DreamHost vs Namecheap
We give DreamHost and Namecheap the same GPA: 2.2 out of 4.0. DreamHost grades higher on platforms. Namecheap grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
DreamHost
Independent shared and WordPress host with monthly or multi-year terms
Namecheap
Domain registrar's cPanel shared hosting, billed monthly or yearly
How we grade them
| 2.2GPADreamHostFair | 2.2GPANamecheapFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | ALaunch on a 2-year term is $2.49 a month paid upfront, so two years cost $59.76, well under the $5.97 a month an A needs in this category. It then renews at $8.99 a month. Paying monthly is $4.99 for 3 months, then $11.99. | 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 | FNothing free: no free plan and no trial. The cheapest way to try it is monthly billing at $4.99 for the first 3 months. | 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 | C25 websites on Launch, daily backups, unmetered bandwidth, free SSL, an AI WordPress builder and a starter site built by DreamHost's team. The gap is email: professional email is free for 3 months, then billed separately. | 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. Liftoff sets up WordPress from a few questions and the team builds one starter site, but there's still a domain and email to sort. | 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 | BA web control panel with no app on record, but there's a DreamHost API: a key from the panel lets scripts reach the account functions you pick. | CA web dashboard only. The named integrations are installers and builders, WordPress, Softaculous, Sitejet and Extendify, with no API on record. |
| Best for | cheap shared hosting you can pay monthly | 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: DreamHost and Namecheap. How we grade
Price against what you get
DreamHost starts at $1.99 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Namecheap starts at $4.29 a month and scores 2.0.
DreamHost scores higher and starts $2.30 a month lower. Of the other web hosts on the chart, none scores higher than DreamHost for less, and 5 score higher than Namecheap for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- DreamHost starts at $7.99 per month at renewal (Launch), after a first 4 years at $1.99 a month. Namecheap starts at $5.88 per month (Stellar), or $102.88 every 2 years, at renewal rates.
- Namecheap also covers malware protection.
At a glance
| DreamHost | Namecheap | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $7.99 per month at renewal (Launch), after a first 4 years at $1.99 a month | $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 | DreamHost, LLC | Namecheap, Inc. |
| Price read from | dreamhost.com | namecheap.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
DreamHost
- Site owners who want to pay monthly instead of committing for years
- People running several small sites from one shared plan
- Beginners who want a starter site built for them
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
DreamHost
- Every intro price is for the first term only: Launch is $1.99 a month for 4 years paid upfront, then $7.99, and monthly billing goes from $4.99 to $11.99 after 3 months.
- Professional email is free for 3 months only and is then billed separately.
- The free domain needs a yearly or multi-year plan, covers the first year, and must be claimed within the first 3 months.
- DreamPress managed WordPress is a separate plan line: DreamPress 1 is $14.99 a month for the first year, then $19.99, for one site.
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
DreamHost
- Liftoff AI WordPress builder
- Liftoff sets up a WordPress site from your answers to a few questions. Every plan also includes one starter website that DreamHost's team builds for you.
- Daily backups and performance scans
- Shared plans run daily automated backups and on-demand performance scans, with unlimited free SSL certificates.
- Domain with privacy
- Yearly and multi-year plans include a domain free for the first year, with private registration to keep your details out of public records.
- DreamHost control panel
- One panel covers hosting, domains, email and users, with a one-click installer for WordPress and other web apps.
- DreamHost API
- An API key from the panel gives scripts access to the account functions you choose, through calls to api.dreamhost.com.
- Unmetered bandwidth
- The visit counts on each plan are estimates rather than caps, and bandwidth is not metered, so a busy month brings no overage fee.
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
DreamHost
Launch, monthly$11.99
per month, after a first 3 months at $4.99 a month
25 websites, 25 GB NVMe and about 40,000 visits a month. $4.99 a month for the first 3 months, then $11.99. No free domain on monthly billing.
Launch, 1 year$10.99
per month at renewal, after a first year at $2.89 a month
25 websites with daily backups and a free domain for the first year. The first year costs $2.89 a month, paid upfront, then $10.99 a month.
Launch, 2 years$8.99
per month at renewal, after a first term of 2 years
The same Launch plan at $2.49 a month for the first 2 years, paid upfront, then $8.99 a month.
Launch, 4 years$7.99
per month at renewal, after a first term of 4 years
The same Launch plan at $1.99 a month for the first 4 years, paid upfront, then $7.99 a month.
Growth, 4 years$8.99
per month at renewal, after a first term of 4 years
50 websites, 50 GB and about 200,000 visits a month. $3.49 a month for the first 4 years, then $8.99. A 1-year term is $3.99, then $12.99.
Scale, 4 years$19.99
per month at renewal, after a first term of 4 years
100 websites, 100 GB and about 400,000 visits a month. $7.99 a month for the first 4 years, then $19.99. A 1-year term is $9.99, then $25.99.
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.
Ways to pay less
DreamHost
- Other savings
First 4 years of Launch at $1.99 a month
Launch costs $1.99 a month for the first 4 years, $2.49 for 2 years, $2.89 for 1 year or $4.99 for the first 3 months of monthly billing, before the regular rates apply.
- Other savings
First year of DreamPress 1 at $14.99 a month
The entry managed WordPress plan is $14.99 a month for the first year and then renews at $19.99 a month.
Namecheap
No public discounts listed.
