ScalaHosting vs DreamHost
ScalaHosting and DreamHost 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
Independent since 1997: three shared plans with renewals printed on the card, daily backups and a 100% uptime credit
ScalaHosting wins 5 of the six sub-scores and comes out ahead overall (8.1 vs 7.6).
How do the scores compare?
ScalaHosting leads on 5 sub-scores, DreamHost on 1. Higher is better.
| ScalaHosting | DreamHost | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 8.0 (better) |
| Ease of use | 7.5 (better) | 7.0 |
Which one is faster and more reliable?
| ScalaHosting | DreamHost | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 8.1 (better) | 7.6 |
| Uptime (published)Kripesh Adwani 365 d vs WPBeginner 30 d; methods differ | 99.99% | 100.00% (better) |
| Response time (published)WPBeginner vs WPBeginner; methods differ | 526 ms (better) | 658 ms |
Which one costs less?
On renewal, DreamHost is cheaper ($10.99/mo vs $11.95/mo). Intro prices need the listed term.
| ScalaHosting | DreamHost | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan | Mini | Web Hosting Launch |
| Intro price | $2.95/mo | $2.89/mo (better) |
| Renewal price | $11.95/mo | $10.99/mo (better) |
| Required term | 36 months | 12 months (better) |
| Websites | 1 | 25 |
| Storage | 10 GB | 25 GB |
| Money back | 30 days, then prorated at any time (better) | 30 days |
What does each include?
| ScalaHosting | DreamHost | |
|---|---|---|
| Free domain | Start, Advanced and Entry Cloud; not on Mini | First year, on annual and multi-year terms only |
| Free SSL | Yes | Unlimited certificates on every plan |
| Automated backups | Daily, 7 restore points kept for the last 7 days | Not stated |
| Free migration | Website and email migration | The product page links a migration path for existing sites; terms not read |
| Control panel | SPanel (free, with SShield security and spam protection) or cPanel | Not stated |
| CDN | CDN integration | Not stated |
| WP-CLI and SSH | Yes | Not stated |
| Malware protection | Real-time, on every plan | Not stated |
| Staging | Not listed on the plan cards | No |
| Uptime guarantee | 99.9%; credits from 10% at 99.8% up to 100% below 99%, claimed through billing | 100% in the terms, with a credit of one day of hosting per hour of qualifying downtime, up to 10% of the next renewal, counted from the support ticket |
| 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 | Not stated |
| Phone support | Yes | No |
| Windows hosting | No | No |
| Backups | Not stated | Daily automated backups on every plan, restored from the panel |
| Free CDN | Not stated | No |
| Caching | Not stated | No |
| Not stated | 20, 40 or 60 mailboxes free for the first three months, then billed separately | |
| Resource limits | Not stated | No |
| Data center choice | Not stated | Oregon, Virginia, Amsterdam and Singapore per the product page and help center; the panel shows where each service lives |
| Performance scans | Not stated | Automated and on-demand performance scans on every plan |
Company facts
| ScalaHosting | DreamHost | |
|---|---|---|
| Control panel | SPanel (ScalaHosting's own) or cPanel | DreamHost's own panel (no cPanel) |
| Data centers | 5 (better) | 4 |
| Support channels | chat, ticket, phone, knowledge-base | chat, ticket, email, knowledge-base |
| Founded | 2007 | 1997 |