We’ve done a separate in-depth SiteGround review as well as an extensive BlueHost review in the past because both of the two companies have excellent web hosting services. It comes as no surprise; you always find them featuring among the top quality and reliable hosting companies reviews.

Lucky for you, this article is precisely on that. We’ve given a straight answer to the above question by evaluating all the services each offers in this head to head guide. If you are a busy person or don’t have time for in-depth research on both, such vivid information is golden; it makes choosing between these two hosts a breeze.

Read on until the end to save yourself unnecessary SiteGround vs BlueHost headaches.

Let’s get to it.

SiteGround Logo
PlansOffers five types of plans based on Linux Operating system, from shared plans up to custom enterprise hosting.It is a full web hosting Services Company with six different types of plans based on Linux OS only; from shared hosting to dedicated servers.
FreebiesCloudflare CDN integration, SSL certificates, and a migration plug-in for unlimited websites.Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates, 1st-year domain names, Jetpack plug-ins (WordPress), $200 worth marketing credits, Cloudflare integration (the free service), and some add-ons, e.g., CodeGuard backups, Domain Privacy ¨Protection are included for free with specific plans.
WordPress SupportRecommended by WordPress.Org. They offer WordPress plans with managed support, and all its benefits. Has some of the best WordPress speed optimizations implemented.Also recommended by WordPress. They offer 3 WordPress Pro plans hosted on VPS with top managed support.
DomainsNo free domain names offered; prices are higher than BlueHost. Domains add-ons like Locking, Auto-renewal are availableGives you a free domain for your 1st year, Domain Locking+ Protection comes free with some plans and prices are better (vs SiteGround).
E-commerce18 e-commerce apps supported with 1-click installation. Their SiteBuilder has e-commerce functionality. There’s only one e-commerce ready plan, and it’s hosted on PCI- compliant servers. You get a dedicated IP, advertising credits, PayPal integration, and support for lots of free e-commerce apps. Store themes come pre-installed with WooCommerce, and they help you with implementing Google My Business.
Eco-friendly-hostingCloud plans are hosted on 100% renewal energy matching Google Cloud servers. Don’t have any environmental friendly efforts they been involved in for a while.
SpeedLeads with fast site loading speeds enabled by lots of speed up features like custom caching technologies, e.g., SG optimizer, rapid web protocols, and Cloudflare CDN integration.Speeds are just above industry averages. Limited speed up features implemented but some plans come with free Cloudflare service integrated.
UptimeBetter uptime scores on average and has a 99.9% uptime guarantee covered by a Service Level Agreement. Generous compensation for breach of their uptime promise. Lower uptime scores vs SiteGround, but scores are good. No uptime guarantee hence no compensation for downtime.
Ease of useDashboards (including cPanel) have intuitive beginner-friendly interfaces. You get free migration services for your website and domain; tools included a free site builder, Softaculous, migration plug-in, and more.Modernly designed dashboards, has a customized cPanel. No free migration service. Ease of use tools include site builders, set-up wizards, free themes, and you get access to the MOJO marketplace, which makes installing everything easy even for novices.
Developer toolsEssential developer tools are supported, e.g., Site Staging, WP-CLI, White Listing, and collaboration on the same account. Decent amount of programming languages and technologies are also integrated into their platform.Lots of programming languages and a good amount of different technologies used by developers are integrated. Site Staging and WP-CLI are also available.
SecurityLots of security tools. Has even implemented custom solutions available for all plans. They have security tight at both server and plan levels.Decent amount of security tools and features are deployed. However, they are lesser than SiteGround, and the best solutions come as optional add-ons.
Customer supportOverstaffed supported department available 24/7 with high trained (knowledgeable), and motivated staff. They give fast replies and useful answers.Outsourced customer support staff, available 24/7. They have slow response time, not very knowledgeable hence don’t give very helpful answers for technical questions.
PricingMore expensive plans by a little bit, but managed WordPress plans are significantly cheaper on their platform. Month to month billing available (with set up fees). Initial discounts apply even monthly billed plans. Prices increase with renewals.Much cheaper plans in general, no hidden fees, no monthly billing, and decent discounts are only available with long (3 year contracts). Prices also get hiked during renewals.
Refunds30 days money-back guarantee (14 days for Cloud plans), and easy automatic cancellation supported.30 days money-back guarantee for all plans, no automatic cancellation, but they refund faster and have a Better Business Bureau rating.
Overall rating

4.7

4.5

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SiteGround vs BlueHost: Which Hosting Services Provider Is Better?

SiteGround wins most of the sections, with seven wins vs BlueHost’s five wins, they are clearly better as an overall hosting platform. We recommend checking the sections that matter to you most and making a decision based on those rather than the overall score. It doesn’t tell the whole story.

For more specifics on how each won every section, keep reading until the end. You might discover some interesting issues and facts about each platform that could influence your decision further.

SiteGround vs BlueHost Overview

BlueHost got established in 2003 by Danny Ashworth and Matt Heaton in Provo, Utah. The company was initially started way back in 1996, operating as a free hosting company called 0catch.com.

In 2010, BlueHost got acquired by the Endurance International Group (EIG). 400 staff got laid off, and main offices got switched to Burlington, Massachusetts, U.S. BlueHost currently hosts a whopping 2 million websites and has 750 staff.

What about SiteGround?

It has its roots in Europe, specifically Bulgaria. SiteGround was founded in 2004 by Tenko Nikolov, Nikolay Todorov, and Reneta Tsankova. It has remained a privately owned company, but that hasn’t held them back from expanding. They have data centers in 3 continents that host over 2 million domains. They have 500 employees distributed across the globe.

SiteGround vs BlueHost: Plans Available on Each Hosting Platform

BlueHost has more plans than SiteGround.

SiteGround Plans – shared hosting, managed WordPress hosting, Cloud plans, custom enterprise hosting, and reseller hosting.

BlueHost Plans – shared hosting, managed WordPress hosting, VPS, cloud hosting, dedicated servers, and reseller hosting.

SiteGround vs BlueHost: Shared Web Hosting

SiteGround Logo
Pros
  • Unlimited features across all plans include email accounts, bandwidth, databases and FTP (file transfer protocol accounts)
  • Unlimited websites hosting is supported but only with GrowBig and GoGeek plans
  • Automated daily backups
  • Freebies: Cloudflare CDN integration, SSL certificates, and a migration plug-in
  • Free support services: WordPress installation and Automatic WordPress updates
  • Pro-level customer support is available with the GoGeek plan
Cons
  • Low cap on monthly visits
  • Higher prices than BlueHost
  • Very limited SSD storage on these plans (vs competition)
  • Only one plan – GoGeek- is recommended and ready for online store hosting
Pros
  • Lower prices than SiteGround
  • Bandwidth is unlimited on all plans
  • SSD storage space, websites, Parked domains, and subdomains are unlimited except for the Basic plan.
  • Domain Privacy + Protection plus Site Backup powered by CodeGuard Basic are provided for free on Choice Plus and Pro plans.
  • Freebies: Domain names, SSL certificates, $200 marketing credits, and Office 365 Mailbox, which is free for one month.
  • Dedicated IP and 2 Spam Experts offered with the Pro plan
Cons
  • Only three restorations supported per month
  • Backups are not guaranteed, BlueHost recommends you also have your backups
  • Overuse of resources might lead to deactivation
SiteGround Managed WordPress Hosting Plans 2020
SiteGround Shared Web Hosting Plans
BlueHost shared hosting plans 2020
BlueHost Shared Hosting Plans

The entry plan is very limited (only bandwidth is unlimited) on BlueHost, but its fine if you plan to host only a single site. Taking a closer look at the rest of BlueHost plans reveals you’re getting the same unlimited features as on SiteGround, which kind of equals the platforms. What’s sets these providers apart is that BlueHost gives you lots of enticing freebies that just take their value much higher. At every price point, BlueHost plans are better in terms of the overall feature set.

But don’t be quick to rule out SiteGround. It’s not all rosy on BlueHost when it comes to performance. Their plans only come with the free Cloudflare service while Sitegrounds integrates premium Cloudflare CDN, which boost website performance. What’s more? The plans are hosted on heavily parked servers, which might harm performance significantly. Only the Pro plan is exempted from this; it’s designed to be a high-performance plan;it is hosted on a server with limited accounts.

Verdict: BlueHost Wins

SiteGround vs BlueHost: WordPress Hosting

SiteGround Logo
Pros
  • Unlimited features: WordPress website hosting on GoGeek and GrowBig plans, email accounts, databases, bandwidth, and FTP accounts
  • Free SSL certificate provided
  • Automatic backups for WordPress
  • WordPress Starter tool for guiding you through WordPress set-up
  • Managed technical WordPress support: free pre-installation, and automatic updates for core and security features
  • One-click WordPress installation supported
  • Access to free WordPress plug-ins and professional templates.
  • Speed optimization via custom SG Optimizer, Cloudflare CDN and built-in dynamic WordPress caching
  • WP-CLI and Site Staging environment for developers
  • All WordPress support benefits also cover the WooCommerce app
  • Has cheaper plans than BlueHost
  • Priority support line for the GoGeek plan
  • officially recommended by WordPress.org
  • Free WordPress site transfer
Cons
  • Very limited SSD storage and monthly visits allowed
  • No free domain name
  • free marketing tools plus SEO tools are missing
Pros
  • Also officially recommended by WordPress.org
  • Managed WordPress Support: free automatic WordPress installations and updates implementation
  • One-click WordPress and WooCommerce installation supported
  • All WordPress support benefits are included for WooCommerce hosting
  • Verification on Google My Business for WooCommerce stores
  • Daily Scheduled Backups. The Scale plan gets you Unlimited Backups and Restore feature
  • Pre-installation of storefront theme for WooCommerce
  • WooCommerce PayPal Integration for free (Scale plan)
  • Freebies: Microsoft 365 Mailbox (Free for 30 Days), domain name, SSL certificates, and Jetpack Licenses, i.e., Jetpack free for the Build plan, Jetpack Premium for the Grow Plan and Jetpack Pro for the Scale plan.
  • Google Analytics for WordPress integrated
  • A Marketing Center is provided for monitoring blog and social media traffic (with the Build plan), Grow Plan gets you BlueHost SEO Tools, while the Scale Plan gets you Elastic Search optimization tool.
  • You get access to 100+ free WordPress themes (premium),
  • Integrated Cloudflare free service and custom multi-layer caching for WordPress speed boost are implemented
  • WP-CLI and Site Staging tools are available for Pro- webmasters
  • Secure custom configuring – changing passwords- of your log-in credentials is supported
  • You have a 1-Hour Concierge Call with their expert WordPress team
  • Premium Priority support is provided: Blue Sky Ticket Support (Grow Plan) and Blue Sky Chat Support (Scale Plan)
  • WordPress hosting gets done on a VPS environment; much better than shared hosting for performance
Cons
  • More expensive plans (significantly)
  • No Free WordPress site transfer
SiteGround Managed WordPress Hosting Plans 2020
SiteGround WordPress Hosting Plans
BlueHost-WordPress-Hosting-Plans
BlueHost WordPress Hosting Plans

On BlueHost, you get better-managed support for both WordPress and WooCommerce. No wonder you’ve got to fork out more than on SiteGround for their WP Pro plans. When it comes to speed optimizations, SiteGround take the crown with better speed up features and custom caching, which, as you will see below, makes their platform faster. All in all, BlueHost plans have excellent performance because of being hosted in a VPS environment. What makes SiteGround’s WordPress plans miss points is that the same limitations on their shared plans on storage and monthly visits also apply here.

Just looking at the whole feature set, BlueHost provides tremendous value in with lots of extra features and freebies, e.g., JetPack Licenses, SEO tools, Marketing tools, and more). You have to purchase most of them on SiteGround.

Verdict: BlueHost Wins

SiteGround vs BlueHost: Cloud Hosting

Unfortunately, BlueHost doesn’t offer dedicated Cloud plans, which we can compare to SiteGround’s.

Here is what you get with SiteGround Cloud Plans.

Pros

Fully Managed technical support You can configure your server via their Custom cloud plan configuration service Plans are hosted on Google Cloud infrastructure Sub-Accounts can be created for your clients, i.e., if you’re a developer or freelancer Collaboration tools are supported for developers Freebies: 1 dedicated IP, Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate, and Cloudflare CDN integration Automatic Daily Backups (7 offsite copies) Advanced Priority Customer Support is provided Reseller Access with WHM panel supported

Cons

Their Cloud plans are overpriced plans (Vs competitors) Competitors offer more than one dedicated IP Cloud plans only have a 14-day money-back guarantee

No Verdict as there are no BlueHost Cloud plans to compare to.

SiteGround vs BlueHost: VPS Hosting

In this section, the roles reverse. SiteGround lacks VPS plans while BlueHost has them.

Below is what you get with BlueHost’s VPS plans.

 For more VPS options, check our Best Unlimited Bandwidth VPS Providers guide.

Pros

Free features: domain name the first year, cPanel and over one dedicated IP depending on the plan Support for dynamic resources on the fly. Only adding storage is currently supported Instant server provisioning; only minutes to get access to your VPS 24/7 managed support 30-day money-back guarantee Full Root Access to CentOS Either OpenStack or KVM virtualization is used for creating the VPS Very affordable plans (vs competitors)

Cons

Limited bandwidth Few unlimited features

No Verdict as there are no SiteGround VPS plans to compare to.

SiteGround vs BlueHost: Dedicated Servers

Well, there are no traditional dedicated server plans on SiteGround. They offer custom enterprise hosting; you state your requirements, they build a server for you with custom pricing.

Below is a summary of what you get with BlueHost’s dedicated server plans.

BlueHost Dedicated Servers summary:

  • Free features: domain name for one year, and an SSL certificate
  • 3 to 5 Dedicated IPs
  • fast SSD storage in RAID 1
  • Fast Provisioning (24 to 72 hrs.)
  • Storage upgrades allowed
  • Full root access
  • 30-day money-back guarantee
  • Dedicated Customer Support

However, for more options, we have

SiteGround vs BlueHost: Domain Services

SiteGround Logo
Pros
  • Enticing cut-rate domain prices for your first year
  • There is a domain search tool on their site for easy checking of domain availability
  • Domains Features Supported: Domain Locking and auto-renewal as add-ons
  • Domain migration gets done for you for free by SiteGround’s experts
  • Domain management is via cPanel
Cons
  • They don’t offer free 1st year domain names like BlueHost
  • Domains costs aren’t included in refunds
Pros
  • A free domain name for your initial year – 15 different extensions allowed- with all plans
  • Domain add-on Features supported: Domain privacy + protection (add-on Features) and domain auto-renewal can be set.
  • Some plans have free Domain Privacy + Protection, e.g., Choice Plus and Pro shared hosting
  • They have an easy to use domain search tool on their site
  • You get a domain management tool for purchasing, updating tracking, transferring your domains, and managing name servers
Cons
  • No free domain transfer service, you have to do it manually.
  • Domains costs aren’t included in refunds
  • Domain prices are higher (vs BlueHost)
  • The free domain name attracts a $10-15 activation fee

Renewals Prices/year for SiteGround Domains

  • .com $15.95
  • info $17.95
  • .net $17.95
  • .biz $17.95
  • .us $17.95
  • .org $17.95

Renewals Prices/year for BlueHost Domains

  • .com $ $17.99
  • .us  $15.99
  • .info $15.99
  • .net $18.99
  • .org $17.99
  • .biz $16.99

This section is quite tight, despite SiteGround not offering a free domain name they provide a free transfer service, and have great first-year domain discounts.

For the free domain name offered by BlueHost, you’ve got to pay an activation fee which cuts off their advantage. Moreover, they don’t transfer the domain for you. There’s no outright winner in this section.

Verdict: It’s a tie

SiteGround vs BlueHost: eCommerce Support

SiteGround Logo
Pros
  • One plan (GoGeek) supports e-commerce store hosting with good performance
  • E-commerce hosting on a PCI compliant platform
  • 18 online store apps supported out of the box
  • Softaculous 1-click installer support for all the 18 apps
  • Free SSL certificate provided. Free upgrades to a Wildcard SSL certificate are allowed
  • Their free Website builder has support for e-commerce store creation
  • You get pre-installed Woo Commerce store themes
Cons
  • The E-commerce ready plan lacks a free dedicated IP
  • No free advertising credits
  • No payment integration, e.g., PayPal
  • No SEO tools offered for your store
Pros
  • Supported e-commerce apps include OSCommerce, Shopsite, AgoraCart, CubeCart, Seotoatser e-commerce, PrestaShop, Magento, OpenCart. Agora, Cube, and ZenCart
  • WooCommerce support: Pre-installation and activation, Pre-installation of storefront theme, Google My Business verification and getting a free onboarding call with their WordPress experts
  • A free dedicated IP provided with their Pro shared hosting plan; very crucial for e-commerce store reputation
  • OpenPGP/GPG Encryption and free SSL certificates are provided for store security. Private SSL certificates are also provided for higher plans
  • You get $200 free marketing credits usable on Google, Facebook, Twitter and Bing (except Basic Plan)
  • WooCommerce PayPal Integration ‘(Scale Plan)
  • Jetpack Licenses for SEO and marketing.
  • Easy Google Analytics integration for WordPress you can use for analyzing site visits
  • A Marketing Center is provided for monitoring blog and social media traffic (Build plan), and BlueHost SEO Tools (Grow Plan), Elastic Search optimization (Scale Plan)
Cons
  • Doesn’t use PCI-compliant servers right out of the gate
  • To use their private SSL certificates you’ve got to have or purchase a dedicated IP address
  • To get the $200 Ad credits, you must use first $25 on a new Microsoft Advertising and Google Ads account

Just from looking at the overall feature set, BlueHost takes the lead in this section. SiteGround puts in a decent fight with excellent e-commerce store support, e.g., PCI Compliance than beats most competitors in this industry. But they are hard done by the lack of freebies and perks that directly benefit someone running an e-commerce store, e.g., dedicated IPs, payments integration, and Ad credits.

Verdict: BlueHost Wins

SiteGround vs BlueHost: Eco-Friendly Hosting Efforts

SiteGround Logo
Summary
  • Involved in environmental friendly hosting since 2010
  • Once involved in a tree planting exercise
  • Host their Cloud plans on Google Cloud servers which offset their energy use with green energy (renewable)
Summary
  • They don’t have any recognized eco-friendly hosting efforts

SiteGround wins easily here despite their green hosting being very limited and them not being directly involved.

Verdict: SiteGround wins

SiteGround vs BlueHost: Performance Comparison

SiteGround vs BlueHost: Up-time Comparison

SiteGround Logo
Pros
  • Impeccable uptime scores
  • They have a 99.9% uptime guarantee
  • The uptime guarantee is covered by an SLA (Service Level Agreement) for downtime compensation
  • Use Google Cloud infrastructure (for Cloud Hosting) which is very reliable and highly redundant platform
  • Has a 24/7 real-time monitoring system
  • They have 6 data centers in 4 different with redundancy features like distributed storage implemented
Cons
  • The compensation doesn’t include downtime from scheduled maintenance
Pros
  • Good uptime scores, above 99.95%
  • RAID Level 1 mirrored storage for dedicated servers
Cons
  • No uptime guarantee hence no compensation for downtime
  • Does not release information on its data center and redundancy measures applied

SiteGround’s uptime is excellent; they are among the top hosts you can choose for the best reliability. With the inclusion of Google Cloud, they took reliability, stability, and redundancy much higher.

The best part? With their SLA, you get compensated for downtime, which is something you don’t get on BlueHost who don’t have an uptime guarantee.

SiteGround Compensation

For uptime scores under 99.9% up to 99.0%, SiteGround gives you 1-month full credit, for every 1% dip below 99.0%, they give you an extra month of free hosting.

BlueHost uptime scores are around 99.5% on average, which is good but not great. The lack of an uptime guarantee – by BlueHost – makes SiteGround the default choice in this category especially for businesses that can incur big losses with such events.

Verdict: SiteGroundWins

SiteGround vs BlueHost – Who Tops the Speed Category?

SiteGround Logo
Pros
  • Terrific site loading speeds powered by multiple speed up features
  • Speed up features implemented: PHP 7.4 with OPCache, fast protocols like OCSP Stapling, TLS 1.3, HTTP/2, and QUIC
  • Custom speed up features: SG Optimizer plug-in and SuperCacher (Memcached-based)
  • You get Cloudflare CDN integrated irrespective of your plan at no extra fee
  • Use full SSDs storage for all hosting files. SSDs are much faster than HDDs
  • They have 6 data centers in 3 different continents; you get to choose you’re preferred hosting location for minimal latency for your visitors improving loading speeds
Cons
  • Hard to find any con vs BlueHost
Pros
  • Acceptable (good) website loading speeds
  • Use SSDS, which offer super-fast storage performance
  • Have PHP 7.3 enabled
  • Provide resource protection for the Pro shared hosting plan
  • No Cloudflare premium CDN but Cloudflare’s free service is integrated for WP Pro plans
Cons
  • Only have 1 U.S.-based data center
  • Very limited speed optimizations, you’ve got to do manual tweaks

Its super clear SiteGround has invested more in speed up technologies than BlueHost. They have blazing fast site loading speeds, which BlueHost can’t get near. If speed is a feature among your priorities, go with SiteGround. BlueHost speeds are just above industry averages.

Verdict: SiteGround Wins

SiteGround vs BlueHost: Ease of Use and Simplicity

SiteGround Logo
Pros
  • Setting up your account is easy and fast. Activation is also swift because it’s automated.
  • You’re welcomed with their set-up wizard which helps you set up your new WordPress website(s)
  • They offer WordPress and WooCommerce free pre-installation service
  • Installing apps is super easy; they have Softaculous integration. It’s is a 1-click app installer supporting more than 500 apps
  • SiteGround provides a website migration plug-in which supports transferring unlimited websites for free
  • SiteGround also offers a free site and data migration service to help you move to their platform
  • Their Customer dashboard interface is modern and intuitive; it got made beginner-friendly through a revamp process, which ended in 2019.
  • You get a free cPanel for managing your server and site. Its interface is intuitive, too, and it’s designed using SiteGround’s brand colors. Moreover, it’s packed with different functionalities and easy to locate tools
  • You can demo the cPanel on their site to get familiar with it
  • You get access to a free website builder powered by Weebly. It has a drag and drop style and supports creating online stores.
  • They also provide free responsive and professionally designed themes to use with the builder
Cons
  • Their free builder is limited to creating a site with a very limited number of pages
Pros
  • They have a straightforward account creation process; you get access to your account in minutes
  • They have a customer onboarding process for beginners where you get lots of helpful guides via email for the first five days
  • You get an enhanced cPanel with a customized layout to make it beginner-friendly. It has fast access to features mostly used
  • You can demo the cPanel on their site to get familiar with it.
  • Their customer dashboard is well designed, intuitive and easy to use
  • For WordPress, you get a helpful set-up guide perfect for novices. It has questions and a to-do list of all necessary steps
  • There’s one-click installation support for WordPress.
  • 100+ free WordPress themes are available for free use
  • They offer WordPress and Woocomerce free pre-installation service
  • You have access to 2 Premium Website Builders with a drag-and-drop interface; Weebly, and goMobi Mobile Web Builder ( 30-day free trial)
  • You can access and use their free themes and site templates
  • You get access to lots of free apps and scripts via MOJO Marketplace you can install with just a few clicks
  • They support seamless and incredibly user-friendly Google Apps integration
  • Uploading files using FTP or File Manager is quite easy. You can have lots of FTP accounts.
Cons
  • No free migration service, migration costs $149.99.
  • SFTP (secure) is only allowed with the main FTP account.
  • Both site builders are premium; you have to pay after trial is over

Most of the beginner-friendly features and tools from both SiteGround and BlueHost are almost the same. Where things differ is in ease of use services. BlueHost has a great onboarding process, but you will have to pay $149.99 for site transfer, which is free on SiteGround. SiteGround even offers a free migration plug-in if you plan to do it yourself. BlueHost site builders are only premium while SiteGround’s is free. Despite its webpage number limitation, it powerful and even supports e-commerce store creation.

What all the above shows are that a beginner will have to spend more to get the free tools, features, and services SiteGround offers. I bet any beginner will prefer SiteGround in this section.

Verdict: SiteGround Wins

SiteGround vs BlueHost: Developer Support and Features

SiteGround Logo
Pros
  • Git version control is supported with 1-click functionality. Go-Geek plan clients get free pre-installation on their account.
  • White Labelling feature – which helps developers create sites, change ownership, and sell to clients is available with the GoGeek plan.
  • WP-CLI environment for managing WordPress websites via command line is supported
  • Site staging feature– which offers a sandbox environment for testing new plug-ins, WordPress versions, and code before live deployment – is available.
  • GoGeek and GrowBig plans have developer collaboration features
  • PHP versions up to PHP 7.4 are enabled. You can modify php.ini file
  • More supported developer technologies: CURL, Zlib, Zend Optimizer, Smart Templates, ImageMagick, GD library, mod-rewrite, ionCube, and httaccess,
  • You get phpMyAdmin. Access is supported for MySQL databases
Cons
  • No Microsoft technologies supported, i.e., Windows-based developer tools
  • Fewer programming languages supported (vs BlueHost)
  • 100MB database limit for site staging sandbox environment
Pros
  • WordPress Site staging environment for testing new plug-ins, WordPress versions and code is available
  • More programming languages supported (vs SiteGround): PHP (5.6-7.3), MySQL 5.6, PostgreSQL, Python, Perl, Ruby on Rails
  • Developer technologies’ supported: CGI-BIN, Secure Shell (SSH) Access, Log FileAccess
  • Database access via phpMyAdmin, Remote MySQL, or phpPgAdmin supported
  • Fully-customized Linux kernel for VPS and dedicated servers
Cons
  • No Windows-based developer tools
  • No collaboration and White labeling features

The tools offered to help developers get streamlined workflows on SiteGround are extensive even though most come with only the GoGeek plan. Both platforms lack support for Windows developer tools. What BlueHost beats SiteGround in is in the number programming languages supported. Other than that, SiteGround is the better option because of better freelancers and developers specific tools and features

Verdict: SiteGround Wins

SiteGround vs BlueHost: Security Features

SiteGround Logo
Summary
  • Anti-bot system that AI-powered on every plan
  • Custom Web Application Firewalls (WAF) applied at server level
  • DDoS attacks prevention via Cloudflare CDN
  • Automatic daily backups (30 days file retention) for free
  • Backup restoration process is straightforward, but not available with the StartUp plan
  • Real-Time Spam Filtering for email accounts
  • Custom SG Site Scanner (in-house developed) for checking malware
  • Free SSL certificates
  • DS/IPS feature which helps in intrusion detection, and brute-force sign-in protection
  • Two-factor authentication (2FA). A secure sign-in feature
Summary
  • DDoS protection powered by Cloudflare.
  • Site backup by CodeGuard basic (Choice Plus and Pro plans)
  • Automatic backups with 30 days file retention (backups not guaranteed)
  • 2-Factor Authentication and log-in PIN support. There’s also a WordPress log-in details customization feature
  • OpenPGP/GPG Encryption and Free SSL certificate for each plan
  • Spam Protection includes Spam Hammer, Apache Spam Assassin, and Spam Expert. (excluding the Basic Plan)

BlueHost’s backups are not guaranteed. In fact, they recommend you also have your backups; that doesn’t instill confidence. More shortcomings include limited free security tools. It’s either you get lucky a premium security features are included free with your plan, or you purchase it as an add-on.

On the other hand, SiteGround is quite impressive. They even have custom security features implemented at no extra cost for all plans. Their tools and features for security are more and offer better protection for your website and files in terms of robustness.

Verdict: SiteGround Wins

SiteGround vs BlueHost: Pricing & Value per Dollar

SiteGround Logo
Pros
  • Monthly billing is available
  • Their managed WordPress hosting is significantly cheaper
  • Same introductory discounts get applied to the first billing cycle. Even on monthly billed plans
  • Limited upselling of add-ons
Cons
  • Majority of their plans (even domains) are more expensive (Vs BlueHost)
  • Recently increased prices
  • Monthly billing has a set-up fee attached
  • Fewer plans available
  • Very high plan renewal fees
Pros
  • Extremely cost-competitive pricing, except managed WordPress plans
  • No hidden fees, e.g., set-up fee like SiteGround
  • More plans are available on SiteGround giving you a variety of choices
  • Domains are cheaper
Cons
  • Default checking on the checkout page to upsell add-ons
  • No monthly billing option
  • Recently increased prices slightly
  • Very high plan renewal fees
  • 36-month contract period for the best pricing
  • Plan prices get increased after when renewing your first contract

SiteGround Plans Prices per Month

  • Shared hosting – StartUp $6.99, GrowBig $9.99, GoGeek $14.99  
  • Managed WordPress – Start Up $6.99, GrowBig $9.99, GoGeek $14.99
  • Cloud hosting – Entry $80.00, Business $120.00, Business Plus $160.00, and Super Power $240.00
  • Reseller Hosting –  GoGeek $14.99
  • Enterprise hosting – Custom Pricing

BlueHost Plans Prices per Month

  • Shared hosting – Basic $3.95, Plus $5.95, Choice $6.95, Plus and Pro $13.95
  • Managed WordPress (WP Pro) – Build $19.95, Grow $29.95, Scale $49.95
  • VPS – Standard $19.99, Enhanced $19.99, Ultimate $19.99
  • Dedicated servers (managed) – Standard $79.99, Enhanced $99.99, and Premium $119.99

It’s no secret BlueHost plans are significantly cheaper across the board. There are no hidden fees. The main downside is that you cannot pay per month; you have to commit for more than 12 months. In contrast, you get monthly billing on SiteGround and limited upselling. Discounts apply even for month to month paid plans.

Some things never change; on both platforms, renewals, prices get increased. However, looking at the overall picture, BlueHost is the platform you should go for if you’re fixated on better prices.

Verdict: BlueHost Wins

SiteGround vs BlueHost: Customer Support

SiteGround Logo
Pros
  • 24/7 support helplines
  • Support channels: phone, live chat and tickets.
  • Customer Department: Overstaffed with US-based well-trained staff
  • Self-help channels: A searchable Knowledgebase and immediate help content on different pages on their site.
  • Use Load balancing to ensure you get matched fast to an agent
  • Priority support provided with GoGeek and Enterprise plans
Cons
  • Limited video tutorials
Pros
  • Customer support service available 24/7.
  • Variety of support channels: Live chat, phone or email support
  • Comprehensive self-help documents ion their knowledgebase plus video tutorials are available,
  • They also have a YouTube channel with for more guides
  • There’s an excellent Onboarding service for beginners to bet them acquainted with web hosting.
Cons
  • Live chat response time is super slow (vs SiteGround)
  • Can’t reach support when logged in and verification is required every time you contact support
  • Outsourced support staff; they don’t provide high-quality service as in-house trained agents
  • No immediate solution for technical queries, staff give unhelpful information most times as they aren’t very unknowledgeable on technical issues.
  • Ticket wait times of nearly 45 minutes, yet they claim 30-sec responses

BlueHost customer supported is filled with lots of problems, even most reviews on the internet point to this fact. One sore thump point of redemption is that they have a great onboarding process; you get helpful starter guides via emails for your initial five days.

Things are quite different on SiteGround; their platform has lots of praises from every corner of the internet. Looking at the quality of service offered there and features mentioned, they speak for themselves. It’s a no brainer, go with SiteGround if you value excellent customer support.

Verdict: SiteGround Wins

SiteGround vs BlueHost: Refund Policy

SiteGround Logo
Pros
  • 30-day money-back guarantee for all plans except Cloud Hosting
  • Cloud plans have a 14-day money-back policy
  • The money-back-guarantee also covers renewals on plans contracts.’
  • Refunds get disbursed in full in under ten business days
  • “B” rated by the Better Business Bureau (BBB)
  • Automatic cancellation feature
Cons
  • Plans and services not covered include dedicated Servers, any add-ons purchased (including domain names), and plan set-up fees.
  • The 14 days refund period is very short for Cloud hosting clients
  • Take longer to refund (vs BlueHost)
Pros
  • 30 days money-back guarantee for all plans
  • “A” BBB rating
  • Refunds get processed within 5-7 business days
Cons
  • Domain fees and any other add-ons are non-refundable.
  • No automatic cancellation feature
  • You don’t get an email confirmation of successful cancellation

SiteGround’s have an easy cancellation process where you don’t need to communicate with their staff. You just follow an automatic cancellation wizard, fill your information, and then confirm cancellation.

For BlueHost:

  • You contact support through chat
  • Fill in your information as an existing customer.
  • Verify your ownership of  your account via password or email token
  • Confirm cancellation

Most people would prefer the SiteGround’s cancellation method. The advantage of their refund policy is that even renewals are covered. However, don’t forget their Cloud plans have a shorter trial period. To add on, SiteGround has a lower BBB lower rating and take longer to process your refund.

With a 30 days moneyback guarantee, faster processing of refunds, and higher BBB rating, BlueHost are hard to beat in this section.

Verdict: BlueHost Wins

SiteGround vs BlueHost: Conclusion

There is no denying that BlueHost plans that are dirt cheap and would appeal to many people. Despite winning in more features and lots of freebies, all that advantage is lost when looking at the quality of their platform—i.e. features like speed, and up-time which is crucial for excellent website hosting.

SiteGround charges more, but you get better value for money in terms of performance and areas that will make you site work as you want. Given all the facts we’ve have revealed in this head to head comparison, I bet you are in a better position to choose the host who meets your priorities; no more guesswork.

Good luck!

SiteGround vs BlueHost: FAQs

Green hosting, up-time, loading speeds, security, customer support, developer tools, and features, and finally, ease of use of their platform.

Shared hosting, managed WordPress hosting, eCommerce support, pricing, and refund policy.

Domain services.

Windows hosting, pre-configured dedicated servers, and VPS.

Cloud hosting and Windows Hosting.

Only SiteGround, they have them in US, Europe, and Asia-Pacific regions. 

Author

System Administrator. Back-end Developer. Author.

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