Bluehost is a web hosting company based in Utah, and one of only three hosts officially recommended by WordPress.org. They offer shared hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS, dedicated servers, and managed WordPress plans for websites of all sizes.
Who Owns Bluehost?
Bluehost is owned by Newfold Digital, a web technology company formed in 2021 when Endurance International Group merged with Web.com Group. Newfold Digital owns several hosting brands including Bluehost, HostGator, Web.com, and Network Solutions. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.
Before the Newfold rebrand, Bluehost operated under the Endurance International Group umbrella, which acquired it in 2010. The original founder, Matt Heaton, started Bluehost in 2003 after running 50megs.com and 0catch.com. As of today, Bluehost hosts more than two million domains on servers housed in a 50,000 square-foot facility in Provo, Utah. For a full breakdown of plans, pricing, and how Bluehost compares to other hosts, see our complete Bluehost hosting guide.
Is Bluehost an American Company?
Yes. Bluehost is an American company. Its servers and main operations are based in Utah, and Newfold Digital (the parent company) is headquartered in Florida. Customer support is US-based as well.
What Hosting Plans Does Bluehost Offer?
Bluehost offers several types of hosting to cover different site sizes and budgets:
- Shared hosting - Multiple sites share a single server. Best for small blogs, portfolios, and early-stage business sites.
- WordPress hosting - Shared plans pre-configured for WordPress, with one-click installation and automatic updates.
- VPS hosting - A virtualized private server with dedicated resources. Good for growing sites that have outgrown shared plans.
- Dedicated hosting - A full physical server for your site alone. Suited to high-traffic sites with specific resource needs.
- WooCommerce hosting - Shared plans with WooCommerce pre-installed and ecommerce tools included.
- Managed WordPress hosting - A higher-tier plan with automatic updates, staging environments, and enhanced security.
How Much Does Bluehost Cost?
Bluehost uses introductory promotional pricing for the first billing term, with higher renewal rates when the term ends. The main shared hosting tiers look like this:
- Basic - intro from ~$2.95/month, renews at ~$8.99/month. Covers 1 website, 10 GB SSD storage, 5 email accounts, free SSL, and a free domain for the first year.
- Plus - intro from ~$5.45/month, renews at ~$11.99/month. Unlimited websites, unlimited storage, unlimited email.
- Choice Plus - intro from ~$5.45/month, renews at ~$16.99/month. Everything in Plus, plus domain privacy and automated daily backups.
- Pro - intro from ~$13.95/month. Dedicated server resources, better performance under traffic spikes, advanced caching.
The promotional rate applies to the first term only (typically 12, 24, or 36 months). After that, renewal pricing applies automatically. For most new site owners, the Basic or Plus plan is the right starting point. See our full Bluehost review for a detailed breakdown of what each plan actually delivers in practice.
What Does Bluehost Include?
Most Bluehost plans come with a free domain for the first year, a free SSL certificate, and a one-click WordPress installer. Their shared plans include cPanel access, which makes it straightforward to manage files, databases, and email accounts.
On the higher tiers, you get features like staging environments (for testing changes before they go live), automatic backups, and advanced caching. Bluehost also handles email hosting, so you can set up professional email addresses on your domain directly through cPanel, with webmail access through Horde or Roundcube.
Is Bluehost Safe and Secure?
Bluehost includes a free SSL certificate on all plans, which encrypts data between your visitors’ browsers and your server. This is a baseline requirement for any website, and Bluehost handles renewal automatically so the certificate does not expire without warning.
Beyond the free SSL, Bluehost offers optional security add-ons at checkout: SiteLock for malware scanning and removal, and CodeGuard for daily automated backups with restore capability. These are sold separately rather than bundled into the base plan. If you skip them, the free alternative for backups is the UpdraftPlus plugin on WordPress, which can back up to Google Drive or Dropbox at no cost.
Bluehost’s shared hosting environment applies server-level protections including spam filtering and basic firewall rules, but you are sharing a server with other customers. For higher security isolation, Bluehost’s VPS plans give you dedicated resources and a more controlled environment.
What Support Does Bluehost Offer?
Bluehost provides 24/7 support through live chat and phone on all plans. This is more generous than many budget hosts, which restrict phone support to higher tiers. The support team can help with hosting account questions, WordPress setup, and basic troubleshooting. Complex WordPress development issues are generally outside their scope.
Bluehost also maintains an extensive knowledge base with step-by-step guides covering account setup, WordPress installation, domain configuration, email, and billing. For common setup questions, the knowledge base typically has a clear walkthrough.
Is Bluehost Good for WordPress?
Bluehost is one of the most popular choices for WordPress beginners. WordPress.org lists it among their three recommended hosts, which means it meets their standards for performance, support, and WordPress compatibility. The setup process is beginner-friendly: you pick a plan, choose a domain, and WordPress is installed automatically.
That said, experienced WordPress developers sometimes prefer hosts that give more direct server control. Bluehost’s shared plans work well as a starting point, but very high-traffic WordPress sites may need to upgrade to a VPS or managed hosting. Our full Bluehost review covers performance in more detail.
Bluehost Uptime and Performance
Bluehost targets 99.9% uptime across their shared and WordPress plans. Independent tests generally show response times in the 400-700ms range for shared hosting, which is acceptable for most small to mid-sized sites. Performance on shared hosting can vary depending on traffic from other users on the same server. If consistent speed matters more than price, their managed WordPress plans or a VPS offer more predictable results.
Bluehost vs Other Beginner-Friendly Hosts
Bluehost is not the only affordable host targeting new WordPress users. Here is how it compares to the most common alternatives:
- Bluehost vs Hostinger - Hostinger offers cheaper renewal pricing and generally faster load times on its Cloud plans. Bluehost has the advantage of official WordPress.org endorsement and better beginner onboarding. For pure price, Hostinger wins; for WordPress tooling, Bluehost has the edge.
- Bluehost vs SiteGround - SiteGround uses faster server technology (LiteSpeed) and provides stronger security defaults, but costs noticeably more, especially at renewal. Bluehost suits a tighter budget; SiteGround suits someone willing to pay more for better performance.
- Bluehost vs DreamHost - DreamHost offers month-to-month billing with no annual commitment, which Bluehost does not match. DreamHost also has a reputation for transparent pricing. Bluehost has better WordPress-specific tooling and broader plan options.
Who Is Bluehost For?
Bluehost suits:
- New website owners who want a simple setup with WordPress and 24/7 support to back them up
- Small businesses that need hosting, a domain, and professional email in one affordable package
- Anyone who wants WordPress.org-recommended hosting without a high monthly cost
- WooCommerce store owners on a budget who want a managed setup with pre-installed ecommerce tools
- Bloggers and content creators who need a low-cost entry point and room to grow
It is less suited to developers who need root server access, sites with heavy traffic requirements, or teams that prefer managed cloud infrastructure. For those use cases, a VPS or a managed host like Cloudways is worth considering. For advanced use cases such as running multiple WordPress sites from one installation, Bluehost also supports WordPress Multisite across all plan types.
For practical setup guides, see our how-to on how to add a domain to your Bluehost account and our guide on whether Bluehost is a good choice for your site.
