – $24.99/year
- Professional email plus – $44.99/year
Refund policy
When it comes to Bluehost’s refund policy, things get pretty confusing. I am here to break down 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 their 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.
FAQs
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 $135.99/month for the first 36 months but can go up to $312.19/month for the first 12 months on 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 the checkout but be prepared to pay a lot more. For example, the shared Choice Plus hosting plan costs $3.99/month during the first year, increasing to $27.99/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 a single website running without expecting huge traffic. Bluehost Basic package also offers a 10GB SSD 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 $6.99/month.
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