ScalaHosting vs Bluehost
ScalaHosting and Bluehost compared on measured uptime, response time, pricing and features from our own tests. ScalaHosting scores higher overall.
By Jennifer T. · Updated
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Verdict
ScalaHostingWins overall
Dallas and Sofia host with its own SPanel, an anytime prorated refund and a credit table that reaches 100 percent
Newfold's WordPress-recommended host: three shared tiers on 36-month terms, weekly backups, a 5 percent SLA coupon
ScalaHosting wins 4 of the six sub-scores and comes out ahead overall (8.1 vs 7.6).
How do the scores compare?
ScalaHosting leads on 4 sub-scores, Bluehost on 1. Higher is better.
| ScalaHosting | Bluehost | |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | 8.0 (better) | 7.5 |
| Uptime | 8.5 (better) | 8.0 |
| Support | 8.5 (better) | 7.0 |
| Features | 8.0 (better) | 7.5 |
| Value | 7.5 | 7.5 |
| Ease of use | 7.5 | 8.5 (better) |
Which one is faster and more reliable?
| ScalaHosting | Bluehost | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 8.1 (better) | 7.6 |
| Uptime (published)Kripesh Adwani 365 d vs HostingStep 243 d; methods differ | 99.99% (better) | 99.97% |
| Response time (published)WPBeginner vs HostingStep; methods differ | 526 ms | 501 ms (better) |
Which one costs less?
On renewal, Bluehost is cheaper ($9.99/mo vs $11.95/mo). Intro prices need the listed term.
| ScalaHosting | Bluehost | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan | Mini | Starter |
| Intro price | $2.95/mo (better) | $3.99/mo |
| Renewal price | $11.95/mo | $9.99/mo (better) |
| Required term | 36 months | 36 months |
| Websites | 1 | 10 |
| Storage | 10 GB | 10 GB |
| Money back | 30 days, then prorated at any time (better) | 30 days |
What does each include?
| ScalaHosting | Bluehost | |
|---|---|---|
| Free domain | Start, Advanced and Entry Cloud; not on Mini | First year, with a 12-month or 36-month term |
| Free SSL | Yes | Let's Encrypt |
| Automated backups | Daily, 7 restore points kept for the last 7 days | Not stated |
| Free migration | Website and email migration | Site migration tool |
| Control panel | SPanel (free, with SShield security and spam protection) or cPanel | Not stated |
| CDN | CDN integration | Yes |
| WP-CLI and SSH | Yes | Not stated |
| Malware protection | Real-time, on every plan | Not stated |
| Staging | Not listed on the plan cards | WordPress staging site on every plan |
| Uptime guarantee | 99.9%; credits from 10% at 99.8% up to 100% below 99%, claimed through billing | 99.99% SLA; at most one coupon per month for 5% of the monthly hosting fee |
| Money-back guarantee | Full refund within 30 days; prorated refund of unused time at any time after that; new clients only; web, reseller and VPS hosting | Not stated |
| Choice of data center | Dallas, New York, Seattle or Sofia on ScalaHosting's own infrastructure; partner cloud and AWS regions for cloud plans | Region selected at checkout (North America, South America, Europe, Asia) |
| Phone support | Yes | Business and above; Starter has chat only |
| Windows hosting | No | No |
| Backups | Not stated | Weekly website backups on every shared plan |
| 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 |
Company facts
| ScalaHosting | Bluehost | |
|---|---|---|
| Control panel | SPanel (ScalaHosting's own) or cPanel | Bluehost account manager with cPanel |
| Data centers | 5 (better) | 2 |
| Support channels | chat, ticket, phone, knowledge-base | chat, phone, knowledge-base |
| Founded | 2007 | 2003 |