Namecheap vs Bluehost — Both hosting services are the two of the biggest names in web hosting that have been around for some time. Both web hosting companies are known for providing outstanding service, good customer support, and competitive pricing.
Luckily, deciding between these two web hosting providers is not that hard if you know what to look for, and especially once you know what plans each web hosting service has to offer. However, if you’re new to hosting, you might have difficulty coming to the right conclusion on your own.
Whether you’re looking for features like a free SSL certificate, a free domain, unlimited bandwidth, managed WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, or which hosting provider offers the cheaper hosting packages; by the end of this VS battle, you’ll have all the information you need to make an informed decision.
So, let’s dive in.
Namecheap vs Bluehost Web Hosting Services Quick Overview
Before we get into the details, let’s take a quick look at each of these popular contestants.
Namecheap Overview — Bring your ideas to life
Namecheap is the most well-known for being one of the best domain registrars, with an estimated 10+ million domains under their control. However, since the last few years, they have also been a top-notch web hosting provider.
As the domain registrar turned hosting provider puts it:
“Namecheap began in 2000 with a mission to deliver the best domains at the best prices with the best service. Since then we’ve added hosting, security, managed WordPress, and a whole range of innovations to our platform. The online plans, ideas, and ambitions of people just like you have grown too. We’ve simply grown to bring you everything you need.”
Namecheap has been in the market for more than 20 years and is widely regarded as the cheapest domain registrar in the world. Over the years Namecheap has grown a reputation as a reliable hosting provider as well with exceptionally affordable hosting plans and a range of web hosting services.
BlueHost Overview — WordPress made easy. Hosting done right.
If you’ve ever searched google for the best web hosting service, chances are Bluehost was a top search result. And there is a reason for that. Bluehost is best known for its reliable and low-cost web hosting services. Plus, they’ve been around forever compared with most hosting providers.
Back in 1996, BlueHost started as a free hosting company named 0catch.com founded by Matt Heaton. Then they were renamed to BlueHost in 2003 and kept growing year by year. Bluehost is still growing today with over 2 million websites hosted all over the world.
Namecheap vs Bluehost Pricing – Do you get a free domain name or free SSL certificates?
We know both web hosting companies have a good reputation and both offer a wide range of web hosting services. From dedicated hosting to VPS hosting, shared hosting plans to email hosting, these two hosting companies offer a range of hosting services to meet the needs of your personal blog or small business website.
Namecheap is famous for its domain register, however, few are aware that its web host service itself has been running for more than 15 years. Bluehost, on the other hand, has always been focused on offering various hosting plans, although they also offer domain registration services.
There are plenty of packages that both web hosts offer, starting from the cheapest shared hosting plans to premium dedicated servers.
To make it simple, we will narrow our comparison down to the cheapest package from each of its 3 categories; Shared Hosting, WordPress Hosting, and Dedicated Server.
Namecheap Pricing Rate
From a Pricing perspective, we can say that they are really competitive. With over ten million domain names under their control, they can easily take a lead in one niche and leave hosting to the rest. Yet, they choose to compete in this segment.
In fact, Namecheap offers a huge variety of hosting products with even more options than what Bluehost offers.
Just to make things easier we will take the yearly subscription as it is usually the more popular option.
Let’s take a look at their pricing.
Shared Hosting
Namecheap’s stellar plan is an entry-level package in web hosting. Namecheap’s cheapest shared hosting plan comes with all the basics you’d expect, including a free SSL certificate, a free domain, and a decent amount of resources. You can also host between 3 and unlimited websites, which is better than most of the competition.
Here is the newest package of Namecheap (2021) based on the Shared Hosting Plan they offer.
Unlike BlueHost, you can choose either monthly or 12/24 month payment plans.
If you’re looking to host a small personal or business website, it has everything you need at a very affordable rate. Although you get unmetered bandwidth, some fair use rules still apply.
The best part is they offer the discount price for the first year which we believe is so alluring for the newcomer or those who want to move from their old hosting.
WordPress Hosting
Although it’s a brand new package from Namecheap, their WordPress hosting seems to do a good job and the customers’ reviews are resoundingly positive.
Here are the packages:
Like the first one, the discounted price in the first year is so alluring for the newcomer. While you still get a free SSL certificate, a free domain is not included, unfortunately.
Dedicated Server
You could expect a lot from the Dedicated Server package. It’s faster, provides a lot of space and bandwidth, and is much more stable and reliable than shared host hosting.
However, it’s priced much higher so we wouldn’t recommend it if you want to build a personal blog or a small eCommerce site. It’s like when you want to open a coffee shop, but instead of renting a small space for the coffee shop, you end up renting the whole building, including the parking lot.
But anyway, just in case you would like to know the price, here it is:
As is normal for dedicated servers, you don’t get freebies like a free domain name or free SSL certificates. However, you do get a tremendous amount of guaranteed resources.
Bluehost Pricing Rate
Bluehost offers a range of hosting services as well and has been known as a reliable hosting company for many years.
So how could Namecheap compete with them?
To answer that question we must take a deep look at what they offer.
Same as before, we will try to compare it to the most similar packages to what Namecheap has to offer:
Shared Hosting
Bluehost offers two payment options to choose from: 12 and 36 months.
Although it’s slightly more expensive than Namecheap, you get more storage space as well as a free domain and free SSL certificates. In terms of other features, nothing really stands out from either.
Still, you do get slightly better value for money in general with Namecheap, such as domain privacy protection, at a lower price point. However, if there are any features you are willing to pay for in Pro, Bluehost might still be the better choice for you.
WordPress Hosting
Unlike Shared Hosting, these packages are only discounted if you take the 36-month option:
Generally, the pricing is super affordable, and actually much cheaper than that of Namecheap. However, you should keep in mind that Namecheap offers managed WordPress hosting which comes with a number of additional benefits.
Dedicated Hosting
Now, let’s see what Bluehost has to offer in their dedicated server plan.
Once again, Bluehost offers pricing that’s extremely attractive compared to the rest of the market. However, Namecheap still takes the prize for the more affordable pricing. Except for storage, Namecheap also offers more resources, making it the better value-for-money option.
Conclusion
Comparing side-by-side, and judging by the price, Namecheap really outperformed Bluehost in this category.
There’s no question that Bluehost costs more than Namecheap for most hosting plans.
But as we can see above, “cheap” doesn’t equal terrible. Both Namecheap and Bluehost offer decent performance and features despite the low price.
So, if you’re a beginner looking for affordable shared hosting, Namecheap should be the right option for you. However, Bluehost could be the better option for WordPress. It’s also worth mentioning that WordPress has a website builder plan as well, something Namecheap doesn’t offer:
Of course, judging by their pricing rates alone is not enough. So, now, let’s talk about the features these two companies offer.
Namecheap vs Bluehost Features
Just like with the pricing, we’ll do a Namecheap vs Bluehost comparison of these web hosts’ features in terms of the shared, WordPress, and dedicated hosting packages, respectively.
With so many packages, features, and ways to compare them, it’s simplest to just compare the entry-level package in each category. However, we’ll mention standout differences were applicable.
So, let’s jump in.
Namecheap vs BlueHost — Shared Hosting Features Comparison
Judging by the cheapest package in the shared hosting category, BlueHost offered more SSD storage than Namecheap, the only downside is BlueHost limits the domain website to only one while Namecheap allows you to host multiple domains (up to 3). Both offer unmetered bandwidth.
It’s worth noting that higher Bluehost plans offer unlimited SSD storage. However, Namecheap is the more promising option because your typical user in this category won’t need much more than 20 GB.
However, both provided automatic backups, live chat support, with most shared hosting plans.
Although it’s close, Namecheap wins.
Namecheap vs BlueHost — WordPress Hosting Features Comparison
Bluehost’s WordPress Hosting package doesn’t offer much more features than its Shared Hosting.
The big difference with Namecheap is that this is managed WordPress hosting. This makes it much more expensive due to the hosting service taking care of the administration of your website. At the same time, you get fewer resources which is why it appears to be a downgrade from the previous category.
Both let you install a WordPress site with just a few clicks and give some WordPress-related freebies.
Comparing these two is like comparing apples with oranges. If you want managed WordPress hosting, then you should go with Namecheap. Otherwise, you will save a lot and get everything you need with Bluehost.
Namecheap vs BlueHost — Dedicated Server Features Comparison
Last but not least, a Dedicated Server lets you enjoy a physical server, all to yourself. No need to share with anybody. It’s all yours.
Personally, Namecheap beat all of the BlueHost features here by offering more CPU, RAM, and bandwidth. The only thing that Bluehost does better is providing you with more storage.
Not only does it offer better specs across the board, but it’s also more affordable.
The only downside is, Namecheap does not provide a detailed description of what hardware they use.
Still, it’s a comfortable win for Namecheap in this Bluehost vs Namecheap category.
Conclusion
Namecheap wins most rounds thanks to offering more features at a cheaper price.
Most individuals looking for a new host want useful features at a low cost which is exactly what Namecheap does best.
That being said, there might be a specific plan from Bluehost that suits you better, depending on your unique needs.
So, how about the “real performance”?
So, let’s get to that next.
Namecheap vs Bluehost Performance
The all-important question; which one has the best performance?
Today, performance affects everything from your user satisfaction and conversion rate to SEO rankings.
What makes this a bit complicated is that performance may also depend on your plan. VPS and dedicated server packages generally have better performance while much cheaper hosting packages are not as good. This is also why there might be some discrepancy when it comes to Bluehost vs Namecheap performance.
But if you insist on seeing which one is better compared to the same level of plan. We can give you a quick glance:
WordPress Speed Test Tool
To expect which one is the best you can always tell by the speed with which both the hosted websites and WordPress website builder loads.
So for the quick test, we set to both of our Hosting, which is Namecheap and Bluehost, and installed Pingdom, a program that tests loading time in WordPress. And here is the result:
As you can see Namecheap’s performance beat out Bluehost across the board with consistently faster load times.
Namecheap vs Bluehost Website Security
Both Namecheap and Bluehost each claim to be a web host that puts its customer first. that means they must offer excellent security that goes beyond just free SSL certificates, automatic backups, and domain privacy protection.
So let’s see what each web host has to offer in terms of security:
Namecheap Security Features
- Account Security: Includes Custom Security Notifications, Custom Password Recovery, and Dynamic Support Pin number. All goes to how hard it is for someone to break into your account, the PIN is nearly impossible to get unless you shared the account with someone.
- DDoS Protection: Protecting you from the DDoS attack which will affect your server by using ‘bots’ to send thousands or millions of requests to their servers, causing them to exceed quotas or crash.
- Domain Lock: It keeps your Domain Name safe with no way to transfer it unauthorized without being authorized by the domain owners. The best thing is it comes free, protected by default for every domain Namecheap sells.
- Two-factor Authentication (2FA): This adds an extra verification step on top of your username and password, and costs nothing at Namecheap. Keep your Namecheap account 100% safe, even if your password gets stolen.
- SSL Certificates: SSLs Certificates are a technology that automatically encrypts login and passwords, credit card transactions, private messages, and more. The site is usually started with HTTPS:// and a green bar as a safety icon.
Bluehost Security Features
- Password Reset Page Revamp: Bluehost makes their password reset page more accessible and easier to use. They save your new password so you will not need to retype it later. Also, they have created a tool that suggests a new, strong password that meets the highest security standards.
- Single Sign-On Feature: BlueHost now supports a single sign-on (SSO) feature that links your Google account to Bluehost and uses your Google account to log in.
- Two-factor Authentication: The same feature as Namecheap offers.
- Account Validation by Token: You can now validate your identity when you contact support by providing a randomly generated token found at the bottom of your control panel. This six-digit code will allow you to prove you own your account without having to give any portion of your password to a support agent.
Conclusion
Both had good security features that meet standard requirements to keep all the accounts safe without any issue. Either should be equally safe to host an online store or any other online business site where security is important.
Namecheap vs Bluehost Customer Support
Customer Support is really a vital feature for those who aim to run a successful website. And, usually, new hosts find out too late how important it is when they need it but are let down by their hosting provider.
So, what are our takeaways in this Namecheap vs Bluehost comparison when it comes to support?
We agree that both; Namecheap and Bluehost’s customer support is excellent considering how affordable it is. Both support teams have good knowledge of how to solve typical problems and they provide a great knowledge base for self-help. They’ve prepared articles, guides, and even videos containing tutorials to help users troubleshoot any problems they may be having.
But there is one thing that makes them different.
What is that?
Namecheap provides 24/7 ticketed email support and live chat while Bluehost offers 24/7 phone support and live chat. So, which one is best might depend on what type of support channel you prefer, a 24/7 ticketed email support or 24/7 phone support?
Many businesses or stores prefer their host to offer phone support as it’s best for solving complex and time-sensitive issues.
The choice is up to you.
A last consideration is that Bluehost offers a range of professional website services. This spans everything from full website development or design to SEO to website migration to PPC services:
However, these come at a pretty hefty extra cost.
To be honest, we were impressed by both customer support. It’s an honest review and we can guarantee you can’t go wrong with these two.
Namecheap vs Bluehost Conclusion — Which one is right for you
Both have much to offer, good quality customer support, best features in the field, competitive price that will make you think twice about which to choose. You might even wish you could take both!
But in the end, you only need one hosting that can fulfill your needs, for at least a full year.
So let’s conclude with which one is right for you.
Go For Namecheap If You’re Just Starting Out
No one can deny, the ‘cheap’ part of Namecheap is an accurate description.
It’s good to go for the beginners that have a limited budget and don’t know what to try.
Namecheap provides multiple plan packages, you can go for monthly, yearly, or a maximum of 2 yearly subscriptions. In my opinion, perfect for those who are very new to web hosting.
Namecheap also offers a 100% uptime guarantee and a free website migration service – both features that many people look for when selecting a new host, and unfortunately, it’s not something that Bluehost provides.
It also outperformed Bluehost when it came to site loading times. Even if the difference is very small, Namecheap still wins in this category, statistically.
Go For Bluehost If You Want A Reliable Host
Bluehost is an extremely reliable and popular brand for its web hosting. Despite the price, it’s still a decent pick, with a good intuitive dashboard and built-in WordPress installation, it can suit the needs of many users.
In my personal opinion, Bluehost offers the better interface of the two that is more beginner-friendly and intuitive. A simple yet useful interface is important to reduce the learning curve and make your experience more enoyable.
The only flaw they have is there are limited plan packages and higher pricing. For some users, committing (and paying) for a 3-year subscription is too much.
Final Conclusions
If you’re still not sure whether to choose Namecheap or Bluehost, our overall recommendation for WordPress users is Namecheap. For me, a cheap price is always an advantage, not to mention how good they are in customer support, features, security, etc.
But it doesn’t mean Bluehost is somehow bad. It’s just the personal preference for most to choose a more affordable price with good quality service. Namecheap really wins in that regard. On the other side, BlueHost really knows how to treat their customers with a simple yet elegant and user-friendly interface.
In the end, you are the one who needs to decide what’s best for you, and we created this comparison to help you do that.
If you have experience with either host, let us know what you think about who is the best between both and share your opinion with us below in the comment section.
