Bluehost vs Namecheap
We give Bluehost a 1.6 GPA and Namecheap a 2.2, out of 4.0. Namecheap grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Namecheap
Domain registrar's cPanel shared hosting, billed monthly or yearly
How we grade them
| 1.6GPABluehostWeak | 2.2GPANamecheapFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | AOnly renewal rates could be read, and Stellar on a 2-year term is still $102.88, about $4.29 a month over two years, under the $5.97 an A needs. Any first-term discount would only bring that down. Monthly is $5.88. |
| 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. | DA 30-day trial on yearly Stellar packages, which turns into a paid first year at the after-trial price when it ends. That makes it a trial you sign up to pay for, not a free plan. |
| 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. | CcPanel with Softaculous for 200+ apps, AI site builders, malware scanning and 2FA. The gaps are on Stellar: manual backups only, 3 websites and 30 mailboxes, and the free SSL lasts a year per domain. |
| 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. cPanel and Softaculous are familiar to many, but there's a fair bit to learn if you're new to them. |
| 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. The named integrations are installers and builders, WordPress, Softaculous, Sitejet and Extendify, with no API on record. |
| Best for | beginner WordPress sites and WooCommerce shops | cheap cPanel hosting beside your domains |
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 Namecheap. How we grade
Where they differ
At a glance
| Bluehost | Namecheap | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | Not published | $5.88 per month (Stellar), or $102.88 every 2 years, at renewal rates |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day trial of yearly Stellar packages, after which the first year is charged at the after-trial price |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Bluehost | Namecheap, Inc. |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | namecheap.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 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
Namecheap
- People who already keep their domains at Namecheap
- Small sites that want to pay month to month at a low rate
- Owners who prefer cPanel and Softaculous to a custom dashboard
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.
Namecheap
- Only the renewal rates could be read: the shared hosting page, which shows first-term discounts and trial terms, answered our readers with a bot check.
- The free SSL lasts one year per domain; keeping it after that is a paid renewal.
- Stellar stops at 3 websites, 30 mailboxes and 20 GB; unlimited sites and automatic backups need Stellar Plus or Business.
- The 30-day money-back guarantee covers first-time hosting accounts only, and cPanel or Softaculous licenses are not refunded.
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.
Namecheap
- cPanel with Softaculous
- Plans are run from cPanel, with the Softaculous installer for WordPress and more than 200 other scripts, plus email, file, database and DNS tools.
- AI site builders
- Sitejet in cPanel can generate a one-page site from a few business details, and Extendify adds AI site setup and writing help to new WordPress installs.
- Free SSL for the first year
- Each domain or subdomain on a shared account gets a single-domain SSL certificate free for a year, issued and installed automatically, up to 50 per account.
- Malware scanning and 2FA
- cPanel includes ImunifyAV or Imunify360 malware scanning, ModSecurity and two-factor authentication.
- AutoBackup
- Stellar Plus and Stellar Business restore from automatic backups, with unlimited backup storage on Business. Stellar has manual backups only.
Plans
Bluehost
Pricing could not be confirmed. See bluehost.com.
Namecheap
Stellar, 1 month$5.88
per month, the renewal rate
3 websites, 20 GB SSD and 30 mailboxes. The renewal rate since May 19, 2026; first-term discounts were not readable.
Stellar, 1 year$55.88
per year, the renewal rate
The same Stellar plan billed yearly. A 30-day trial is offered on yearly packages.
Stellar, 2 years$102.88
every 2 years, the renewal rate
The same Stellar plan billed every two years, the lowest rate for it.
Stellar Plus, 2 years$146.44
every 2 years, the renewal rate
Unlimited websites and mailboxes, unmetered SSD storage and AutoBackup. Also $7.88 a month or $85.44 a year.
Stellar Business, 2 years$251.88
every 2 years, the renewal rate
50 GB SSD, fewer users per server, a choice of US, UK, EU or Singapore servers. Also $11.88 a month or $128.88 a year.
