In the dynamic and competitive realm of web hosting, finding the right provider is akin to laying a solid foundation for your online endeavors. As we usher in the year 2023, one name that continues to resonate in the echelons of web hosting is Dreamhost. Acknowledged for its longevity and reputation, Dreamhost stands as a stalwart in providing hosting solutions.
This review delves into the intricacies of Dreamhost’s offerings, meticulously examining its features and pricing structure. In a digital landscape where the performance and reliability of your website are paramount, the choice of a hosting provider can significantly impact your online success. Our exploration aims to shed light on whether Dreamhost emerges as a top-rated web hosting provider in 2023, scrutinizing the features that set it apart and evaluating whether its pricing aligns with the value it delivers.
Join us on this journey as we unravel the layers of Dreamhost’s capabilities and determine whether it is the optimal choice for hosting your digital presence in the evolving online ecosystem.
DreamHost Review: Is it a Top Web Hosting Provider?
In my personal experience, no other service has offered me an insurmountable host of features other than Dreamhost. It has enough in its kitty to satisfy all your personal and business needs when it comes to hosting and online requirements.
If you are wondering how, then here is my review, which I have written after using Dreamhost myself. Also, Check out the best web hosting companies
I am not saying that it is the best web hosting service provider out there, but it is certainly one of the topmost. Most of its hosting plans offer unlimited storage and email accounts, which make it a good option for those with lesser needs, like newbies and beginners.
The impressive part is that large firms and established digital marketers can also avail themselves of a lot of advantages and benefits when using Dreamhost’s hosting service.
They can carry on their operations smoothly with Linux-based dedicated and Virtual Private Servers which have the metal to handle high traffic sites.
Let us move towards its various plans and see what they have to offer
Before moving on I should come out and say that if you have not maintained and handled a website before may find Dreamhost difficult because when it comes to assisting in the web development the service does not do much.
Now what comes next is one great service with exciting packages, a little over-budget prices but amazing and user-friendly performance. I have to say it is one of the best hosting services I have ever used.
DreamHost Review: What is DreamHost?
DreamHost is one of the most established web hosting providers available today. DreamHost is one of the top web hosting services for most website owners, with over 1.5 million websites, 400,000 clients, and 750,000 WordPress installs.
DreamHost can help you integrate domain names, website builders, and email hosting into your website effectively and affordably, thanks to a wide range of product offers that aren’t limited to hosting plans.
DreamHost Review: Shared Web Hosting
Shared web hosting is the way to go if you want to establish a website but don’t want to invest a lot of money. Shared hosting is a low-cost web hosting option in which your website shares CPU, RAM, and other server resources with other websites. As a result, it’s not a particularly powerful hosting tier; if you expect a lot of traffic on your site, you should consider a virtual private server (VPS) or dedicated hosting.
Furthermore, because “shared” in shared hosting refers to the fact that each server may host numerous sites that share the hardware’s resources, you are at the mercy of your server mates to some level. If one of them makes it to Reddit’s first page, your site can slow to a crawl as a result.
Shared Starter and Shared Unlimited are the two shared hosting plans offered by DreamHost. Unlimited monthly data transfers and storage are available with Shared Starter (beginning at $4.95 per month, or $3.59 per month with a one-year commitment), but email is not included.
That’s right, there will be no email. You’ll need to upgrade to Shared Unlimited (beginning at $10.95 per month, or $4.95 per month if you commit for a year). This package includes unlimited email and website hosting.
The one-year plan’s reduced price (formerly $7.95 per month) puts it within striking distance of the Starter option, making it a far better deal than before.
DreamHost Review: VPS Web Hosting
For organizations that want more power than shared hosting, DreamHost offers four Linux-based VPS web hosting plans (beginning at $15.00 per month or $13.75 per month with a one-year commitment).
When compared to shared hosting, VPS hosting puts your website on a server with considerably fewer virtual roommates. As a result, your site will have access to greater server resources.
The VPS plans from DreamHost include unlimited monthly data transfers and domains, which is a fantastic feature. However, the Basic plan only comes with 1GB of RAM and a 30GB solid-state drive.
The most expensive plan ($120 per month, or $110 per month with an annual contract) comes with 8GB of RAM and 240GB of solid-state storage. Unfortunately, the Ubuntu Linux operating system is the sole option for VPS plans.
DreamHost Review: Dedicated Web Hosting
You’ll need a dedicated server if you want to get the most out of your web hosting. Your website will be hosted on its own server, allowing you to take advantage of all of the system’s resources. If your site is mission-critical and you don’t want it to go down or slow down, you should consider dedicated hosting.
DreamHost offers a variety of dedicated server packages. The Standard 4 plan, which includes 4GB of RAM and 1TB of storage and costs $169 per month or $149 for a yearly commitment, is the most basic.
The Enhanced SSD 64 plan, which costs $379 a month and includes 64GB of RAM and 240GB of solid-state storage, is the most expensive. Data transfers are unlimited on all DreamHost dedicated server plans.
DreamHost Review: Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting, which distributes resources across numerous servers, is certainly familiar to you (traditional hosting pulls resources from a single server).
When the scenario calls for it, cloud hosting allows sites to easily grow their server demands. Fortunately, DreamHost offers three cloud hosting tiers in Linux, BSD, and Windows: 512MB RAM Server, 2GB RAM Server, and 8GB RAM Server.
DreamHost offers outstanding packages that start at $4.50 per month (for 512MB of RAM, 80GB of storage, and unlimited monthly data transfers) and go up to $48 per month (for 512MB of RAM, 80GB of storage, and unlimited monthly data transfers) (for four CPU cores, 8GB of RAM, 80GB of storage, and unlimited monthly data transfers).
As a result of its impressive features, DreamHost is the co-editor’s Choice for cloud hosting services.
DreamHost Review: WordPress Web Hosting
WordPress hosting is available from DreamHost in three different flavors: WordPress Basic, DreamPass, and VPS WordPress. DreamPress is the default option with managed WordPress hosting, a service that gives your website white-glove treatment by automatically upgrading the popular content management system software, generating daily backups, and offering WordPress-specific security.
The WordPress Basic plan (beginning at $4.95 per month or $3.95 for a three-year commitment) includes 50GB of SSD storage, purchasable email similar to Shared web hosting, and unlimited monthly data transfers, as well as a selection of free WordPress themes.
Starting at $12.00 per month, the DreamPress starter package includes 30GB of SSD storage, unlimited email and monthly data transfers, and support for up to 100,000 monthly visitors.
DreamPress Plus (beginning at $24.00 per month) doubles storage, boosts visitor count to around 300,000, and includes a content delivery network (CDN) for faster site loading.
The top-tier DreamPress Pro plan (beginning at $71.95 per month) includes 120GB of SSD storage and a visitor limit of 1,000,000.
DreamPress allows you to install whatever plug-in you want; Pagely and WP Engine, on the other hand, limit you to a small number of plug-ins that could slow down your site. DreamHost just added staging to its WordPress capabilities, allowing you to test new site features without affecting your live pages.
Building a Website
Overall, I enjoy DreamHost’s user interface—straightforward and well-organized, and it made setting up my test site a breeze. Instead of using adorable, screen-cluttering symbols like HostGator or iPage, DreamHost uses a tree of menu options on the left side of the screen.
It’s simple to access billing information, manage domains, and view VPS and dedicated server settings. The security options and the third-party app marketplace were both easy to find.
The WP website builder is now available on DreamHost, allowing you to get started on your site right away. You won’t have to wait as long for your Dreamhost account to get approved as you once did.
It’s a wonderful addition. WP Website Builder includes dozens of themes that you may customize with its drag-and-drop capabilities.
I found adding photographs (my own or from DreamHost’s royalty-free gallery), text, and video to be refreshingly simple. You can also use your account to install third-party apps like concrete5, Joomla, MediaWiki, Piwigo, and, of course, WordPress.
DreamHost Review: Security and Other Features
DreamHost’s email service includes antispam but no antimalware protection. Apart from that, I appreciate its focus on other aspects of website security.
An easy-to-find link in the control panel allows you to update the.htaccess file to control site access or create a password. You can restrict spiders from indexing areas of your site that you don’t want to be indexed by search engines.
Cron jobs (automatic batch jobs) can be used to schedule tasks and monitor site processes. DreamHost also provides free secure-socket-layer (SSL) certificates, which are a must-have for anyone selling anything online.
If you’re a developer or in charge of a software development team, you’ll like DreamHost’s inclusion of Subversion, which allows you to manage your source code files.
Most web hosting companies limit you to the programs available on their software marketplace. It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to build up your own repository, as version-control techniques like Subversion rarely make it into these marketplaces.
DreamHost Pricing Plans
The price is a big advantage of using DreamHost as your web hosting service. When you consider the high-quality services it gives to its users, it is one of the most economical items on the market. DreamHost offers three major hosting plans, each of which can be paid for a year at a discounted rate.
Within each of the three tiers, Shared, DreamPress, and VPS, there are extra possibilities. For example, DreamPress, DreamPress Plus, and DreamPress Pro, as well as Shared Starter and Shared Unlimited.
The VPS plan is then divided into storage sizes, ranging from 30 GB SSD storage on the VPS Basic to 240 DB SSD storage on the VPS Enterprise. Between those two VPS plans, there are two more.
Let’s have a look at the Shared plan first. The Shared Starter option is ideal for those who are just getting started with their first website and aren’t sure where to begin. It includes all of the essential hosting features, such as one WordPress website, a free domain, and unlimited bandwidth.
Users receive a lot of bang for their buck with the WP website builder and free automated WordPress integrations for $3.95 per month if paid annually. These typically range from $2.59 to $9.95 each month, so having both included in the package for free is a huge benefit to your company.
For $9.95 per month paid annually, DreamHost also offers the Shared Unlimited plan, which includes everything in the Shared Starter plan plus unlimited emailing and websites. This is a wonderful option for users who have various websites and require multiple email addresses.
DreamPress is the next main DreamHost pricing package. When you pay $16.95 per month annually, you save 15%. This package offers on-demand backups, jetpack free pre-installation, and one-click staging in addition to everything in the Shared Unlimited plan.
This plan is best for people who already have a WordPress website because it was designed to work perfectly with this builder. There are two other DreamPress options:
$24.95 a month for DreamPress Plus, which includes double the SSD storage, Jetpack Professional, and limitless themes. CDN (Canada Dollars)
DreamPress Pro costs $71.95 a month and includes 120GB of SSD storage, 1 million or more monthly visitors, and one staging website. These pricing plans are better suited to WordPress websites that get a lot of traffic and require a lot of tools.
Shared Web Hosting Services
There is no classification of packages based on anything and I like that. It is like the services enforce equality and want to give everyone a fair chance at availing themselves of good service. There is a unified plan which starts at $10.95 or $9.95 a month. The deal is that you have signed up for at least a yearly contract. That is kind of taxing but everyone does that. You get quite a load of stuff like:
- Unlimited Disk Storage
- Unlimited network bandwidth
- Unlimited number of domains
- Unlimited email accounts
- Some of the domains even come for free like .com, .net, .org and .info
This is great because most of the other services offer unlimited domains only when you sign-up for higher-tier plans. This is what makes Dreamhost very attractive to everyone, especially newcomers as they get more free services for a lot less!
DreamHost Review: WordPress Hosting Services
If you are only a core blogger and looking for a good option to manage and host your blog then Dreamhost’s WordPress hosting may be a good one for you. The price is a little steep at $ 24.95 a month but a lot of things are taken care of like:
- Installing and Updating CMS
- Installing and Updating Plug-ins and Add-ons
- Daily backups
- A wide array of themes and plugins
Cloud Storage and Computing Services
I have not used this service till now but people with a large scale of work and traffic maybe need to place and store their files. You can avail of this service which starts at $0.95 a month which gives you 40 GB. You can go up to $299.95 per month which will give you 20 TB of data. I think that is enough to get the job done.
Virtual Private Server(VPS) Services
The VPS services for the higher scale operations are cost-effective and impressive. The plans start as $15 per month. You get a load of goodies like:
- Unlimited Storage
- Unlimited Bandwidth
One downside is that the memory offering as in RAM is quite low as you get only 300 MB in the starting plan. To move up to the likes of 4 GB RAM memory you have to cough up $200 per month. This is a costly affair.
In my experience, I remember it as one of the reasons for not availing its VPS services! If you are not concerned about RAM then I think it is a fair deal.
Dedicated Servers
The plans start from $169 per month. I will have to say here that most of the service offers the same features as the other web hosting services. You get stuff like:
- 1 TB storage
- 16 GB RAM
- Unlimited data transfers per month. This is a star feature as it attracts many firms which high traffic volumes.
One drawback though is that there are Windows-based servers. If you are cool with Linux then fine but otherwise it is not good for you.
What about the security of your money? Well, there is a 97-day money-back guarantee. I don’t think you get that anywhere. This means that you have enough time to try and test the software before making a final decision to stick with it.
It will be interesting now to look at its interface and other aspects and see how good they are:
The sign-up process will annoy you sometimes. In my case, it was quick and straightforward but I have heard of cases where the buyers got a message that they will be contacted when their accounts were ready. The sad part is that they were contacted after 5 hours.
Once that is done then I think you will appreciate the interface Dreamhost has to offer. It is simple and minimal. There is enough simplicity to guarantee easy understanding and implementation of all procedures.
The only drawback is that Dreamhost does not offer a WEBSITE BUILDER. Therefore, you have to create your site elsewhere and then use FTP to upload it into your Dreamhost account. That is easy but the whole process may come as a pain to many marketers and firms. That is one reason why Dreamhost is more popular among professional web developers.
You can install 3rd party applications like concrete5, Joomla, and even WordPress. There are a host of downloadable applications here which can assist you with building a website therefore, Dreamhost still comes out as a strong contender.
All in all, there is no doubt in my mind that Dreamhost Web Hosting services are top-notch. The firm has been around for some time and boasts of a large and respected clientele which can be seen on its website. The security features and support are robust and user-friendly along with the host of features it offers at a cost-effective and budget-friendly price.
DreamHost On Social Media
When a website doesn’t have enough resources, it may produce a 503 Service Unavailable Error.
Find a few quick fixes for this very common @WordPress error below:https://t.co/Xx5hVGUbiq#wordpress #wordpresswednesday #wpbeginner
— DreamHost (@DreamHost) March 9, 2022
DreamHost Reviews by Users
DreamHost Pros & Cons
Who should use DreamHost?
DreamHost is a good option for a lot of website owners. It combines affordable rates with good quality, which is tough to come by these days in the hosting industry. Small projects (such as a dentist’s website) searching for the best value for money should select DreamHost, in my opinion.
DreamHost’s shared hosting, on the other hand, might be an excellent fit for big sites. For enthusiastic bloggers and dedicated site developers, it has enough performance, strong support, and consistent uptime. DreamHost supports this technology, even though it isn’t PCI compliant out of the box — you could make it happen by fiddling around. This is clearly a huge benefit for e-commerce projects.
Who should not use DreamHost?
Their performance is among the greatest I’ve seen, therefore you can be assured that your project (even large sites) will be hosted safely at DreamHost.
However, DreamHost may fall short if you require professional capabilities such as staging zones, integrated caching, and pre-installed Git repositories.
Also, because they don’t have servers outside of the US, it’s not ideal if your traffic is primarily from outside North America. That’s correct! It’s probably not the ideal idea if your audience isn’t from North America. A better fit might be WP Engine, SiteGround, or A2 Hosting.
Finally, complex features such as staging zones, an integrated caching system, or pre-installed Git repositories may be missed by tech-savvy users such as developers or agencies. SiteGround is the way to go if you want to have these.
FAQ Related to DreamHost Review
Is DreamHost easy to use?
DreamHost's control panel is sleek and simple to use. From the left sidebar, you can access all of the options. Because it isn't built on cPanel, some users may notice that a few complex features are missing.
✔Do I get a free domain with DreamHost?
For annual (or longer) plans, a free domain name registration is included. This offer is only valid for the first year; after that, a.com domain will set you back $15.95. The following domain extensions are available:.com,.net,.org,.info,.global,.blog,.shop, or.club. The Shared Starter plan allows you to have only one domain name and five subdomains, but the Share Infinite plan allows you to have an unlimited number of domain names and subdomains.
Does DreamHost offer free email accounts with the Starter plan?
Surprisingly, their Starter plan does not include free email addresses (they start at $1.70 per month). You can create and manage an unlimited number of email accounts with the Unlimited tier. The maximum size of any email account will be 2GB.
✌Can I create MySQL Databases?
Yes, indeed! MySQL databases can be created using DreamHost. You can build as many databases as you like with the Unlimited subscription. There are just six databases available with the Starter plan. The database size isn't limited in any of the plans, however, you should attempt to keep it no greater than a few GB in size.
✔ Does DreamHost support WordPress and Drupal?
They have their own scripts for quickly installing major content management systems such as WordPress, Zen Cart, and Joomla. There are only a few available. Popular CMSs like Drupal, Magento, and PrestaShop, for example, appear to be missing.
✔ Does the Starter Plan offer unlimited storage?
No way! The storage on the Shared Starter plan is restricted to 50 GB. Although the Unlimited plan does not have a storage restriction, be aware that there is a fair usage policy in force (e.g. no file sharing sites).
Does DreamHost offer a free SSL certificate?
Because DreamHost integrates with Let's Encrypt, enabling SSL is free. To add to the security, they also provide SSH and SFTP access. They support HTTP/2, the most recent PHP 7 versions, and have their own firewall. Your panel's Multi-Factor-Authentication can also be enabled. Additional security features (such as a virus scan) are available through DreamShield, a premium security program produced by DreamHost.
Does DreamHost support Windows-based dedicated servers?
Unfortunately, DreamHost does not offer dedicated Windows servers; it's Linux or bust. They recommend AccuWeb for good quality dedicated web hosting, which offers Linux and Windows dedicated server alternatives if you wish to develop a website utilizing Microsoft's operating system as a basis. AccuWeb also offers powerful dedicated plans, such as a $1,070 per month package with 8TB of storage, 512GB of RAM, and up to 50TB of data transfers every month.
Do I get Reseller hosting with DreamHost?
Reseller hosting is the way to go if you want to get into the web hosting company but don't want to deal with infrastructure issues. Unfortunately, DreamHost does not provide standalone reseller plans; however, you can resell your own server space if you add more domains to it. For additional details, see DreamHost's reseller FAQ page.
Does DreamHost create automatic backups of my website data?
They back up all of your files every day, and you'll have access to the past eight backups. There's also a simple function for making backups on the fly – it's straightforward to use, but it could be more versatile (e.g. select what folder to backup). Keep in mind that the backups you make are periodically deleted, so you'll have to download them again.
✔ What if I don’t like their services and want a refund?
DreamHost offers a 97-day money-back guarantee, which is rather generous. Their terms of service specify that if they don't provide 100 percent uptime, they will pay you, which is actually quite generous.
Do they offer good customer support?
DreamHost provides email, ticket-based, and online chat assistance. It also includes a large knowledge database. Unfortunately, DreamHost does not offer phone assistance, which is a shame because sometimes you just want to talk to a real person. The chat assistance, on the other hand, is quite good. On a weekday afternoon and evening, we gave it a shot. We waited less than a minute in both cases for someone to answer my queries.
Best DreamHost Alternatives
Looking for More options, If you’re looking for a web host that offers more than just basic hosting, we’ve got the best of picks. Our top three choices are completely different from one another and will suit any need!
1) Hostinger
Hostinger began as a free web hosting service in 2007 and has since grown to become one of the best shared and cloud hosting providers available. With Hostinger, you can create a website and obtain high-quality hosting at some of the lowest prices available.
Hostinger is one of the most adaptable hosting companies, with alternatives for any size or type of website. Though the uptime has slowed and isn’t as consistent as we’d like, the site loads quickly, and the other benefits appear to offset the few drawbacks. Just be aware that there may be some outage on the site.
Click Here to read out the detailed Hostinger Review.
2) HostGator
HostGator is one of the most popular web hosts, with over 10 million domains under its management. It’s a sensible choice for every website owner because it offers a 1-click WordPress installation, a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and 24/7 support. They are, in our opinion, the greatest business web hosting. They’re giving our readers a special price of 62% off, as well as a free domain name and SSL certificate.
HostGator has a wide range of hosting options to suit all budgets and needs. They provide you with all of the user-friendly tools you’ll need to create a website.
HostGator has already gained the trust of over 2 million consumers. Whether you’re an experienced Internet veteran or just getting started with your first website, you’ll discover all the tools you need to take it to the next level.
Click Here to read out the detailed HostGator Review.
3) Bluehost
Bluehost provides a one-stop-shop for all your website needs. It has everything you need, including excellent customer service and quick responses to any questions or problems that might arise during the use of its services!
Bluehost is a good choice for novices because it includes everything you’ll need to get started with WordPress, including a free domain name and automated WordPress installation, as well as a free drag-and-drop page builder and detailed step-by-step instructions.
Click Here to read out the detailed BlueHost Review.
Quick links
- DreamHost Hosting Promo Code, Coupon & Discount Code
- Bluehost vs HostGator vs Dreamhost
- WP Engine vs DreamHost 2023
Conclusion: DreamHost Review 2025: Should you Go for DreamHost Hosting?
Yes, DreamHost comes highly recommended! Many people may find this hosting provider to be a good fit. Fair costs, reliable service, and generous unlimited storage and bandwidth policy will appeal to a large number of people.
DreamHost should be one of the first places you go if you want to develop a Linux-powered website. By offering shared hosting, WordPress hosting, virtual private server (VPS), cloud, and dedicated hosting plans, the web hosting service caters to a wide range of personal and commercial web hosting needs.
Furthermore, its website-building software provides webmasters with easy-to-use tools for creating appealing, adaptable websites.