A Bluehost alternative
without the fine print.
Bluehost's advertised price is real, but it comes with a catch worth knowing before you sign up: a 36-month prepay to get it, and a renewal price about two and a half times higher after. Here is an honest look at both sides, and how to switch.
Bluehost does some things well.
Bluehost has been officially recommended by WordPress.org since 2005, a genuine endorsement, not a paid placement. It also offers 24/7 phone support, which matters if you want to talk to a person, not just chat. Both are real reasons people choose it.
The catch is in the fine print on the pricing page itself. The advertised $3.99/mo Starter rate is only available if you prepay a 36 month term, and Bluehost's own pricing page shows it renewing at $9.99/mo after that, a 150 percent increase. Popular upsell plans jump further: Choice Plus goes from $5.45/mo to $18.99/mo.
What actually matters before you prepay three years.
- What the price actually requires. Bluehost's lowest rate needs a 36 month upfront commitment. At 12 months, the price is meaningfully higher from day one.
- What is bundled versus sold separately. Domain privacy is not included on the Starter plan and becomes a paid add-on after year one on higher tiers, at roughly $11.88/yr. Enhanced backups (CodeGuard) are a separate paid add-on at roughly $35.88/yr.
- The realistic first-year total. Once typical add-ons are included, independent testing puts a real first-year cost closer to $117 than the advertised $65.
- Performance under load. Independent 90-day testing measured Bluehost's average response time slower than several competitors, since it runs Apache rather than a cache-optimized stack.
Sources: Bluehost's own pricing page (bluehost.com/pricing, July 2026) and independent 90-day hosting tests published May 2026. Pricing changes often, so check current rates before you decide.
Bluehost hosting vs NameMarshal hosting.
| What you want | Bluehost | NameMarshal |
|---|---|---|
| Entry shared hosting | $3.99/mo, requires a 36 month prepay, renews $9.99/mo | $36/yr flat, no multi-year prepay needed |
| Domain privacy (WHOIS) | Not included on Starter, paid add-on after year one on higher plans | Free, included for life on every domain. |
| SSL | Free, bundled | Free on every hosted site. |
| Backups | Weekly on Starter, daily backup add-on (CodeGuard) is separate | Daily backups included. |
| Phone support | Yes, 24/7. A genuine strength. | Real people who work with DNS, email and servers daily. |
| WordPress recommendation | Officially recommended by WordPress.org since 2005. | One-click WordPress on every hosting plan. |
| Checkout upsells | Several common add-ons (privacy, backups, storage) | None. |
Bluehost figures per bluehost.com/pricing, July 2026, and independent 90-day testing published May 2026. Pricing changes often, so check each provider's current rates before you decide. Ours are on our pricing and hosting pages.
How to move your hosting, keep your domain.
You do not need to wait for a Bluehost term to end to move. Three steps, and your site keeps running the whole time.
Pick a plan
Choose a NameMarshal hosting plan, including one-click WordPress if that is what you run.
We migrate for free
Tell us where your site lives now. We copy it over with no downtime and let you check it before going live.
Point your domain
Update your nameservers or DNS records to point at your new hosting. No domain transfer required.
Bluehost alternative, answered plainly.
Why does Bluehost's price go up so much on renewal?
Do I have to move my domain to switch away from Bluehost hosting?
Is Bluehost bad for WordPress?
Does NameMarshal hosting renew at a higher price later?
See the flat price for yourself
No 36-month prepay required. Browse hosting plans at the price you would actually renew at.