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ToolGPA

Bluehost vs IONOS

We give Bluehost a 1.6 GPA and IONOS a 1.8, out of 4.0. IONOS grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.

Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.

Bluehost

WordPress-focused shared hosting sold on multi-year terms

Paid
Full detailsbluehost.com

IONOS

Shared and WordPress hosting with a domain, wildcard SSL and email

From $8/mo
Full detailsionos.com

How we grade them

1.6GPABluehostWeak1.8GPAIONOSWeak
Value for money
CNo price on record: Bluehost's pages answered our reader with a bot check, so no two-year figure can be worked out. With nothing to compare, it sits at C, the grade for no stated price. Promotional prices cover the first term only.
BEssential is $4 a month for the first year, then $8, so two years cost $144, about $6 a month, inside the cheaper quarter of hosts and just over the A line. Plus looks cheaper at $1, but it renews at $14, so two years come to $180.
Free plan and trial
FNo free plan and no trial. There's a 30-day refund, but if you cancel, a fee for the free domain is taken out of it.
FNothing free: there's no free plan and no trial on record, so you pay from day one.
Features
CWordPress management, a first-year domain, SSL, AI site drafts and a WooCommerce plan. The gaps the listing names: backups are weekly, malware removal waits for Business and eCommerce Essentials, and email is a one-month trial.
CUnlimited websites, NVMe storage, a domain, wildcard SSL, daily backups and malware scanning on every plan. The gaps the listing names: Essential has 1 mailbox, and malware removal waits for Ultimate.
Ease of use
CNo app store rating to go on. The dashboard handles WordPress installs, plugins and updates, but you still set up a domain, a site and email yourself.
CNo app store rating to go on. There's a personal consultant and 24/7 phone support, but there's still a site and email to set up.
Platforms and integrations
CA web dashboard only, and the listing names just WordPress and WooCommerce. No API or wider list of integrations is on record.
CA web dashboard only. Its integrations are the apps it installs, WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Jetpack, plus SSH and git, with no API on record.
Best forbeginner WordPress sites and WooCommerce shopsseveral small sites on one cheap plan

The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Bluehost and IONOS. How we grade

Where they differ

    In commonWebAI featuresMalware protectionManaged WordPress

    At a glance

    BluehostIONOS
    PricingPaidPaid
    Starts atNot published$8 per month at renewal (Essential), after a first year at $4 a month
    Free planNoneNone
    Free trialNone listedNone listed
    Web
    Made byBluehostIONOS Inc.
    Price read fromNot confirmedionos.com
    CheckedOct 17, 2026Oct 17, 2026

    Who each one suits

    Bluehost

    • First-time site owners starting a WordPress blog or brochure site
    • Small shops that want WooCommerce ready on a hosting plan

    IONOS

    • Small businesses running several sites on one shared plan
    • WordPress beginners who want AI help building the first site
    • Developers who want SSH, git and WP-CLI on cheap hosting

    Worth knowing

    Bluehost

    • Bluehost's pages answered our reader with a bot check, so its prices could not be read and are not listed here.
    • Promotional prices cover the first term only, and plans renew automatically at the regular rate shown in the control panel.
    • Email is a one-month Professional Email trial that then renews as a paid add-on.
    • If you cancel, a fee for the free domain is taken from the refund, and refunds end after 30 days.

    IONOS

    • Intro prices last the first year of a 1-year term: Plus goes from $1 to $14 a month and Essential from $4 to $8.
    • Mailboxes are few: Essential includes 1 and Ultimate 5, each with 2 GB of storage.
    • Automatic malware removal and unlimited SSL certificates need Ultimate on web hosting, or Boost ($17 a month after a first year at $12) on WordPress.
    • IONOS also offers hosting with no minimum term, billed monthly with one month's notice, but the plan tables do not show its price.

    Key features

    Bluehost

    WordPress tools
    Every plan manages WordPress installs, plugins and updates from the Bluehost dashboard, and the higher plans add a staging site for testing changes.
    Domain, SSL and backups
    Plans include a domain free for the first year, a free SSL certificate and weekly backups.
    Malware scanning
    Plans scan sites for malware, and the Business and eCommerce Essentials plans also remove it.
    AI site creation
    An AI tool drafts a starting site on every plan, which you then edit in WordPress.
    WooCommerce plan
    eCommerce Essentials comes with WooCommerce set up for selling online; the other plans offer WooCommerce tools.

    IONOS

    Unlimited websites and NVMe storage
    Web hosting plans host any number of sites with unlimited traffic, on 100 GB to 500 GB of NVMe storage with more CPU priority on each tier.
    Domain, wildcard SSL and email
    Every plan includes a domain free for the first year, a wildcard DV certificate and 2 GB email accounts, from 1 on Essential to 5 on Ultimate.
    Backups and malware scanning
    Plans run daily backups, malware scanning and DDoS protection on geo-redundant servers. Ultimate adds advanced scanning with automatic removal.
    Developer access
    SSH, SFTP, WP-CLI, git version control, cron jobs and a choice of PHP 8.2 to 8.4 are included, with one-click installs for WordPress, Joomla and Drupal.
    AI tools for WordPress
    Every WordPress plan includes an AI Website Builder, and Grow and Boost add an AI assistant that writes text, images, pages and blog posts.
    Personal consultant
    Customers get a personal consultant to guide them, alongside 24/7 support by phone, chat and email.

    Plans

    Bluehost

    Pricing could not be confirmed. See bluehost.com.

    IONOS

    • Essential$8

      per month at renewal, after a first year at $4 a month

      Web hosting with unlimited websites, 100 GB NVMe and 1 mailbox. $4 a month for the first year of a 1-year term, shown against a crossed-out $10.

    • Starter$10

      per month at renewal, after a first year at $6 a month

      200 GB NVMe, 3x server resources, 2 mailboxes and a CDN. $6 a month for the first year, against a crossed-out $12.

    • Plus$14

      per month at renewal, after a first year at $1 a month

      350 GB NVMe, 5x server resources and 4 mailboxes. $1 a month for the first year, against a crossed-out $16.

    • Ultimate$18

      per month at renewal, after a first year at $10 a month

      500 GB NVMe, 10x resources, 5 mailboxes, unlimited wildcard SSL and automatic malware removal. $10 a month for the first year.

    • WordPress Start$8

      per month at renewal, after a first year at $5 a month

      One managed WordPress site, 25 GB, automatic backups and the AI Website Builder. $5 a month for the first year, against a crossed-out $9.

    • WordPress Grow$12

      per month at renewal, after a first year at $1 a month

      50 GB, 5 mailboxes, a year of Jetpack Vault and the AI Assistant for text, images and posts. $1 a month for the first year.

    Ways to pay less

    Bluehost

    No public discounts listed.

    IONOS

    • Other savings

      First year of web hosting Plus at $1 a month

      On a 1-year term the first year costs $1 a month for Plus, $4 for Essential, $6 for Starter and $10 for Ultimate, before $14, $8, $10 and $18 a month.

    • Other savings

      First year of WordPress Grow at $1 a month

      On a 1-year term the first year costs $1 a month for Grow, $5 for Start and $12 for Boost, before $12, $8 and $17 a month.

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