Bluehost is probably the hosting company beginners hear about first. It has been on WordPress.org's recommended list for years, it installs WordPress for you at signup and its Starter plan allows 10 websites. The questions are what the renewal costs and whether the hosting is fast enough.
This review covers the plans as Bluehost lists them today, the real multi-year cost, an independent speed and uptime test, the drawbacks that sales pages skip and who should pick a different host. For the wider market, see our comparison of the best web hosting companies.
My short answer: Bluehost is the easiest place to start a WordPress site, and its renewal price ($9.99 a month on Starter) is fairer than most. It is not the fastest host in independent tests, backups are weekly on every plan and phone support starts at the Business plan. If speed per dollar matters most, look at Hostinger first.
📋 Bluehost at a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Company | Bluehost, started in 2003, powers more than 5 million websites (per WPBeginner) |
| Plans | One Site (listed on the offer page), Starter, Business, eCommerce Essentials |
| Starting price | Starter $3.79/mo on a 36-month term ($136.44) for a US visitor, renews at $9.99/mo (the cart quotes $359.64 for a full 36-month renewal); One Site from $1.99/mo ($71.64) |
| Sites on Starter | 10 websites, 10GB NVMe, about 40K visits a month |
| WordPress | Recommended by WordPress.org, WordPress installed at signup |
| Support | 24/7 chat; phone only from the Business plan |
| Uptime guarantee | 99.99% SLA, with a single 5% monthly credit claimed within 30 days |
| Refund | 30-day money-back guarantee |
| Independent test (WPBeginner, July 2026) | 933 ms LCP, 599 ms average response across 6 regions, 100% uptime over 30 days |
Bluehost Starter is $3.79 a month on the 36-month term
☑️ See Bluehost plans
What is Bluehost?
Bluehost is one of the best-known shared hosting brands. WPBeginner says it started in 2003 and powers more than 5 million websites, and that it has been on the WordPress.org recommended hosting list since 2005. WordPress.org's hosting page still lists it today (checked October 16, 2026), next to Hostinger and Pressable. Bluehost's own page says the company has worked closely with WordPress since 2005.
Its plans are built around WordPress: it installs the software for you at signup, includes managed WordPress updates, a staging site, SSH and WP-CLI on Starter, Business and eCommerce Essentials, and adds AI tools that draft a first version of your site. If you have never run a website, that setup is the main reason to choose it.
What Bluehost sells
- Shared web hosting: the plans in this review, for blogs, small business sites and small stores.
- WordPress and WooCommerce hosting: including the eCommerce Essentials plan with WooCommerce auto-install.
- VPS and dedicated servers: for sites that outgrow shared hosting. See what a VPS is before you upgrade.
- Domains, email and AI site creation: a free domain for the first year on the shared plans.
💰 Bluehost pricing and renewal costs (October 2026)
Bluehost shows its prices for a 36-month term paid up front. Here is what Bluehost's offer page listed for a visitor in the US on October 16, 2026.
| Plan | Price per month | You pay up front (36 mo) | Renews at | Websites | Storage | Visits per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One Site | $1.99 | $71.64 | $8.99/mo | 1 | - | ~10K |
| Starter | $3.79 | $136.44 | $9.99/mo | 10 | 10GB NVMe | ~40K |
| Business | $6.79 | $244.44 | $13.99/mo | 50 | 50GB NVMe | ~200K |
| eCommerce Essentials | $6.99 | $251.64 | $21.99/mo | 100 | 100GB NVMe | ~400K |
The offer page that our link opens also lists a fourth plan, One Site, for a single website: $1.99 a month on the 36-month term ($71.64 up front, regular price $8.99 a month) and about 10K visits a month. Its card lists a free domain (on eligible annual terms), free SSL and CDN, the AI site builder, 24/7 chat support, malware scanning, DDoS protection and weekly backups. A dash in the table above means the card did not list it. Bluehost's own plans page lists only Starter, Business and eCommerce Essentials, so the feature tables in this review cover those three.
What six years really cost
On a 36-month plan, Bluehost's cart quotes the renewal for another 36 months, not for one year: $359.64 on Starter, which is 36 times the $9.99 monthly renewal rate. So this table assumes you buy the 36-month term, renew once for another 36 months at the cart's quote (read October 16, 2026) and pay for nothing else: no add-ons, no domain renewal and no tax. Renewal quotes can change before you renew.
| Plan | First 36 months | Renewal quote (next 36 months) | Six-year total | Effective monthly price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One Site | $71.64 | $323.64 | $395.28 | $5.49 |
| Starter | $136.44 | $359.64 | $496.08 | $6.89 |
| Business | $244.44 | $503.64 | $748.08 | $10.39 |
| eCommerce Essentials | $251.64 | $791.64 | $1,043.28 | $14.49 |
So the real cost of Starter is about $6.89 a month over six years, not $3.79. That is still fair, and the renewal jump (about 2.6 times) is smaller than at many competitors. A shorter renewal is not priced here, because the cart quotes only the full-term renewal. For the head-to-head with the host people compare it to most, read our Hostinger comparison.
What each plan includes
| Feature | Starter | Business | eCommerce Essentials |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free domain | 1st year | 1st year | 1st year |
| Free SSL and malware scanning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Backups | Weekly | Weekly | Weekly |
| CDN, staging, SSH and WP-CLI, object caching | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Phone support | No | Yes | Yes |
| Web application firewall and DDoS protection | No | Yes | Yes |
| Domain privacy | No | Free 1st year | Free 1st year |
| Commerce tools (WooCommerce auto-install, subscriptions, memberships, paid courses) | No | No | Yes |
All three plans in the table list the free site migration tool, AI site creation tools, free CDN and a 99.99% uptime SLA. The Business plan is the sweet spot if you want phone support, a firewall and domain privacy, but it costs $3 a month more than Starter on the same term.
Business is $6.79 a month on the 36-month term
☑️ Check the Business plan
🚀 Performance: what independent tests show
We did not benchmark Bluehost ourselves. The most recent test I found that documents its method is WPBeginner's, from July 2026. It tested Bluehost like the other hosts in its group: an identical WordPress site with a default theme and no caching plugin, GTmetrix for speed, k6 with 50 virtual users for load, response time from 6 regions and 30 days of UptimeRobot monitoring.
| Test (WPBeginner, July 2026) | Bluehost | Hostinger | DreamHost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) | 933 ms | 659 ms | 986 ms |
| Average response time, 6 regions | 599 ms | 227 ms | 658 ms |
| Uptime over 30 days | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Stress test, 50 users | Blocked | 21 ms P95 | 245 ms P95 |
| WPBeginner score | 69 / 100 | 88 / 100 | 64 / 100 |
Two readings matter. First, Bluehost loaded in under a second, which is fine for a new site, but it was slower than Hostinger in the same test. Second, the stress test could not finish: Bluehost's built-in Cloudflare integration flagged the test traffic as an attack and blocked it. WPBeginner's previous completed run held a 140 ms P95 at 50 concurrent users with no failures. The block shows protection, but it also means there is no current under-load number.
Bluehost's own page cites a WPShout test from November 2025 with a 0.35 second load time in the US. Treat vendor-cited numbers carefully, and remember that results differ with the location and the test. Whatever the host, test your own site during the 30-day refund window.
✅ What Bluehost does well
1. The easiest WordPress start
Bluehost installs WordPress when you sign up, and WPBeginner calls the setup the simplest of any host it tested. Combined with the free domain, SSL and a migration tool, a first site can be online the same day. If you want a walkthrough, read our guide to installing WordPress on Bluehost.
2. Ten sites and NVMe on Starter
Most hosts at this price allow one site. Bluehost's Starter plan allows ten, on NVMe storage, with about 40,000 visits a month. That is plenty for a blog and a few small projects. The limit to watch is the 10GB of storage.
3. Developer tools on Starter and up
SSH and WP-CLI, a WordPress staging site, object caching and static content caching come with Starter, Business and eCommerce Essentials. See what SSH is and what a staging site is if these are new to you.
4. A fair renewal price
Starter renews at $9.99 a month. That is a little lower than Hostinger Premium and HostGator ($10.99 each) and well below InMotion ($14.99) or GreenGeeks ($13.95), but higher than Namecheap ($5.88) and UltaHost, which says its price stays the same for 2 years. The comparison table below has the numbers, read on October 16, 2026.
5. A published uptime guarantee
Bluehost promises 99.99% uptime. WPBeginner notes the fine print: if uptime falls below that you can claim a single 5% monthly credit, and you must claim it within 30 days. In its 30-day window the test site stayed up the whole time, but a credit is small compensation if your store goes down, so do not read the SLA as a promise of no downtime.
❌ Where Bluehost falls short
1. Speed trails other cheap hosts
In WPBeginner's group, Bluehost's 933 ms LCP and 599 ms average response were slower than Hostinger's 659 ms and 227 ms, and about the same class as DreamHost. For most beginners this is acceptable, but it is the reason Bluehost scored 69 out of 100.
2. Weekly backups only
Backups are weekly on every plan. WPBeginner points out that DreamHost includes daily backups at a lower price. If you publish or sell daily, add your own backup plugin or consider a host with daily backups. See how DreamHost compares.
3. No phone support on Starter
Phone support starts at the Business plan. Starter has 24/7 chat and an AI assistant called Ask Blu (per WPBeginner), but no phone line.
4. Upsells and free extras that become paid
The checkout offers add-ons you can decline, and several free items stop being free later: on October 16, 2026 a Professional Email Trial was already in the cart and renews at $2.99 a month after the first month. Read every line before you pay.
5. Renewal prices and no domain privacy on Starter
The renewal is 2.6 times the intro price on Starter, and the cart quotes it for the full 36 months ($359.64). Domain privacy is not included on Starter either. Both are things to price before you buy.
🌍 Data centers, support and migration
- Data centers: Bluehost says it has global data centers across North America, South America, Europe and Asia, and you choose your preferred location at checkout. Choose the one closest to your visitors, and see what a CDN does if your audience is global.
- Support: 24/7 chat with real people, an AI assistant, and phone from Business up.
- Migration: Starter, Business and eCommerce Essentials list a free site migration tool, and Bluehost's FAQ describes a free WordPress migration plugin that moves your files automatically. If you need more help you can ask support by chat or phone. Check whether assisted migration costs extra before you rely on it.
🛒 How to buy Bluehost hosting and launch a site
Bluehost changes its screens often, so this is the order to follow, not a click-by-click guide.
Screenshots from the sign-up flow, captured earlier. Prices and layout may differ today.
⚖️ Bluehost versus other shared hosts
These are the numbers as each company showed them on October 16, 2026, when the intro and renewal prices were re-read (Bluehost's row is the price shown to a visitor in the US). A dash means the company's plan page did not state it.
| Plan | Intro price | Renews at | Sites | Storage | Refund |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluehost Starter | $3.79/mo (36 mo) | $9.99/mo | 10 | 10GB NVMe | 30 days |
| Hostinger Premium | $2.99/mo (48 mo) | $10.99/mo | 3 | 20GB SSD | 30 days |
| HostGator entry plan | $3.75/mo | $10.99/mo | 10 | 10GB SSD | 30 days |
| DreamHost Launch | $2.89/mo (1 year) | $10.99/mo | 25 | 25GB NVMe | - |
| Namecheap Stellar | $2.28/mo (1 year) | $5.88/mo | 3 | 20GB SSD | - |
| UltaHost entry plan | $3.44/mo | $3.44/mo for 2 years (per its page) | - | 30GB NVMe | 30 days |
Full comparisons: Hostinger vs Bluehost, HostGator vs Bluehost, DreamHost vs Bluehost, Namecheap vs Bluehost and GreenGeeks vs Bluehost. Single reviews: Hostinger, HostGator, DreamHost, Namecheap and UltaHost.
✅ Pros and cons
✅ Pros
- Simplest WordPress setup of the hosts WPBeginner tested
- 10 websites and NVMe storage on Starter
- Staging, SSH, WP-CLI, caching and CDN on Starter, Business and eCommerce Essentials
- Renewal of $9.99 on Starter is fairer than most
- 99.99% uptime SLA and 100% uptime in WPBeginner's 30-day test
- Recommended by WordPress.org
- 30-day money-back guarantee
❌ Cons
- Slower than Hostinger in the same independent test
- Backups are weekly on every plan
- No phone support or domain privacy on Starter
- Checkout upsells and "free" extras that become paid
- The SLA credit is only 5% and must be claimed within 30 days
- Renewal is about 2.6 times the intro price
🎯 Who Bluehost is for
✅ Bluehost is a good fit if
- You are building your first WordPress site and want the simplest setup
- You want several small sites on one cheap plan
- You value a moderate renewal price
- You may want phone support later (from Business)
❌ Look elsewhere if
- You want the fastest cheap hosting: see our Hostinger review
- You need daily backups included: see DreamHost's plans
- You want a price that stays fixed: see UltaHost's fixed pricing
- You expect high traffic or a large store: consider managed cloud hosting
🏆 Final verdict: is Bluehost worth it in 2026?
Yes, if you want the easiest first WordPress site and a renewal you can live with. The Starter plan gives you 10 sites, NVMe storage and a fair $9.99 renewal, and Business adds phone support and a firewall for $3 more. The compromise is speed and backups: Bluehost tested slower than Hostinger and only backs up weekly.
The independent evidence is mixed in a useful way: WPBeginner measured 100% uptime over its window, but a 69 out of 100 score because of the speed and response numbers. Pick Bluehost for simplicity, pick Hostinger for speed per dollar.
You have 30 days to get your money back, so test your own site
Start with Bluehost 🚀
Looking for the best price right now? See the Bluehost deals and coupons.
❓ Bluehost FAQ
❓ Is Bluehost good in 2026?
❓ How much does Bluehost cost after the first term?
❓ Is Bluehost good for beginners?
❓ Does Bluehost have phone support?
❓ What is Bluehost's money-back guarantee?
❓ Does Bluehost include a free domain and SSL?
❓ Can Bluehost handle a WooCommerce store?
❓ Does Bluehost use cPanel?
❓ Bluehost vs Hostinger: which is better?
❓ Can I move my existing site to Bluehost?
Have you used Bluehost? Tell us what you thought in the comments, especially about renewals and support.
Related Articles
⚖️ Hostinger vs Bluehost
Prices, renewals and the real cost over several years. Read the comparison
🏷️ Bluehost deals and coupons
The current offer and its terms. Read the deals article
🏆 Best web hosting compared
11 shared hosts compared on renewal price and refunds. See the comparison
📘 How to install WordPress on Bluehost
A step-by-step guide for new sites. Read the guide
📘 What is web hosting?
The basics, in plain language. Start here
