DreamHost: Feature-Rich Hosting
“DreamHost supports over 1.5 million websites and emphasizes open-source technology, a founding principle for its four creators.“
Summary: DreamHost supports over 1.5 million websites and emphasizes open-source technology, a founding principle for its four creators.
Why Choose DreamHost? What sets DreamHost apart from its competitors is its remarkably cost-effective month-to-month pricing plans. With DreamHost, you can access hosting with no long-term commitment at a fraction of the cost offered by other providers. In some cases, you pay as little as half the price.
Affordability at Its Best: It's hard to deny that DreamHost offers the most budget-friendly hosting available today.
Compare DreamHost to Top Web Hosting Services
We conducted thorough research to identify the best web hosting service on the market. Our findings are compiled in our guide to the Best Web Hosting Services. This guide provides insights into the leading web hosting services, enabling you to compare and make the right choice.
DreamHost secures the third spot in our rankings. Hostinger claims the number one spot due to its affordability for long-term use, making it ideal for most users. A2 Hosting comes in second, renowned for its speed and user-friendly one-click installations.
DreamHost earns its spot in the top three for several reasons, which we'll discuss below.
DreamHost: The Good and The Bad
DreamHost stands out as one of our preferred web hosting services, supported by several compelling reasons. However, there are also aspects of this choice that we're not particularly fond of. Here's a breakdown of the pros and cons to help you determine if DreamHost suits your needs.
The Good
Affordable: DreamHost's most appealing feature is its affordability, especially when opting for a month-to-month plan. The monthly billing option allows you to cancel anytime without extra charges. Remarkably, the monthly plan offers the same features as annual plans. This flexibility caters to those who can't commit to an annual plan financially or are uncertain about their website's duration.
Uptime: Uptime is critical for web hosting. DreamHost excels in this regard. Extensive tests confirm its stability, with minimal downtime during testing, perhaps just once in thousands of tests. DreamHost is so confident in its uptime that it offers a 100% uptime guarantee, a rare feat among shared hosting services. Should your site ever go down, DreamHost provides compensation for the downtime, showcasing their commitment to reliability.
Money-Back Guarantee: DreamHost extends a remarkable 97-day money-back guarantee, an offer that few other web hosting services can match. This risk-free trial allows you to claim a full refund if you're dissatisfied with the service. Note that the guarantee applies exclusively to shared hosting plans and purchases made via credit card or Google Checkout.
Security: While DreamHost doesn't include anti-malware services in its email offerings, it excels in other security aspects. The control panel facilitates easy access to and editing of the .htaccess file, allowing you to control site access and set up passwords effortlessly. Additionally, DreamHost enables you to block search engine indexing for specific parts of your site. What's more, DreamHost offers free SSL certificates, providing essential security for e-commerce or data collection sites. The service also supports SSH and SFTP access and boasts compatibility with HTTP/2, PHP 7, and includes its firewall.
Domain Names: Subscribing to an annual plan or longer grants you a complimentary domain name registration for the first year. This convenience simplifies domain management. Keep in mind that subsequent years for a .com domain cost $15.95 per year. You can choose from a variety of popular domain extensions like .com, .net, .blog, .shop, .org, .info, and more.
User-Friendly: DreamHost's dashboard earns praise for its modern, clean design and user-friendly interface. Unlike many other managed WordPress hosts, DreamHost avoids cPanel and instead offers a custom control panel that covers all aspects of your account.
Unlimited Bandwidth: All DreamHost accounts receive free unlimited bandwidth and generous storage. Higher-tier plans offer unlimited storage, with the Starter plan limiting you to 50 GB. However, be aware of the fair usage policy preventing file-sharing sites.
The Bad
Limited Server Locations: DreamHost operates data centers solely in Virginia and Oregon. This limited geographic coverage falls short of competitors like SiteGround and A2 Hosting, which have servers worldwide, making DreamHost less suitable for users outside the United States.
Email Account Not Included in Starter Plan: The Shared Starter plan doesn't include email accounts, requiring separate payment. While these accounts are reasonably priced (starting at $1.67/month), it's disappointing that they aren't included as they are with many other hosting services.
Support: While email and ticket support are commendable, phone support is notably absent from DreamHost's offerings unless you're willing to pay extra for it. Users seeking free support can rely on live chat, forums, or Twitter.
Complex Installs: Unlike many competitors offering one-click installations for various CMS platforms, DreamHost's automated installs are limited to a few CMSs, mainly WordPress. For other CMS options, you'll encounter a more complex installation process.
DreamHost Pricing and Options
DreamHost Pricing
To decide if DreamHost suits your needs, understanding its pricing and packages is essential. DreamHost offers a range of packages and products at various price points. Explore the different package options here.
DreamHost Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is the most economical way to host your website with DreamHost. The package starts at $2.59/month for a three-year contract. Alternatively, it's $3.95/month billed annually or $4.95 billed monthly.
Within the shared hosting options, there are two tiers: Starter and Unlimited. The Starter plan is designed for newcomers and includes:
- Hosting for one website
- Free domain
- Unlimited traffic
- Pre-installed WordPress
- Free automated WordPress migrations
- WP Website Builder
- Fast SSD storage
- Free SSL certificate
- Email for as little as $1.67/month
The Unlimited option offers:
- Hosting for unlimited websites
- Free domain
- Unlimited traffic
- Pre-installed WordPress
- Free automated WordPress migrations
- WP Website Builder
- Fast SSD storage
- Free SSL certificate
- Unlimited email at your domain
Both plans are excellent starting points, but if your website surpasses 200,000 visitors monthly, consider upgrading your plan.
DreamHost VPS Hosting
VPS (virtual private server) hosting provides a dedicated hosting environment within a shared server, offering more customization options. This option is suitable for larger businesses and e-commerce ventures.
DreamHost's VPS hosting offers several levels: VPS Basic, VPS Business, VPS Professional, and VPS Enterprise, each catering to different types of websites. Pricing for these VPS hosting services is based on three years of service. VPS Basic starts at $13.75/month annually, and VPS Enterprise starts at $110/month. For monthly billing, VPS Basic begins at $15/month, and VPS Enterprise starts at $120/month.
DreamHost Dedicated Hosting
Dedicated hosting assigns an entire server exclusively to your website, ensuring top performance. While DreamHost manages this server comprehensively, it's the most expensive hosting option.
DreamHost offers two dedicated hosting plans: Standard and Enhanced. The Standard plan features 4GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, priced at $149/month annually or $169/month monthly. The Enhanced plan boasts 16GB of RAM and 2TB of storage, priced at $279/month annually or $299/month monthly. Various tiers of both plans provide different RAM and storage configurations.
DreamHost Cloud Hosting
DreamHost's cloud hosting, known as DreamCloud, distributes resources across multiple servers, enhancing reliability. Three plan options are available, starting at $4.50/month, offering features like 512 MB of RAM, 80 GB of storage, and unlimited monthly data transfers. Higher-tier plans, up to $48/month, include 4 CPU cores, 8GB of RAM, 80GB of storage, and unlimited data transfers.
DreamHost Domain Names
DreamHost simplifies domain registration, offering domain searches and purchases on its platform. Domains are competitively priced at $6.99 per year, including free private registration. When you buy a domain through DreamHost, you gain access to free subdomains, straightforward domain transfers, easy management, and more.
DreamHost Website Builder
For users intimidated by website creation, DreamHost's Website Builder simplifies the process. This tool provides themes and drag-and-drop features for straightforward website building.
Comparing Top Web Hosting Services
While DreamHost offers numerous advantages, exploring alternatives to meet your specific requirements is essential. Check out our picks for the best web hosting services to find the ideal fit for you:
- Hostinger: Best web hosting for most users.
- SiteGround: Best for maintaining uptime above 99.99%.
- HostGator: Best for effortless small business scaling.
- DreamHost: Best pay-as-you-go web hosting.
- Bluehost: Best drag-and-drop page builder for beginners.
- InMotion Hosting: Best price for hosting two websites on one plan.
- Nexcess: Best for experienced WordPress users.
- A2 Hosting: Most reliable web hosting for European and Asian audiences.
In conclusion, DreamHost proves to be an excellent choice for web hosting. It offers a variety of plans loaded with features at competitive prices, making it suitable for both small businesses and larger enterprises. Its comprehensive toolset, user-friendly interface, robust security, money-back guarantee, domain services, and more place it among our top recommendations.
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