Hostinger vs Bluehost: Which Is Better for Small Business?

If you are starting a new WordPress website in the USA, the two names you will encounter most frequently are Hostinger and Bluehost.

Bluehost is one of the oldest hosts on the internet and has been officially recommended by WordPress.org for years. Hostinger is the modern disruptor offering aggressive pricing and newer technology.

Which one should a small business choose? We compared them across performance, pricing, features, and support. Here is our honest breakdown.

Performance and Speed (Winner: Hostinger)

Speed is a direct Google ranking factor. If your site is slow, your SEO will suffer.

• Bluehost runs primarily on Apache servers. While reliable, they are an older technology that struggles under heavy simultaneous traffic without extensive caching.
• Hostinger uses LiteSpeed web servers. LiteSpeed processes PHP requests (which power WordPress) significantly faster than Apache. Furthermore, Hostinger provides the LiteSpeed Cache plugin free of charge, which integrates perfectly with their servers.

In almost every independent speed test, a standard WordPress site on Hostinger will load noticeably faster than the exact same site on a standard Bluehost shared plan.

Ease of Use (Tie)

Both companies recognize that small business owners are not system administrators.

• Bluehost provides a customized version of cPanel alongside a proprietary onboarding wizard that helps you install WordPress quickly.
• Hostinger provides their own custom “hPanel.” It is cleaner, less cluttered, and generally more intuitive for absolute beginners than traditional cPanel.

Both make it incredibly easy to launch a WordPress site within minutes of purchasing.

Pricing and Value (Winner: Hostinger)

Both hosts use an introductory pricing model: you get a steep discount for your first term, and then you pay the standard renewal rate.

(Check current Hostinger pricing and current Bluehost pricing on their respective websites).

Where Hostinger dramatically pulls ahead is in the included value:

• Backups: Hostinger includes free daily or weekly automated backups on their primary plans. Bluehost often requires you to purchase an add-on (like CodeGuard) for reliable automated backups.
• Email: Hostinger includes a free professional business email address. Bluehost frequently pushes you to pay for Google Workspace or Office 365.
• SSL Certificates: Both offer free SSLs, which is industry standard.

Customer Support (Winner: Bluehost for Phone, Hostinger for Chat)

This comes down to personal preference.

• Bluehost offers 24/7 phone support. If you are the type of person who needs to hear a human voice when things break, Bluehost is the better choice.
• Hostinger does not offer phone support. They rely entirely on 24/7 Live Chat. We have found Hostinger’s chat agents to be highly knowledgeable, but the lack of a phone number can frustrate some users.

Final Verdict

While Bluehost is a reliable legacy brand, we strongly recommend Hostinger for USA small businesses in 2024.

Hostinger offers faster server technology, better included features (like backups), a cleaner dashboard, and superior overall value.

Frequently Asked Questions