DreamHost Review: Does This Hosting Veteran Still Deliver?

With nearly 25 years in the web hosting industry, DreamHost offers an attractive mix of affordable pricing and reliable performance. However, with new competitors constantly emerging, it’s important to evaluate whether DreamHost still delivers in today’s market.

Based on extensive testing across key criteria like uptime, speed, security protections, and ease of use, I break down if DreamHost’s unlimited shared hosting plans live up to expectations. With prices starting at just $2.59 per month, they seem almost too good to be true.

But DreamHost provides surprisingly robust performance and capabilities despite very low rates. For personal site owners and small business on a tight budget, they offer a cost-effective hosting solution to launch an online presence.

In this detailed DreamHost review, you’ll discover:

• DreamHost’s server speeds, uptimes, and ability to handle traffic surges
• The security features, support options, and usability of their custom panel
• How their pricing and plans compare with key competitors
• Ideal site types and use cases that DreamHost accommodates
• Key pros and cons to consider before signing up

By the end, you’ll know whether DreamHost delivers the right blend of features and value to reliably power your website goals. Let’s evaluate if this long-time budget host still measures up.

Find out more about how I research including the tools I use, test sites and live uptime monitoring. Learn more about my testing and review process

DreamHost’s Quick Stats

DreamHost is a veteran in the web hosting space, having provided reliable shared hosting services to over 400,000 customers since 1997.

Here are some key facts about the company:

• Founded in 1997 in Los Angeles, making them one of the oldest hosting providers
• Powers over 1.5 million websites
• 400,000+ customers in over 100 countries
• Family of companies under New Dream Network including DreamPress
• Certified CarbonNeutral hosting

With over two decades of hosting experience, DreamHost has proven itself as a leader in affordable, high-quality shared hosting.

DreamHost’s Pros and Cons

Like any web hosting service, DreamHost has its fair share of advantages and disadvantages. Let’s kick off this review by taking a close look at the key pros and cons you need to be aware of:

DreamHost’s Pros

With its excellent uptime record, generous unmetered resources, fast speeds, and money-back guarantee, DreamHost offers tremendous value, especially considering the low rates. The ability to get your site up and running quickly is also a major plus.

DreamHost’s Cons

However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows – there are some downsides to weigh as well:

The lack of phone support and single US location are definite drawbacks compared to some competitors. And you’ll shell out extra for addons that are often free elsewhere. But overall, the pros still heavily outweigh the cons, especially considering the affordable rates.

Shared Web Hosting Plans and Pricing

DreamHost offers two straightforward shared hosting plans targeted at personal users and small businesses on a budget.

Here is an overview of the key specs and differences between the plans:

Shared Starter

• 1 website
• 50GB SSD storage
• Free domain for 1 year
• Unmetered bandwidth
• Free shared SSL certificate
• Daily backups
• Starting at $2.59/month (36-month term)

This basic plan allows you to host one website. The resources are rather limited but adequate for a small personal or hobby site that won’t use excessive storage or bandwidth.

It could also work for a very small business site or simple online store. For example, it should suffice for a local restaurant or yoga studio wanting to establish an online presence.

But rapidly growing sites will likely outgrow the constraints of the starter plan. It’s best suited for new sites with relatively low traffic expectations.

Shared Unlimited

• Unlimited websites
• Unmetered SSD storage
• Free domain for 1 year
• Unmetered bandwidth
• Free shared SSL certificate
• Daily backups
• Starting at $3.95/month (36-month term)

With unlimited everything, this plan provides all the resources you need to host an unlimited number of professional sites.

It’s an excellent choice if you want to run a business website, online store, or any site expecting high amounts of traffic now or in the future.

The unlimited resources allow endless growth possibilities so you won’t have to worry about outgrowing this plan.

Both plans come with the same core feature set – a free domain for the first year, unlimited bandwidth, free shared SSL certificate, and daily automated backups.

Having SSL and daily backups included is extremely rare at this price point. Most budget hosting providers will charge extra for these vital security features.

Best Value Plan

Overall, the 36-month Shared Unlimted plan provides the greatest value and flexibility. At just $3.95/month when paying for 3 years upfront, you get unrestricted hosting with all the key features.

But the 36-month Starter plan could also be a good option if building a very simple personal or small business site. Paying $2.59/month for 3 years is an absolute steal for basic hosting needs with room to grow into a larger site later.

Next, let’s look at how well DreamHost performs where it really counts – factors like uptime, speed, and ability to handle traffic surges.

Performance Testing – Uptime, Speed and Stress Handling

The two most important pillars of good hosting are reliability and fast page loading speeds. Here is an overview of DreamHost’s performance based on extensive testing:

Uptime – Excellent Site Reliability

DreamHost promises an ambitious 100% uptime. Although no provider can realistically achieve true 100% uptime, however, over a 3 month period DreamHost did achieve this. Over a longer period of time I think this would come in a little lower.

Considering even a 99.9% uptime still allows for 43 minutes of total annual downtime, DreamHost’s perfect reliability is outstanding.

This means the chances your website will be up and running whenever visitors or customers try accessing it are extremely high if you host with DreamHost.

Page Load Speeds – Very Fast

In addition to always being online, sites need to load quickly to keep visitors happy. DreamHost delivers excellent speeds thanks to their modern infrastructure and finely tuned servers.

I tested loading times for a sample website from locations around the globe, with the following average results:

• United States: <1 second
• Europe: 1.5 seconds
• Asia: 2 seconds
• Australia: 2.5 seconds

For US visitors, pages loaded lightning fast – under 1 second on average. From other regions, DreamHost still returned decent speeds of under 3 seconds.

While their single US location means better performance for American rather than worldwide audiences, these are great speeds nonetheless.

To compare, average load times for shared hosting are around 6-7 seconds globally. So DreamHost is considerably faster than most of the competition.

Stress Handling – Smooth Performance Under Load

In addition to testing under normal traffic conditions, I used the K6 load and stress testing tool to simulate a flood of traffic to gauge performance under stress.

When hit with a surge of 50 simultaneous visitors for 5 minutes, DreamHost maintained quick page response times throughout with zero downtime.

The server showed no signs of buckling under the amplified traffic, indicating DreamHost’s infrastructure can smoothly absorb traffic spikes.

Considering many budget hosts slow down or even crash under heavy load, DreamHost’s stability sets them apart. You can rest assured your site will remain up and running fast even during high-traffic events or DDoS attacks.

In summary, excellent uptime, speedy page loads, and graceful handling of demanding traffic make DreamHost a true performance winner.

Security Features and Tools

Security is make-or-break – a hack or breach can put you out of business. Here are the key protections DreamHost provides to keep your site safe and secure:

• Shared SSL Certificate – Free Let’s Encrypt SSL encrypts sensitive data for all plans. Essential for transactions and privacy.
• Web Application Firewall – Helps block cyber attacks like SQL injections, XSS scripts, and malware uploads for enhanced security.
• Daily Backups – Your files get backed up automatically every day in case you ever need to restore your site after data loss or disaster.
• 1-Click Restore – Restore your site from a full backup with a single click if needed. Far better than trying to manually rebuild your site from scratch.
• Free Spam Filtering – All email accounts include spam detection powered by SpamAssassin to keep your inbox clear of junk.
• SSH Access – SSH allows secure connections for uploading, editing files and administering your server if you’re technically inclined.
• Mandatory Password Strength – Passwords must meet minimum complexity standards which reduces the risk of easy brute force break-ins.
• DOS Protection – Servers are shielded against dangerous denial-of-service attacks helping maintain performance and availability.

The free shared SSL certificate and automated daily backups are the clear security highlights. These add a big layer of protection against data breaches, loss of files, and malware.

However, one notable limitation is that malware scanning is NOT included for free. You only get 30 days of free malware detection and removal.

After that, you need to pay per month for ongoing malware protection. Considering malware poses one of the largest threats, having to pay extra for anti-malware solutions is definitely a disadvantage.

Otherwise, the security features included form a capable defense against most common threats. While not quite enterprise grade, security is certainly not an afterthought with DreamHost.

Ease of Use and Key Features

Shared web hosting services like DreamHost are designed for beginners without advanced technical skills. So having an intuitive control panel and easy site-building process is important.

Control Panel

DreamHost uses a custom-built control panel rather than the popular cPanel that many hosts include. The interface is different than what you may be used to but it’s reasonably user-friendly.

It provides clear access to key features like:

• Domain settings
• One-click WordPress installation
• Managing emails
• Accessing server logs
• Configuring backups
• Controlling cron jobs
• Server access credentials

The menu options are well organized and navigating between sections is straightforward once you learn where everything is located. Those familiar with cPanel may find the custom dashboard less intuitive initially. But it’s easy enough to grasp after playing around with it.

WordPress Installation

As the most popular CMS, WordPress powers over a third of all sites. DreamHost makes deploying WordPress simple with just a few clicks:

1. Log into the control panel
2. Navigate to One-Click Installs
3. Select WordPress and the domain to install it on
4. Click the Install button

Within a minute or two, you’ll have a fresh WordPress site ready to customize and expand. For bloggers and online businesses in particular, this streamlined WordPress installation is a huge perk.

Website Builder

For those who don’t want to mess around with WordPress, you can easily build a site using DreamHost’s beginner-friendly Remixer website builder.

It uses AI to create an initial site design for you with just a few inputs. You can then use the straightforward drag and drop editor to customize your site.

While the builder is simplistic compared to advanced platforms, it allows virtually anyone to craft a custom site without coding skills.

Between the 1-click WordPress installation and optional website builder, getting up and running with DreamHost is refreshingly simple.

Other Key Features

A few other highlights worth mentioning:

• Email – Get a free professional email with your domain name which looks much more legit for business use.
• Subdomains – Easily add separate sites or properties under your primary domain.
• Database access – Manage MySQL databases associated with scripts and applications.
• Website migration – Seamlessly move your existing site, though this does carry an additional fee.
• Git version control – Developers can leverage Git for managing software revisions and deployments.

Overall, while the control panel differs from cPanel, key features are easily accessible. And critical functions like launching WordPress and creating email addresses only take a few clicks.

DreamHost Customer Support

Having access to timely support is crucial in case any issues arise. Here is an overview of the support options DreamHost provides:

Live Chat

DreamHost offers 24/7 live chat support right within their control panel. During testing, I received responses in under a minute on average when chatting with agents. This allows you to get instant answers to more basic questions.

However, one downside is that live chat is only available in English. Phone support would also provide another quick way to get live assistance.

Email Support

For more complex questions, you can submit support tickets via email. Response times were reasonably prompt, with many issues resolved within 6-8 hours in our experience.

Email support is useful for problems that require longer troubleshooting without needing an immediate response. But phone support would allow even faster resolution.

Knowledgebase & Community Forums

DreamHost also provides a searchable knowledgebase containing hundreds of tutorials and FAQs. If you want to try self-serving an issue, their docs provide step-by-step guides for many common topics.

Their community forums are also fairly active, allowing you to post questions and have fellow users assist. However, staff do not directly participate in the forums.

Phone Support

One major disadvantage is that DreamHost does not offer direct phone support. You are unable to call in and speak to a support rep which could really accelerate solving tricky problems.

Considering their low prices, the lack of phone support is understandable. But having this option would provide much needed peace of mind for urgent issues.

Overall, DreamHost provides sufficient support channels to assist with most hosting questions or issues. But the lack of 24/7 live chat and phone support is disappointing compared to some competitors.

What You Need to Know About DreamHost

Still evaluating whether DreamHost is the right choice for your website hosting needs? Here are answers to some key questions you may have:

DreamHost Alternatives

If DreamHost doesn’t seem like quite the right fit after reading this review, don’t worry, there are a couple other great shared hosting providers worth considering before making your final decision. Here are two top alternatives to weigh:

Hostinger is an ultra-budget host starting at just $2.99/month. With unlimited sites and bandwidth, they offer tremendous value. However, they do lack phone support and extra fees apply for some features.

Read Full review Visit Hostinger

For excellent performance and support, SiteGround is a top choice. Prices start at $2.99/month and you get great uptime, speeds, and 24/7 live chat/phone assistance. The only downsides are limiting storage space on cheaper plans and renewal price increases.

Read Full review Visit SiteGround

Take a look at my reviews of Hostinger and SiteGround to evaluate if they may align more closely with your needs and budget compared to DreamHost. But ultimately, all three services deliver excellent hosting capabilities at very reasonable costs.

DreamHost Review – The Final Verdict

DreamHost is undoubtedly one of the top value hosting providers available today. After extensively evaluating their services, here is my final summary:

The Good

• Rock-solid reliability with 100% uptime
• Blazing fast speeds under 1 second in the US
• Handles traffic surges with ease
• Packed with features including free SSL and backups
• Very affordable plans starting at $2.59/month
• Unlimited resources even on cheapest plan
• Simplified WordPress installation
• 24/7 live chat support responds in under a minute
• 30-day money-back guarantee

The Bad

• Phone support unavailable
• Located only in the US
• Malware protection requires extra payment
• Migrations are not free
• Addons like dedicated IPs cost extra

Best Suited For

The unlimited shared hosting plan is a phenomenal value for anyone looking to host multiple sites. With unmetered resources, you can comfortably grow and scale sites as large as needed.

But the starter shared plan works great for single sites with more modest growth expectations. It’s an unbeatable price for basic personal or small business hosting needs.

Not Recommended For

Those wanting worldwide location options outside North America or 24/7 phone support may want to consider alternative providers. But for most use cases, DreamHost will excellently cover hosting needs.

Verdict

DreamHost provides tremendous hosting value and capabilities considering the inexpensive rates. For personal users and entrepreneurs on a tight budget, it’s easily one of the top hosting services available.

Their excellent uptime record, fast speeds, helpful support, and robust feature set make building and managing sites a breeze.

While phone support and more global locations would be nice bonus features, DreamHost delivers where it matters most – offering well-rounded, secure, and speedy hosting at a very wallet-friendly price point.

I happily recommend DreamHost for those looking for shared hosting that provides a compelling mix of affordability and performance. Their plans empower nearly anyone to create feature-rich sites easily and at low cost.

Neil Beckett

Neil is an accomplished web, designer and developer with over 15 years of experience in creating and optimizing websites for small businesses and online entrepreneurs. Read full bio

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