Bluehost and Hostinger entered the hosting industry around the same time—Bluehost in 2003 and Hostinger following closely in 2004. These two web hosting companies have evolved considerably over the last two decades. They provide easy usability, and offer free domain names on most of the hosting packages. But which provider truly stands out as the best web hosting company?
Bluehost is one of the most popular names in the hosting arena; however, that size doesn’t always equate to being the best. For a balanced comparison, this review evaluates it alongside a prominent Bluehost alternative—Hostinger, an established provider with strong visibility in the hosting space.
Every hosting company has its advantages. To illustrate, Hostinger provides cloud hosting and lower renewal costs with its plans. Hostinger alternative— Bluehost, on the other hand, offers cloud and dedicated hosting along with a set of eCommerce-oriented features.
It’s worth noting that Bluehost offers generous affiliate incentives, which may contribute to its high ranking in the “best web hosting” lists. In this blog, we’ll evaluate which one of these two hosts offers better features and value by analysing them across essential criteria. Let’s get started!
Hostinger vs Bluehost: Which One to Choose?
To make it easier for you to choose between Hostinger and Bluehost, here’s a brief side-by-side comparison of their main features:
| Features | Hostinger | BlueHost |
| Price | From $2.69/month | From $1.99/month |
| Free Domain (1st year) | Yes | Yes |
| Free SSL Certificate | Yes | Yes (1st year only) |
| Website Migration | Free unlimited migrations for WordPress websites | Free WordPress migration (1 website) |
| 24/7 Support | Yes | Yes |
| Money-Back Guarantee | 30-Day | 30-Day |
Let’s begin with the in-depth comparison, beginning with price and what you get for your money.
1. Plans & Pricing
You can get started seamlessly and affordably with Hostinger’s cheapest shared hosting solutions. On the other hand, Bluehost’s similar shared hosting plan is also reasonably priced. Hostinger has flexible payment options, allowing you the convenience to pay monthly, annually, biennially, or triennially. Hostinger’s single shared hosting plan requires a tiny setup fee if you pay monthly (which is more than reasonable given the low cost).
With Bluehost, you can have a wide range of solutions, such as the Basic, Plus, Choice Plus, or Pro package. As discussed, you’ll be paying more than you would for a similar Hostinger plan, and with less billing cycle flexibility.
Both hosting providers offer managed WordPress hosting plans, and in this case, Bluehost can be the less expensive choice on the basis of the starting price. A few of Hostinger’s WordPress plans lean towards the pricier side; however, they justify the cost with free automatic backups, weekly on the basic plan and daily on the higher-tier ones.
2. Features
Bluehost and Hostinger offer different pricing structures, with some features included by default in Hostinger plans that may come as optional add-ons with Bluehost.
Consider email, for instance—every Hostinger plan comes with unlimited free email accounts included. On the other hand, Bluehost offers you a single Microsoft 365 email address on a 30-day trial basis. After that, you’re charged separately for each email address you require.
If you are not familiar with WordPress, all Bluehost plans offer seamless access to the Weebly website builder. Contrarily, Hostinger’s website builder, Zyro, requires its dedicated plan; however, you can also try it out for free before deciding.
3. Performance
For beginners, Hostinger backs its service with a 99.9% uptime guarantee—something Bluehost doesn’t offer. When we analysed the performance of Hostinger in both the US and EU markets, it indeed maintained its uptime guarantee. If the guarantee fails, users may still benefit since they have a 5% refund for their monthly subscription.
Hostinger has a more robust global setup than Bluehost, with servers strategically located across the US, Brazil, Europe, and even Indonesia.
Hostinger also delivers excellent loading speed. Considering all things, Hostinger delivered page load speeds up to eight times faster than what we saw with Bluehost. Over a three-month test period, Hostinger consistently ranked among the fastest shared hosting providers. In comparison, Bluehost operates servers in locations like Utah, London, India, and Hong Kong. Overall, it’s worth carefully considering your users’ geolocations before choosing a web host.
4. Security
Both hosting companies offer you a free SSL certificate to secure your website and clients’ information, but with minor exceptions. With Bluehost, you must speak to support and go through some technical procedures. Hostinger offers Cloudflare protection with every plan, which protects against spam, DDoS attacks, malware, and various other online attacks.
Bluehost, however, operates on a business model of valuable additional features. You get a free SpamExperts email filter. If you want more, you have to purchase the SiteLock add-on to obtain similar features to Hostinger. Furthermore, SiteLock can scan only 5 to 10 web pages at a time. While Bluehost includes a free SSL certificate with its beginner plan, Hostinger takes it a step further by providing streamlined, robust security features that don’t depend on additional features.
5. Cloud Features
For websites that experience high traffic and need top-tier performance, cloud hosting stands out as the smartest choice. Both Bluehost and Hostinger provide managed cloud hosting plans with a range of features to suit your diverse website requirements. While BluesHost doesn’t have a strong track record for managing network uptime SLA, like Hostinger does. This means you and your clients’ websites are always live.
Conclusion
Both Bluehost and Hostinger provide exceptional features and performance. If you are looking for quicker loading speeds, improved security, and superior performance, then Hostinger may be a better option. On the other hand, if you would like to have a reliable web host with advanced features and complete WordPress support, then Bluehost could be the ideal choice.
Although Bluehost appears to offer solid performance and simplicity at first glance, its cost and reliance on paid plugins erode its appeal when compared with Hostinger. While this blog compares Hostinger and Bluehost, it’s worth exploring other reputable providers such as MilesWeb, which offers solid performance, competitive pricing, and useful features.
