Bluehost vs Namecheap: Newfold's Monopoly vs Budget Mediocrity

Bluehost is recommended by WordPress.org. Namecheap is cheap. If you’re comparing Bluehost vs Namecheap, you’re choosing between a monopoly-owned host with documented degradation and a budget registrar with bare minimum hosting features.

Neither is actually good.

Bluehost is owned by Newfold Digital - a monopoly that owns 80+ hosting brands and has a documented pattern of degrading services after acquisition. Namecheap is independent, which is better, but you’re limited to 3 websites and 20GB storage on their entry plan.

I make money from ChemiCloud and Scala (the alternatives I recommend). Here’s how to verify I’m not lying:

1. Bluehost’s ownership: Newfold Digital on Wikipedia - see which hosts they own
2. Bluehost’s resource limits: Bluehost’s ToS - 200k inode limit, 25% CPU throttling
3. Namecheap’s limits: Namecheap’s Stellar plan - 3 websites max, 20GB storage

Better alternatives:

1. ChemiCloud - Best shared hosting
2. Scala Hosting - Best managed VPS
3. Hetzner - Best unmanaged VPS

⚡ Quick Verdict: Bluehost vs Namecheap

TL;DR: Namecheap has more honest pricing and independent ownership, but Bluehost has slightly better features. Neither is actually good. ChemiCloud offers modern hardware and transparent resources for $239/year total.

Winner: Namecheap has more honest pricing (96% vs 238% increase) and independent ownership (not Newfold), but ChemiCloud is better than both with modern hardware.

Why: Bluehost is owned by Newfold Digital (former EIG), notorious for degrading services. Namecheap is independent and honest about pricing (96% increase vs Bluehost’s 238%), but you get what you pay for: only 3 websites, 20GB storage, and mediocre performance. ChemiCloud has higher renewal percentage (344%), but total annual cost is $239/year with disclosed AMD EPYC hardware, unlimited websites, and no monopoly ownership.

Why I Don’t Recommend Either

Bluehost:

• Owned by Newfold Digital, which has documented history of degrading services after acquisition
• Outdated hardware (SATA SSDs instead of NVMe, Intel Xeon instead of AMD EPYC)
• 200k inode limit on “unlimited” plans
• 25% CPU throttling causing 5xx errors
• Outsourced support with heavy upselling
• 238% renewal increase

Namecheap:

• While independent and honest on pricing, severely limited features
• Only 3 websites allowed on entry plan
• 20GB storage (vs Bluehost’s 50GB)
• Hosting is not their core business (domains are)
• Support focused on domains, not hosting expertise
• Performance is mediocre at best

Better alternatives:

• ChemiCloud (best shared hosting)
• Scala Hosting (best managed VPS)
• Hetzner (best unmanaged VPS)

You shouldn’t trust me blindly. Verify everything I claim using the sources linked throughout this article.

Bluehost vs Namecheap: The Direct Comparison

Pricing: The Real Cost

Bluehost Pricing

Advertised pricing:

• “Starting at $2.95/month!”

Actual pricing:

• Year 1: $2.95/mo (requires 36-month prepayment = $106.20 upfront)
• Renewal: $9.99/mo (12-month term) or $10.99/mo (month-to-month)
• Increase: 238-272%

Hidden costs:

• Domain renewal: $19.99/year (after “free” first year)
• SSL certificate: Free with Let’s Encrypt
• Backups: Included but restoration may require upgrade
• CDN: Not included
• Migrations: 1 free site

Total annual cost (Year 2+): $119.88 + $19.99 = $139.87/year

Source: Bluehost official pricing

Namecheap Pricing

Advertised pricing:

• “Starting at $1.98/month!”

Actual pricing:

• Year 1: $1.98/mo (annual prepayment = $23.76 upfront)
• Renewal: $3.88/mo
• Increase: 96%

Hidden costs:

• Domain renewal: $13.98/year (after “free” first year)
• SSL certificate: Free with Let’s Encrypt
• Backups: Not included (paid add-on)
• CDN: Not included
• Migrations: Not free

Total annual cost (Year 2+): $46.56 + $13.98 = $60.54/year

Source: Namecheap official pricing

Pricing Winner

On advertised pricing: Namecheap wins at $1.98/mo vs Bluehost’s $2.95/mo

On renewal pricing: Namecheap wins at $3.88/mo vs Bluehost’s $9.99/mo

On renewal increase %: Namecheap wins with 96% vs Bluehost’s 238%

On price honesty: Namecheap wins (more transparent about renewal costs)

Total Cost Analysis:

Bluehost total cost:

• Base renewal: $9.99/mo = $119.88/year
• Domain: $19.99/year
• Annual total: $139.87/year

Namecheap total cost:

• Base renewal: $3.88/mo = $46.56/year
• Domain: $13.98/year
• Annual total: $60.54/year

Better alternative - ChemiCloud:

• Base renewal: $19.95/mo = $239.40/year
• Domain: Included
• Annual total: $239/year (stays constant)
• AMD EPYC 9354 (3.8 GHz) vs Bluehost’s old Intel/Namecheap’s shared resources
• 50GB NVMe vs Bluehost’s SATA/Namecheap’s 20GB SSD
• Unlimited websites vs Bluehost’s 10/Namecheap’s 3
• 10-200 free migrations

Real winner by total cost: Namecheap is cheapest at $60.54/year, but you get severely limited features (3 websites, 20GB). ChemiCloud costs $179 more annually but gives you significantly better hardware and unlimited websites.

Performance: Hardware & Speed

Bluehost Infrastructure

Hardware:

• CPU: Undisclosed (shared resources on Newfold Digital infrastructure)
• RAM: “Unmetered” (actually capped at undisclosed limits)
• Storage: SATA SSD (10x slower than NVMe)
• Web Server: Apache with Nginx caching

Documented performance:

• Average TTFB: Varies widely, many user complaints about slowness
• Uptime: Claims 99.9%
• CPU throttling: 25% for 90 seconds max (causes 5xx errors)
• Inode limit: 200,000 files

The problem: Newfold Digital owns 80+ hosting brands and is known for oversubscribing servers after acquisition.

Source: Newfold monopoly article

Namecheap Infrastructure

Hardware:

• CPU: Undisclosed (shared resources)
• RAM: Undisclosed
• Storage: 20GB SSD on Stellar plan
• Web Server: Apache with caching

Documented performance:

• Average TTFB: Slower than Bluehost
• Uptime: Claims 99.9%
• Resource limits: Undisclosed

The problem: Namecheap is primarily a domain registrar that also offers hosting. Hosting is not their core competency, and performance reflects this.

Performance Winner

On storage: Bluehost wins with 50GB vs Namecheap’s 20GB

On performance: Bluehost is marginally faster (but still slow)

On ownership risk: Namecheap wins (independent vs Newfold monopoly)

BUT: Neither discloses actual CPU/RAM allocations, both use outdated hardware

Better alternative - ChemiCloud:

• CPU: AMD EPYC 9354 @ 3.8 GHz (disclosed, 3 cores on Turbo plan)
• RAM: 3GB on WP Turbo plan (disclosed)
• Storage: 50GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs (10x faster than SATA)
• Web Server: LiteSpeed with LSCache (faster than Apache)
• Documented performance: Fast TTFB with no forced upgrade CPU limits
• Source: ChemiCloud website

Real winner: ChemiCloud has superior disclosed hardware (AMD EPYC 9354 @ 3.8 GHz vs Bluehost/Namecheap’s undisclosed shared resources).

The Ownership Factor: Why This Matters

Bluehost’s Newfold Problem

Bluehost is owned by Newfold Digital (formerly EIG), which:

• Owns 25+ hosting brands
• Has documented history of degrading services after acquisition
• Oversubscribes servers to maximize profit
• Outsources support to cut costs
• Aggressively upsells (SiteLock scams, etc.)

The pattern:

1. Acquire popular host
2. Keep the brand name
3. Migrate to cheaper shared infrastructure
4. Degrade performance and support
5. Increase renewal prices
6. Force upgrades or let customers suffer

Source: Bluehost/HostGator Same Company article

Namecheap’s Independence

Namecheap is independently owned (not part of Newfold, team.blue, or other consolidators).

Pros:

• Not subject to private equity cost-cutting
• More honest renewal pricing (96% vs 238%)
• No aggressive upselling like Newfold brands

Cons:

• Hosting is not their core business (domains are)
• Limited features on entry plans (3 websites, 20GB storage)
• Support expertise focused on domains, not hosting
• Performance is mediocre

Bottom line: Independence is better than monopoly ownership, but Namecheap’s hosting is still basic/limited.

The Hidden Problems Both Hosts Share

While Bluehost and Namecheap have very different ownership, they share some problems:

Shared problems:

1. Undisclosed resource limits

   • Bluehost: “Unmetered” bandwidth/storage (actually 200k inodes, 25% CPU in ToS)
   • Namecheap: No clear CPU/RAM allocations stated
   • Both can throttle your site without clear warning
   • Both use vague “unlimited” marketing

2. WordPress.org correlation

   • Bluehost is on WordPress.org’s recommended hosts
   • Correlation with WordCamp sponsorship, not technical merit
   • Namecheap is not recommended (but that doesn’t make them better)

3. Shared resource mystery boxes

   • Neither discloses actual CPU/RAM allocations
   • Both oversell servers (Bluehost aggressively, Namecheap moderately)
   • Both throttle when convenient

4. Limited/no free migrations

   • Bluehost: 1 free site migration
   • Namecheap: No free migrations
   • ChemiCloud comparison: 10-200 free migrations depending on plan

The truth: Bluehost has Newfold degradation risk and aggressive upselling. Namecheap is more honest but severely feature-limited.

See more web hosting red flags

Support Quality

Bluehost Support

Claimed support:

• 24/7 live chat, phone, tickets

Actual support quality:

• Average response time: Variable, often 30+ minutes for chat
• Support is outsourced (Newfold Digital cost-cutting)
• Multiple user complaints about support degradation post-Newfold acquisition
• Heavy upselling during support interactions (SiteLock scams)

Support score: 4/10

Namecheap Support

Claimed support:

• 24/7 live chat
• Ticket system
• Knowledge base

Actual support quality:

• Average response time: 5-10 minutes for chat
• Support primarily focused on domains, not hosting
• Hosting expertise is limited
• No aggressive upselling (better than Bluehost)

Support score: 5/10

Support Winner

Winner: Namecheap wins by not being aggressively terrible (Bluehost’s upselling is worse)

Better alternative support:

• ChemiCloud: 24/7 chat/ticket support, average response time under 10 minutes, actual hosting expertise
• Scala Hosting: 24/7 support with SPanel expertise, migration assistance included
• Source: ChemiCloud Review, Scala Hosting Review

Features Comparison

Features winner: Bluehost has better features than Namecheap (more websites, backups included, 1 free migration, more storage), but ChemiCloud beats both with NVMe storage, CDN included, and 10-200 free migrations.

Why You’re Probably Looking at the Wrong Hosts

You searched “Bluehost vs Namecheap” because:

• Bluehost is on WordPress.org’s recommended list (WordCamp sponsorship)
• Namecheap is known for cheap domains and cheap hosting
• Both appear in budget hosting searches

Here’s what they’re not telling you:

About Bluehost:

• Owned by Newfold Digital (former EIG), which owns 80+ hosting brands
• Newfold has documented history of degrading services after acquisition
• 200k inode limit despite “unlimited” marketing
• 25% CPU throttling causes 5xx errors during traffic spikes
• Affiliate reviewers make $65/sale promoting Bluehost

About Namecheap:

• You get what you pay for: 3 websites, 20GB storage
• Hosting is not their core business (domains are)
• Performance is mediocre compared to hosting-focused companies
• Limited features vs competitors

The better question: “What hosting gives me actual value?”

Also comparing Hostinger or GoDaddy? See our Bluehost vs Hostinger or Hostinger vs GoDaddy or Bluehost vs HostGator comparisons.

What You Should Actually Use Instead

If You Need Shared Hosting

Don’t use: Bluehost (Newfold degradation) or Namecheap (feature-limited)

Use instead: ChemiCloud

Why:

• Modern hardware: AMD EPYC 9354 (3.8 GHz) vs Bluehost’s old Intel/Namecheap’s shared resources
• No monopoly ownership (independent, not Newfold)
• Unlimited websites vs Bluehost’s 10/Namecheap’s 3
• 50GB NVMe vs Bluehost’s SATA/Namecheap’s 20GB
• 10-200 free migrations vs Bluehost’s 1/Namecheap’s 0
• LiteSpeed web server (faster than Apache)

Yes, ChemiCloud has 344% renewal increase. But:

• Total cost is $239/year with no forced upgrades
• You get disclosed resources (3 cores, 3GB RAM)
• Unlimited websites (not 3 like Namecheap)
• Better hardware than both Bluehost and Namecheap

Read full ChemiCloud review

If You Need Managed VPS

Don’t use: Bluehost Cloud ($120-240/mo)

Use instead: Scala Hosting

Why:

• $44.95/mo managed VPS vs Bluehost Cloud’s $120/mo
• 0% renewal increase on VPS plans
• Faster CPU: AMD EPYC 9474F (4.1 GHz)
• SPanel included (saves $15/mo cPanel license)
• Saves $900/year vs Bluehost Cloud

Read full Scala Hosting review

If You Can Handle Unmanaged VPS

Don’t use: Bluehost or Namecheap at any price

Use instead: Hetzner

Why:

• €3.79/mo unmanaged VPS vs Bluehost’s $9.99/mo shared
• AMD EPYC CPUs, NVMe SSDs, German engineering
• 0% renewal increase - price stays the same forever
• Save $72-116/year vs Bluehost

Migration: Leaving Bluehost or Namecheap

Don’t wait until renewal. Here’s how to migrate:

Backup Everything First

1. Use a backup plugin: UpdraftPlus (free) or All-in-One WP Migration
2. Download backups locally: Don’t trust the old host to keep them
3. Export database: Via phpMyAdmin or cPanel backup
4. Save wp-config.php: You’ll need database credentials

Migration Options

Option 1: Use ChemiCloud/Scala’s free migration

• ChemiCloud offers 10-200 free migrations depending on plan
• Scala Hosting includes free migrations on all VPS plans
• Support handles everything (24-48 hours)

Option 2: DIY migration

1. Sign up for new host
2. Install WordPress on new host
3. Use UpdraftPlus or All-in-One WP Migration to restore backup
4. Test site on temporary URL
5. Update DNS when ready
6. Keep old host active 7-14 days during transition

Timeline

1. Week 1: Sign up for new host, request migration or start DIY
2. Week 2: Test new site, verify everything works
3. Week 3: Update DNS, monitor transition
4. Week 4: Cancel old host (Bluehost or Namecheap)

Migration cost:

Real User Experiences: Bluehost vs Namecheap

Bluehost User Complaints

From Online Media Masters Bluehost Review:

“The popular brands like Bluehost and HostGator grew from their affiliate program, not because the service is actually good. Bare bones service, limited resources, slow architecture with outdated technology, and lack of innovation.”

Pattern: Users report significant performance degradation after Newfold Digital acquisition, outsourced support, and aggressive upselling tactics.

Namecheap User Complaints

Common pattern in user reviews:

“It’s cheap for a reason - you only get 3 websites and 20GB storage.”

“Moved my hosting to a real hosting company, keeping Namecheap just for domains (which they’re good at).”

Pattern: Users find Namecheap adequate for very basic sites but limited features become a problem as needs grow.

ChemiCloud User Experiences

From user reviews:

“Migrated from Bluehost, performance improved immediately with better hardware.”

“Finally can host unlimited websites without hitting arbitrary limits.”

Pattern: Users escaping Bluehost’s Newfold degradation or Namecheap’s limitations report significant improvements with ChemiCloud’s modern hardware.

The Bottom Line: Bluehost vs Namecheap

Direct comparison verdict:

Bluehost vs Namecheap is like choosing between Newfold Digital’s degraded infrastructure (Bluehost) and bare minimum features (Namecheap).

If you must choose between them: Namecheap is better - more honest pricing (96% vs 238%), independent ownership (not Newfold), and no aggressive upselling.

But honestly? Neither.

What you should actually do:

1. Need shared hosting? → ChemiCloud (modern hardware, unlimited websites)
2. Need managed VPS? → Scala Hosting (0% renewal increase)
3. Can handle unmanaged? → Hetzner (best value)

Verify This Yourself

Here’s the data. Don’t trust me. Verify everything yourself:

Bluehost claims:

• Pricing: Bluehost official pricing
• Newfold ownership: Newfold Digital hosting companies
• Resource limits: Bluehost ToS

Namecheap claims:

• Pricing: Namecheap official pricing
• Features: Namecheap Stellar plan

My commission claims:

• Hetzner has no affiliate program: Verify on their site
• ChemiCloud affiliate program exists: ChemiCloud Partners
• Scala Hosting affiliate program exists: Scala Partners

Better alternatives:

• Try ChemiCloud with 45-day money-back guarantee
• Compare performance yourself
• Read independent reviews on Reddit: r/webhosting

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Legal Note: This comparison contains both documented facts (linked to sources) and my personal opinions based on those facts. All opinions are clearly marked as such.

Affiliate disclosure: I make money from affiliate links to ChemiCloud, Scala Hosting, and nothing from Hetzner because they don’t have an affiliate program. I don’t promote Bluehost or Namecheap.