Are you looking for a web hosting provider but can’t decide between Bluehost and Flywheel? This blog post will compare Bluehost vs. Flywheel in pricing, performance, security, and customer support. We’ll also talk about the similarities and differences between the two service providers. By the end of this post, you should have a good idea of which provider is better for your needs.
Bluehost Overview
Bluehost is one of the largest web hosting companies in the world, with over 2 million customers and powering over 1.9 million websites. They provide a wide range of hosting services, from shared to VPS to dedicated servers, and are known for being dependable and cost-effective.
Bluehost Pros
Cheap Pricing
Bluehost is one of the most cost-effective web hosting providers available. Their shared hosting plans start at just $2.95 per month, and they offer a wide variety of features for that price. For example, you get unlimited storage, bandwidth, and email accounts with their basic plan. If you need more advanced features, they have VPS and Dedicated plans that are still very reasonably priced.
Unmetered Bandwidth
With Bluehost, you get unmetered bandwidth with all of their plans. This means you can host as many visitors on your website as you want without worrying about exceeding your monthly limit.
Ease Of Use
Bluehost is very easy to use, even if you’re not tech-savvy. Their control panel is user-friendly and intuitive, and they offer a wide variety of tools and resources to help you build and manage your website. They also have 24/7 customer support available by phone or live chat in case you need any assistance along the way.
Unlimited Domain Hosting
Bluehost’s higher plans allow you to host an unlimited number of domains. This is great if you have multiple websites or if you plan on starting new ones in the future. As your company expands, you won’t need to worry about upgrading your plan because Bluehost can meet all of your requirements.
Free SSL
Every hosting package offered by Bluehost includes a free SSL certificate that keeps your website secure and raises its search engine ranking. This is essential if you’re running an eCommerce site or collecting sensitive information from your visitors.
Bluehost Cons
Too Many Upsells
Bluehost is known for its upsells. For instance, you have the choice to add on extras like SiteLock security, CodeGuard backups, and more when you first sign up for Bluehost. While some of these extras can be useful, they can also be expensive, and it’s easy to accidentally add them to your cart without realizing it.
Migrating Websites Are Not Free
Moving your website from another host to Bluehost means you’ll have to pay a migration fee. This fee can range from $149-$249 per site, depending on the size and complexity of your website.
Performance Can Be Lacking
While Bluehost offers performance-enhancing features like caching and SSD storage, they don’t always deliver on their promises. In our experience, Bluehost sites can be slow and unreliable, especially during peak traffic times.
Only US Servers
Bluehost only offers servers in the United States, which can be a problem for international users who want to target a global audience. If your website is only hosted on US servers, it will be slow to load for visitors from other parts of the world.
Lower Plans Are Limited
If you’re on a lower-priced Bluehost plan, you’ll be limited in terms of storage space, bandwidth, and other features. Because of this, expanding your website over time without switching to a more expensive plan may be difficult.
Bluehost Features
SEO Services
Bluehost offers various SEO services to help you improve your website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). These services include keyword research, competitor analysis, and on-page optimization. Bluehost also offers monthly reports showing your progress and recommendations for further improvement.
Easy To Use cPanel
The industry standard for web hosting control panels is cPanel. It is very user-friendly and makes managing your website, email accounts, and databases much more effortless. Bluehost includes a free version of cPanel with all of their hosting plans.
Free Cloudflare Integration
Cloudflare is a CDN (Content Delivery Network) that speeds up your website’s loading time by caching its content on servers worldwide. Bluehost integrates with Cloudflare for free, which can help improve your website’s performance.
Free Website Builder
Bluehost includes a free website builder called Weebly, which makes it easy to create a professional-looking website without coding knowledge. The Weebly editor is very user-friendly and comes with various templates and themes.
Many Site Add-on Features
Bluehost offers many features that can be added to your websites, such as an online store, blog, photo gallery, and more. These features are easy to install and can be found in your control panel’s “Add-ons” section.
Flywheel Overview
Flywheel is a premium WordPress hosting provider that offers a high level of performance, excellent customer support, and an easy-to-use interface. They also have fantastic security features and excellent customer reviews. However, they can be costly for beginners, and you can’t access SSH. Additionally, there is no built-in Git deployment. Flywheel works seamlessly with WordPress, but they are not a domain registrar.
Flywheel’s main selling point is its focus on speed and performance. Their servers are designed specifically for WordPress, which makes them much faster than other hosts who don’t specialize in WordPress. Additionally, Flywheel has a unique feature called “Auto-Healing Technology,” which automatically fixes any broken code on your site so that your site stays up and running even if there’s an error.
While Flywheel is more expensive than some other hosts, their focus on quality makes them worth the price for many users.
Flywheel Pros
High Level Of Performance
Flywheel’s high level of performance is due to its use of the Google Cloud Platform, which allows them to offer a 99.95% uptime guarantee. They also have a global CDN which helps deliver your content faster to visitors worldwide.
Excellent Customer Support
Flywheel’s customer support is available 24/7, offering a wide range of support options, including live chat, phone, and email. They also offer a community forum and a comprehensive knowledge base where you can find solutions to frequently asked questions.
Easy To Use Interface
Flywheel’s interface is designed for simplicity and ease of use. Their dashboard is easy to navigate, and they also offer one-click installs for popular applications such as WordPress.
Great Security Features
Flywheel takes security seriously and offers several features to keep your site safe, including two-factor authentication, malware scanning, and automatic backups.
Great Customer Reviews
Flywheel has consistently received positive customer reviews for its performance, support, and security features.
Flywheel Cons
You Can’t Access SSH
A significant disadvantage of using Flywheel is that you can’t access SSH. If you want to make changes to your server, you’ll have to go through their customer support.
No Built-In Git Deployment
Another downside of Flywheel is that they don’t have built-in Git deployment. If you want to use Git to manage your website’s code, you’ll have to set it up yourself. This can be annoying, especially if you’re unfamiliar with how Git works.
Can Be Costly For Beginners
Flywheel can be a bit pricey for beginners, and their cheapest plan starts at $15/month, which is more expensive than other options.
Works Seamlessly With WordPress
While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s worth mentioning that Flywheel works seamlessly with WordPress. If you’re not using WordPress, Flywheel might not be your best option.
They Are Not A Domain Registrar
Flywheel is not a domain registrar, meaning you’ll have to use another service like GoDaddy or Namecheap if you want to register a new domain name.
Flywheel Features
Auto-Healing Technology
Flywheel has a unique auto-healing technology that helps keep your site running even if there is an issue with one of the servers. This is done by automatically detecting and fixing problems as they arise without you having to do anything.
Plugin Security Alerts
Another great feature of Flywheel is their plugin security alerts. This feature will notify you if there is a security issue with any of the plugins on your website, allowing you to take immediate action to fix it.
Global availability
Flywheel is available in over 30 countries worldwide, so you can be sure that your site will be accessible to everyone, no matter where they are located.
Simple SSL Certificates
Flywheel offers free simple SSL certificates for all sites on its platform. This helps to keep your site safe and secure and also helps to boost your SEO ranking.
Nightly backups
All sites on Flywheel are backed up nightly, so you never have to worry about losing any data. If something happens to your site, you can always restore it from a backup.
Flywheel Additional Features
Staging Sites
With Flywheel, you can easily create a staging site for your WordPress website. This is a great way to test new themes or plugins without affecting your live site. Furthermore, you can delete the staging site and start over if something goes wrong.
Free Demo Site (Free for 14 Days)
Another great feature offered by Flywheel is the free demo site. With this feature, you can try out Flywheel’s hosting platform without committing to a plan. On Flywheel’s website, select the demo option from the header. You’ll then have 14 days to try out Flywheel risk-free.
To get started, go to flywheel.com and click on the “Sign Up” button in the top right-hand corner of the screen. Select the “Free Demo” option on the next page and enter your email address and password. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be able to access your free demo site immediately.
Site Cloning
Flywheel also offers an easy-to-use cloning tool that allows you to quickly duplicate your WordPress website. This is a great way to create a development or testing environment without setting everything up from scratch.
To clone your WordPress website with Flywheel, simply login to your account and click on the “Clone Site” button in the top menu bar. On the next page, select the source (i.e., your live site) and the destination (i.e., where you want the clone to be created). Then click on the “Clone Site” button again. That’s it! Your WordPress website will be cloned instantly.
Local Development Environment
In addition to its staging sites and cloning features, Flywheel offers a local development environment that allows you to work offline on your WordPress website. This is a great way to test new features or make changes to your website without affecting your live site.
Simply download and install the Flywheel Local plugin on your computer to get started. Once done, you can create a new local environment by clicking on the “Create New Local” button in the plugin interface. Enter a name for your local environment and select the source (i.e., your live site). Then click on the “Create Local” button again. Your local environment will be created instantly, and you can begin working on your WordPress website offline.
Bluehost vs. Flywheel: Pricing
Bluehost and Flywheel offer various hosting plans to suit different budgets and needs. Shared hosting packages from Bluehost start at $2.95 per month, while Managed WordPress hosting packages from Flywheel start at $15 per month.
For the majority of users, Bluehost is the more affordable choice in terms of pricing. However, Flywheel offers a higher level of performance and features, so it may be worth the extra cost for some users.
Bluehost vs. Flywheel: Customer Support
Both Bluehost and Flywheel offer 24/7 customer support via phone and live chat. However, Flywheels’s customer support is slightly better, in our opinion. This is because they provide a more comprehensive range of support options, including email and ticket support. Additionally, their team is generally more responsive and helpful than Bluehost’s.
One area where Flywheel shines in customer support is their WordPress-specific support. If you’re using their platform to run a WordPress website, you’ll have access to a team of WordPress specialists who can assist you with any problems. This is an excellent resource for beginners or those who are not very technically savvy.
Overall, we believe that Flywheel offers slightly better customer support than Bluehost. However, both providers offer excellent service and should be able to help you with any issues you’re having.
Bluehost vs. Flywheel: Performance
To determine which hosting provider is better in terms of performance, we must look at several factors. First, let’s look at the average uptime for Bluehost and Flywheel. Bluehost has an average uptime of 99.98%, while Flywheel has an average uptime of 99.99%. So, in terms of uptime, both providers are very reliable. However, Flywheel is ever-so-slightly more reliable than Bluehost.
Next, let’s look at page loading times. Flywheel blows Bluehost out of the water in this aspect with excellent page load times. We find Bluehost lacking at times when it comes to speed.
Overall, it seems that Flywheel is the better choice regarding performance. However, both providers are very reliable and offer fast page loading times.
Bluehost vs. Flywheel: Similarities
Both Bluehost and Flywheel are well-liked web hosting options. They both have solid reputations for dependability and customer service, and they both provide a variety of plans to meet various needs. The two hosting providers have a lot of the following things in common:
- Both Bluehost and Flywheel provide a selection of plans to meet different requirements.
- Both providers have a solid track record of dependability and customer satisfaction.
- Bluehost and Flywheel offer discounts if you sign up for a longer term.
- If you’re dissatisfied with your service, both companies offer a money-back guarantee.
- They both have excellent uptimes guarantees.
- They both offer WordPress Hosting.
Bluehost vs. Flywheel: Major Differences
The two hosting providers offer different features, making it difficult to decide which is better. Before making a choice, though, it is important to take into account some key differences between the two.
First, Bluehost offers unlimited domain hosting, while Flywheel only allows for up to 30 domains on its most expensive plan. Some users who need to host several websites may find this to be a deal-breaker.
Second, Bluehost has an easy-to-use website builder, while Flywheel does not. This could be important for users who prefer using drag-and-drop to build a website rather than a more complicated WordPress interface.
Bluehost has more upsells than Flywheel. This could be unpleasant for users who want to purchase a hosting plan and don’t want to be bombarded with additional offers. Flywheel usually includes all the features required to run your website in their plans, so there is no need to upsell you.
Bluehost vs. Flywheel: Performance
Bluehost is a great hosting provider that offers a wide range of features and services. However, when it comes to performance, security, and customer support, Flywheel is the better option. Here is a closer look at how these two providers contrast in these important categories:
Performance:
Flywheel provides superior performance thanks to its performance enhancement features with all of its plans. Bluehost’s performance can be lacking at times, especially on lower plans.
Security:
Flywheel offers excellent security features, including plugin security alerts, free backups, Auto healing, and simple SSL certificates, to name a few. Bluehost’s security is good, but it doesn’t offer as many features as Flywheel.
Customer Support:
Flywheel’s customer support is outstanding. They offer 24/7 live chat, phone support, and a knowledge base with hundreds of articles. Bluehost’s customer support is good, but it can’t match the level of service offered by Flywheel.
Features:
All Flywheel’s hosting plans come with many features that help optimize the performance of your website, while Bluehost simply doesn’t compare with Flywheel in this aspect. We like some of the features included with Bluehost’s shared plans, such as SSD drives and Free CDN, but Flywheel still trumps Bluehost in this area.
Conclusion
It’s clear that Flywheel is the better hosting provider overall. If you prioritize performance and security and are looking for a provider that has a more comprehensive offering, Flywheel is the provider for you. If you’re looking for lower pricing above anything else, then Bluehost might be the better pick, as their lower plans are much better suited for beginners on a budget.
FAQ’s
Which Web Hosting Company Is More Popular?
Bluehost is more popular than Flywheel, with over 2 million customers worldwide. Bluehost is also a recommended hosting provider by WordPress.org.
Which Provider Is Better For WordPress?
Flywheel is better for WordPress, as it is designed specifically for WordPress websites.
Is Bluehost Still A Good Hosting Company?
Yes, Bluehost is still an excellent hosting company. It offers affordable plans, good performance, and a wide range of features. However, the quality of customer service and performance has declined in recent years, but they are still a company that we would recommend to beginners due to their trustworthiness.
Is Flywheel Hosting Worth It?
Yes, Flywheel hosting is worth it if you are looking for a high-performance hosting solution specifically for WordPress websites. It does not, however, provide shared hosting plans and can be more expensive than other hosting providers.
Does Flywheel Offer Shared Hosting?
No, Flywheel does not offer shared hosting plans. It only provides managed WordPress hosting plans, which are more expensive than shared hosting plans.