Bluehost vs. IONOS (2023) 

Bluehost and IONOS are two excellent web hosting providers you must consider if you’ve been hunting for your next web host.

Choose the wrong hosting service, and your website won’t function as well as it should!

I understand this stressor more than anyone, as I have spent years in the web hosting industry and know which hosts will exceed your expectations.

As someone looking for a reliable, well-performing web host, consider Bluehost and IONOS before making a final decision.

So let’s dive deep and learn more about what IONOS and Bluehost offer in 2023! 

How Did We Test Bluehost & IONOS Hosting?

Testing Bluehost and IONOS may seem easy, but the Tweak Your Biz team and I take it seriously.

So, instead of relying on our objective viewpoints to rank these web hosts, we used the most trusted software and real-life data.

Then, we ranked and compared Bluehost versus IONOS in the following categories:

• Hosting Types & Features
• Performance & Speed
• Ease of Use
• Pricing & Value
• Website Security
• Help & Support
• WordPress Features
• Extras (website migrations, email hosting, WordPress hosting) 

Bluehost Vs. IONOS Winner:

Bluehost or IONOS: which host wins the 2023 comparison?

Overall, we chose Bluehost as the winner. The web host offers excellent value for low monthly rates and has a more reliable uptime. 

Also, Bluehost’s WordPress hosting solutions are top-notch.

However, IONOS shined in certain areas, too. For example, IONOS has excellent speeds because the company has server locations on multiple continents.

Also, IONOS doesn’t have steep renewal rates as Bluehost does!

What Is Bluehost Web Hosting?

Bluehost is one of the most popular web hosts in the industry. 

This web host provider offers numerous hosting plans, but it is most famous for its WordPress hosting solutions because WordPress.org recommends Bluehost! 

Also, Bluehost is an affordable web hosting solution, as monthly rates start at less than $5 monthly and provide incredible performance for that low price! To read more about Bluehost, check out our Bluehost review here!

Who Uses Bluehost?

All kinds of people use Bluehost!

The web host makes it easy for beginners to launch a website (especially WordPress sites) and includes several tools to make installation and website creation easier!

Still, Bluehost has solutions for professionals, agencies, and more extensive websites with more data, as the company offers VPS and dedicated server plans.

Essentially, Bluehost is designed with everyone in mind! 

What are the Benefits of Bluehost?

The biggest benefit that draws people new to web hosting to Bluehost is the low monthly rates, especially the shared and WordPress hosting solutions.

Also, Bluehost provides incredible value for these low rates, another significant advantage.

As mentioned, Bluehost is easy to use, providing an intuitive interface for people of all skill levels.

Where Bluehost Falls Short

Like any other web host, Bluehost has some downsides; the biggest being the security features. 

Bluehost’s security features are more elementary than what other web hosts offer for free.

Also, Bluehost doesn’t provide an uptime guarantee, so you can’t receive a refund if your site experiences a lot of downtime within a month.

What Is IONOS Hosting?

IONOS is Europe’s leading web host provider and has 30 years of experience in the industry. 

With IONOS, you can access a variety of hosting solutions, including shared, dedicated, agency, and more! 

Although IONOS isn’t as flashy as other web hosts, the company still provides excellent security measures, affordable prices, and versatile hosting. Check out our IONOS review here if you’re interested in this web host! 

Who uses IONOS AccuWeb?

IONOS has plans for anyone interested in finding a web host!

For instance, beginners are drawn to IONOS shared and WordPress hosting plans, while advanced users and high-traffic sites prefer the VPS and dedicated server plans.

IONOS also has plans for individuals running medium-sized projects with its Windows hosting solutions!

What are the Benefits of IONOS?

One significant benefit of choosing IONOS as a web host provider is the company’s broad range of hosting plans. 

Because IONOS has many plans, you can scale with the company and move to a different hosting solution as your website grows and changes.

Also, IONOS is excellent regarding security measures, as every plan includes a comprehensive list of tools and features to protect your website’s information and data!

Where IONOS Falls Short

IONOS’ shared hosting plans are one area where the web host falls short because the company only has servers in Kansas, United States.

Therefore, international visitors may experience slower loading speeds because the servers are far away.

Also, customer support response times via live chat are slower than desired.

Bluehost vs. IONOS: The Details 

IONOS and Bluehost are two reputable web hosting solutions. But let’s look at each host closer and pick out distinguishing factors!

What Types of Hosting Does Bluehost Have?

Bluehost has an array of hosting solutions to choose from, including the following:

• VPS
• Dedicated server 
• WooCommerce 
• WordPress
• Shared 

What Types of Hosting Does IONOS Have?

IONOS offers the following types of hosting plans:

• Shared
• ASP .NET
• Dedicated
• VPS
• Hosting for Agencies
• Jamstack hosting
• Joomla! hosting
• WordPress hosting
• eCommerce

IONOS offers more specific eCommerce hosting solutions, including Shopware, Magento, and PrestaShop hosting. 

Winner: IONOS

Regarding diversity in hosting plans, IONOS takes the cake! This web host offers every kind of web hosting solution you can think of! The eCommerce solutions are more diverse than what Bluehost offers. Also, IONOS has more solutions for large-scale companies and agencies.

Does Bluehost Have Uptime Issues?

Bluehost doesn’t guarantee uptime, meaning the company doesn’t owe you a refund if your website experiences considerable downtime.

However, most Bluehost sites average 99.99% uptime, which is impressive!

This impressive uptime performance indicates Bluehost owns incredibly powerful servers.

Does IONOS Have Uptime Issues?

IONOS provides a 99.99% uptime guarantee. For the most part, its servers live up to the promise.

Our staging site endured a few minutes of downtime, but that’s normal for any hosting provider.

However, the server response times are slower than expected and fall below the industry average of 600ms.

Winner: Bluehost

As powerful as IONOS’ servers are, Bluehost’s deliver a slightly better uptime performance. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about Bluehost not having an uptime guarantee; the web host still provides excellent uptime!

How Fast Is Bluehost?

Bluehost’s speeds aren’t industry-leading, but they provide loading times fast enough for most sites.

Bluehost only has data centers in the United States, which may impact speed slightly.

However, Bluehost provides a CDN (content delivery network), helping improve the server response times and speeds!

How Fast Is IONOSs?

IONOS consistently delivers fast speeds. 

The fully loaded times are faster than the industry average and are an important Google ranking factor.

Also, IONOS has data centers worldwide, so your international visitors don’t have to suffer through slow loading times if you’re in the United States!

Winner: IONOS

IONOS won this category because we considered worldwide speed performance, not just the United States. Because IONOS has data centers worldwide, the web host can provide faster speeds than Bluehost.

Bluehost Stress Test

Bluehost’s shared plans have a limit regarding how many visitors they can take on before affecting performance.

On our staging site, Bluehost struggled when we unexpectedly sent tens of thousands of visitors to the page.

Still, Bluehost’s shared services performed well, considering the monthly rates.

The VPS and dedicated server plans can handle more stress than the shared hosting solutions.

IONOS Stress Test

Regarding stress testing, IONOS’s servers were up for the job. 

When we sent 50,000 monthly bots to our staging site, that proved too much for IONOS, and the site consistently crashed and was slow. 

However, 10,000 monthly visitors wasn’t a problem! Remember that these results were on IONOS’s basic shared hosting plan.

Winner: Tie

Choosing a clear winner in this category was hard because both hosts performed similarly. The shared hosting plans can’t handle an insane number of visitors, but they should hold up for small businesses and beginner bloggers.

How Easy Is Bluehost to Use?

Bluehost simplifies web hosting, from sign-up to building your first website.

The user interface is intuitive, and the cPanel is easy to understand and navigate.

Also, Bluehost includes numerous beginner-friendly features, like automatic WordPress installation and website migrations, that simplify life!

How Easy Is IONOS to Use?

Like Bluehost, IONOS is also easy to use (in some respects).

The interface is customized for IONOS customers, so beginners may find it more confusing than other web hosts.

Still, finding the right web hosting solution and implementing it is intuitive with IONOS.

Winner: Bluehost

Bluehost’s interface is easier to use and more beginner friendly than IONOS. Also, Bluehost has more features designed for beginners and people without web hosting experience!

Bluehost Pricing & Value

For simplicity’s sake, we’ll compare the price and value of Bluehost’s and IONOS’s basic shared hosting plans. 

The basic shared hosting plan at Bluehost starts at $2.95 monthly, an introductory price, and the renewal rates are much higher.

For this price, you receive the following features:

• Hosting services for one website
• 50GB SSD storage 
• Free SSL certificate 
• One domain 
• Domain Privacy 
• Unlimited bandwidth 

Something not included in this plan is anti-spam protection, site backups, and a dedicated IP address.

IONOS Pricing & Value 

Now, let’s look at IONOS’ basic shared hosting plan.

This plan initially costs $4 per month, and the renewal rates aren’t much higher.

The shared hosting plan includes the following features:

• Hosting services for unlimited websites 
• 10GB SSD storage
• Unlimited bandwidth 
• SSL certificate 
• Domain name 
• Anti-spam protection 
• Daily backups 
• Dedicated IP address 

As you can see, you receive several features for a low monthly rate.

Winner: IONOS

IONOS simply includes more features in its shared hosting plan than Bluehost. Also, Bluehost’s renewal rates are significantly higher than IONOS’s, which is an essential factor to consider. Bluehost still provides excellent value for the monthly rate; IONOS is just slightly better.

How Secure is Bluehost?

Bluehost includes a handful of security features with each of its hosting plans.

For example, Bluehost offers free SSL certificates from Let’s Encrypt.

However, for advanced security metrics like backups, restores, and SiteLock for added security, Bluehost charges additional fees.

For instance, SiteLock is available for $32 per year, and automatic backups are available for $32.95 annually. 

How Secure Is IONOS?

IONOS provides one free SSL certificate with its hosting plans. So if you have a plan with multiple websites, you can only use the SSL on one site.

However, IONOS has two-factor authentication, browser security, and email security features! 

Also, IONOS creates daily backups of your website’s files but only makes them available for six days before they’re overwritten.

Like Bluehost, IONOS offers SiteLock for an additional fee to those customers desiring more website protection.

Winner: Tie

Choosing a winner for this category is challenging because both hosts provide basic security measures and make customers pay for more protection. The security features aren’t the best, but they will protect your website’s data and other information.

Can We Trust Bluehost?

You can confidently host your website on Bluehost, as this is a trustworthy hosting solution. 

WordPress.org recommends and advocates for Bluehost, indicating the web host is excellent at WordPress hosting and reliable.

Also, Bluehost is home to millions of websites and hasn’t experienced any data or security breaches.

Therefore, Bluehost is a trustworthy provider! 

Can We Trust IONOS?

We can also trust IONOS for web hosting solutions.

Again, this web host hasn’t experienced any data or security breaches, showing that the host has adequate security measures.

Also, IONOS currently hosts several websites and consistently receives good customer reviews. 

We can confidently say you can trust IONOS! 

Winner: Tie

Bluehost and IONOS are two trustworthy web hosting solutions. Each company hosts millions of websites, indicating they are reputable companies. Therefore, you shouldn’t feel uneasy about hosting through Bluehost or IONOS.

Is Bluehost Customer Support Good?

Bluehost provides customer support through 24/7 live chat, telephone support, and an email/ticketing system.

The response times aren’t as fast as other web host providers, but agents still get back to you promptly.

Also, Bluehost’s agents are excellent at answering hosting-related questions, whether they’re basic or advanced.

Is IONOS Customer Support Good?

IONOS could improve its customer support.

Like Bluehost, IONOS offers customer support through live chat, email, and telephone. 

But the web host also has a 1&1 Personal Consultant system where users can connect with a professional individual.

Although the idea is great, IONOS’ customer support response times are extremely slow. 

Winner: Bluehost

Although Bluehost’s customer support isn’t industry-leading, the agents still do an excellent job answering your questions and responding quickly. IONOS missed the mark on this test, as response times were alarmingly slow.

Does Bluehost Offer WordPress Hosting?

Bluehost offers WordPress hosting plans on a shared server and managed WordPress hosting solutions.

The managed plans come with an array of features, including the following:

• Malware detection and removal
• Domain privacy and creation
• Marketing center
• Daily scheduled backups
• Jetpack site analysis
• Hundreds of free WordPress themes
• One Office 365 mailbox (free for 30 days)
• Unlimited subdomains, websites, domains, and web storage
• Free staging environment
• Zero traffic limits

It’s hard to believe all these features are available for only $19.95 monthly! 

Bluehost also makes WordPress hosting more manageable for beginners with features like automatic installation, pre-installed plugins, and automatic WordPress updates.

Does IONOS Offer WordPress Hosting?

IONOS’s WordPress hosting plans start at $18 monthly. 

These plans include features but nothing close to what Bluehost offers.

Still, IONOS’s WordPress plans include daily backups, AI-operated updates, 10GB SSD storage, 2GB RAM, and an easy-to-use interface. 

One benefit of IONOS’s WordPress hosting solutions is that the website has a dedicated server, providing more security and peace of mind.

Winner: Bluehost

It’s challenging to beat Bluehost’s WordPress hosting solutions, as they are one of the primary things the web host is known for. The long list of features included in Bluehost’s WordPress plans is incredible. Also, Bluehost offers more WordPress templates and themes to customize your website and make it yours!

Will Bluehost Help With Website Migration?

Bluehost helps with website migrations, so you don’t have to do it yourself!

Bluehost will perform the service for free if you’re migrating a WordPress site, ensuring your website gets transferred safely.

However, if you don’t have a WordPress site, expect to pay a one-time fee of $150 for Bluehost’s team to migrate your existing site.

This fee covers five websites and 20 email account migrations. 

Will IONOS Help With Website Migration? 

Unfortunately, IONOS does not offer a website migration service. 

Therefore, if you want to transfer an existing site to IONOS’ platform, you must do it yourself or hire a third-party service. 

This task is typically manageable for experienced users, but even IONOS’ step-by-step guide can confuse beginners to migrate their site alone.

Winner: Bluehost

IONOS forces you to migrate your website yourself, which can be stressful. In comparison, Bluehost performs free migrations for WordPress sites and charges $150 for any other site that’s not a WordPress website.

Does Bluehost Offer Email Hosting?

Bluehost’s email hosting plans start at $3 monthly, with plenty of storage space, a beginner-friendly interface, and Google app integration.

There’s also a 30-day money-back guarantee! 

Does IONOS Offer Email Hosting?

IONOS offers email hosting for $1 monthly with a 30-day money-back guarantee. 

The hosting features include the following:

• Mailbox security 
• Email Migration 
• Customizable security 
• 50GB of storage 
• Scalable plans 
• Collaboration tools 
• Calendar 
• Virus protection 

Winner: IONOS

Bluehost and IONOS offer email hosting plans, but IONOS’s plans come with more features, and Bluehost’s plan costs $2 extra. Therefore, for better value for money, IONOS is your best option.

Does Bluehost Have a Website Builder?

Bluehost gives you free access to the Weebly website builder (to create six pages).

Creating more than six pages will cost $3 monthly for the professional plan.

This website builder is easy to use, includes several pre-made templates and themes, and has excellent drag-and-drop functionality.

Does IONOS Have a Website Builder?

IONOS has a custom website builder called 1&1 My Website Builder.

This tool is perfect for small businesses and professionals but may be challenging and frustrating for beginners.

There is a lot of flexibility in terms of customization. And the prices range from $5 to $15 monthly. 

Winner: Bluehost

Bluehost is more user-friendly and less confusing than IONOS’ website builder. The staging environments and functionality are much more intuitive. However, IONOS’s web builder is perfect for technically savvy individuals who want max customization options.

Bluehost Alternatives 

Here are some alternatives to Bluehost if this platform is not for you.

A2 Hosting

A2 Hosting provides faster speeds than Bluehost and only costs a little more per month.

Also, A2 Hosting has more advanced security features. 

So, if you’re willing to spend a little more monthly, A2 Hosting is an excellent alternative to Bluehost!

DreamHost

DreamHost offers comparable prices to Bluehost but includes more security features.

Also, DreamHost has managed WordPress hosting and reliable speeds. 

IONOS Alternatives 

If IONOS doesn’t sound like your kind of web host, then these are some other providers you can consider.

GoDaddy

Although best known for domain name management, GoDaddy also provides excellent web hosting services. 

GoDaddy’s prices are comparable with IONOS (slightly more expensive), but the speeds and reliability are marginally better!

Hostwinds

Hostwinds is another excellent alternative.

If you want a feature-rich plan for not that much money, Hostwinds is a great choice!

Also, Hostwinds’ plans are affordable, considering the number of features you receive.

Now You Decide

Now that we have provided an in-depth Bluehost vs.IONOS comparison, you can decide which is best for your needs.

Do you want Bluehost’s user-friendly interface, free website migrations, and budget plans? Or would you prefer IONOS’ feature-rich web builder and email hosting plans?

The choice is yours! Whichever you choose, Bluehost and IONOS both offer great hosting options. 

Which web hosting provider is your favorite? Do you have any questions about our Bluehost vs. IONOS review? Let us know in the comments below!

Bluehost Vs. IONOS FAQ