DreamHost Pricing 2024: prices and fees overview

DreamHost is an excellent web hosting service provider. It offers the most popular hosting plans at affordable prices. However, with so many hosting plans available, it can get a bit confusing.

Luckily, in this guide, I’ll give you an overview of DreamHost pricing plans and explain what each hosting option does and who it’s best suited for. Moreover, I will also cover discounts, renewal terms, and refund policy.

Please note that I will not discuss DreamHost as a hosting provider, as we have already done so in our explicit DreamHost review.

DreamHost best value plans

When looking for a web hosting provider, a good price-to-value ratio is one of the most important things to consider. Below, you’ll find a table with a hosting type and the best value plans for the price to help you get a better understanding of DreamHost price.

Hosting type	Cheapest price per month
Shared	$2.59/month (Shared Starter, when you sign up for 36 months)
VPS	$10.00/month (VPS Business, when you sign up for 36 months)
WordPress	$16.95/month (DreamPress, when you sign up for 12 months)
Dedicated server	$165.00/month (Standard (6-Core, 480 GB SSD, 16 GB RAM), when you sign up for 12 months)
Cloud	$4.50/month (based on usage)
Email hosting	$1.67/month (per mailbox, when signing up for 48 months)

One of the first things you may notice is that you will save the most if you commit to a long-term plan of at least 12 months. This is a common practice among web hosting providers and shouldn’t cause an alarm.

If you don’t want to commit to a long-term plan, you can opt for a monthly subscription. Please note that if you choose monthly payments, you will pay up to 60% more compared to 1-year or 3-year plans.

DreamHost hosting plans and prices explained

At DreamHost, you can choose from five hosting types: shared, cloud, VPS, WordPress, and dedicated server. These are the most common hosting options and can be found on almost any web hosting service. In addition, you can host your email on DreamHost.

Below, I’ve summarized DreamHost pricing options for each hosting type.

DreamHost shared hosting prices

Shared hosting is a type of hosting in which your website is hosted on the same server as other websites, sharing its resources. It’s one of the most popular options for new websites that aren’t receiving a lot of traffic.

Shared hosting is the cheapest plan on DreamHost, making it an excellent option for anyone on a tight budget. For example, Shared Starter costs only $2.59/month when committing to a 3-year plan.

	Monthly	1-year	3-year
Shared Starter	$4.95/month (renews at $7.99/month after 3 months)	$2.95/month (renews at $6.99)	$2.59/month (renews at $5.99)
Shared Unlimited	$8.95/month (renews at $13.99/month after 3 months)	$2.95/month (renews at $12.99/month)	3.95/month (renews at $10.99)

Always read the fine print before making any purchases. For example, if you opt for a monthly payment plan, you will pay $4.95/month for the first three months. This is considered an introductory price and lasts only three months, after which you will pay an increased $7.99/month.

Try shared hosting with DreamHost

DreamHost VPS hosting prices

VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting is a scalable and customizable hosting solution that is usually the next step when upgrading from shared hosting. While you still share server space with other users, you will be allocated a certain amount of resources, so your website won’t run into issues even if other websites on the server are experiencing increased traffic.

Starting at $10.00/month with a 3-year commitment, DreamHost’s VPS hosting is an affordable solution. However, DreamHost renewal price is much higher than that of its competitors. For example, its 3-year plan renews at $24.99/month, increasing the price by over 50%, while Hostinger’s VPS plan renews at only $7.99/month.

	Monthly	1-year	3-year
VPS Business	$15.00/month (renews at $37.99/month)	$13.75/month (renews at $31.99/month)	$10.00/month (renews at $24.99/month)
VPS Professional	$30.00/month (renews at $69.99/month)	$27.50/month (renews at $57.99/month)	$20.00/month (renews at $46.99)
VPS Enterprise	$60.00/month (renews at $137.99/month)	$55.00/month (renews at $114.99/month)	$40.00/month (renews at $92.99/month)
VPS Premier	$90.00/month (renews at $169.99/month)	$82.50/month (renews at $141.99/month)	$60.00/month (renews at $114.99/month)

I noticed that the introductory monthly DreamHost VPS pricing applies only for the first month. After the first month, you will be charged the current rate, which is usually double the introductory price. If you want to pay monthly without commitments, I recommend opting for Hostinger, which is more budget-friendly.

Try VPS hosting with DreamHost

DreamHost WordPress hosting prices

DreamPress is a managed WordPress hosting service that handles technical tasks such as site migration, security updates, and optimization for WordPress websites. There are three managed WordPress hosting plans, each designed based on the amount of traffic your website receives monthly.

Starting at $16.95/month with a 1-year commitment, DreamPress is the cheapest managed WordPress hosting plan. It’s a good option for websites that receive a decent amount of traffic as it can support up to 100,000 monthly visitors.

	Monthly	1-year
DreamPress	$19.95/month (renews at $23.99/month)	$16.95/month (renews at $19.99/month)
DreamPress Plus	$29.95/month (renews at $34.99/month)	$24.95/month (renews at $28.99)
DreamPress Pro	$79.95/month (renews at $89.99/month)	$71.95/month (renews at $74.99/month)

Like shared and VPS hosting, DreamPress monthly plans renew at a higher price after the three-month introductory period. In this case, the price increase is minimal. Either way, I find DreamPress to be rather expensive for a managed WordPress service provider compared to competitors such as Hostinger.

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Dreamhost cloud hosting prices

Cloud hosting is a scalable hosting solution that hosts your website on virtual remote servers. It offers more flexibility and customization than shared hosting; however, it’s not a great option for newbies.

DreamHost’s cloud hosting plan is different from that of its competitors. It’s based on usage, meaning the monthly price you pay will depend on the amount of resources you use.

Try cloud hosting with DreamHost

DreamHost dedicated server hosting prices

All of the previous hosting types include sharing server space with other users. Dedicated server hosting, on the other hand, provides you with a server all to yourself, giving you unlimited resources and complete control over server configurations.

DreamHost’s dedicated server hosting starts at $165.00/month with a 1-year commitment. This plan comes with 6-Core, 480 GB SSD, and 16 GB RAM; however, you can modify the configurations yourself based on your requirements. Configurations determine the final price.

	Monthly	1-year
Standard (6-Core, 480 GB SSD, 16 GB RAM)	$199.00/month	$165.00/month
Enhanced (12-Core,480GB SSD, 16 GM RAM)	$275.00/month	$229.00/month

All in all, dedicated server hosting is powerful but expensive. It’s not necessary for all websites, so make sure that your business can benefit from it before upgrading.

Try dedicated hosting with DreamHost

DreamHost email hosting prices

Hosting your email with DreamHost is a great way to add a layer of security to your emails and make them look more professional. Hosted emails look like @yourdomain.com instead of @gmail.com, @icloud.com, @outlook.com, etc.

Email hosting is included in Shared Unlimited and all VPS, DreamPress, and dedicated server plans. If your plan doesn’t include free email hosting, you can buy it for $1.67/month with a 1-year commitment or $1.99/month without commitment. There’s only one plan with 25GB of storage and an anti-spam feature.

	Monthly	1-year
Email hosting	$1.99/month	$1.67/month

All in all, DreamHost email pricing offers good value for money, but it’s not the cheapest option.

Try email hosting with DreamHost

Which hosting type should you choose?

With so many hosting options to choose from, it can feel overwhelming to commit to just one plan. To help you, I’ve compiled a list of all DreamHost’s hosting types and who they are best for.

Hosting type	Best for	Price
Shared hosting	Blogs, freelancers, startups, and small businesses	Starting at $2.59/month
Cloud hosting	Blogs, small and medium-sized businesses that are experiencing some growth and decent traffic	Starting at $4.50/month
VPS hosting	Small and medium-sized businesses experiencing growth and large traffic	Starting at $10.00/month
Managed WordPress hosting	Small and medium-sized business websites built on WordPress	Starting at $16.95/month
Dedicated server hosting	Medium-sized to large businesses that are experiencing massive growth and loads of traffic	Starting at $165.00/month
Email hosting	All businesses	Starting at $1.67/month

Other DreamHost services and their pricing

Aside from web hosting, DreamHost offers various services starting from creating your website to maintaining and managing it and driving traffic. Here are some of them.

Domain registration

Users who have purchased a shared, cloud, or VPS hosting subscription with a 1-year or 3-year commitment are eligible for a free domain registration. They receive free credits to register their domain name. Please note that you must register a domain within the first three months, or you’ll lose the credits.

The free domain registration is active for one year, after which you must pay for the domain yourself. Here is the DreamHost domain pricing of some of the most popular domains:

• .com – $8.99/year, renews at $19.99/year
• .net – $10.99/year, renews at $17.99/year
• .org – $11.99/year, renews at $17.99/year
• .info – $13.95/year, renews at $17.99/year

Custom Web Design

If you want to create a professional-looking website, DreamHost offers Custom Web Design. It’s a website-building service where web developers design a website based on your needs. Here are the available plans and their prices:

• Starter – starting at $1,499
• Plus – starting at $1,999
• Pro – starting at $2,799

The payments for Custom Web Design are one-time only.

SEO Marketing

For those who want to focus on organic search, SEO Marketing can be an option worth considering. Once purchased, you’ll be introduced to your SEO manager who will take care of all things SEO related to your website. From creating an SEO strategy to optimizing your website, SEO Marketing is a service for all your SEO needs. Here are the plans and their prices:

• Startup – starting at $399/month
• Business – starting at $599/month
• Enterprise – starting at $1,199/month

Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing is another helpful marketing service for businesses that want to grow traffic to their website. Your website gets a social media manager responsible for defining your social media strategy. This includes social media posts and stories as well as monthly reports on your socials. Here are the Social Media Marketing plans and their prices:

• Startup – starting at $399/month
• Business – starting at $599/month
• Enterprise – starting at $1,199/month

DreamHost refund policy

DreamHost has a 97-day money-back guarantee, allowing users to receive a full refund if requested within the given time. The 97-day money-back guarantee is applicable if:

• You’ve purchased a shared hosting subscription
• You paid for the subscription with a credit card

This means that users who purchase web hosting plans other than shared hosting will not be refunded even if they request a refund within 97 days. Moreover, if you use any payment method other than a credit card, you will not be eligible for a refund.

What’s more, I noticed that DreamHost sometimes adds DreamShield, a paid anti-malware tool, at the checkout without notifying the user. Make sure to double-check your total at checkout and remove any unwanted add-ons before moving to payment, as add-ons are non-refundable.

You can read more about the 97-day money-back guarantee in the general terms of service.

DreamHost payment methods

DreamHost accepts multiple payment methods, including:

• Credit/debit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and Diners Club)
• PayPal
• Electronic checks

This is a decent list, but it’s missing other popular payment methods. DreamHost doesn’t accept Google Pay, Apple Pay, or cryptocurrency payments.

Please note that subscriptions renew automatically. It’s impossible to turn off recurring payments, which I find to be a bad practice. Therefore, if you don’t want DreamHost to automatically charge you at the end of your subscription, make sure to cancel before it renews.

Final thoughts

All in all, DreamHost is a good web hosting service with decent prices. It doesn’t have hidden fees; however, it does add paid add-ons at checkout without notifying the user, which is something I suggest watching out for.

Users will save the most by committing to a 1-year or 3-year plan; however, DreamHost cost increases significantly with renewals. Some users may see an increase of up to 60%, so make sure to read the fine print before committing and cancel your subscription.

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