The Best DreamHost Alternatives of 2026

GreenGeeks is the best DreamHost alternative for most users, with a broader feature set that addresses several of DreamHost’s limitations. While DreamHost lacks a free CDN, staging on standard plans, and offers only limited email trials, GreenGeeks includes these features at competitive prices starting at $1.95/mo.

If GreenGeeks isn’t the right fit, Hostinger is worth considering for its powerful proprietary control panel (hPanel), which offers more functionality and a smoother experience than DreamHost’s interface, with plans starting at $1.99/mo. Bluehost is another strong web hosting option, especially for security-focused users, with malware scanning, malware removal, and a CDN included on every plan.

To learn more, read our comprehensive breakdown of all three hosts below.

The best DreamHost alternatives 2026

Compare the best DreamHost alternatives

Best for	Best for long-term hosting	Best for extra features	Best for a user-friendly control panel	Best for security
Star rating	4.8 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	4.8 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	4.9 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	4.9 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
Starting price	Starts at $2.89/mo	Starts at $1.95/mo	Starts at $1.99/mo	Starts at $2.99/mo
Money-back guarantee	Yes — 30 days	Yes — 30 days	Yes — 30 days	Yes — 30 days
Uptime guarantee	100%	99.9%	99.9%	99.99%
Monthly visits	40K - 400K	Unmetered	25K - 200K	40K - 400K
Number of websites	25 - 100	1 - unlimited	25 - 100	10 - 100
Storage	25 GB - 100 GB NVMe	25 GB - 100 GB SSD	20 GB SSD - 100 GB NVMe	10 GB - 100 GB NVMe
Free SSL certificate	On all plans	On all plans	On all plans	On all plans
Free domain for a year	On all plans	On all plans	On all plans	On all plans
Learn more	Get DreamHost Read DreamHost Review	Get GreenGeeks Read GreenGeeks Review	Get Hostinger Read Hostinger Review	Get Bluehost Read Bluehost Review

GreenGeeks: Best for extra features

What we liked

Unlimited websites: Except for its tier-one plan, GreenGeeks doesn’t have a hard cap on the number of websites, so your limiting factor for projects is just storage space. This is convenient if you have many simple sites and you’re struggling to manage them under fixed website limits.

Free email: Unlike DreamHost’s 3-month email trial period, GreenGeeks gives you free email for the life of your hosting plan.

Staging: DreamHost does not include staging on any of its regular web hosting plans (only the pricey DreamPress plans). GreenGeeks takes the opposite approach and adds it across all tiers.

What we didn’t like

Unmetered traffic limits: Unfortunately, there is no such thing as actual unmetered traffic. If you purchase the GreenGeeks Lite plan and start getting 100K visitors per day, you will receive a call or an email asking you to upgrade your plan. We’d like to see the plans accompanied by an estimated upper range for each hosting package to make it easier to plan ahead.

Test results

We signed up for GreenGeeks web hosting and built a mock website to run a series of tests. The site performed very well, with an average performance score of 99/100 across three locations using Dotcom-Tools. For the first contentful paint (FCP) and largest contentful paint (LCP) — two of Google’s Core Web Vitals metrics — GreenGeeks clocked in at 0.6 seconds and 0.8 seconds, respectively. Both are well below Google’s recommended maximum thresholds of 1.8 seconds for FCP and 2.5 seconds for LCP.

Uptime remained flawless at 100% after almost 7 days of monitoring. For the final test, we sent 250 users to the site in 1 minute to see how GreenGeeks would perform when faced with an unusual traffic spike. It handled the rush with no failures and an average response time of 102 milliseconds.

Star rating summary

Whatever features you find lacking on DreamHost — no CDN, no staging, or no free email — these are all available on all GreenGeeks plans. From security to performance, your website(s) will be in good hands. Plus, customer support is responsive, and unlike DreamHost, you can call for help without being charged for it. For everything you get, the hosting prices are very fair.

Hostinger: Best for a user-friendly control panel

What we liked

hPanel: Both Hostinger and DreamHost have their own proprietary control panels, but Hostinger’s is more powerful. Its hPanel has more features and is a bit easier to navigate.

CDN: On Hostinger’s second tier, you get a free CDN, which can improve your website’s loading times across different regions of the world. None of DreamHost’s hosting plans include this; you can get it only as a paid add-on.

One-year email trial: Both DreamHost and Hostinger offer free trials of their email services, but Hostinger gives a full year, while DreamHost’s trial converts to a paid plan after 3 months.

What we didn’t like

Gimmicky AI optimization: Hostinger offers an AI optimization feature that speeds up your website's performance, but in practice, it mostly involves enabling server-level tweaks like caching. It would be better if caching were turned on by default.

Test results

We conducted the same testing process on Hostinger that we ran on GreenGeeks, and the results were similarly impressive. The overall performance score was 99/100, with FCP at 0.8 seconds and LCP at 0.86 seconds. Uptime held steady at 100% for nearly 9 days of testing. And the average response time during our stress test was a mere 14 milliseconds, with no errors throughout the test.

Star rating summary

Beyond the great performance, we were impressed by Hostinger’s approach to security and overall feature set. Although it lacks phone support, the Kodee AI chatbot is very efficient, and if you truly get stuck in a bind, you can get in contact with a human agent.

Bluehost: Best for security

What we liked

Strong security: Bluehost includes malware scanning across all plans and adds malware removal starting from tier two. In contrast, DreamHost does not include malware removal at all and provides only one malware scan per month starting at tier two.

Phone support: Although most issues can be resolved via live chat, it’s nice to have the option of calling. Bluehost offers it starting from the tier-two plan and doesn’t charge you for it (unlike DreamHost).

Free CDN: Bluehost includes a CDN on all plans. DreamHost makes it available only as a paid add-on (unless you opt for the expensive high-performance DreamPress plans).

What we didn’t like

Strict limits on basic plan: DreamHost gives you 25 websites with 25 GB of NVMe storage on its tier-one plan, which is significantly more than Bluehost’s 10 websites and 10 GB of comparable storage space. Hostinger also outshines Bluehost at the entry level, with three websites and 20 GB of SSD storage.

Test results

Of the three DreamHost alternatives we featured in this article, Bluehost was the only one to achieve a perfect 100 performance score. The FCP and LCP numbers were also low, at 0.43 and 0.63 seconds, respectively. Uptime was flawless at 100% after 4 days of continuous testing. Unfortunately, its stress test results are not as impressive. While Bluehost didn’t experience any errors, the average response time was 298 milliseconds. This isn’t high, but it’s almost triple that of GreenGeeks (102 milliseconds), and way above both Hostinger (14 milliseconds), and DreamHost (9 milliseconds).

Star rating summary

Our testing revealed that Bluehost is reliable in terms of performance and security. The security, in particular, is where Bluehost crushes DreamHost. Bluehost also fills several of DreamHost’s feature gaps, making it a more well-rounded hosting option. Whenever we’ve dealt with Bluehost’s support chat, the reps have always been pleasant. Once in a while, they might make an honest mistake, which we’ve experienced, but those events are outliers.

The downside is that Bluehost’s promo rates are higher than the other DreamHost alternatives and also higher than DreamHost itself. Renewal rates are a different story: Bluehost comes out higher or lower, depending on the plan and host.

When should you consider a DreamHost alternative?

DreamHost has plenty going for it, with a solid entry-level plan that allows for 25 websites and 25 GB of NVMe storage. That's significantly more than many competitors at similar price points. DreamHost also includes daily backups, free domain privacy, and a 100% guarantee. For users who value straightforward, no-nonsense hosting without aggressive upselling, DreamHost delivers.

On the flip side, DreamHost does have some notable gaps. There's no free CDN on standard shared hosting, email is free for only 3 months, and staging environments are an optional paid add-on (unless you purchase an expensive high-performance DreamPress plan). Phone support costs extra, and the custom control panel, while functional, lacks the depth of alternatives like Hostinger's hPanel. If any of these features are important to you, then it's worth exploring a DreamHost alternative.

Bottom line: The best DreamHost alternatives 2026

GreenGeeks is the best DreamHost alternative overall, offering everything DreamHost lacks — a free CDN, lifetime email, and staging on all plans — while matching DreamHost's strengths in performance and reliability. It's the most well-rounded option for users who want a feature-complete hosting package without paying extra for essentials.

Hostinger is the better choice if you find DreamHost's control panel limiting. Its hPanel is more intuitive and feature-rich, and the longer 1-year email trial is a nice bonus.

For users who prioritize security above all else, Bluehost pulls ahead with malware scanning (and removal starting at tier two) and a free CDN on every plan.

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