---
title: "Hosting.com vs Bluehost: which is better in 2026?"
url: "https://hostidea.com/compare/bluehost-vs-hosting-com"
canonical: "https://hostidea.com/compare/bluehost-vs-hosting-com"
author: "Jennifer T."
generated: "2026-10-15"
note: "Markdown twin generated at build time from the same content as the HTML page. The HTML page is canonical."
---

# Hosting.com vs Bluehost

Hosting.com and Bluehost compared on measured uptime, response time, pricing and features from our own tests. Hosting.com scores higher overall.

By [Jennifer T.](https://hostidea.com/authors/jennifer-t) · Updated Oct 13, 2026

We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. Rankings come from the published methodology and sourced data, not from commissions. [Disclosure](https://hostidea.com/disclosure).

## Verdict

[7.7 out of 10](https://hostidea.com/methodology#scoring)

[Hosting.com](https://hostidea.com/reviews/hosting-com)Wins overall

The former A2 Hosting under World Host Group: stated cores and RAM, 30-day backups, staging from Pro, phone support

[7.6 out of 10](https://hostidea.com/methodology#scoring)

[Bluehost](https://hostidea.com/reviews/bluehost)

Newfold's WordPress-recommended host: three shared tiers on 36-month terms, weekly backups, a 5 percent SLA coupon

Hosting.com wins 2 of the six sub-scores and comes out ahead overall (7.7 vs 7.6).

## How do the scores compare?

Hosting.com leads on 2 sub-scores, Bluehost on 3. Higher is better.

|     | [Hosting.com](https://hostidea.com/reviews/hosting-com) | [Bluehost](https://hostidea.com/reviews/bluehost) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Performance | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| Uptime | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| Support | 6.0 | 7.0 |
| Features | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| Value | 7.0 | 7.5 |
| Ease of use | 7.5 | 8.5 |

## Which one is faster and more reliable?

|     | [Hosting.com](https://hostidea.com/reviews/hosting-com) | [Bluehost](https://hostidea.com/reviews/bluehost) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Overall score | 7.7 | 7.6 |
| Uptime (published)Kripesh Adwani 365 d vs HostingStep 243 d; methods differ | 99.99% | 99.97% |
| Response time (published)HostingStep vs HostingStep; methods differ | 500 ms | 501 ms |

## Which one costs less?

On renewal, Bluehost is cheaper ($9.99/mo vs $13.99/mo). Intro prices need the listed term.

Prices verified Oct 13, 2026 (Hosting.com) and Oct 13, 2026 (Bluehost). USD.

|     | [Hosting.com](https://hostidea.com/reviews/hosting-com) | [Bluehost](https://hostidea.com/reviews/bluehost) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cheapest plan | Starter | Starter |
| Intro price | $1.99/mo | $3.99/mo |
| Renewal price | $13.99/mo | $9.99/mo |
| Required term | 48 months | 36 months |
| Websites | 5   | 10  |
| Storage | 15 GB | 10 GB |
| Money back | 30 days | 30 days |

## What does each include?

|     | [Hosting.com](https://hostidea.com/reviews/hosting-com) | [Bluehost](https://hostidea.com/reviews/bluehost) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free domain | First year | First year, with a 12-month or 36-month term |
| Free SSL | Standard on Starter and Pro; premium certificate on Max | Let's Encrypt |
| Daily backups | Stored off-server, restore to any point in the last 30 days | Not stated |
| Staging | 3 sites on Starter, 20 on Pro, 200 on Max | WordPress staging site on every plan |
| Free managed migration | Yes | Not stated |
| Web application firewall and malware removal | Yes | Not stated |
| Caching and hardware | LiteSpeed caching, tuned MySQL, AMD EPYC CPUs, NVMe storage | Not stated |
| AI website builder for WordPress | Yes | Not stated |
| OpenAPI and MCP server | On every plan; Claude skills pack and Node.js from Pro | Not stated |
| Uptime guarantee | 99.9% per month; 5% of the service fee credited per hour of unscheduled downtime, up to the full month, on request | 99.99% SLA; at most one coupon per month for 5% of the monthly hosting fee |
| Service level agreement | Max plan only | Not stated |
| Phone support | +1 (734) 222-4678, 24/7/365 | Business and above; Starter has chat only |
| Windows hosting | No  | No  |
| Backups | Not stated | Weekly website backups on every shared plan |
| Free migration | Not stated | Site migration tool |
| CDN | Not stated | Yes |
| Caching | Not stated | Advanced static content caching and object caching |
| SSH and WP-CLI | Not stated | Yes |
| Security | Not stated | Malware scanning on Starter; AI malware removal, web application firewall and DDoS protection from Business |
| Choice of data center | Not stated | Region selected at checkout (North America, South America, Europe, Asia) |

## Company facts

|     | [Hosting.com](https://hostidea.com/reviews/hosting-com) | [Bluehost](https://hostidea.com/reviews/bluehost) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Control panel | cPanel with the hosting.com panel on top | Bluehost account manager with cPanel |
| Data centers | 5   | 2   |
| Support channels | chat, ticket, phone, email, knowledge-base | chat, phone, knowledge-base |
| Founded | 2003 | 2003 |

Visit Hosting.com (affiliate link: /go/hosting-com)Visit Bluehost (affiliate link: /go/bluehost)
