SiteGround and Bluehost Overview.
SiteGround was founded in 2004 and currently offers its services to more than 1,800,000 domains worldwide.
With over 500 employees, it offers a wide range of hosting plans, including:
- Shared hosting
- Cloud hosting
- Email hosting
- Domain registration
- WooCommerce hosting
It can also boast of having its own dedicated servers. Plus, it has advanced features for developers, like free SSH and SFTP access, FTP accounts, and pre-installed Git.
Founded in 2003, BlueHost is another web hosting giant and one of the biggest web hosting providers in the world. It is part of the large Internet conglomerate Endurance International Group (EIG).
Collectively with its GIE sister companies, it hosts over 2,000,000 domains worldwide and employs over 700 people at its Salt Lake City company.
In addition to having its own servers, it also offers a wide range of hosting plans, including:
- Shared hosting
- WordPress hosting
- VPS hosting
- Dedicated hosting
- Cloud hosting
- E-commerce solutions (free installation of a shopping cart)
With the multiple options available on the Internet, it's easy to not know what to choose for your business.
So which one should you choose? We are going to find out:
1. Web hosting performance.
There are a multitude of performance metrics to consider when choosing between these two web hosting services.
However, one of the first parameters you need to look at is speed. Site speed and fast loading times are of the utmost importance — they help you improve your Google search engine rankings and provide a good user experience.
As far as speed is concerned, Bluehost and SiteGround both use the superior SSD (Solid-State Drive) technology for all of their servers. SSDs have a significant advantage over ordinary basic hard drives. They offer you a distinct advantage as they are faster, more reliable, and offer better uptime.
Here are the characteristics of SiteGround that make it stand out:
- Solid state drives (1000x better inputs/outputs than regular drives)
- Integrated NGINX speed server (technology to accelerate the loading of static content on hosted websites).
- Geeky SuperCacher (clean caching mechanism based on the NGINX reverse proxy)
- Free CDN available (helps your website load faster no matter where you are)
- Use PHP7.2, which is the latest version of PHP for WordPress.
Here are a few Bluehost features that are quite interesting:
- Multi-server management
- Access control
- File management (use file transfer protocol)
- Unlimited email accounts
In addition to the above features, both are HTTP/2 compatible.
In summary, Bluehost and SiteGround are almost neck and neck when it comes to performance.
🏆 Winner : SiteGround
SiteGround is the best candidate for performance, thanks to features like NGINX, caching, and PHP7. It has better speed and better performance. So SiteGround is the winner!
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2. SiteGround vs Bluehost - Uptime.
One of the first things to consider when choosing the ideal web hosting plan is uptime. Web hosting with too much downtime will hinder your business and hinder your growth. Naturally, you need a web host that can maximize your uptime.
If 100% uptime is an unrealistic concept and no hosting service can provide it, it should be as close to 100% as possible.
When it comes to uptime, Bluehost and SiteGround are safe values.
SiteGround highlights its uptime policy and guarantees high uptime through a link on its website. (https://www.siteground.com/uptime). They also maintain that they have an uptime 99.99% of the time.
SiteGround has also very clearly indicated some of the characteristics that allow it to achieve near-perfect uptime, including:
- LXC (Linux containers)
- Pro-active server monitoring (preventing and correcting bugs and problems without delay)
- Unique anti-bot AI (prevents brute-force and resource losses)
- Secure account isolation (no account can affect others)
SiteGround also offers five data centers at disclosed locations across three continents. You can choose which one to use based on your location.
While Bluehost also guarantees 99.99% uptime for all of its customers, this claim is not explicit on its website.
However, in their Network/server uptime agreement, they promise to get their network up and running within 15 minutes if something goes wrong. That said, they were honest enough to admit that more serious issues can take more than 15 minutes to resolve.
Additionally, Bluehost is said to have over 20 data centers in the United States, China, and India. However, the locations are not disclosed, making it difficult for a user to choose the one that is closest to them.
🏆 Winner : SiteGround
With a guaranteed uptime of 99.99% and features that support this statement, SiteGround is a better candidate.
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3. Dashboard and ease of use.
An intuitive and easy to use user interface is essential for managing your web hosting services.
When you sign in to your SiteGround account, the first thing you notice is the multiple options you can use that look right in your face.
Navigation is easy, and you can see/use all tabs right away. The user interface is very user-friendly, and you are unlikely to have trouble finding what you want.
Recently, SiteGround also launched its own, highly customizable control panel called “SiteTool”, which replaces cPanel. It has a lot of excellent and practical features, including integrated and analyzed data from cPanel users over the years for a more intuitive, secure, and reliable user experience. It also offers you the possibility of adding several collaborators to your site.
Bluehost isn't very far from the target either. Equipped with 24/7 customer support, it offers a very lively user experience on its website. With features like one-click WordPress website installation and a free domain name for the first year in business, Bluehost fulfills a large number of requirements. It also relies on a very intuitive cPanel interface that allows first-time users to easily manage their website.
🏆 Winner : BlueHost
Ease of use can be very subjective, as business requirements can vary widely from industry to industry. That said, Bluehost and SiteGround both have a fairly intuitive user interface and offer incredible ease of use for their users.
However, I would choose Bluehost because it offers impressive features like one-click WordPress installation, smooth DNS setup, and more.
4. What about security measures?
Cybercrime is constantly evolving. As a result, net damage to businesses can reach trillions of dollars every year. According to Juniper Research, the total damage suffered as a result of cybercrime was $2 trillion in 2019. That's why security should be a top priority right now for any online business.
Both Bluehost and SiteGround offer considerable protection and security.
When it comes to ensuring security, the steps SiteGround takes are unparalleled:
- Physical data centers protected by security devices, 24 hours a day, all year round.
- Automated biometric entry and exit
- Military-grade bulletproof lobbies
- Enterprise-class inverter for maximum protection against power outages.
- Anti-piracy systems and help
- Automated daily backup and advanced site backups on demand
- Free SSL certification
- Firewall
- HackAlert built-in proprietary malware detector
BlueHost is not too far behind. It also has great security offerings, such as:
- 2-factor authentication system
- SiteLock (scans the environment regularly to detect attacks), at a price of $1.99 per month.
- Free SSL certificate (Let's Encrypt, Wildcard, or EV SSL)
- Tools that selectively identify and block spam (SpamAssassin and Spamhammer)
- Hotlink security protection (against data theft)
- Free daily backup (users can also use the “Site Back-up Pro” tool to back up data every day for a monthly fee).
The area where Bluehost scores points is the quality of its free SSL certificate, which could cost you $30 per year otherwise.
As you can see, there's not much to choose between the two. Both SiteGround and Bluehost adhere to very high security standards.
🏆 Winner : BlueHost
This is a tough choice, as Bluehost and SiteGround both offer top-notch security. However, thanks to SiteLock and free daily backups, Bluehost wins.
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5. WordPress integration
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems in the world right now. Therefore, one of the basic requirements of any website hosting service is a seamless integration with WordPress.
Both Bluehost and SiteGround offer smooth WordPress integration. On top of that, WordPress officially recommends that its users opt for these two hosting services.
SiteGround offers numerous features when it comes to integrating with WordPress.
With SiteGround, you get features like:
- Easy installation and use
- Automatic updates
- Cache system (internal)
- Automatic update of plugins
- Use of the transit area with their GrowBig or GoGeek plan (for high customization without changing the source code).
WordPress officially recommends SiteGround, and integration plans start at $3.95 per month.
BlueHost also comes with lots of features to make your WordPress experience super easy.
Plus, it's fairly easy to set up and user-friendly. But there is no internal cache system, and you need to update the plugins yourself as there is no self-installation option in Bluehost.
However, they offer you the option of playing a bit with a transit zone in one click (beta version) to allow you to experiment.
It's also officially recommended by WordPress, and the integration plans are very beginner-friendly. Plans start at $2.95 per month.
To summarize:
- Both web hosting providers offer impressive bandwidth, FTP and SFTP accounts, a free SSL certificate, and more.
- SiteGround has an advantage when it comes to features like automatic plugin updates, backups, and access to Git and SHH.
- On the other hand, Bluehost offers better storage than SiteGround.
- Bluehost is also a bit cheaper than SiteGround and is one of the most user-friendly web hosting providers available on the internet.
🏆 Winner : Both!
Both platforms offer easy WordPress integration and are recommended by WordPress. Additionally, while Bluehost is more advantageous in terms of disk space, SiteGround offers additional features such as automatic plugin updates, backups, and more.
6. SiteGround vs Bluehost - VPS Hosting Review.
VPS hosting basically means that you have a server (in whole or in part) that is entirely dedicated to you.
Both SiteGround and Bluehost offer great VPS hosting services.
In the case of SiteGround, they recently migrated to a cloud-based platform, which gives them greater scalability and flexibility. A cloud-based platform is also more economical.
Additionally, SiteGround's cloud hosting offers other amazing benefits. For starters, all VPS cloud hosting plans are managed entirely by you, and you have the freedom to decide what should and should not be installed. Since it's entirely on the cloud, you don't need to worry about nearly unlimited data storage either.
Thanks to a very responsive customer support team, any issues you may encounter are resolved on a priority basis.
SiteGround's VPS cloud hosting plans start at $80 per month and go up to $240 per month.
Bluehost also meets most of the requirements. Its VPS solutions are also based on powerful cloud technology, which uses an enhanced cPanel environment with full access to the CentOS root.
Additionally, they have dedicated IP addresses (IPv4) that can be used with your VPS account on the main cPanel user or on any other cPanel account.
Additionally, Bluehost's VPS plans come with 24/7 customer support, which is very helpful in the event of a problem.
They also offer instant provisioning, free solid-state drives, multi-server and file management, and the choice of up to 4 cores.
Some of their additional features, like the one-click installation, the free domain name, and the SSL certificate, are also very powerful.
Bluehost's VPS hosting pricing plans start at $18.99 per month and go up to $59.99 per month.
🏆 Winner : BlueHost
Although SiteGround is not far behind, Bluehost wins this round thanks to its very WordPress-focused user interface and its numerous features. The fact that it is offered at considerably lower prices also adds to its appeal.
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7. Which web hosting site is good for beginners?
As a beginner, it's normal to have reservations about using a hosting service for your new website. But everyone has to start somewhere. It is therefore essential to analyze how suitable a hosting service is for beginners.
As such, SiteGround and Bluehost are both very knowledgeable.
SiteGround offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for shared web hosting. However, it does not offer a reimbursement system for additional features such as paid support or dedicated hosting.
To help you get started without a problem, they offer a range of domain name services, such as national domain names, domain registration, and privacy protection. But all of these services are chargeable.
Of the three plans they offer, the StartUp plan, the GrowBig plan, and the GoGeek plan, the free migration is only available in the first one.
Plus, its integration with various CMS platforms, including WordPress.org, makes it a great option.
Bluehost offers similar features, but some of them are better than SiteGround.
When it comes to the 30-day money-back guarantee, the terms and conditions are similar to SiteGround. But unlike SiteGround, it offers a free domain name for one year upon registration.
Bluehost also offers free migration for basic plans. However, you can do website transfers and migrate five sites from your old web host for $149.99, which is a great deal. It also integrates easily with WordPress sites.
Additionally, Bluehost's cPanel user interface is also extremely user-friendly. You have a lot of white space, and the use of different colors is low, which adds to its visual appeal and improves the user experience. The overall interface is not cluttered with icons, making it easy for beginners to navigate.
🏆 Winner : BlueHost
The plans are cheaper, and it also provides you with a free domain name for one year. While SiteGround offers a fairly similar site migration policy, Bluehost gives you a more comprehensive set of features.
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8. Hosting prices and plans.
Before choosing a web hosting service, it is imperative to conduct a thorough study of the available plans, their prices and their characteristics.
Choosing a plan without careful thought is unwise, as your business depends to a large extent on your hosting plan.
In this regard, BlueHost and SiteGround are on the same page.
BlueHost hosting plans:
Bluehost offers the following hosting services:
- Shared hosting
- WordPress hosting
- VPS hosting
- Dedicated hosting
- Reseller hosting
Basic plan: Normally $7.99 but on sale for $2.95/month. It includes basic features and 50GB of space.
Plus Plan: Normally $10.99 but on sale for $5.45/month. Unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, and unlimited websites.
Choice Plus plan: Normally $14.99 but only $5.45/month with my link. Same as the Plus plan with domain privacy and advanced backup solutions.
They offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, as well as a free domain for a full year upon registration.
SiteGround hosting plans:
SiteGround also offers a wide range of hosting services, including:
- Web hosting
- WordPress hosting
- Cloud hosting
- WooCommerce hosting
- Dedicated hosting
- Business hosting
StartUp plan: Normally $11.95 but on sale for $3.95/month. It includes basic hosting features and 10GB of space.
GrowBig plan: Normally $19.95 but on sale for $5.95/month. Unlimited websites and 25GB of storage.
GoGeek plan: Regular price of $34.95 but on sale for $11.95/month. 30GB of storage and up to 100,000 site visitors.
The launch plan starts at $3.95 per month, which is a bit more expensive than Bluehost.
They also offer a 30-day refund period. Unlike Bluehost, SiteGround does not offer a free domain upon registration. However, you get a free SSL certificate with all hosting plans.
With more storage space, fewer traffic restrictions, and lower prices, Bluehost is the big winner when it comes to hosting prices and plans. I recommend their Choice Plus plan for only $5.45/month.
🏆 Winner : Bluehost.
Both plans offer competitive prices and more or less the same features, but BlueHost offers better value for money and is therefore the winner of this round.
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9. What is the best cPanel?
cPanel is a standard interface that works on Linux-based web hosting servers. It's currently the industry standard, and it's used by nearly every web hosting service — BlueHost and SiteGround are no exception.
Bluehost's cPanel is designed minimally, with abundant use of white space. The interface is not cluttered, making it easy for users to navigate.
Thanks to a one-click installation, the BlueHost control panel offers instant integration with a plethora of the most popular content management systems on the market today, such as WordPress, Magento, etc. The visible icons are delimited by a flatter design and use only one font.
This is what Bluehost's cPanel looks like:
SiteGround's cPanel is also very intuitive and offers an extremely user-friendly interface. The unique feature of its cPanel is that it comes with a built-in, in-depth tutorial to help you navigate properly and use the cPanel, which is free.
She also developed a special cPanel theme for SiteGround, called “Crystal.” It offers you lots of visual changes, additional features, and a high level of customization that's hard to find elsewhere.
Recently, it has also been using its own highly customizable control panel called “SiteTool”.
This is what SiteGround's cPanel looks like:
🏆 Winner : Both!
Both cPanels offer impressive features and an intuitive, easy-to-use cPanel.
10. SiteGround vs Bluehost - Customer Support.
Web hosting is ultimately dependent on technology. And if you're a small business owner, sooner or later you'll run into problems that you can't solve on your own.
You are likely to encounter problems that only your hosting service representative can resolve. That's why customer service and support are among the most important factors when it comes to choosing the right service.
Both Bluehost and SiteGround are doing well in this area.
Both Bluehost and SiteGround share certain attributes when it comes to their customer support, including:
- 365/24/7 customer support
- Excellent telephone and live chat support aimed at resolving the issue as quickly as possible.
- An accommodating and helpful support staff
SiteGround aims to satisfy its users by maximizing the number of customer support agents needed per team so that each issue is resolved as soon as possible.
They also provide priority service to users who use their more advanced plans like “GoGeek” and “GrowBig.”
Plus, when you open a ticket, the average response time is 10 minutes, which isn't that bad. For chat and phone support, you get real-time help.
BlueHost can boast of having similar customer support attributes. However, in addition to live chat, phone calls, and tickets, Bluehost also offers free consultation with experts. It also offers help with pre-sales and sales strategies.
One disadvantage of BlueHost customer support is that there is no fixed response time for a ticket, and it can be extended during busy periods. However, chat and telephone support are also in real time. Siteground's priority support is slightly better because of its commitment to meeting response times.
🏆 Winner : SiteGround.
Try SiteGround right now →
10. Final pros and cons.
There are a lot of things that you need to consider when choosing the right web hosting service for your business. There are a lot of services out there, and it's not always easy to analyze them to see what they really are.
To make things easier for you, I have listed the main characteristics of these two services here.
Bluehost review.
1. Bluehost benefits
- Owned by Endurance International, Bluehost has financial strength, a reputable brand, and stability (which translates into abundant resources).
- Focuses on the Net Promoter Score (NPS) to maximize user happiness.
- Offers a free domain name (for one year) and free SSL certification upon registration.
- Free DDoS protection (built-in)
- 30-day full refund policy
- Immaculate and user-friendly interface
- In-depth, integrated tutorials for novices and novice users to better understand how it works.
- Excellent customer support through tickets, social media, chats, and phones (24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year round).
- Provides a full range of products (domain names, domain privacy, WordPress integration, VPS hosting, etc.)
- Excellent integration with content management sites like Joomla, WordPress, etc. (seamless integration offering 1-click installation)
- Easily integrates with Cloudflare CDN
2. Disadvantages of Bluehost
- When you create a ticket, the response time can go on forever (especially during traffic spikes).
- There is no compensation for customers for extended periods of downtime (a big problem because minimal downtime can lead to millions of dollars in losses).
- Migrating up to 5 accounts costs $149.99.
- There is no option to automatically update the system or plugins.
- Does not have an internal cache system (you need to download additional plugins).
- Although they have over 20 data centers, their locations are not disclosed.
SiteGround review.
1. SiteGround benefits
- Offers Geeky SuperCacher, its own caching mechanism based on the NGINX reverse proxy.
- Free CDN available, which allows your website to load faster from any location.
- Use PHP7.2, which is the latest version of PHP for WordPress.
- 5 data centers spread evenly across 3 continents, so you can use whichever is closest to your location (this maximizes your speed)
- The platform is built on top of LXC (Linux Container Technology).
- Cloudflare integrated content delivery network
- Fully HTTP/2 compatible servers, which further improves loading time and speed.
- Free SSL certification
- Outstanding customer support and knowledge base (24/7 support all year round, with a guaranteed wait time of 10 minutes or less for tickets).
- Complete protection against DDoS attacks
- IDS/IPS systems that counter malicious attacks
- Offers a secure account isolation feature
2. Disadvantages of SiteGround
- Hosting plans are more expensive than Bluehost's.
- Unlike BlueHost, SiteGround does not offer you a free domain name. However, you can pull in a domain that you own from a site like GoDaddy.
- No built-in dedicated IP addresses
- The features and plans are mostly geared towards larger, more established developers and businesses (not very profitable for individuals with basic requirements).
- Do-it-yourself support is average.
Final Verdict
Hopefully, this in-depth review comparing the hosting features of Bluehost and SiteGround will help you make the right choice for your website.
Choosing one web hosting service over another is very subjective. It depends primarily on the needs of your business, the characteristics that best suit you, and your position in the market.
For example, if you are a beginner, choose a hosting service like Bluehost, which is beginner-friendly, inexpensive, and offers all the features you may need at this stage of your business.
For the seasoned activist, the needs are likely much more complex, more hierarchical, and more business-oriented. For that, you need a service that offers more advanced features, albeit at higher rates. In that case, SiteGround has you covered. However, in such cases, you can also opt for Bluehost's more advanced plans, like VPS hosting.
There is little choice between these two services, and only a narrow ridge separates them. At the end of the day, it all comes down to what you need.
In the end, I recommend that you opt for Bluehost and get started for only $2.95 per month.
What web hosting service are you planning to buy for your website? Do you prefer one of these two companies? Let me know in the comments below.
Further reading: You can also check out my full review by Bluehost, my review of Bluehost vs. HostGator, and my ultimate guide to best web hosts.
