DreamHost is one of the leading web hosting service providers. It has grown and maintained a successful hosting business for the last 18 years. It currently hosts around 1.5 million sites, blogs, and applications. IsItWP users get an exclusive 40% discount on web hosting.
4.7 / 5.0 5.0 / 5.0 5.0 / 5.0
4.0 / 5.0 4.0 / 5.0 4.0 / 5.0 4.7 / 5.0
DreamHost is one of the oldest web hosting companies, founded back in 1996, even before the advent of Google. DreamHost is now the home for over 1.5 million websites, blogs, and applications, with over 400k happy customers, spanning throughout more than 100 countries.
DreamHost offers a wide variety of web hosting plans for customers of all sizes. Their hosting services include:
Their team is top-notch, and they are always ahead of the curve when it comes to their technology stack. It is one of the officially recommended web hosts by WordPress.org and also the highest-rated web host by PCMag.com.
They offer everything you need to get your website up and running. They give you free domain registration with annual plans, free SSL encryption with Let’s Encrypt, a one-click installer for WordPress and a website builder known as Remixer for those who want to kick start a website with absolutely no coding involved.
On top of that, every shared hosting plan with DreamHost comes with a 97-day money back guarantee. That means you get full three months to try DreamHost and if you’re not fully satisfied, you can request a full refund.
They are also a domain name registrar and offer domain registration and parking services as well.
DreamHost’s shared hosting plan starts at $8.95 per month (regular price). You’ll find their extensive knowledge base immensely helpful to kick off a website from the ground up.
4.3 / 5.0
DreamHost offers cheap hosting, also known as shared hosting, which is the best choice for entry-level and small websites. With cheap hosting, you share the same physical server with many other DreamHost users. Although you share server resources like physical hard drives and RAM with other users, your website files are secured and only accessible to you.
There are 2 shared hosting plans: Shared Starter and Shared Unlimited. DreamHost lets you pay monthly, annually or every 3 years. DreamHost’s 3-year plan provides the best value with over 47% cost savings over the monthly plan.
With any of the DreamHost hosting options, you can waive off the domain name registration fees for one year. You’ll also get free SSL encryption, and 1-click WordPress installer.
Unlike most other web hosting providers, DreamHost comes with a 97-day risk-free money back guarantee.
5.0 / 5.0
DreamHost’s dedicated hosting could be the best choice for websites with high-traffic volume. With dedicated hosting, you get a complete server for your sole use, giving you much more control over the server and operating environment.
With DreamHost’s dedicated server, you get RAID 1 storage, 24×7 server monitoring and tech support, 100% network uptime guarantee, DDoS protection, full root, and shell access and more.
You get a custom-built control panel for your dedicated hosting needs with the flexibility to add or remove servers, reboot or powercycle your server whenever you need it. Plus, you can also manage your domains, websites and email address with ease.
4.6 / 5.0
Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting is the best bet for you if you want to build websites with secured data or resource-heavy applications that are growing through rapid growth and expansion. With VPS, you get a tremendous amount of bandwidth and storage along with easy backup and scalability.
With every managed VPS hosting plan, you get expert assistance on installing manual security patches, user-friendly control panel, 20 x faster SSD storage.
DreamHost allows you to choose from three different VPS plans based on RAM (1GB to 4GB) and SSD storage capacity ranging from 30GB to 240GB.
If you’re technically inclined and looking for an inexpensive, scalable server that gives you full control with root access, you can choose DreamCompute, which is unmanaged VPS hosting also known as cloud hosting.
5.0 / 5.0
DreamHost’s WordPress hosting protects your website from WordPress specific vulnerabilities and malicious attacks.
With their managed WordPress hosting, you’ll get automatic WordPress updates so you can ensure your site is always updated and secured. With every plan, automatic daily backups and on-demand backups are included.
DreamHost’s managed WordPress hosting is the best solution for you if you don’t want to perform site maintenance yourself and needs WordPress specific support for maintaining your WordPress site. With Plus plan or higher, you get Jetpack Pro subscription, daily malware and scanning repair, and instant access to the extensive collection of WordPress themes.
4.8 / 5.0
DreamHost offers WooCommerce hosting for users who want to quickly build an online store without the tedious process of WordPress and WooCommerce installation. WooCommerce hosting is almost similar to the Plus plan of managed WordPress hosting. The only difference is that WooCommerce will be preinstalled on your account.
Upon subscribing to a WooCommerce hosting plan, you can easily get your online store up and running just by logging into your WordPress dashboard. The storefront theme is preinstalled with WooCommerce hosting. You’ll also get a Jetpack Pro subscription.
Here’re a few things we liked about DreamHost
Here are a few limitations of DreamHost…
Does Dreamhost live up to their uptime promise?
To test the server performance for our DreamHost review, we’ve created a test WordPress site using the default Twenty Seventeen theme and dummy content for theme development, including images. This way our test site looked and behaved like an actual average WordPress site.
After setting up our test site, we ran a speed test on our site using Pingdom.
As you can see in the results, our DreamHost test site loaded in less than half a second. That’s faster than 97% of all tested sites, which is incredible for a site without any performance optimization plugins.
Apart from Pingdom, we also used a testing tool called Load Impact to figure out whether our DreamHost site can survive a traffic surge. Load Impact sent some virtual users (VUs) to our site and gradually built up to 100 visitors at a time to test how the server handles it.
In the chart, you can find a blue line (VUs active) which shows the number of virtual users sent to our DreamHost site and a green line (VU load time) which represents how much time it took to load a web page for a user.
As you can see, DreamHost’s performed was great and consistent throughout the test. The number of live visitors on the site doesn’t have an impact on site performance.
The content of your site can have an impact on your page loading time. For instance, if your site contains too many images, it will take more time to load. In fact, images account for most of the downloadable bytes in a typical site.
To get a more accurate result for our test, instead of solely analyzing page load time, we decided to test the actual server response time with Bitcatcha by ignoring the content of our page entirely.
Bitcatcha works differently than Pingdom. It ignores the content of your page and records the page loading time from eight different global locations: New York, LA, London, Brazil, India, Singapore, Japan, and Australia. The speed for each location is measured three separate times, and then the results are averaged.
From the result, you can see that DreamHost server response time remained under less than half a second for all geographic locations. It was particularly great in the United States.
If you need help with DreamHost’s hosting service, you can check out their extensive knowledge base that comprises of tutorials and recommendations. You’ll find DreamHost’s support portal immensely helpful for building and growing your website with a DreamHost hosting account.
DreamHost provides live chat and ticket based support for free with every hosting plan. The main drawback is that Live Chat is only available during 5am – 10pm PST, 7 days a week.
The DreamHost support team strives to answer all emails within 24 hours. Although call back requests are available, they’re not included in every hosting package. You’ll have to subscribe to it separately either by making a one-off payment or monthly subscription. Bear in mind that callbacks cannot be made for numbers outside the United States and Canada.
If you’re just starting out with a new website, you can choose DreamHost’s shared hosting plan.
There are 2 shared hosting plans: Shared Starter and Shared Unlimited.
For WordPress optimized hosting, you can choose from their managed WordPress hosting plans.
Take a detailed look at the pricing of different DreamHost hosting plans.
| PLAN | DISK SPACE | BANDWIDTH | PRICE |
| Shared Hosting | Unlimited | Unlimited | $2.59 / mo. |
| WordPress Hosting Starter | Unlimited | Unlimited | $2.59 / mo. |
| Basic VPS Hosting | 30 GB | Unmetered | $10 / mo. |
| Dedicated Hosting | 1 TB | Unlimited | $169 / mo. |
Having helped thousands of users choose a web hosting plan and start their website, we have answered just about every question you can think of. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about DreamHost.
Which DreamHost plan should I get?
The answer really depends on your hosting needs. When you’re starting out, simply choose their shared hosting plan. DreamHost has only a single shared hosting plan, which makes it easy to get started with an account. If you want to create an online store, then we recommend using their WooCommerce hosting which is specifically designed to handle eCommerce websites.
Can DreamHost handle high traffic?
DreamHost is capable of handling high traffic. But keep in mind that it all depends on the plan you choose. If your site starts consuming too much resources, then DreamHost will ask you to upgrade to a higher plan.
Can I upgrade my DreamHost plan later?
We always recommend users to start with the smaller plans and upgrade as needed. DreamHost makes it very easy for you to upgrade.
Does DreamHost offer a month-to-month payment option?
Yes! DreamHost offers month-to-month payment option. However, keep in mind that they offer significant discounts for longer-term deals.
Can I create subdomains in DreamHost?
Yes, you can easily create subdomains in DreamHost using the cPanel.
Do I have to register my domain name with DreamHost?
No. While you can claim a free domain name while purchasing a hosting plan, you’re not obliged to register a domain name with DreamHost. You can use Godaddy, NameCheap, or any of your preferred domain name registrar.
Does DreamHost offer free SSL?
Yes, DreamHost offers free SSL with all of their plans. Ecommerce plans come with dedicated IPs and private SSL.
Do I need to purchase the addons that DreamHost offers me?
No, you do not need to purchase any addons at the time of purchase. Should you decide that you need them later, you can always add them to your account.
Does DreamHost really offer unlimited disk space and bandwidth?
Just like any other hosting company, DreamHost also advertises unlimited resources. When they say unlimited, it just means that you don’t have to worry about disk storage or bandwidth because you get enough resources to operate a small site in a normal condition.
Can I create an ecommerce site on DreamHost?
Absolutely. DreamHost’s WooCommerce hosting plan comes pre-configured with all the things you need to start an online store.
Wondering how DreamHost stacks up against other web hosting companies? See our side-by-side comparison to see for yourself.
We think DreamHost offers a very reliable platform for hosting your websites. Their starting prices may be slightly higher than the competition, but being upfront about the prices, they leave no room for confusion down the line. With a DreamHost plan, you don’t find any hidden charges and comes with an unlimited website and email hosting.
We were also impressed with their custom control panel and quick support. DreamHost could be the best solution for you if you don’t want a cPanel based backend option. We rate DreamHost as an excellent choice for hosting any kind of website.
All DreamHost plans include a money-back guarantee. 
I’ve been with Dreamhost for almost 10 years. Low cost. Good support and I’ve been happy with the service.
DreamHost,
As a seed waiting to blossom in the non-profit sector, having a host, domain, and email for free is a wonderful blessing you provide. Thank you very much for helping non-profits in thier beginnings, which has little or no funding at this stage. This service is a very crucial and critical source of our success to help our communities.
Best,
The Center for Children with Incarcerated Parents of Atlanta, Incorporated.
The farthest thing from being a dream. The admin area was so confusing and I couldn’t get help from anyone. Took well over 24 hours to even get my ticket responded to. In the amount of time it took for me to get a response from you, i found another company and they had my sites moved over and I was up and running. I had already forgotten about the “dream” host until I actually received a response for help on how to move my sites. Instead I got an automated response on how to do it. Where the host I found, moved them all for me within 20 minutes.
Always get great service from Dreamhost. Their tech support is excellent and always responds quickly. Not going to change anytime soon.
DreamHost is an apt name. Whenever I’ve needed support, it is always prompt and proficient. I love this service!
I don’t usually write reviews, but I’ve been with Dreamhost for about 5 years and am very impressed with their level of service. If I have any tech problems, I can get onto live chat (24/7) and the issues are usually resolved immediately (if it’s possible for them to do so). Staff are wonderfully friendly and the hosting platform is very stable / reliable.
I was unaware of Google’s punishment of non-mobile-friendly websites. We went from #2 or #3 on 1st page to somewhere in the hundred-thousands. I only learned of this disaster via DreamHost’s newsletter (April), which I didn’t get to until early May.
DreamHost teamed up with Duda.com which provided me with a WYSIWYG editor and I had our site back to 1st page search in 24 hours.
I trust DreamHost and their company recommendations. stopthehacker.com and now duda.com.
We are a non-profit church and they returned the money I paid for 1st month of duda.com’s service.
I have had no performance issues with DreamHost and would gladly pay for their services, if I had a personal website, not related to the church.
I have been with DreamHost since 2002, and have been very happy with their customer service and range of options for my hosting accounts. Last week, I discovered that my email was not syncing properly; I hastily contacted DH for assistance, assuming that a recent system update was to blame for the email outage. Much to my chagrin, the issue was actually with Google, and they graciously helped to make sure I was back up and running very quickly. I really appreciate the fact that they are using social media (@dreamhostcare and @dreamhoststatus) to communicate with their customers in a real-time, responsive and proactive manner. I wish more services worked like this!
Another Happy DreamHost fan,
Anissa Thompson
We had a security issue with out web site and the Security folks at Dreamhost got back to us quickly and effectively. Thanks!
Cancelled my account within 2 days when I found out that DreamHost stores ssh/sftp passwords in a reversible unsalted encryption (probably even on plaintext). We are in 2015!!! Stay away.
I have been fighting with Dreamhost since this new SSD move for shared hosting. I’ve had numerous downtime issues and lots of slowness. When I submit a support ticket and they check four hours later, the site is usually up, so they say there’s nothing to fix. I’ve been with them for over 5 years and these past two months have been the worst ever. Hoping they iron this stuff out soon.
Great service, no downtime, fantastic support that replies within six-eight hours and generally proposes the proper solution to all sort of problems. And the flat fee on unlimited storage can’t be beat by anybody. Please guys at DreamHost don’t turn off the VPSs on regular disks – I can well do without the speed of SSDs, but I can’t do without unlimited storage.
Have been a customer for a few years now. Great tech support and no downtime that I can recall. That’s really what it’s all about.
I have been using DreamHost (specifically, DreamPress) since May of 2014. Honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever leave. Their servers are fast, never had a problem with security, and I almost want to start sending their customer support guys Christmas cards. I don’t write many raving reviews but these people deserve it. It’s so nice not having to worry about server issues. If I break something on the site, just use live chat on dreampress and they’ll fix it. I’ve never run into an issue they couldn’t fix. That, in and of itself, is invaluable. At $20/month can’t beat it. Only thing that gets annoying sometimes is they start sending emails telling me my bill is due a month before the due date.
I had a technical question that was beyond my understanding, and they explained to me how to set up what I was trying to do. They responded promptly to my many questions, and in a way that even a layman like me could understand. Thanks, guys!
I’ve recently changed to Wordpress Hosting on DreamHost and I’ve been impressed with the support I’ve received.
A recent Wordpress upgrade created a problem with my admin dashboard and DreamHost were quick and responsive to my ticket. My problem was fixed with only 2 support interactions and admin dashboard access restored in just 4 hours – my website stayed live and unaffected throughout.
Thanks DreamHost
My outgoing emails have been blocked for five days and still no action from Dreamhost despite raising four tickets and contacting on line help twice..
My business needs to send emails and my customers deserve better service than I am receiving from Dreamhost.
Great job with the support, Dreamhost. The person was patient, understanding and came through with the right solution… both times I chatted in yesterday (2 separate people). I haven’t used support much till now, but yesterday confirmed why I’m with you guys. Kudos.
I expected a hosting service to be run by robots, and that the customer service was going to be awful. And I was pleasantly surprised! The online chat rep that I used a couple of times was quickly available and knowledgable. I’m totally impressed.
Unfortunately, I’m not very pleased with Dreamhost. My site went down unexpectedly last Friday, and when I emailed them, I got what looked like a form letter back suggesting three different options. All three of them were impossible to do with my site down. When I replied for clarification, I pretty much got a “Well, looks like your site is back up now” and that was it.
I was also very less than pleased to see that they only provide customer service by email, unless you want to pay extra. Emailing me a form letter a few hours later is not customer service.
Amazing website. I started using Dreamhost a few days ago to migrate my website over from wordpress.com to wordpress.org, and it has been a surprisingly relaxed experience- all due to Dremahost’s amazing customer service staff, who are open for live chat 24/7, and surprisingly human. It’s honestly made learning the ropes so much easier.
Loved the expert assistance. In fact, the service tech was so well informed and impeccably polite I didn’t quite know how to react. But was delightfully pleased, nonetheless.
The person who rebuilt my website recommended DreamHost for its ability to handle the various problems I’d previously encountered.
As a person who barely bumbles her way around in a dashboard I’ve been very pleased with the support help, knowledge and response time in troubleshooting and fixing problems caused by WP and plug-in updates. Having this type of support is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Unfortunately, my experience with DH was far less positive. While shopping around for a solution to my domain issues, DH was the only one that said that I had to buy a hosting option along with a domain in order to resolve my issue, which lead me to believe that they were trying to milk more money from someone who didn’t know what they were doing.
Needless to say, I did not decide to go with them. They did have a fast and responsive help desk, however.
I’ve only been with DreamHost a short while and had only one problem that they very efficiently sorted out. I wish I had contacted them sooner instead of trying to resolve the problem myself. It related to a Wordpress update. It was something I could not have done myself. I appreciated the prompt action and the ability to get on with my blog.