Hostinger vs. DreamHost (2023)

Finding the right web hosting provider can be tricky, and the differences between Hostinger and DreamHost are fairly significant.

If you choose the wrong service, you could end up with a slow-loading website. This can really hurt your user experience and even reduce the amount of traffic you receive.

I have spent several years managing websites on Hostinger and DreamHost, so I understand the pros and cons of each service.

After spending extensive time researching the features of each web host, the Tweak Your Biz team and I have created an in-depth review that compares Hostinger versus DreamHost.

Let’s see whether Hostinger or DreamHost is best suited for hosting your following website!

How Did We Test Hostinger & DreamHost?

The team at Tweak Your Biz only uses the highest testing standard with the most trusted software. We rely on lab testing and data instead of our objective point of view.

During testing, we set up two staging sites hosted on Hostinger and DreamHost to measure the results in the following areas:

• Hosting Types & Features
• Performance & Speed
• Ease of Use
• Pricing & Value
• Website Security
• Help & Support
• WordPress Features
• Extras

Our Winner:

Although it was a tight race, we chose Hostinger as the winner! Hostinger has more web hosting options and lower prices.

Plus, the features that come with each hosting plan are hard to beat. For a closer look at all the features it has to offer, check out our Hostinger review.

Hostinger doesn’t just offer many features; the web host also provides excellent speeds and reliable performance.

Further, Hostinger has a lot of desirable extras, like the website builder, email hosting options, and free website migration!

Hostinger is an excellent web host for almost every business! It’s no surprise millions of companies trust Hostinger to host their website.

Although Hostinger was our winner, Dreamhost is a great service in it’s own right. Here’s our Dreamhost review for more in-depth information on the product.

What is Hostinger Web Hosting?

Hostinger is a web hosting solutions provider that offers high-performance shared, cloud, and WordPress plans at an affordable price. 

Hostinger’s feature-rich hosting packages have unlimited bandwidth, storage space, and website builder options. 

Hostinger also provides reliable customer support and 24/7 uptime monitoring to ensure your online presence is always running smoothly. 

Hostinger can handle websites of any size, from tiny blogs to large-scale eCommerce stores, and is designed with your online success in mind. 

So if you’re looking for a hassle-free hosting solution that won’t break the bank, Hostinger is an excellent choice. 

Where Hostinger Shines

Hostinger shines when it comes to pricing. 

For example, Hostinger’s plans start at only $2.99 monthly and can scale up depending on your website’s needs.

Additionally, Hostinger offers a variety of hosting options, including the following:

• Shared
• Cloud
• VPS
• WordPress hosting

Hostinger also provides free weekly backups to keep your data safe and secure.

Overall, Hostinger is an excellent choice for those looking for an affordable, reliable hosting option with plenty of features.

Where Hostinger Falls Short

Unfortunately, Hostinger does have a few drawbacks.

The control panel can sometimes be slow, and the customer service team can take a while to respond.

Also, Hostinger’s shared hosting plans don’t come with many extra features, such as staging environments or advanced caching options you would find with other hosting companies.

However, keep in mind that the shared hosting plans are priced lower than many companies, so you will be saving more money.

What is DreamHost Web Hosting?

DreamHost is a web hosting platform with managed WordPress and business hosting plans. 

The web host provides reliable uptime monitoring, customer support, and many valuable features. 

DreamHost’s business hosting packages are tailored for larger-scale websites with more advanced needs, such as VPS, dedicated, managed, and cloud hosting.

Also, DreamHost offers plenty of extra features, such as staging environments, advanced caching options, and website analytics to help you optimize your site’s performance.

Where DreamHost Shines

DreamHost stands out from the crowd when it comes to features.

For example, DreamHost provides staging environments and website analytics that can help you optimize your site’s performance.

DreamHost offers a one-click install process for WordPress that can help you set up your website quickly.

DreamHost’s WordPress hosting plans are excellent and perform better than several competitors.

DreamHost’s WordPress hosting plans have dedicated servers for WordPress websites, ensuring faster loading times and better security.

Where DreamHost Falls Short

Unfortunately, DreamHost does have a few drawbacks.

First, the customer service team isn’t available 24/7, and the live chat feature is limited to business hours only.

Second, malware removal comes at an added cost and is not included in all hosting plans.

Most customers feel malware removal should be an included security feature.

Still, DreamHost’s pricing is competitive compared to Hostinger and only costs a little more.

Hostinger vs. DreamHost: The Final Showdown

Hostinger and DreamHost are both excellent web hosting platforms for businesses of all sizes.

Let’s take a look at some key points to help you decide which hosting platform is right for you.

Hosting Types & Features

Winner: Hostinger is the winner in this category! Hostinger offers more options for types of hosting, giving customers more flexibility. Also, more hosting options allow customers to switch plans as their website grows. Although DreamHost offers popular hosting options, Hostinger shines brighter because of the increased variety. 

Hostinger

Hostinger offers the following types of hosting:

• Shared 
• Cloud 
• WordPress 
• Hosting for professionals 
• VPS
• CyberPanel 
• Minecraft server 

DreamHost

DreamHost offers the following hosting plans:

• Shared (Starter)
• VPS
• WordPress
• Managed WordPress (DreamPress)
• VPS WordPress

Performance & Speed 

Winner: Hostinger takes the cake in this category! Although Hostinger and DreamHost are comparable in details like uptime and stress testing, Hostinger takes the edge regarding speed.

Hostinger has seven data centers worldwide, while DreamHost only has one. Therefore, Hostinger is more widely available, and visitors enjoy fast loading times regardless of their location.

Hostinger

Hostinger offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee and reliable hosting.

Also, Hostinger’s minimal downtime and no server issues are great features that ensure your website is always up and running.

Most Hostinger sites enjoy 100% uptime for most of the day (maintaining 100% uptime long-term is impossible).

Hostinger sets a standard for the hosting industry because of how reliable and well-performing the host’s uptimes are.

DreamHost

DreamHost gives customers a 100% uptime guarantee (which is pretty bold).

Fortunately, the web host lives up to this challenge and provides customers with reliable uptime.

Further, DreamHost’s web hosting services rarely have outages and downtime, ensuring your website is always available for potential customers!

Speed 

Hostinger

Hostinger’s speeds are some of the fastest in the web hosting industry, which you wouldn’t expect given the low monthly rates.

Still, Hostinger has seven data centers worldwide, allowing customers to choose the one closest to their audience.

Hostinger’s Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) performs better than almost every host.

Because Hostinger’s LCP is fast, websites rank higher on Google, drawing more visitors to a website and showing Google it is a trustworthy site.

DreamHost

DreamHost usually provides fast website loading speeds for customers that select a data center in the United States.

However, when accessing a DreamHost site in Europe or India, the loading times slowed significantly.

The slower loading speeds result from DreamHost only having one data center.

DreamHost provides fast speeds as long as your target audience is in the United States.

Stress Testing 

Hostinger

Regarding stress testing, Hostinger is up for the challenge.

For example, Hostinger’s services can handle sudden influxes of website visitors without slowing down loading times.

Hostinger’s performance will not be altered when more people visit your website.

DreamHost

DreamHost can handle a lot of website visitors, even when they are unexpected.

Therefore, your website loading speeds won’t suffer because more people are on your site.

If your website loads slowly on DreamHost, it is likely because it has too much data for your selected plan.

Fortunately, DreamHost makes it easy to upgrade your plan!

Ease of Use 

Winner: Hostinger! Hostinger’s control panel is one of the most user-friendly and intuitive panels on the market. Hostinger also provides an easy setup process to get your website up.

Hostinger’s websites are also straightforward to manage, allowing you to focus more on creating content instead of troubleshooting technical issues.

Hostinger

Hostinger is incredibly easy to manage because the program is designed for beginners.

The setup process only takes a few minutes, and the control panel combines simplicity and functionality.

Also, Hostinger’s custom control panel is easy to use and customize.

DreamHost

DreamHost is straightforward to use, and customers usually find it intuitive.

Also, the setup process is simple with DreamHost.

However, DreamHost is known for its custom-built control panel, which can confuse those new to hosting.

Pricing & Value 

Winner:  DreamHost! DreamHost’s pricing structure is much more affordable than Hostinger’s by a few cents, allowing customers to save more money each month.

DreamHost also provides customers domain privacy, CDN, security features, and reliable speeds.

Hostinger

Hostinger’s plans start at $2.99 per month, perfect for beginners and small businesses on a tight budget and still want quality web hosting.

Further, Hostinger offers a free domain for the first year of service.

The value and features that come with Hostinger’s plans are unbelievable.

From free SSL certificates to fast and reliable hosting, Hostinger provides top-notch web hosting for a low price.

DreamHost

DreamHost’s shared hosting plans start at $2.59 per month, which is affordable.

Although DreamHost only offers a handful of hosting plans, the features are excellent.

For example, DreamHost offers plenty of storage space, domain privacy, a content delivery network, and more with every plan.

Website Security 

Winner: DreamHost! Although Hostinger provides security features, they are basic and do not go above and beyond as DreamHost does. DreamHost includes daily backups with every plan and several other security measures. 

Hostinger

Hostinger’s web security is excellent. 

For example, Hostinger offers internal server security, free SSL certificates, DDoS protection, and more.

Daily backups are also available with some of Hostinger’s plans.

Hostinger includes the security essentials in each one of the company’s plans.

DreamHost

DreamHost’s plans include security features like daily backups, firewalls, domain privacy, and SSL certificates. 

Further, DreamHost provides more security in select plans. 

However, an important feature, malware protection, isn’t available for free, and customers must pay extra for it. 

Help & Support 

Winner: Hostinger! Although Hostinger’s response time can be annoying, the agents always handle inquiries professionally. Also, the fact that you have to pay to connect with a DreamHost agent is unusual and expensive. 

Hostinger

Hostinger provides customer support via live chat, email, ticketing systems, and a knowledge base.

Unfortunately, there is no phone line available.

The average response time could be improved upon. 

But Hostinger’s agents are beneficial and handled professionally.

DreamHost

DreamHost’s customer support is available via live chat, phone support, and 24/7 email tickets. 

Unfortunately, the live chat is not available 24/7.

Still, DreamHost provides a knowledge center with hundreds of tutorials and answers to popular questions.

Also, phone support isn’t free and costs about $10 to connect with an agent.

WordPress Hosting Features

Winner: DreamHost! DreamHost wins this category because WordPress.org recommends using the platform to host a WP site.

Also, DreamHost has WP-optimized servers and in-house WP experts. DreamHost is better designed for WordPress hosting than Hostinger. 

Hostinger

Hostinger’s WordPress hosting plans start at $2.99 per month and come with several features, including the following:

• Unlimited bandwidth
• Free SSL certificates 
• A free domain name 
• Weekly backups
• Malware scanner 
• Optional managed WordPress hosting 

DreamHost

DreamHost offers three WordPress hosting options that come with excellent features.

For example, these plans include unmetered bandwidth, pre-installed WordPress, one-click staging, built-in caching, and much more.

Also, WordPress.org recommends using DreamHost, which is an excellent sign that the host is reliable!

DreamHost has WordPress-optimized servers and in-house WordPress experts, so you never risk feeling lost.

Extras

Winner: Hostinger wins this category. Complimentary website migrations, low-priced email hosting, and a top-notch website builder are excellent features you don’t want to miss. 

Website Migration 

Hostinger

Hostinger provides free website migration. 

Customers must contact the support team for help migrating their website, and the agents are very helpful with the process.

Also, you can request the free migration via the dashboard without contacting anyone, making the process even easier!

DreamHost

DreamHost allows you to migrate your site manually or have a professional do it for you.

The manual migration is free and only requires a WordPress plugin.

The automated migration costs $99 and allows you to transfer any CMS.

Email Hosting 

Hostinger

Hostinger offers two email hosting options; Google Workspace email hosting and Titan email hosting.

Google Workspace costs $6 monthly and has 30GB of email storage.

Titan email hosting costs $0.99 or $2.99 per user and comes with 10GB of email storage.

DreamHost

DreamHost provides two email hosting options, allowing users to pay monthly or annually.

The prices are $1.99 per month per mailbox with the monthly plan and $1.67 per mailbox with an annual plan.

The email hosting plans include 25GB of storage, mobile and desktop sync, ad-free webmail built-in, and spam protection.

Website Builders 

Hostinger

Hostinger provides a free website builder with most of its plans.

The website builder makes it easier and quicker to launch a website and requires no programming skills.

Also, there is a drag-and-drop editor, SEO tools, over one hundred templates, and more!

DreamHost

DreamHost offers two website builders.

The first one comes with every WordPress installation and is a premium plugin that helps your site’s functionality.

DreamHost provides a lot of modern, responsive templates and several customization options!

DreamHost’s second website builder, Remixer, is even easier to use.

Remixer is designed with beginners in mind and provides a simplified interface so anyone can start their website. 

Alternatives to Hostinger

Some alternatives to Hostinger include the following:

• A2 Hosting
• Bluehost

A2 Hosting

A2 Hosting is an excellent Hostinger alternative.

A2 Hosting offers plans for various needs, from shared hosting to WordPress hosting.

The unique feature, Turbo Boost, provides website speeds up to 20 times faster than traditional plans.

The shared hosting plan costs $2.99 monthly, including unlimited storage and bandwidth.

A2 Hosting also has an anytime money-back guarantee, so you don’t need to fear buying the wrong plan.

Bluehost

Bluehost is another Hostinger alternative. 

It offers shared hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS Hosting, and more! 

The basic plan of Bluehost starts at $3.95 per month and includes one website, 50GB storage space, unmetered bandwidth, a free SSL certificate, a free domain name, weekly backups, and more.

Bluehost also has a great customer support team that is available 24/7.

Bluehost is built for WordPress sites and has the right technology to set up a well-designed site.

Alternatives to DreamHost

Some alternatives to Hostinger include the following:

• HostGator
• InMotion Hosting

HostGator

HostGator is a great Hostinger alternative.

The plans start at $2.75 per month and include unlimited storage space, unmetered bandwidth, a free domain name for one year, an SSL certificate with all plans, and nightly backups.

HostGator also offers HostGator Website Builder, making creating your website easier with no programming skills needed.

InMotion Hosting

InMotion Hosting is a great DreamHost alternative.

The plans start at $6.99 per month, and they come with unlimited storage and bandwidth, a free domain name for one year, cPanel Hosting Control Panel, and more.

InMotion Hosting also offers a free website migration service.

Their 24/7 support team can always help with any issues or questions.

Conclusion

Choosing Hostinger or DreamHost as your web hosting provider is difficult because they both offer great services.

Both providers offer low prices and reliable speeds.

If security and WordPress hosting is what you are looking for, choose DreamHost.

And if more hosting options and an easy-to-use website builder are your priorities, choose Hostinger!

Hostinger vs. DreamHost FAQ