Bluehost
WordPress-recommended shared hosting with aggressive promotional pricing but substantial renewal increases
Bluehost is an officially recommended WordPress.org hosting provider serving over 5 million websites globally. It offers multiple hosting types including shared, WordPress, WooCommerce, VPS, Cloud, and dedicated hosting plans. Introductory rates start from $2.95–$3.95/month, though renewal pricing typically increases 150–270% after the initial term.
How we scored it
A weighted average of the 4 dimensions below, each judged 0–10 from published pricing, vendor documentation and independent user feedback. We do not run hands-on tests, and no vendor has any say in a score.
2 further dimensions are not scored for this product yet, so they are left out of the average rather than counted as zero. How the score works.
What it actually costs
Intro pricing shown — see the renewal note for what you'll pay after the introductory term. We don't hide the second-act price.
What to check before you rent Bluehost
Infrastructure is cheap to start and expensive to leave. These four questions decide what it costs you over three years rather than three months.
The renewal, not the intro price
Introductory pricing is normal in this category and the renewal is the price that matters. Check the renewal rate on Bluehost’s own pricing page before the first term ends, not after.
What the commitment buys
Longer terms carry the lowest headline rate and the least room to change your mind. Price the shortest term you would actually be comfortable with, then decide whether the discount is worth the lock-in.
The cost of leaving
Moving a site or a workload is the hidden switching cost: migration time, DNS and TLS changes, and whatever egress the provider charges to hand your own data back. A provider is only cheap if leaving is.
What is actually metered
Bandwidth, storage, backups and support tiers are usually the lines that grow, not the base plan. Find the ceiling on each before you commit, because that is where the bill moves.
These are the checks we apply across hosting, in the same order, so two pages can be compared line for line.
How much does Bluehost really cost?
Our calculation from the vendor's published prices — not a figure the vendor advertises.
Price steps up at thresholds. Crossing one moves you to the next tier's price for everything, not just the excess. Shared hosting plans are tiered with higher-tier plans offering more features and resources at higher monthly costs. Introductory rates are significantly lower than renewal rates.
| Team size | Per month | Per year | Over 3 years | How it is charged |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $3.95 | $47.40 | $142.20 | Flat rate — seats are not charged separately on this plan |
| 5 people | $3.95 | $47.40 | $142.20 | Flat rate — seats are not charged separately on this plan |
| 10 people | $3.95 | $47.40 | $142.20 | Flat rate — seats are not charged separately on this plan |
| 50 people | $3.95 | $47.40 | $142.20 | Flat rate — seats are not charged separately on this plan |
Based on the Basic Shared Hosting plan at $3.95 a month. Three years at the current monthly price. The vendor does not publish a renewal rate, so no increase is assumed.
- The vendor does not publish a renewal price, so three-year totals assume today's price holds.
- No annual price recorded, so annual figures are twelve times the monthly price.
- Pricing has not been verified against the vendor's page since this data was collected.
Work out your own cost
- Flat rate — the price does not change with team size.
- No renewal increase is published, so today's price is held flat.
Bluehost against the field
The highest-scoring alternatives in the same category, compared on the figures we hold for all of them.
| BluehostThis page | Kinsta | Hostinger | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ReviewCost score | 6.8/10 | 8.4/10 | 8.3/10 |
| Cheapest plan | Basic Shared Hosting | — | — |
| From | $3.95/mo | $35.00/mo | $1.99/mo |
| Renews at | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Biggest strength | WordPress.org's longest-running official recommendation since 2005, trusted by 5+ million WordPress sites globally | Exceptional website speed performance consistently ranked at the top of managed WordPress hosts with sub-200ms time-to-first-byte | Exceptionally competitive introductory pricing starting under $3/month attracts budget-conscious users |
| Biggest drawback | Severe renewal price shock: promotional rates increase 150–271% after initial term (e.g., $2.95/month jumps to $10.99/month) | Premium pricing starting at $35/month makes it 3–10 times more expensive than budget shared hosting, unsuitable for hobby sites or tight budgets | Steep renewal rates: introductory pricing jumps 3–5× at term end (e.g., $2.69→$10.99); renewal shock is the single most common user complaint |
Prices are the published figures at the time of writing and change often. Renewal pricing is shown where the vendor publishes it. See how we review.
What people ask about Bluehost
Straight answers to what buyers actually ask, drawn from the documentation and published user reports.
Why is Bluehost's renewal price so much higher than the introductory rate?
Does Bluehost offer monthly billing or only annual/multi-year contracts?
Is the 30-day money-back guarantee actually useful?
How does Bluehost's performance compare to Hostinger or SiteGround?
Is Bluehost still recommended by WordPress.org in 2026?
Page history
- Published
- 13 September 2026
- Last updated
- 1 October 2026
Pricing on this page has not yet been checked against the vendor’s own page.