Web hosting · head to head
Bluehost vs Namecheap
What each costs, whether there's a free plan, and what each is best for, from prices checked on their own sites.
| Fact |  Bluehost |  Namecheap |
|---|---|---|
| From | $3.99/mo | $2.28/mo |
| Renews at | $9.99/mo | $4.66/mo |
| Free plan | No · No free plan or trial; 30-day money-back guarantee | Yes · 30-day free trial of shared hosting, one per account |
| Best for | WordPress beginners happy with a 3-year term | The lowest renewal, and a free trial first |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
| Website | Visit | Visit |
The difference in short
- Namecheap costs less to start: $2.28/mo against $3.99/mo for Bluehost.
- After the first term, Bluehost's cheapest plan renews at $9.99/mo and Namecheap's at $4.66/mo.
- Only Namecheap has a free plan, trial or credit.
- Bluehost is best for WordPress beginners happy with a 3-year term; Namecheap for the lowest renewal, and a free trial first.
Bluehost pricing
All about Bluehost| Plan | Price | Renews at | Specs / includes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter (shared) | $3.99/mo | $9.99/mo | 10 GB NVMe SSD | 36-month term (Save 60%). Weekly backups, free CDN, no phone support. |
| Business (shared) | $6.99/mo | $13.99/mo | 50 GB NVMe SSD | 36-month term (Save 50%). Labelled 'Most popular'. Adds WAF, DDoS protection, domain privacy 1st year, phone support. |
| eCommerce Essentials (shared) | $14.99/mo | $21.99/mo | 100 GB NVMe SSD | 36-month term (Save 32%). WooCommerce auto-install and commerce tools included. |
| VPS NVMe 2 | $4.69/mo | $5.69/mo | 1 vCPU · 2 GB RAM · 50 GB NVMe | 24-month term, $112.56 due today (Save 18%). Self-managed. No cPanel and no 24/7 priority support on VPS plans (page says so). |
| VPS NVMe 4 | $9.49/mo | $11.99/mo | 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM · 100 GB NVMe | 24-month term, $227.76 due today (Save 21%). Labelled 'Recommended'. |
| VPS NVMe 8 | $12.99/mo | $28.99/mo | 4 vCPU · 8 GB RAM · 200 GB NVMe | 24-month term, $311.76 due today (Save 55%). Renewal is 2.2x the intro price. |
Namecheap pricing
All about Namecheap| Plan | Price | Renews at | Specs / includes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stellar | $2.28/mo | $4.66/mo | 20 GB SSD | yearly billing, after a free 30-day trial. Renews at $55.88/year (shown here per month). 2-year term: $1.88/mo. Monthly: $5.88/mo. |
| Stellar Plus | $2.98/mo | $7.12/mo | Unmetered SSD (fair-use policy) | yearly billing, after a free 30-day trial. Renews at $85.44/year. 2-year term: $2.28/mo. Monthly: $7.88/mo. Includes AutoBackup. |
| Stellar Business | $4.98/mo | $10.74/mo | 50 GB SSD | yearly billing, after a free 30-day trial. Renews at $128.88/year. 2-year term: $4.48/mo. Monthly: $11.88/mo. Includes AutoBackup. |
What's good, and what to watch for
Bluehost
- Starter allows 10 websites with 10 GB NVMe SSD storage
- Free domain for the first year, free SSL and a free CDN
- Weekly backups, malware scanning and a free migration tool
- The $3.99 price needs a 36-month term
- Starter has no phone support (chat only); Pro Email is a 1-month trial that renews at $2.50/month
Namecheap
- Stellar allows 3 websites with 20 GB SSD storage and 30 mailboxes
- Free automatic SSL, unmetered bandwidth and free website migration
- Imunify360 security included on all plans
- Stellar has no AutoBackup; it comes with Stellar Plus and Stellar Business
- The 30-day money-back guarantee applies only to accounts that did not start with the free trial
- .com renews at $18.48/year after the $11.28 first year (25% off $14.98)
Other web hosting options
Cheapest first where the prices compare.
Hosting.com
DreamHost
GreenGeeks
HostingerFAQ
Which is cheaper, Bluehost or Namecheap?
Namecheap costs less to start: $2.28/mo against $3.99/mo for Bluehost. Prices checked Oct 18, 2026 on each company's own site.
Do Bluehost and Namecheap have a free plan?
Bluehost: No. 30-day money-back guarantee. With a paid plan: one domain free for the first year with a 12- or 36-month hosting plan. Namecheap: Yes. 30-day free trial of shared hosting, one per account.
What else should I compare with Bluehost and Namecheap?
Other web hosting options we've checked: Hosting.com ($1.99/mo), DreamHost ($2.89/mo), GreenGeeks ($2.95/mo), Hostinger ($2.99/mo).
Keep comparing
- Bluehost: pricing, free plan and alternatives
- Namecheap: pricing, free plan and alternatives
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- GreenGeeks vs Namecheap
- HostGator vs Namecheap
- Hosting.com vs Namecheap
Built from the prices and facts we checked on each company's own site. We haven't tested either hands-on.How we work