Bluehost review
Updated September 28, 2026 · ForgeCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 26, 2026
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Our verdict
Bluehost suits beginners and small businesses who want hosting, domains and a store builder in one place, and the Starter plan entry fee of $2.99 makes opening an account cheap. The catch is the climb to $9.99 at renewal, a store plan at $14.99, and no free plan.
Key facts
- Best for
- Small businesses buying hosting, a domain and a store from one account.
- Intro price
- $2.99 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Renewal price
- $9.99 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Hosting types
- Shared, WordPress, WooCommerce, VPS, Dedicated, Cloud (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Money-back period
- 30 days (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Websites allowed
- 10 on the Starter plan (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Features
- Free-SSL, Backups, Staging, CDN, Email (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Uptime guarantee
- 99.99% (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Data centres
- North America, South America, Europe, Asia (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Legal entity
- Bluehost Inc. (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Headquarters
- United States (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Founded
- 2003 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Support channels
- Chat, Phone, Help-centre (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Audience
- Beginners, Small business
- Pricing model
- Free trial
- Official website
- bluehost.com
Domain registrars
- .com first year
- $12.99 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- .com renewal
- $23.99 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- .com transfer
- $12.99 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Free WHOIS privacy
- No (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Money-back period
- 30 days (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Legal entity
- Bluehost Inc. (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Headquarters
- United States (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Founded
- 2003 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Support channels
- Chat, Phone, Help-centre (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Audience
- Beginners, Small business
- Pricing model
- Free trial
Website builders
- Price from
- $3.99 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Free plan
- No (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- E-commerce plan price
- $14.99 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Builder type
- Site, Store (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Legal entity
- Bluehost Inc. (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Headquarters
- United States (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Founded
- 2003 (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Support channels
- Chat, Phone, Help-centre (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
- Audience
- Beginners, Small business
- Pricing model
- Free trial
Pros and cons
Pros
- Support runs on chat, phone and help centre, and the money-back period is 30.
- Included extras cover free SSL, backups, staging, a CDN and email, with uptime guaranteed at 99.99%.
- Data centres span North America, South America and Europe, so the site can sit near the visitors who matter.
Cons
- Renewal is where the cost jumps: the $2.99 entry fee becomes $9.99 when the term ends.
- Free plan: no, so the way in is a free trial and the cheapest hosting still costs money.
- Free WHOIS privacy: no, and a .com that starts at $12.99 renews at $23.99.
Who it suits
- People starting out who want hosting, a domain and a store in one place, since the beginners and small business audience is who the plans are built around.
- Shop owners who can budget $14.99 for the store plan and want WordPress hosting beside it.
- Anyone who would rather reach help on chat, phone and help centre than wait on a form.
Who should look elsewhere
- Buyers who need a permanent free tier: Render lists an intro price of $0.
- Shoppers who want more than one shared-hosting quote: Afrihost lists ZAR 84 and Hosting.cl lists CLP 159,900.
The company behind it
Bluehost is operated by Bluehost Inc., a company headquartered in the United States and founded in 2003. Support runs on chat, phone and help centre, covering the ways most people try to reach a host. The name is well known, and the contract sits with a US legal entity, which matters if you are checking who is behind the service.
How Bluehost compares
9.1 vs 9.2
9.1 vs 9.2
9.1 vs 9.2- 9.1 vs 9.3
9.1 vs 8.6- 9.1 vs 9.4
- 9.1 vs 9.2
9.1 vs 9.2- 9.1 vs 9.1
- 9.1 vs 9.2
- 9.1 vs 8.6
- 9.1 vs 9.1
9.1 vs 9.1
9.1 vs 9.3
9.1 vs 9.5
9.1 vs 9.4
9.1 vs 9.4
9.1 vs 9.3- 9.1 vs 9.3
Bluehost vs Hostinger9.1 vs 9.2
9.1 vs 9.2
9.1 vs 9.2
9.1 vs 9.1
Frequently asked questions
What does Bluehost cost to start?+
Entry fees begin at $2.99, and the wider range starts at $3.99. There is no free plan, so the way in is a free trial rather than a standing free account. Treat the entry figure as a promotional number and budget from the renewal price.
What happens to the price at renewal?+
The advertised entry fee does not carry over. Renewal is listed at $9.99, and a .com domain moves from $12.99 to $23.99 at renewal. Both sit above their entry rate, so the honest comparison is entry against renewal.
Is there a free plan?+
Free plan: no. The model is a free trial, so the free route is a trial rather than a permanent free account. If a standing free tier matters most, Render lists an intro price of $0 and starts its range there.
What kinds of hosting can I move between?+
The range covers shared, WordPress and WooCommerce, so a small site can start on shared hosting and move up to VPS or dedicated as it grows. WordPress and WooCommerce plans sit in the same account, which keeps a site and its store under one roof.
How long is the money-back period?+
The money-back period is 30, and uptime is guaranteed at 99.99%. That is enough time to load a real site, test email and run a store flow before you commit, and it gives you a set date to decide against.
Can I run a store as well as a site?+
Yes. The builder covers site and store, so sites and stores are both in scope, and the e-commerce plan costs $14.99. WordPress and WooCommerce hosting are available, so a store can sit on the same account as the main site.
Which regions do the servers cover?+
Data centres sit in North America, South America and Europe, so the site can be placed close to most visitors rather than on one continent. For a business selling locally, the nearest region usually does more for speed than moving above shared hosting.
Can I buy a domain and hosting together?+
Yes. A .com registration is $12.99 in the opening term, with transfers at $12.99 and renewal at $23.99. Free WHOIS privacy: no, so allow for that separately when budgeting. Bundling keeps the domain and the site on one account.
Sources
- codeless.co/domain-name-renewal-prices checked September 26, 2026
Backs: .com renewal
“.com: $23.99”
- davidutke.com/domain-name-bluehost checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Free WHOIS privacy
“WHOIS protection is not free with Bluehost and costs $15”
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluehost checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Founded, Headquarters
“Founded 2003; 23 years ago (2003)”
- stressfreehost.com/blog/how-to-transfer-domain-to-bluehos... checked September 26, 2026
Backs: .com transfer
“Bluehost charges $12.99 for a .com domain transfer”
- bluehost.com/domains/com checked September 26, 2026
Backs: .com first year
“REGISTER .COM AT $ 12.99 for 1st year”
- bluehost.com/pricing checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Builder type, E-commerce plan price, Free plan, Pricing model, Price from
“eCommerce Essentials Essential commerce tools to sell your content online ... WooCommerce included”
- whtop.com/compare/bluehost,hypermart.net checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Legal entity
“Bluehost Inc. is the operating entity”
- wpbeginner.com/hosting/bluehost checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Audience, Data centres, Features, Hosting types, Intro price, Money-back period, Renewal price, Support channels, Uptime guarantee, Websites allowed
“Bluehost is perfect for beginners who are just starting out or someone building a small business website”
Compiled from 8 source pages, checked September 26, 2026. We did not open an account.