Bluehost vs NameCheap 2024 – Popular Doesn’t Mean Better

Namecheap is a reputable domain name registrar and web hosting service, whereas Bluehost is an even more popular web host that offers domain registration services. But, does this make Bluehost better? Well, probably not. Unlike Bluehost, NameCheap doesn’t pay reviewers to keep showing up on your search results as the best host in the market.

To compare Bluehost and NameCheap fairly, I’ve tested both services in terms of pricing, performance, security, features, and support.

NameCheap – as its name suggests – offers cheaper hosting prices than Bluehost. NameCheap also offers free privacy protection for life with its domain services (Bluehost charges for this), making it the clear winner of this not-so-tough contest.

Regardless, if it were me, I wouldn’t go for either web host. I’d choose InterServer, which offers much better value for your money. Click here to see InterServer’s latest deals1, or read on to see if one of these hosts could be right for you.

1. Plans and Pricing

Bluehost Might Be Cheap, but NameCheap Is Cheaper

There are some similarities between Bluehost and NameCheap’s shared hosting offerings, such as a free SSL certificate with all plans, 30-day money-back guarantee, and a free domain name with annual subscriptions for the first year.

There are also many noticeable differences between the two, mainly in pricing. NameCheap’s shared hosting packages come at a much cheaper cost – even after renewal and on a UK data center – than Bluehost.

In order to get the best out of Bluehost shared hosting, you’ll need to sign up for its higher-tier plans (Choice Plus or Pro) to get features like Spam Experts, site backup, and domain privacy protection, or purchase them as add-on with the Basic and Plus plans.

The winner? NameCheap easily wins the pricing round. Compared to Bluehost, NameCheap’s prices are, well, cheaper, and a good value for your money. However, if you’re looking for a better and affordable hosting solution with a price-lock guarantee, you should check out what InterServer has to offer1.

2. Features

Bluehost Offers More Storage –  NameCheap Offers More Useful Freebies

Bluehost’s Basic shared plan gives you 1 hosted website, 50 GB SSD disk space, and 5 email accounts. In contrast, NameCheap’s cheapest plan (Stellar) gives you 3 hosted websites, 20 SSD GB disk space, and 30 email accounts.

Unlike Bluehost, NameCheap offers Spam Experts for free with all shared hosting plans. NameCheap also offers free site transfer, but Bluehost doesn’t.

See more differences between these two providers:

The winner? While Bluehost offers a bit more storage space than NameCheap, the latter offers more useful and cost-effective features such as free site migration, weekly backups, and Spam Experts for free.

3. Performance

NameCheap Easily Defeats Bluehost

Bluehost doesn’t have a clear uptime guarantee advertised. When I asked customer support about this, I received the oddest response. I was advised that the servers were currently down and that they were working on it and that the uptime guarantee is 99%. It’s funny how I didn’t need even need to check other users’ reviews to know that Bluehost has frequent downtime.

In contrast, NameCheap has a 99.9% uptime guarantee, with very little downtime reported.

NameCheap’s impressive loading speeds and low downtime puts it ahead of Bluehost when it comes to overall performance.

4. Security

Bluehost Makes You Pay More to Stay Safe

Besides offering free SSL certificates, Bluehost and NameCheap secure their servers with DDoS protection.

Although Bluehost provides several security features, they include them either in the pricier plans or offer them as paid add-ons. These features encompass Domain Privacy + Protection, safeguarding your domain from identity theft, spam, and phishing attacks. Additionally, they encompass SiteLock for malware protection, CodeGuard for daily website backups, and spam protection.

Unlike Bluehost, Namecheap includes all its security features within its plans as standard. Starting with account security features which include custom security notifications, custom password recovery, and dynamic support pin numbers which protect against unauthorized attempts to access your account.

Another standard feature is Domain Lock which is pretty much the same as Bluehost’s Domain Privacy + Protection feature. Last, but not least, NameCheap supports Two-factor Authentication (2FA) to secure all its accounts.

Both vendors have a decent range of security features, but the fact that NameCheap offers its features as standard with all its plans instead of offering them as paid add-ons proves that it takes its users’ security more seriously than Bluehost.

5. Support

Trying To Get Help from Bluehost Is Frustrating

Both companies offer  24/7 customer support, but NameCheap has a more comprehensive knowledge base than Bluehost.

Bluehost’s communication channels are limited to live chat and phone. Even though I was connected to a live chat representative instantly, the representative wasn’t knowledgeable and wasted a great deal of my time.

Getting in contact with live chat after subscribing can also be challenging, as you will have to log out of your account and go through the presales contact path – the only difference is that this time you will choose Existing Customer.

In contrast, you can reach NameCheap’s customer support through live chat or ticket support. The representatives are more responsive and more knowledgeable than Bluehost’s. I got instant replies for basic questions, but slightly slower responses when I got to the technical questions. When I submitted a support ticket, the reply came within an hour, which isn’t so bad.

It’s easier to get help with NameCheap as opposed to Bluehost’s exhausting customer support. Therefore, NameCheap wins this round fair and square.

NameCheap Crushes Bluehost in All Categories

Although NameCheap isn’t the best host in the market today, it outperformed Bluehost in all five categories. NameCheap offers cheap hosting plans that come with value-added features, helpful support, and decent performance.

If NameCheap and Bluehost aren’t what you’re looking for, I suggest that you check out InterServer1. It offers even more features at friendly prices and a stable performance. Or, you can take a look at our extensive list of the best web hosting services.

FAQ

Who owns BlueHost?

Like many popular web hosting companies, BlueHost is owned by the notorious Endurance International Group (EIG), and it’s in charge of Bluehost’s billing and transaction information.

If you’d prefer a host that isn’t owned by EIG, check our list of the best web hosts right now.

Is NameCheap good for VPS hosting?

Namecheap offers SSD powered VPS hosting through two affordable packages – Pulsar and Quasar. The disk space ranges between 40 GB SSD to 120 GB SSD, 2 GB to 6 GB RAM, 1000 GB to 3000 GB bandwidth, and 2 to 4 CPU cores. If NameCheap isn’t quite right for you, take a look at these services that offer cheap and reliable VPS solutions.

Does Bluehost offer fast loading speeds?

It depends on the location of your target audience. While it isn’t the fastest host, Bluehost offers acceptable loading speeds across Canada, some parts in Western Europe, and Australia. However, it doesn’t do very well in Asia and the U.S. Learn how we properly test web host’s performance.

Where is my cPanel on NameCheap?

NameCheap actually makes it easy to log into your cPanel. For example, if you’re subscribed to a shared hosting plan, you’ll find the cPanel auto-login buttons in your NameCheap Account Panel together with all the commonly used cPanel tools. This way you won’t have to log into the cPanel to manage important functions.