Bluehost review

What Bluehost is and who it suits

Bluehost is a US web hosting company that sells shared and WordPress hosting, online store plans, VPS servers and domains, aimed mainly at small businesses, bloggers and first-time site owners.^1,16 It was founded in 2003 in Provo, Utah, and is now part of Newfold Digital.^8,10 Bluehost says it has more than 5 million customers in over 100 countries.⁷

It suits people who want a WordPress site without looking after a server: WordPress is installed and updated for them, and SSL, a CDN and backups are included.¹ It is a weaker fit if you want predictable long-term costs, because the low prices require a 36-month term paid in advance and renew at a much higher rate.^1,4 This review is based on Bluehost's published prices, terms and help pages, checked on 2 November 2026; we did not buy a plan or run speed tests.

Key facts

Company background

Bluehost was founded in December 2003 by Matt Heaton and Danny Ashworth in Provo, Utah. According to its own timeline, it passed one million registered domains in June 2008, was acquired by Endurance International Group in November 2010 and added VPS and dedicated servers in April 2013.⁸

In February 2021 the investment firm Clearlake completed its purchase of Endurance and, with Siris, combined Endurance's web presence business with Web.com to form Newfold Digital, whose brands included Bluehost, HostGator, Network Solutions and Web.com.⁹ Newfold now places Bluehost in a Bluehost Group alongside HostGator, the SEO plugin maker Yoast and the WooCommerce tool maker YITH.¹⁰ Bluehost gives Jacksonville, Florida, as its headquarters and names Sachin Puri as chief executive.^6,7

Customer figures such as "5M+ global customers" are Bluehost's own.⁷ One point from the public record is worth knowing: in 2018 its then parent company, Endurance, agreed to pay an $8 million penalty to settle US Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it had misreported subscriber figures, without admitting or denying the findings.¹¹

Plans and prices

Bluehost's shared hosting doubles as its WordPress hosting and comes in three published tiers plus a custom Enterprise option. These prices were listed on 2 November 2026 for a 36-month term, excluding VAT or GST:¹

The headline prices are introductory. Bluehost's terms say payment is taken in advance for the full term and that services renew automatically for a term of the same length.⁴ At the listed renewal rates, Starter costs two and a half times its starting price and Business twice as much.¹ The terms also allow Bluehost to raise fees with prior written notice.⁴

The free domain is included for one year with 12- or 36-month hosting terms, must be claimed within 90 days and then renews at the current rate.¹ Pro Email starts as a free trial and renews at $2.50 a month, and domain privacy is free only for the first year on the higher plans.¹ For more control, Bluehost also sells self-managed VPS plans with root SSH access, where you look after the operating system and software yourself.¹⁶

Features and WordPress tools

All three shared plans include AI site creation tools, managed WordPress updates, a free site migration tool, a CDN, a staging site, SSH and WP-CLI access, static and object caching, and the free Yoast SEO plugin.¹ Bluehost says WordPress installation is automatic on its hosting plans. In the Bluehost Portal, a WordPress site is added from the Websites page, after which the AI Site Creator drafts a first version from a title, a description and a site type.^1,15

WordPress.org lists Bluehost on its hosting page and calls it the project's longest-running recommended host; Bluehost dates the recommendation to 2005.^12,2 WordPress.org also describes its list as "completely arbitrary" and says some listed hosts donate part of the fee when visitors click through from that page, so the listing is an editorial choice rather than an independent performance test.¹²

Performance, uptime and security

Bluehost promises 99.99% uptime on shared hosting; if it falls short, customers can claim a single 5% monthly credit within 30 days.¹ Storage on all shared plans is NVMe SSD.¹ We did not run our own speed or uptime tests, so these figures are Bluehost's commitments, not measurements.

In October 2025 Bluehost announced seven new data-centre locations: Frankfurt, Mumbai, São Paulo, Paris, Sydney, London and Madrid.¹³ A month later it said nearly a million customers had already moved to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and that migrating all Bluehost customers was on track for completion in 2026.¹⁴

Every shared plan includes a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate, malware scanning and removal, and weekly website backups. A web application firewall and DDoS protection are listed only from the Business plan upwards.¹

Support, refunds and payment

Live chat is available around the clock on every shared plan, and Bluehost says the average chat response time is under two minutes.^1,6 Phone support is included from the Business plan; Starter lists it as not included.¹ The contact page describes 24/7 phone support from US-based staff, notes that international calling fees may apply and links to a self-help knowledge base.⁶

The 30-day money-back guarantee covers shared, VPS and dedicated hosting fees, but not Bluehost Cloud hosting or services on a monthly term. Domain registration fees are non-refundable; if your plan came with a free domain, a domain fee is deducted from the refund. Add-ons such as SSL, SiteLock and domain privacy are not refunded either, and renewal payments can only be refunded within a 15-day prebill window.³

For terms of three months or longer, Bluehost's US terms promise notice of a renewal charge no later than 30 days before the payment date. To stop a renewal, you must opt out at least 16 calendar days before the term ends.⁴ New purchases can be paid with Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover, PayPal (instant payments only), Apple Pay at checkout or Google Pay; checks, money orders and wires are not accepted for new purchases.⁵

How getting started works

Getting a WordPress site online with Bluehost takes a few stages, from choosing a plan to publishing the first page:^1,15

1. Compare Starter, Business and eCommerce Essentials, and note both the introductory and the renewal price for the term you choose.¹
2. Choose a domain: register a new one, free for the first year on 12- or 36-month terms, or transfer in one you already own.¹
3. Create your Bluehost login and review the cart: check the billing term and remove any add-ons you do not need.
4. Pay by card, PayPal, Apple Pay or Google Pay; the full term is charged in advance.^5,4
5. In the Bluehost Portal, open Websites, choose Add Website and select WordPress; the AI Site Creator can then draft a first version of the site.¹⁵
6. Note the renewal date: to avoid the renewal charge, switch off auto-renewal online at least 16 calendar days before the term ends.⁴

Prices, terms and availability change and can differ by country or state. Check the current terms on Bluehost's own website before you buy.

Pros and cons

Bluehost FAQ

Sources

1. Bluehost – Shared hosting plans and prices (checked 2 November 2026)
2. Bluehost – WordPress hosting
3. Bluehost Help – Refund Policy
4. Bluehost – Terms of Service
5. Bluehost Help – Payment types accepted
6. Bluehost – Contact and support
7. Bluehost – About Bluehost
8. Bluehost – earlier About page with company timeline (Internet Archive copy, February 2026)
9. Newfold Digital – Clearlake completes acquisition of Endurance International Group, formation of Newfold Digital (10 February 2021)
10. Newfold Digital – Brands
11. US SEC – Endurance International Group Holdings and Constant Contact, settled charges (5 June 2018)
12. WordPress.org – WordPress Hosting
13. Newfold Digital – Bluehost expands global coverage with new data centers (10 October 2025)
14. Newfold Digital – Bluehost web hosting platform on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (5 November 2025)
15. Bluehost Help – How to install WordPress
16. Bluehost – Self-managed VPS hosting

This review is general information, not professional advice. It is an editorial assessment based on Bluehost's published prices, terms and help pages and on public sources, checked on 2 November 2026. We did not buy or test the service ourselves. Prices, terms and availability change and differ by country or state, so check the current terms before you buy.