Choosing the Right Web Host: Namecheap vs. Bluehost Compared

in Comparisons, Web Hosting

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In this head-to-head Namecheap vs Bluehost comparison, we take a closer look at important features such as performance, pricing, pros and cons, and more – to help you decide before you sign up with one of these web hosting companies.

If you’ve never been burned by a website hosting company before, you’d constantly believe all the markets they keep spewing out.

And it’s easy to sign up with the wrong company thanks to the unbelievable promo prices, the promise of unlimited everything, and claims that their support teams are gifts from the gods.

But I know better. I have tried a couple of website hosting companies, and some deliver the exact opposite of what they promise.

Now, if your website was already gaining traction, you don’t want any interruptions in service. If there are problems, you expect to reach customer care instantly and get solutions.

You definitely don’t want surprise and hidden fees eating into your budget when you least expect it. And when your traffic finally goes through the roof, you want a web host that delivers scalability on a silver platter.

When your website is your livelihood, you can’t afford to choose your web host haphazardly. You want deserve the best web hosting service that won’t break the bank.

And in today’s Namecheap vs Bluehost comparison post, we have two of the best and cheapest hosts around. We’ve tested both, and can confidently recommend either for beginners.

However, we love a contest with one true winner. So, who’s it gonna be? Namecheap or Bluehost?

Let us get down to work.

Namecheap vs Bluehost: Cheap Hosting Compared

What is Namecheap?

namecheap homepage

I think you’ll agree when I say: it’s important to start with a thorough background check. So, what is Namecheap and what do they offer?

Namecheap is a budget hosting provider powering over 1.5 million websites and 10 million domains across the world.

  • 30 days money-back guarantee.
  • Superb value for money managed WordPress hosting.
  • 1x WordPress site installed & ready to go.
  • Intuitive and beginner-friendly dashboard.
  • Fast cloud servers, SSD storage & Free CDN.
  • Easy backup and restore.

Wait, you might be wondering how the math adds up. 10 million domains and just 1.5 million websites? How so? Please do tell.

Well, Namecheap is not just a hosting provider. They are largely a domain registrar that also happens to offer hosting services.

That means people can buy domain names at Namecheap, but host their sites elsewhere. Does that make sense now?

The company was founded in 2000 by CEO Richard Kirkendall, has 750 employees, and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States.

To help you get online quickly, Namecheap has a long list of solutions. They offer super-cheap shared hosting, managed WordPress hosting, reseller hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, and professional email hosting.

namecheap features

They have a powerful domain search tool that helps you to land great deals on a couple of TLDs. Also, they offer you a website builder and 1-click install for WordPress and other CMSes.

On top of that, you have SSL certificates, domain + site transfers, premium DNS, CDN, VPN, cPanel, free logo maker, business card maker, domain marketplace, and so much more.

Namecheap offers above-average customer support via live chat, email, knowledgebase, and ticket system.

The cheapest shared hosting plan at Namecheap starts at $2.88/month when billed annually. If you had no idea, they are offering a 50% discount for one year, meaning you can start at just $1.44/month. Each plan comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

For less than $40 per year, you can host a personal blog, resume, portfolio, or a small business website at Namecheap without any problems.

What is Bluehost?

bluehost homepage

Bluehost is a popular hosting provider for many beginners. The service will be perfect especially if you have a personal blog or website that doesn’t have a lot of traffic.

  • A free domain name for one year is included with most plans.
  • Bluerock is their new and (speed & security) improved control panel (cPanel).
  • Free SSD drives come included in every shared hosting plan.
  • Servers are powered by PHP7, HTTP/2 and NGINX caching.
  • Bluehost offers free SSL certificates (Let’s Encrypt) and Cloudflare CDN.
  • Bluehost offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
  • Is an official partner of WordPress.org.

If, however, you need performance-oriented, no-nonsense hosting for a big business website, you shouldn’t make Bluehost your best choice.

For resource-intensive and mission-critical websites, I would recommend a host such as Kinsta, Liquid Web or SiteGround.

Moving on swiftly, Bluehost is great as an entrance host, before you figure out things and understand the needs of your website fully.

Why?

It’s extremely simple to use and quite affordable. If you’re looking to test the waters, and learn the ropes without spending a lot, Bluehost offers the perfect home for your site.

The company was founded in 2003 and continues to serve an ever-growing list of many happy and a few not-so-happy customers.

With over 2 million websites, however, you can’t say their service is bad. You know, like “throw-in-the-trash-bag” kind of bad.

On the contrary, the happy group of customers lauds the company for stellar performance, super-fast support, and great prices.

bluehost features

Meanwhile, the not-so-happy group has nothing good to say about Bluehost support, a common sentiment that kept coming up when I did my research.

Most unhappy customers didn’t complain about site speeds or performance issues. They were mainly unhappy with support.

Well, the team at Bluehost does its best to offer prime support, but as is with any other company, you can’t make everybody happy.

Personally, however, I would give Bluehost a 3.9/5 in the support department. You can learn more in this brutally honest Bluehost review.

In the features department, Bluehost shines. They offer you all the options you need to get online quickly.

You have shared hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated server hosting, free domain for a year, free SSL certificate, cPanel, 1-click installers for WordPress and other platforms, unlimited traffic, unmetered bandwidth, SSD storage, and the list goes on.

The cheapest shared hosting plan starts at an introductory price of $2.75 billed triennially. The plan costs $7.99/month normally. All plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Both web hosts offer great-ish support via phone, live chat, knowledgebase, and ticket system.

Continue reading our Namecheap vs Bluehost comparison post for more details, and which company makes the best hosting companion.

Bluehost is one of the oldest and most trusted web hosts on the Internet. Bluehost is the go-to choice and recommendation of not just ours but of hundreds of professional bloggers.

They host over 2 million websites on their data centers spread across the globe. Whether you own a small bike shop in Australia or a multi-million dollar business with customers from around the world, Bluehost will offer you the best-in-class support and all the services you need to scale your online business.

Although Namecheap is known mostly as a popular domain name registrar, they are also known for their affordable web hosting services.

Unlike Bluehost, Namecheap is primarily a domain name provider but that doesn’t make it any less of a web host. Bluehost’s web hosting services fit businesses of all shapes and sizes and are easily scalable.

What is also a bit interesting is that Bluehost has a stronger brand demand than Namecheap, as more people search for Bluehost on Google.

Namecheap vs Bluehost comparison

Bluehost is the clear winner between these two web hosting providers. Find out more about Namecheap vs Bluehost in the below comparison table:

BluehostNinja Column 27

Bluehost

Namecheap

About:Bluehost provides hosting services with unlimited bandwidth, hosting space, and email accounts. It has a reputation of robust performance, excellent customer support and competitive pricing.Namecheap is one of the market leaders in domain name registrars with them offering highly affordable ad dependable web hosting.
Founded in:19962000
BBB Rating:A+F
Address:Bluehost Inc. 560 Timpanogos Pkwy Orem, UT 8409711400 W. Olympic Blvd Suite 200, Los Angeles, CA 90302, United States
Phone Number:(888) 401-4678(661) 310-2107
Email Address:Not Listed[email protected]
Types of Support:Phone, Live Support, Chat, TicketLive Support, Chat, Ticket
Data Center / Server Location:Provo, UtahUSA and United Kingdom
Monthly Price:From $2.95 per monthFrom $3.24 per month
Unlimited Data Transfer:YesYes
Unlimited Data Storage:YesYes (Ultimate Plan only)
Unlimited Emails:YesYes (Ultimate Plan only)
Host Multiple Domains:YesYes
Hosting Controlpanel / Interface:cPanelcPanel
Server Uptime Guarantee:No99.90%
Money-Back Guarantee:30 Days14 Days
Dedicated Hosting Available:YesYes
Bonuses & Extras:Search Engine Submission Tools. $100 Google Advertising Credit. $50 Facebook Ad Credit. Free Yellowpages Listing.Attracta SEO Tools, plus loads more.
The Good: Variety of Hosting Plans: Bluehost offers shared, VPS, dedicated and cloud hosting as well as options like managed WordPress hosting, giving you the flexibility to easily scale your site to your changing hosting needs.
24/7 Support: In addition to some of the best self-help resources of any host, Bluehost has a veritable army of fast-acting experts ready to assist you 24/7 via support ticket, hotline, or live chat.
Good Refund Policy: Bluehost will give you a full refund if you cancel within 30 days, and pro-rated refunds if you cancel beyond that period.
Bluehost pricing starts at $2.95 per month.
Easy To Use Interface: Unlike other web hosts interface, this one is uncluttered and organized, with all of your options neatly tucked away in the sidebar.
How-To Videos: They have tutorial videos that guide you through completing or managing task in the back end- a godsend for any beginner.
Cheap Prices: Not only can you enjoy a whole boatload of package, but you can avail of them for dirt-cheap prices.
The Bad: No Uptime Guarantee: Bluehost doesn't offer you compensation for any prolonged or unexpected downtime.
Website Migration Fees: Unlike some of its competitors, Bluehost charges additional fees if you want to migrate pre-existing websites or cPanel accounts.
For more options, consider these Bluehost alternatives.
No Phone Support: Although NameCheap does not offer phone support for their customers, they do have a live chat option for urgent matters.
Summary:Bluehost (review here) is also known for its proprietary resource protection solution set up for the protection of shared hosting users from other probable abusive users on the same server. Clients and users can install application using SimpleScripts 1 click installs. Also available are VPS and Dedicated Hosting.Namecheap aims at making registering, hosting, and managing domains a relatively easy and painless process, as the internet requires people just as the converse that is true. Featuress such as Domain name search, transfer, New TLDs and more are responsible to provide users with a hassle free use of their products. Among hosting there is Shared Hosting, WordPress Hosting, Reseller Hosting, and a whole lot more.

Visit Bluehost

Visit Namecheap

You may be a fan of Namecheap but this comparison is objective to show which is more valuable based on the reasonable criteria discussed. At the end of the day, the decision is still yours. We are just here to help you sort things out.

About Author

Matt Ahlgren

Mathias Ahlgren is the CEO and founder of Website Rating, steering a global team of editors and writers. He holds a master's in information science and management. His career pivoted to SEO after early web development experiences during university. With over 15 years in SEO, digital marketing, and web developmens. His focus also includes website security, evidenced by a certificate in Cyber Security. This diverse expertise underpins his leadership at Website Rating.

WSR Team

The "WSR Team" is the collective group of expert editors and writers specializing in technology, internet security, digital marketing, and web development. Passionate about the digital realm, they produce well-researched, insightful, and accessible content. Their commitment to accuracy and clarity makes Website Rating a trusted resource for staying informed in the dynamic digital world.

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