Bluehost Review 2026: Plans, Renewal Prices and Who It Fits
Bluehost is worth considering if you want a beginner-friendly shared plan with a stated 30-day refund window and a lower renewal rate than Hostinger, and not if you need phone support on its entry plan. As of 2026-11-01 Bluehost Starter is $3.99/mo on a 36-month term and renews at $9.99/mo; Business is $6.99/mo renewing at $13.99/mo; eCommerce Essentials is $14.99/mo renewing at $21.99/mo. Bluehost states a 99.99% uptime SLA and 24/7 support, and is listed on WordPress.org's hosting page.
| Item | What Bluehost shows (read 2026-11-01) |
|---|---|
| Entry shared plan | Starter: $3.99/mo, 36-month term, renews $9.99/mo, 10 websites, 10 GB NVMe SSD |
| Mid plan | Business: $6.99/mo, renews $13.99/mo, 50 websites, 50 GB NVMe SSD |
| Store plan | eCommerce Essentials: $14.99/mo, renews $21.99/mo, 100 websites, 100 GB NVMe SSD |
| Money-back | 30-day money-back guarantee, hosting plans only (see refund scope below) |
| Uptime | 99.99% uptime SLA (a promise, not a measurement) |
| Support | 24/7 support; phone not included on Starter, included on Business |
| Speed | Not stated here; see the Speed Index |
Disclosure: HostingDive earns a commission when you buy through some links on this page. It does not change which plans are listed or how they are described.
What Is Bluehost?
Bluehost sells shared hosting, WordPress hosting, self-managed VPS and dedicated servers. Its pages say Bluehost and WordPress have worked closely since 2005, and WordPress.org's hosting page describes it as WordPress.org's longest running recommended host. This review prices every product family from the vendor pages read on 2026-11-01; HostingDive has not run a hands-on test on this page, so it states no speed or uptime result of its own.
Bluehost Shared and WordPress Hosting Prices
| Plan | Intro price | Term | Renewal | Websites | Storage | Guide to visits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $3.99/mo | 36 months | $9.99/mo | 10 | 10 GB NVMe SSD | 40K visits/mo |
| Business | $6.99/mo | 36 months | $13.99/mo | 50 | 50 GB NVMe SSD | 200K visits/mo |
| eCommerce Essentials | $14.99/mo | see page | $21.99/mo | 100 | 100 GB NVMe SSD | 400K visits/mo |
Intro vs renewal price per month (USD)
Source: Bluehost plan pages, read 2026-11-01. The intro price is a 36-month prepayment divided by the months in the term.
Read before you buy: The intro price needs the full term paid up front. Budget against the renewal rate: $9.99/mo on Starter is the number you pay once the 36 months end.
What Is Included
- Free domain for the first year on eligible plans
- Free SSL (Let's Encrypt), free malware scanning and a free CDN
- Free site migration tool, and a free WordPress migration plugin on WordPress hosting plans
- Weekly website backups on the shared plans; the WordPress page says daily off-site automatic backups with multiple restore points
- One-click staging on Standard and High-Performance WordPress hosting plans
- 99.99% uptime SLA and 30-day money-back guarantee
Refund Policy and What It Excludes
Bluehost advertises a 30-day money-back guarantee. Its WordPress page says the refund only applies to hosting plans and certain add-on products or services, and does not apply to services with a monthly term, domain registration fees or setup fees. Read the terms before you pay for add-ons.
Support
Bluehost lists 24/7 support from real humans. On the shared plan page, Starter shows 24/7 chat support with phone support not included, while Business shows phone support included. VPS plans do not include cPanel or 24/7 priority support, per the VPS page. We did not time responses and state no response-time figure.
Performance and Uptime
Bluehost states a 99.99% uptime SLA on its plan pages. HostingDive publishes measured speeds in the Speed Index and explains the method in how we test hosting speed; check the Speed Index for Bluehost rather than relying on an SLA or a figure copied into a review.
WordPress Fit
Bluehost's plan pages show Recommended by WordPress.org, and the WordPress.org hosting page lists it. Hostinger is listed there too, so the recommendation does not separate the two; see hostinger vs bluehost for a price and renewal comparison.
Bluehost VPS Plans
| Plan | Intro price | Term | Due today | Renewal | Resources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVMe 2 | $4.69/mo | 24 months | $112.56 | $5.69/mo | 1 vCPU, 2 GB DDR5 RAM, 50GB NVMe, unmetered bandwidth |
| NVMe 4 | $9.49/mo | 24 months | $227.76 | $11.99/mo | 2 vCPU cores, 4 GB RAM, 100GB NVMe |
| NVMe 8 | $12.99/mo | 24 months | $311.76 | $28.99/mo | 4 vCPU cores, 8 GB RAM, 200GB NVMe |
| NVMe 16 | $25.99/mo | 24 months | $623.76 | $49.99/mo | 8 vCPU cores, 16 GB RAM, 450GB NVMe |
Bluehost Dedicated Servers
| Plan | Intro price | Term | Renewal | Resources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard NVMe 32 | $144.19/mo | 36 months | $191.79/mo | 8 CPU cores, 32 GB RAM, 1000GB NVMe |
| Enhanced NVMe 64 | $220.19/mo | 36 months | $274.19/mo | 16 CPU cores, 64 GB RAM, 2000GB NVMe |
| Premium NVMe 128 | $315.19/mo | 36 months | $394.19/mo | 32 CPU cores, 128 GB RAM, 3000GB NVMe |
Bluehost says a dedicated server is provisioned within 24-48 hours, with cPanel and WHM ready from day one.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Lower renewal rate than Hostinger at each shared tier compared on hostinger vs bluehost
- Phone support included on Business and above
- Four product families on one vendor, from shared to dedicated
- 30-day money-back guarantee on hosting plans
Cons
- Starter does not include phone support
- Intro prices need 24 to 36 months paid up front
- Renewal rates are higher than intro rates on every plan; check them before buying
- VPS plans do not include cPanel or 24/7 priority support
Who Should Use Bluehost
Good fit: first-time site owners who want a published price list, small business sites that fit 10 to 100 websites and the storage shown, and buyers who will stay past the first term and want the renewal rate stated. Not the right choice: anyone who needs phone support on the cheapest plan, buyers who want month-to-month billing on a long-term price, or teams that need a measured speed result from this page.
Bluehost vs the Competition
Compare the two budget leaders directly in hostinger vs bluehost. Hostinger Premium is $2.49/mo on 48 months and renews at $10.99/mo, against Starter's $3.99/mo and $9.99/mo. See also the Hostinger review and SiteGround review, Hostinger vs SiteGround, Best Web Hosting for Small Business and SiteGround vs Bluehost 2026. Not sure what to buy? Read How to Choose a Web Host and our methodology.
Our Verdict
Bluehost is a sensible shared and WordPress host if you read the renewal column first: $9.99/mo on Starter, $13.99/mo on Business. Pick it over Hostinger if you plan to stay and want phone support on a mid tier; pick Hostinger if the lowest intro price matters. Check the Speed Index for measured performance before you commit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bluehost worth it in 2026?
It is worth it for beginners who will stay past the first term and want a stated renewal rate: Starter renews at $9.99/mo. It is a weaker pick if you need phone support on the cheapest plan.
Is Bluehost recommended by WordPress.org?
Yes. Bluehost's plan pages say Recommended by WordPress.org, and the WordPress.org hosting page lists it.
What is Bluehost's renewal price?
Starter renews at $9.99/mo, Business at $13.99/mo and eCommerce Essentials at $21.99/mo, as read on 2026-11-01.
Does Bluehost offer phone support?
Not on Starter. Business shows phone support included. VPS plans do not include 24/7 priority support.
Does Bluehost have a money-back guarantee?
Yes, 30 days on hosting plans. It does not apply to monthly terms, domain registration fees or setup fees.
How does Bluehost compare to Hostinger?
Hostinger has the lower intro price; Bluehost has the lower renewal at the shared tiers compared. See hostinger vs bluehost.
Does Bluehost offer VPS and dedicated hosting?
Yes. Self-managed VPS runs from $4.69/mo (NVMe 2) and dedicated servers from $144.19/mo (Standard NVMe 32), both on multi-year terms.
Is Bluehost fast?
We publish no speed figure on this page. Check the Speed Index for measured results.