Bluehost vs Hostinger: What Experts Recommend?
Choosing the right web host is crucial to the success of any website. Whether you’re starting a brand new site or looking to switch from a different provider, this comparison will help you decide whether Hostinger or Bluehost is the best web host for your needs.
Hostinger’s main strength is its features, and the fact it’s super cheap — it’s best for anyone on a budget who’s looking for discounted prices. Bluehost’s standout feature is its incredible WordPress hosting, not to mention its great value plans. In our research, Bluehost came out as the best overall web host of all the ones we’ve tested so far.
Hostinger is best for:
- Users on a budget
- Those needing cloud hosting plans (Bluehost doesn’t offer cloud hosting)
- Users who aren’t worried about too much downtime
- WordPress users looking for awesome WordPress hosting
- Those needing dedicated hosting plans (Hostinger doesn’t offer dedicated hosting)
- Beginners who want helpful customer support
Bluehost is best for:
- WordPress users looking for awesome WordPress hosting
- Those needing dedicated hosting plans (Hostinger doesn’t offer dedicated hosting)
- Beginners who want helpful customer support
We’ve carried out in-depth research into the top providers on the market, so we’re in the perfect position to guide you through the pros and cons of Hostinger and Bluehost. We’ve analyzed their features, value for money, uptime, types of hosting offered, and more, meaning we can give you confident recommendations about which host is best for you. Let’s get started!
- Pros and Cons
- Ease of Use
- Features
- Pricing and Value for Money
- Performance and Security
- Migrating Domains and Website
- Help and Support
- Hostinger vs Bluehost: Summary
- FAQs
Pros and Cons
Hostinger
Pros
- Discounted hosting plans — Hostinger’s main attraction is its eye-popping cheap starting prices, which start from $0.99 per month for new users
- Multilingual customer support — Hostinger has customer support agents across the world, and offers support in many different languages
- Features — Hostinger offers some neat features depending on the plan you choose, such as email accounts, automatic backups, and a free domain
Cons
- No dedicated hosting — If you’re looking for a dedicated plan to support a large site or online store, Hostinger isn’t for you
- Low uptime guarantee — Hostinger’s 99.90% uptime guarantee is pretty low compared to its competitors (you ideally want an uptime guarantee of at least 99.97%)
- Value for money could be better — Despite its super cheap starting prices, Hostinger’s plans don’t offer amazing value for money, and you need to sign up for a whopping four years to qualify for its cheapest prices
Bluehost
Pros
- Outstanding WordPress hosting — If you need hosting for a WordPress site, no matter the size, Bluehost is the best in the business. It’s even earned a recommendation from WordPress.org itself!
- Great value, affordable plans — Bluehost may not be as cheap as Hostinger, but its plans offer better value for money than most other providers on the market
- Helpful customer support that exceeded our expectations — We tested Bluehost’s support ourselves and found that it was timely and relevant, and satisfied our queries
Cons
- Be wary of extra costs — Bluehost automatically selects add-ons at checkout, so make sure to un-tick these before paying to avoid surprise charges. Also, the minimum contract length is one year, which is unusual!
- No cloud hosting — If you need flexible cloud hosting plans, Bluehost is not the right choice for you
- Limited storage on cheapest plans — While Bluehost tends to have more generous storage limits than Hostinger, Bluehost offers a relatively small amount compared to other web hosts
Know more
- Read our full Bluehost Review for a more in-depth look at its pros and cons
Ease of Use
Bluehost is easier to use than Hostinger — especially if you’re using WordPress. It comes with a free domain, helpful support, and great onboarding. This isn’t to say Hostinger is difficult to use — on the contrary, we’ve heard positive things about its onboarding process — but Bluehost wins out overall.
What did users say?
“Bluehost is super for beginners, who need all-in-one-solutions to create a web-presence (and email) from scratch.”
– Steffi, who uses Bluehost to host her consultancy site AcumenIST.
Onboarding Process
Bluehost comes with a helpful setup menu in its WordPress dashboard and helps you securely change your log in details from the WordPress default as part of the setup process — an important security measure that’s often overlooked by beginners.
Hostinger is also easy to get to grips with — again, it has a special focus on WordPress onboarding, providing the quick and easy setup even for total beginners.
Setting Up (and Running) Your Website
Both Hostinger and Bluehost provide one-click WordPress installation and automatic WordPress updates. This is a huge help in getting your site live quickly, and ensuring everything runs smoothly once it’s live.
Managing your site should be stress-free with either web host — both offer free backups, provide free SSL, and come with domain management.
Bluehost goes the extra mile and includes a free domain on all its hosting plans, which is a great feature that saves you time (and money) during setup. If you already have a domain name, you can connect it as part of the setup process. Hostinger provides a free domain on some of its plans, but not all.
Find out more
- See how easy it is to get started with Bluehost with our helpful guide How to Install WordPress With Bluehost
Features
Hostinger scored higher for features in our research than Bluehost. It’s a feature-rich web host that’s pretty generous even on its cheapest plans. While beginners may not need all the features Hostinger has to offer, it ticks a lot of techy boxes, and gives you room to grow.
Types of Hosting
Both Bluehost and Hostinger provide:
- Shared hosting
- VPS hosting
- Shared WordPress hosting
- Managed WordPress hosting
- WooCommerce hosting
The main difference between the types of hosting offered by Hostinger and Bluehost is that Bluehost doesn’t provide cloud hosting, while Hostinger doesn’t provide dedicated hosting.
It’s also worth mentioning that Hostinger offers Windows VPS hosting, while Bluehost only offers Linux. Linux hosting is more popular, but if you need specific Windows applications, then Windows hosting will be a better fit.
Shared Hosting: Features
Bluehost
Storage: 50GB — Unlimited
Monthly visitor limit: 32,000
Bandwidth: Unmetered
Free domain: ✔️ On all plans
Free backups: ✔️
Email accounts: 5 — Unlimited
Hostinger
Storage: 30GB — 200GB
Monthly visitor limit: 10,000–100,000
Bandwidth: 100GB — Unlimited
Free domain: ✔️ On some plans
Free backups: ✔️
Email accounts: 1 — Unlimited
Bluehost includes a free domain on all its shared hosting plans, which is a great perk. Hostinger’s free backups take place weekly on its cheapest plans, and daily on its Business plan.
Both Hostinger and Bluehost tick all the key feature boxes for good quality shared hosting. However, here’s what we would’ve liked to see more of:
More storage on Hostinger’s plans for greater scalability
A free domain on Hostinger’s cheapest plan for extra value
More transparency from Bluehost about the frequency of its free backups for total peace of mind
VPS Hosting: Features
Bluehost
Storage: 30GB — 120GB
RAM: 2GB — 8GB
Bandwidth: 1TB — 3TB
Free backups: ✔️
Root access: ✔️
Dedicated IP: ✔️
Windows or Linux?: Linux only
Hostinger
Storage: 20GB — 160GB
RAM: 1GB — 8GB
Bandwidth: 1TB — 8TB
Free backups: ✔️
Root access: ✔️
Dedicated IP: ✔️
Windows or Linux?: Both
VPS hosting is more advanced than shared hosting — it’s more secure and gives you more control over your site. Root access is very important, and provided by both Hostinger and Bluehost on all VPS plans.
Here’s what we would’ve liked to see more of:
More storage space and bandwidth from Bluehost, so you have more room to grow
Better uptime from Hostinger for more reliable performance
More support options from Hostinger for beginners needing help with their VPS plan
A cheaper entry plan from Bluehost for those on a budget
Shared WordPress Hosting: Features
Bluehost
Storage: 50GB — Unlimited
Bandwidth: Unmetered
Free domain: ✔️ On all plans
Free CDN: ✔️ On all plans
Automatic WordPress installation: ✔
Automatic WordPress updates: ✔️
Number of websites: 1 — Unlimited
Hostinger
Storage: 30GB — 200GB
Bandwidth: 100GB — Unlimited
Free domain: ✔️ On some plans
Free CDN: ✔️ On some plans
Automatic WordPress installation: ✔️
Automatic WordPress updates: ✔️
Number of websites: 100–300
Both Hostinger and Bluehost have a real focus on WordPress users and their features are designed to make your life as easy as possible. Automatic installs and updates are essential WordPress hosting features, and are quickly ticked off by both web hosts.
Here are some things we would like to see:
Automatic plugin updates from Bluehost to make users’ lives even easier
More storage on Hostinger’s more expensive plans for greater scalability
A greater number of websites allowed on Hostinger’s plans
Pricing and Value for Money
Bluehost offers better value for money than Hostinger. Despite Hostinger’s dirt cheap starter prices, Bluehost makes your money go further with its feature-rich, affordable hosting packages. Free perks such as a free domain and free CDN also help you stick to a budget.
Do You Want Great Value for Money?
Bluehost’s plans may be pricier than Hostinger’s, but they’re also much better value!
Yes! I Want to Visit Bluehost
Starting Prices: Quick Look
Bluehost
Shared: $2.95 — $13.95
Shared WordPress: $2.95 — $5.54
VPS: $18.99 — $59.99
Cloud: N/A
Dedicated: $79.99 — $119.99
Hostinger
Shared:$0.99 — $3.99
Shared WordPress: $1.99 — $11.59
VPS: $3.95 — $38.99
Cloud:$9.99 — $69.99
Dedicated: N/A
Renewal Prices: Quick Look
Bluehost
Shared: $8.99 — $26.99
Shared WordPress: $8.99 — $16.99
VPS:$29.99 — $119.99
Cloud: N/A
Dedicated: $119.99 — $209.99
Hostinger
Shared: $2.99 — $8.99
Shared WordPress: $3.99 — $19.99
VPS: $8.16 — $65.99
Cloud: $18.99 — $84.99
Dedicated: N/A
Both Hostinger and Bluehost come with a 30-day money-back guarantee so that you can try your plan risk-free, and get your money back if you’re not totally satisfied.
Hostinger is by far the cheaper web host, so if you’re on a tight budget, then Hostinger’s plans make a lot of sense. Its starter plans are heavily discounted for new customers — just watch out for renewal costs once your first term is over.
Bluehost is more expensive, but it’s also great value. In our research, Bluehost scored 4.6 stars out of 5 for value, whereas Hostinger scored 3.7 out of 5.
It’s important to note that the cheapest prices, which you see advertised on Bluehost and Hostinger’s websites, reflect each host’s longest subscription. For Bluehost, that means you need a 36-month contract for its cheapest $2.95 per month plan, and for Hostinger you need a 48-month contract for its cheapest $0.99 per month plan.
We realize this is a long time to commit to a host you only just met, so here’s a breakdown of each host’s one-year plan costs:
Bluehost: 12-month plans
Shared: $4.95 — $18.95
Shared WordPress: $4.95 — $7.45
VPS: $23.99 — $83.99
Cloud: N/A
Dedicated: $99.99 — $139.99
Hostinger: 12-month plans
Shared: $2.99 — $6.99
Shared WordPress: $4.99 — $15.99
VPS: $4.95 — $58.99
Cloud: $12.99 — $79.99
Dedicated: N/A
Hostinger also has a one-month contract on most of its plans if you want more flexibility, although this is the most expensive pricing option — For example, its cheapest shared plan costs $9.99 per month, and comes with a $4.99 setup fee. Most of Bluehost’s plans have a one-year minimum contract length, but some — like its VPS plans — do have monthly plans available.
What Features Do You Get On Each Host’s Cheapest Plan?
Below, you can compare the key features you get with each host’s cheapest shared hosting plan.
Bluehost offers better value for money because it’s more generous with its features. Hostinger does provide a free domain, free CDN, and Google Ads credit on its more expensive plans, but not on its entry plan.
Bluehost: Cheapest Plan Features
Price per month (12-month contract): $4.95
Storage: 50GB
Bandwidth: Unmetered
Number of websites: 1
Free domain: ✔️
Free CDN: ✔️
Free SSL: ✔️
Domain management: ✔️
Google Ads credit: ✔️
Hostinger: Cheapest Plan Features
Price per month (12-month contract): $2.99
Storage: 30GB
Bandwidth: 100GB
Number of websites: 1
Free domain: ❌
Free CDN:❌ $12.99 — $79.99
Free SSL: ✔️
Domain management: ✔️
Google Ads credit: ❌
Performance and Security
Bluehost is a more reliable web host than Hostinger. This is mostly down to each web host’s uptime guarantee — indeed, Hostinger’s uptime percentage isn’t quite as high as we’d like. Other than that, it’s pretty close, but Bluehost just edges it.
Do You Want a Reliable Web Host?
Bluehost’s strong uptime guarantee is hard to beat — you’re in safe hands with this provider.
Uptime
Hostinger’s uptime guarantee is 99.90%. That equates to around 7 hours and 53 minutes of downtime per year when your website may be unavailable to visitors. Admittedly this is a worst-case scenario, but it’s worth knowing before committing to a plan.
Ideally, you want a web host that guarantees no more than three hours of downtime per year, which is where Bluehost blows Hostinger out of the water with its 99.98% uptime guarantee. That translates to around 1 hour and 45 minutes of downtime per year.
Security
Both Hostinger and Bluehost provide free SSL certificates on their hosting plans. SSL encrypts data passing between your visitors and your website, making it extra important for protecting payment information and login details.
We especially liked the focus on security during Bluehost’s WordPress onboarding. Part of your site setup includes securely changing your login details from the default option — an important security measure that’s easily overlooked by beginners.
Both web hosts regularly monitor online threats, with protective measures in place to detect attacks. Specific details on these defenses are usually purposefully vague in order to stay ahead of such online nasties. That said, Bluehost is more upfront about its security — automatic security updates, backup data protection, and malware detection are all in place.
Updates and Backups — Who’s Responsible For Upkeep?
Hostinger and Bluehost run free backups for you — however, we always recommend making your own backups too. It may seem like overkill, but it’s best to be proactive about your site’s backups, so that if something does happen — whether it’s a design mishap or a security breach — you’ve got total peace of mind.
WordPress users don’t need to worry about WordPress software updates, as both Hostinger and Bluehost’s WordPress plans automatically take care of these for you. Hostinger goes a step further, automatically running plugin updates too.
Migrating Domains and Websites
It’s a draw! Bluehost provides better WordPress migration than Hostinger, while Hostinger makes it easier to migrate non-WordPress sites than Bluehost. Bluehost makes it easier to point an existing domain to your new site, whereas Hostinger makes it easier to transfer your domain.
If you already have a website hosted with a different hosting provider, you might be wondering how easy it is to migrate your existing site to either Bluehost or Hostinger. Let’s take a look!
Migrating an Existing Domain
If you simply want to point a domain registered elsewhere to your new host, then Bluehost is super simple. As part of the signup process, you can either choose a new domain, or enter your existing domain to connect it to your new Bluehost account.
Bluehost makes connecting an existing domain easy, including it as part of the guided setup process.
You will still have to assign the domain once you’ve set up your Bluehost account, from inside your control panel dashboard. Bluehost has a helpful guide on how to do this.
If you want to transfer a domain to Bluehost (so that it’s no longer registered with your existing domain registrar, but registered with Bluehost instead), it’s a slightly longer process. Currently, you can transfer the following domain extensions to Bluehost:
.com
.net
.org
.us
.co
.info
.biz
Bluehost has a support guide that walks you through the steps of transferring an existing domain name, from updating your domain settings with your current registrar to initiating the domain transfer from your Bluehost control panel.
So, what about Hostinger? Well, instead of including domain registration as part of the signup process, you need to set up your domain in the control panel. When it comes to point an existing domain to your Hostinger website, there’s a detailed guide (complete with video tutorial) to walk you through the process.
You can transfer your domain to Hostinger in four simple steps. It has a dedicated domain transfer page, where you enter the domain you wish to transfer and click the “Transfer” button to get started. This is a much more user-friendly approach than Bluehost.
Migrating Your Website
If you have a WordPress website, Bluehost is best for migrating your site because it takes care of everything for you (for free!)
Bluehost offers free WordPress migrations. Create your Bluehost account, fill out the free migration form in your Bluehost dashboard, and Bluehost’s team of experts will review your site. Once your site is approved, experts will migrate your site for you, so you can sit back and relax! Your site is assessed on factors such as the WordPress version you use, website size, current plugins, and database size, to see if the migration will work or not.
Hostinger can’t quite compete with Bluehost’s expert migrations, but it’s still pretty easy. Hostinger has a guide to walk you through the various migration options available — we recommend using Hostinger’s automatic migration tool, as it’s by far the easiest and fastest method available. You’ll find this in the Migration Requests tab in your dashboard. Once you fill out the required form, the tool will migrate your site for you for free.
You can also migrate non-WordPress sites using the same Migration Requests form in your dashboard — simply select the type of website you need to migrate. Alternatively, you can request to migrate your site during the setup process, which may be even easier.
Migrating non-WordPress sites is slightly more challenging with Bluehost. It has helpful guides to walk you through the process, but you’ll need some time to ensure you get it right. Alternatively, you can pay $149.99 for Bluehost’s professional site transfer service, where its experts can migrate up to five sites and 20 email accounts for you.
Help and Support
Bluehost has much better help and support than Hostinger. It has more support channels to choose from, including 24/7 live chat and phone support, and provides a high-quality service. Hostinger’s knowledge center is helpful, but can’t compete with Bluehost’s impressive focus on customer service.
Do You Value Lots of Support?
Bluehost has a wide range of great support channels, and its agents are speedy and knowledgeable.
Support Channels: How Can You Ask For Help?
Both Hostinger and Bluehost provide:
- Knowledge center
- 24/7 live chat
- Tickets
Bluehost also provides 24/7 phone support, whereas Hostinger doesn’t currently provide any phone support at all.
Bluehost provides round-the-clock live chat and phone support, as well as email tickets and a well-stocked knowledge center. We tested its knowledge center and live chat support ourselves, and overall, Bluehost’s support exceeded our customer service expectations by 9% — the best of the four web hosts we trialed.
We were especially impressed by Bluehost’s comprehensive knowledge center. However, our users also noted the speed and quality of Bluehost’s live chat responses:
“The agent always responded with relevant and helpful information, often including links and longer replies than I was expecting. They definitely seemed knowledgeable, and in a good position to help me.”
This isn’t to say that Hostinger doesn’t have good support — it just has less. Before you sign up, you can only access a general inquiries form and the knowledge center. Once you’ve created an account, you unlock access to its 24/7 live chat, although this would be useful earlier on for answering any pre-sales questions you might have.
We like the use of video tutorials featured in help articles, and the fact Hostinger’s support team is multilingual!
Hostinger vs Bluehost: Summary
Now you know the key differences between Hostinger and Bluehost. We’ve explored features, pricing, types of hosting, performance, migration, and customer support, so you should have a good idea of which one better suits your needs.
Who Should Use Hostinger?
- Anyone on a tight budget looking for heavily discounted prices
- Users needing cloud hosting plans
- International users needing multi-language support
- Windows users looking for Windows VPS hosting services
- Non-e-commerce sites where low uptime isn’t a deal-breaker
Is Hostinger the Host For You?
If Hostinger has been ticking all your boxes, now is the time to take the next step!
I Choose Hostinger! Get Started Now
Who Should Use Bluehost?
- WordPress users looking for great quality WordPress hosting
- Users needing to be dedicated hosting plans
- Beginners needing thorough help and support offering
- Users wanting real value for their money
- Anyone who values reliability and performance over cheap pricing
Is Bluehost the Best Host For You?
Bluehost is our overall winner — if it’s yours too, now is the time to check out its features and pick your plan!
I Choose Bluehost! Get Started Now
