Finding a hosting solution for a WordPress site can be tricky. Here, we’ll compare SiteGround and Bluehost to determine which option is better.
Bluehost and SiteGround are major players in the website hosting industry, and at first glance, the two are incredibly similar.
WordPress has endorsed both sites, and both cater to a wide variety of website hosting needs. Which brings the question, which of the two can legitimately take the top spot?
Here’s a striking comparison of what these two providers offer in terms of price, hosting features, functionality, and security of WordPress hosting.
SiteGround‘s cheapest WordPress hosting plan is $3.99 per month. With 10GB of storage capacity, ten thousand visits each month, daily backups, and enhanced caching included, SiteGround‘s StartUp package offers many features at a low price.
On the other hand, Bluehost’s WordPress hosting prices start at $2.95 per month. Bluehost Basic includes 50GB of storage space, unlimited bandwidth, and a free domain. On top of that, Bluehost offers managed WordPress.
However, many may argue that a lower cost doesn’t translate to a higher value, which is partially true.
But in terms of what you spend up front, you get more server resources and a free domain with Bluehost for a significantly lower price. Since there aren’t many free web hosting providers, Bluehost is a considerably less expensive option.
Bluehost and SiteGround hosting features
When selecting a web hosting company, it is essential to look at the features they offer. Here are some of the key features of SiteGround and Bluehost.
Storage
The space you have to work with is always a key consideration. It would be best to choose a hosting plan that allows for project storage while still offering some wiggle room.
That said, SiteGround offers 10GB for its basic plan, 20GB for its mid-range plan, and 40GB for its premium plan. Bluehost, however, offers 50GB for its basic plan, while the other plans have unlimited storage.
Read also: How To Create A Website: Complete Guide For Beginners
Bandwidth
This is the number of visitors your website will be allowed to receive. More often than not, web hosts will try to limit your traffic in order to force you to upgrade.
Fortunately, neither SiteGround nor Bluehost are limited in terms of bandwidth so you can get as much traffic as possible.
Backups
If you’ve ever managed a website, you know that having a reliable backup system that allows you to quickly restore your information is more than necessary.
SiteGround keeps a daily copy of your site for 30 days and you can restore it to a previous backup in seconds.
On the other hand, Bluehost charges you an additional $3 per month for a backup add-on for the primary and intermediate plans, but the add-on is free on the higher plans.
Parked domains, subdomains, and domains
SiteGround allows you to have as many subdomains as you want, and all of its packages come with unlimited parked domains. However, the platform will not provide you with a free domain name after registration. Bluehost is taking the lead in this area.
With a free domain name provided with all of its packages, Bluehost saves you about $16 per year, which is a rough estimate of what it costs to buy a domain name. The basic plan limits both the number of subdomains and the number of parked domains to five and 25, while the other plans have no limits.
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Bluehost and Siteground site speed
When it comes to website speed, SiteGround has the latest technology available. According to most speed testing tools, this host has the largest content painting time (LCP) of 0.8 seconds. During this time, SiteGround loads all critical parts of your website.
The LCP is essential for search engines and users to know how fast your site is, and anything under 2.5 seconds is considered very good. So, for a PCL of 0.8, SiteGround is about as fast as it gets.
As for Bluehost, the LPC stands at 1.0 seconds. While this is still a good score, it is not as good as the performance offered by SiteGround. Simply put, SiteGround is the undisputed champion in the speed battle.
Downtime on SiteGround and Bluehost
In addition to hosting speed, uptime is an essential performance metric for any web hosting provider. A good rule of thumb is to strive for at least 99.95% uptime.
Bluehost and SiteGround meet and exceed this expectation, although SiteGround ranks higher than Bluehost, with an average availability of nearly 100%.
Bluehost and SiteGround Server Locations
For server locations, SiteGround has several. It has six data centers around the world. These locations include the United States (Chicago and Iowa), the United Kingdom (London), the Netherlands (Amsterdam), and Singapore.
When it comes to Bluehost, however, there is not much information about the location and number of server locations. But the one that is frequently mentioned is Utah. For that to seal it, SiteGround wins with six server locations.
Bluehost and SiteGround Security
SiteGround‘s security is top-notch. It comes with SSL, SFTP, and SSH access, which are all important in terms of security. The host also uses PHP 7 by default to monitor traffic and block brute force attacks.
To top it off, it updates its security policies weekly and sells an add-on called SG Site Scanner that will scan your site for malware for an extra $1.50 per month.
Bluehost also offers a similar package with SSL, SFTP, and SSH access. It also provides an external security solution at an additional cost of about $30 per year.
Apart from that, very little is known about the security protocols of the platform. But, it is safe to say that both providers are doing their best to secure their platforms.
Bluehost and SiteGround customer support
When it comes to customer support, SiteGround and Bluehost are very similar. Both providers offer 24/7 live chat support, as well as phone and email options. On top of that, you have access to tutorials and documentation to help you build your knowledge base for both.
SiteGround also has a help widget that appears on every page. Apart from that, no matter which page you are on, you will find a list of FAQs related to that page.
On the other hand, Bluehost has a dedicated support center where you will find several categories, such as FAQs, WordPress, domains, or emails. Only slight variations exist in terms of support offered by these two providers, so neither one outperforms the other.
Which web hosting provider is better to use?
Although both SiteGround and Bluehost offer your website the services it needs, they have significant differences in several areas of interest.
SiteGround, for example, is a more expensive option but also more performance-oriented. Diversely, Bluehost is slightly less performance-oriented, but what it offers at a significantly low price is impressive, and its ease of use, especially for beginners, cannot go unnoticed.
Your needs should be the determining factor in choosing the provider as your preferred web host. Also, if you want more variety, you can search for the best WordPress hosting service before making your choice.