Searching for the proper web host is a task everyone future website manager should take seriously.
Without the right web host, you can deal with missing features, the wrong hosting plan, and other stressors.
As someone who’s spent several years in the web hosting industry, I understand what to look for.
So, if you’re a business owner or blogger looking to start a website, you must read this Bluehost vs. A2 Hosting 2023 comparison.
Let’s see how these web host providers distinguish themselves in a popular market!
How Did We Test Bluehost & A2 Hosting?
A lot of time went into testing Bluehost and A2 Hosting.
Rather than relying on our personal opinions, the Tweak Your Biz team and I conducted thorough tests using advanced software and data.
Additionally, we set up two staging sites, and after running multiple tests between Bluehost versus A2 Hosting, we measured the results in the following areas:
- Hosting Types & Features
- Performance & Speed
- Ease of Use
- Pricing & Value
- Website Security
- Help & Support
- WordPress Features
- Website migrations & other extras
Bluehost vs. A2 Hosting Winner:
Bluehost or A2 Hosting, which web host should you pick?
Choose Bluehost if you want WordPress-optimized features, as the company has all your WP site needs.
To learn more about Bluehost, check out our comprehensive Bluehost review here.
However, A2 Hosting is better if you value advanced security and free website migrations!
And you should check out our A2 Hosting review to learn more about this host!
What is Bluehost Web Hosting?
Bluehost is one of the most popular web hosts in the industry.
Best known for its low monthly rates, Bluehost provides various hosting plans.
Still, Bluehost’s WordPress plans are its specialty!
Who Uses Bluehost?
Bluehost strives to offer a hosting plan for everyone.
For instance, beginners and people with little technical knowledge find Bluehost’s shared and WordPress plans ideal.
Also, advanced developers and larger sites prefer VPS and dedicated server plans.
What are the Benefits of Bluehost?
Two primary benefits of using Bluehost include the affordable introductory rates and WordPress hosting features.
Bluehost specializes in WordPress hosting, so the plans have several optimized features.
Also, this web host offers low rates, with some plans starting as low as $2.95 per month!
Where Bluehost Falls Short
Bluehost falls short in terms of advanced security measures.
Although Bluehost provides all the security metrics a website needs (SSL certificates, malware scanning, and domain privacy), the host doesn’t go beyond that.
Customers who want more advanced security must pay an additional fee.
What is A2 Hosting?
A2 Hosting is a diverse web host that aims to provide a fast, reliable hosting experience for everyone, from beginners to advanced developers.
The performance-oriented web host provides affordable rates and security features to ensure the highest performance standards.
Who Uses A2 Hosting?
A2 Hosting aims to offer a hosting plan for everyone.
Beginners gravitate towards A2’s shared plans because they’re affordable and have all the necessary features to run an efficient site.
In comparison, advanced users prefer A2’s VPS, dedicated server, and reseller plans because they include more storage space and customization freedom.
What are the Benefits of A2 Hosting?
One significant benefit of using A2 Hosting is the monthly rates. The web host makes its plans affordable, with prices lower than $5 per month.
Also, A2 provides various security features to keep your website and customer information private and secure.
Another advantage is that A2 Hosting provides free website migrations!
Where A2 Hosting Falls Short
A2 falls short with its average server response times.
Although the web host provides fast loading times, the server response times were slower than expected.
Also, A2 doesn’t give you a free domain name, a popular complimentary feature in the web hosting industry.
Bluehost vs. A2 Hosting: The Details
Now that we’ve seen Bluehost’s and A2’s benefits and downfalls let’s look closer at how the providers perform side by side!
What Types of Hosting Does Bluehost Have?
Bluehost offers the following hosting plans:
- Shared
- VPS
- Dedicated server
- WordPress
- WooCommerce
What Types of Hosting Does A2 Have?
A2 Hosting has an overwhelming selection of hosting types.
Here’s a list of the hosting plans available at A2:
- Shared
- VPS
- Dedicated
- Reseller
- cPanel
- Turbo
- WordPress (unmanaged and managed)
- WooCommerce
Winner: A2 Hosting!
A2 offers almost every kind of hosting plan you can imagine! The web host provider has everything from managed WordPress plans to reseller services. Bluehost also has an extensive selection, but A2’s is larger.
Does Bluehost Have Uptime Issues?
Bluehost rarely has issues with uptime.
Despite only having servers in the United States, Bluest provides reliable uptime and fast server response time.
However, remember that Bluest doesn’t have an uptime guarantee like other web hosts.
Does A2 Hosting Have Uptime Issues?
A2 Hosting only experiences uptime issues sometimes, as the web host provides reliable performance and handles outages when they occur.
The provider has a 99.9% uptime guarantee and consistently delivers performance metrics that meet that standard.
Winner: Bluehost!
Regarding server response times, Bluehost is faster than A2 Hosting. A2 still provides reliable uptime, but Bluehost is slightly better, giving it the win in this category.
How Fast Is Bluehost Hosting?
Bluehost provides excellent speeds considering the web host only has data servers in the United States.
Therefore, you are not free to choose a server closer to international visitors.
Still, Bluehost consistently provides fast loading speeds, ensuring your site’s content loads quickly.
How Fast Is A2 Hosting?
A2 Hosting has excellent speeds, which is good considering it’s one of the company’s main selling points!
The LCP and fully loaded time speeds were both faster than the industry average.
Also, A2 allows you to add Turbo Boost to your plan, further optimizing speed and improving search engine result rankings.
Winner: A2 Hosting!
This was a tight race. But, in the end, A2 Hosting persisted and won this round because the servers are more powerful and the web host offers more data server locations than Bluehost.
Bluehost Hosting Stress Test
Bluehost handles website stress well!
Remember that shared hosting plans will experience more page unresponsiveness and slower loading speeds.
Therefore, the VPS and dedicated server plans can handle a sudden influx of website visitors much better than the share plans.
A2 Hosting Stress Test
A2 exceeded our expectations during the stress test.
Even when met with the maximum number of visitors, A2 Hosting easily handled the excess pressure.
Therefore, you don’t have to worry about loading times or inadequate performance if your site takes on an unexpected rush of visitors.
Winner: A2 Hosting!
Bluehost handled our stress test well, but A2 handled more visitors and didn’t flinch regarding the altered performance or slower speeds. Instead, A2 produced the same excellent performance even when the number of site visitors jumped dramatically.
How Easy Is Bluehost to Use?
Bluehost is known for being easy to use, making it an excellent web hosting choice for beginners.
The account dashboard is modern and includes beginner-friendly features like an account setup checklist.
How Easy Is A2 Hosting to Use?
A2 Hosting is intuitive for people with no web hosting experience.
The account management panel is simplistic, and the web host also offers a cPanel for more advanced users.
Although the interface isn’t modern, it’s easy to understand and learn how to use.
Winner: Bluehost!
A2 and Bluehost are each easy to use in their own respects. However, Bluehost comes out on top because its custom control panel includes all the information you need, and its interface is more functional.
Bluehost Pricing & Value
For simplicity’s sake, we’ll compare Bluehost’s and A2’s basic shared hosting plans, as these are the most popular.
Bluehost’s starter-level package costs $2.95 monthly for the first year of service.
Some of the provided features include:
- 50GB storage space
- One free domain name
- WordPress optimization
- SSL certificate
- 30-day money-back guarantee
A2 Hosting Pricing & Value
A2’s shared hosting solutions start at $2.99 monthly and reach up to $15.99 monthly.
And you wouldn’t expect you’d get as many features with this basic plan as you do.
Some of the features included in A2’s shared hosting plans include:
- 100GB disk space
- Unlimited email accounts
- DDoS protection
- Server-level firewall
- Virus scanning
- SSL certificate
However, you don’t get a free domain name with this plan.
Winner: A2 Hosting!
A2 Hosting wins this category because there are more features in the shared hosting plan and double the disk space. Bluehost has a slight advantage in offering a free domain name for the first year. But A2’s security is more advanced.
How Secure is Bluehost?
Bluehost’s security features cover the essentials but don’t go beyond that.
For instance, you receive an SSL certificate through Let’s Encrypt, 24/7 server monitoring, and DDoS protection through Cloudflare (although you have to set it up yourself).
The more advanced security features come at an additional cost.
How Secure is A2 Hosting?
A2 Hosting is more generous with its included security features.
Like Bluehost, A2 provides SSL certificates, DDoS protection (built-in), and server monitoring.
In addition to these features, A2 includes automatic backups, 24/7 network monitoring, and the Patchman Enhanced Security tool.
Winner: A2 Hosting!
A2 is the clear winner for this category. Compared to Bluehost, A2 provides more advanced security tools and more features for free. Bluehost’s security isn’t poor. It just covers the essentials and nothing more.
Can We Trust Bluehost?
We can trust Bluehost for numerous reasons.
The web host provider has several years in the industry and currently hosts millions of sites.
Also, WordPress.org recommends its users utilize Bluehost, indicating the company is trustworthy.
Can We Trust A2 Hosting?
Yes, we can trust A2 Hosting.
This reputable company is one of the industry’s oldest web hosting providers and remains relevant today!
Also, numerous people trust A2 to host their websites.
Winner: It’s a tie!
Both A2 and Bluehost are trustworthy, so choosing a clear winner for this category is impossible. You don’t have to worry about data breaches or shady service with A2 or Bluehost.
Is Bluehost Customer Support Good?
Bluehost’s customer support is adequate at best, so there’s room for improvement.
Agents are available through 24/7 live chat, phone, and email.
Customers have to pay for premium plans to receive premium customer support.
And if you have the shared hosting plan, customer service wait times can be longer than desired.
Is A2 Hosting Customer Support Good?
A2’s primary customer support channel is its ticketing system.
And even if you attempt to contact agents via live chat or telephone, you’ll be redirected to the ticketing systems.
Response times can get lengthy, but fortunately, A2 has an extensive knowledge base, allowing you to find answers to your question by yourself.
Winner: Bluehost!
Bluehost wins this category because response times are slightly faster, and there are more ways to connect with agents. Both hosts don’t offer the best support, but Bluehost’s is slightly better.
Does Bluehost Offer WordPress Hosting?
Bluehost is well-known for its WordPress hosting solutions.
The plans come with free site migrations, automatic updates, and automatic WordPress installations.
Also, the plans are affordable and start at $2.95 monthly!
Bluehost offers regular WordPress and WooCommerce hosting plans.
Does A2 Hosting Offer WordPress Hosting?
A2 Hosting provides managed WordPress hosting plans starting at $11.99 monthly (for 36 months).
WordPress-optimized features include pre-configured security, 24/7 WordPress support, and free site migrations.
A2’s managed WordPress plans also come with Turbo, an exclusive feature that offers 20 times faster speeds!
Winner: Bluehost!
Bluehost is the better choice for WordPress hosting because the company’s primary focus is WordPress hosting. Therefore, Bluehost provides more optimizations and tools designed to simplify WordPress hosting!
Will Bluehost Help With Website Migration?
Bluehost has professionals to help with website migrations.
If you have a WordPress site, you’ll enjoy free site migrations.
However, other systems must pay $150 for migration services with up to five websites and 20 email account transfers.
Will A2 Hosting Help With Website Migration?
A2 Hosting offers free site migrations.
If your site uses cPanel, A2’s agents can migrate your existing site by doing an account transfer (only available for shared, reseller, and managed WordPress accounts).
However, if your site doesn’t use cPanel, you must perform the migration yourself.
Fortunately, A2 Hosting provides clear, step-by-step instructions for doing so.
Winner: A2 Hosting!
A2 Hosting provides a better site migration experience than Bluehost. WordPress transfers are easy with both A2 and Bluehost. But other CMSs must pay a hefty fee with Bluehost if they want to transfer.
Does Bluehost Offer Email Hosting?
Bluehost’s email hosting plans start at $6 monthly and integrate with Google Workspace.
Therefore, you can seamlessly connect Bluehost with all your favorite Google apps, such as Docs, Slides, and Gmail.
The email hosting plans also include a ton of storage space and video conferencing for up to 100 people.
Does A2 Hosting Offer Email Hosting?
A2 offers email hosting powered by Titan, with plans starting at $1.59 monthly (for 36 months).
The plans include advanced spam and virus protection, email backups, and 10GB of storage per account (basic plan).
More advanced features are also helpful to businesses like read receipts and Send Later!
Winner: A2 Hosting!
A2’s email hosting plans are more affordable than Bluehost’s and include more advanced features that business owners love.
Bluehost’s services are perfect if your company uses Google to manage all employee documents and messaging.
Does Bluehost Have a Website Builder?
Bluehost has an excellent website builder with features designed to help create a WordPress site faster.
For instance, Bluehost’s web builder includes hundreds of templates and themes to match your website’s aesthetic.
Also, the website builder plans are affordable, starting at less than $5 monthly!
Does A2 Hosting Have a Website Builder?
A2’s SiteBuilder tool is available for each host’s shared hosting plans and comes automatically included with the Startup Web Hosting plans.
The tool offers complete customization of numerous modern templates.
The SiteBuilder costs $2.99 monthly for one page (including the startup web hosting plan), with rates increasing if you need to design more pages.
Winner: Bluehost!
Bluehost’s website builder provides more value for a better price. A2’s SiteBuilder functions well, but Bluehost’s tool is more intuitive and designed for beginners. Also, Bluehost includes more WordPress-related features.
Bluehost Alternatives
As great as Bluehost is, a couple of comparable alternatives exist.
A2 Hosting
As you’ve seen, A2 Hosting is an excellent alternative to Bluehost.
The prices are almost identical, and A2 provides better security features than Bluehost.
DreamHost
DreamHost is a cloud-based web hosting solution that offers lower prices than Bluehost.
DreamHost has customized managed WordPress plans at affordable rates, too!
A2 Hosting Alternatives
There are also some A2 Hosting solutions If the web Jost doesn’t meet your needs!
GoDaddy
GoDaddy is an excellent A2 Hosting alternative because this web host provides well-known domain name management.
GoDaddy’s monthly rates may be slightly more expensive than A2’s, but the provider offers more security features and a better website builder!
WP Engine
WP Engine is a great A2 alternative if you need managed WordPress hosting services.
This web host specializes in managed WordPress hosting and has more plans for developers and large-scale sights.
Still, WP Engine also has plans for beginners, making it easy to customize hosting plans.
Now You Decide
Now that you have all the information about Bluehost and A2 Hosting, it’s time to decide if either of these hosts will work for your website!
Both web hosts are affordable and provide various hosting plans, so you’ll likely find what you want.
Whether you choose Bluehost or A2 Hosting, we’re sure you’ll have an excellent hosting experience!
Bluehost Vs. A2 Hosting FAQ
Bluehost is an inclusive web host that offers affordable plans and several types of hosting. Still, good alternatives include DreamHost and A2 Hosting, as these providers offer better security.
A2 Hosting is best for people needing web hosting services who also value fast speeds and excellent security measures.
Bluehost is an excellent choice for web hosting. This provider has affordable rates starting at $2.95 monthly, reliable performance, desirable features, and much more!
A2 Hosting is reliable and consistently delivers excellent uptime. Also, this web host provides a 99.9% uptime guarantee, ensuring your sight has very little downtime and usually performs well.
A2 Hosting is good and comes with several benefits. For instance, A2 provides reliable speeds, consistent uptime, and excellent security features. Plus, the monthly rates are affordable, making it the ideal choice for people on a budget!