Bluehost vs ScalaHosting: Complete 2026 Comparison
Bluehost and ScalaHosting are both shared hosting providers, but they suit different priorities. Across our 7-category breakdown, ScalaHosting comes out ahead, winning 4 of them — including Price, Performance and WordPress.
Data last updated June 2026
Overall Winner
ScalaHosting
- Wins in 4 of 7 categories
- Top in: Best Price, Best Performance, Best for WordPress
- 4.3/5 overall rating
Bluehost vs ScalaHosting: Overview
On entry pricing, ScalaHosting is the cheaper option at $2.95/mo versus $3.99/mo for Bluehost. Renewal tells the real story: Bluehost marks prices up about 150% at renewal versus roughly 305% for ScalaHosting, making it the better long-term value.
Bluehost's standout is only host officially recommended by WordPress — a natural fit for wordPress beginner wanting official endorsement and phone support. ScalaHosting, by contrast, leans on free SPanel control panel eliminating cPanel licensing costs plus SShield AI security, ideal for user wanting managed VPS performance without cPanel licensing costs and strong security.
Category Winners
ScalaHosting
$2.95/mo vs $3.99/mo
Bluehost
Lower renewal markup (150% vs 305%)
ScalaHosting
99.9% uptime, 4.3/5 rating
Bluehost
Live chat, Phone, 24/7
ScalaHosting
Optimized, Staging, WooCommerce, LiteSpeed
ScalaHosting
SSH, Git, Staging, Node.js
Bluehost
Higher ease of use score (9.0/10)
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Essential Info | ||
| Hosting Type | Shared Hosting | Shared Hosting |
| Monthly Price | $3.99/mo | $2.95/mo |
| Renewal Price | $9.99 | $11.95 |
| Renewal Markup | 150% | 305% |
| Overall Rating | 3.4/5 | 4.3/5 |
| Uptime Guarantee | 99.99% | 99.9% |
| Trustpilot Rating | 4.6/5 | 4.9/5 |
| Trustpilot Reviews | 27,784 | 2,137 |
| Free SSL | ||
| Free Domain | ||
| Free Migration | ||
| Pricing Details | ||
| First Year Cost | $47.88 | $35.40 |
| Second Year Cost | $119.88 | $143.40 |
| Money Back Guarantee | 30 days | 30 days |
| Setup Fee | Free | Free |
| Monthly Billing | — | |
| Minimum Contract | — | 1 months |
| Technical Specs | ||
| Storage | 10 GB | 10 GB |
| Storage Type | NVME SSD | NVME SSD |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered GB | Unmetered GB |
| Max Websites | 10 | 1 |
| Max Databases | 20 | Unlimited |
| PHP Versions | 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 | 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3 |
| SSH Access | ||
| Git Deployment | ||
| Staging Environment | ||
| Cron Jobs | ||
| Redis Available | — | |
| Programming Languages | ||
| Node.js Support | ||
| Python Support | ||
| Ruby Support | ||
| WordPress Features | ||
| WordPress Optimized | ||
| WordPress Auto-Install | ||
| WordPress Auto-Updates | ||
| WordPress Staging | ||
| WooCommerce Optimized | ||
| LiteSpeed Cache | ||
| Object Caching | ||
| WP Multisite | — | |
| WP-CLI Access | ||
| Security | ||
| DDoS Protection | ||
| DDoS Protection Level | DDoS protection and Web Application Firewall included on all plans | Advanced DDoS protection on all plans |
| Malware Scanning | ||
| Malware Removal | ||
| Firewall Included | ||
| Backup Frequency | Weekly | Daily (7-day retention on shared; 30-day on VPS) |
| Backup Retention | — | 7 days |
| Backup Restore Fee | Free | Free |
| On-Demand Backup | ||
| Two-Factor Auth | ||
| Wildcard SSL | ||
| Dedicated IP | ||
| Support | ||
| Support Channels | Phone, Live Chat, Knowledge Base, Webinars, Blog, Academy | Live Chat, Ticket, Phone, Knowledge Base |
| Live Chat | ||
| Live Chat Hours | 24/7 | 24/7/365 |
| Phone Support | ||
| Phone Support Hours | 24/7 | 24/7/365 |
| Ticket Support | ||
| Priority Support | ||
| Support Languages | English | English |
| Knowledge Base Quality | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Avg Support Wait | — | — |
| Email Accounts | ||
| Email Account Limit | 5 | Unlimited |
| Mailbox Size | 0.1 GB | — |
| Webmail Access | ||
| Spam Filter | ||
| Email Forwarding | ||
| Performance | ||
| CDN Included | ||
| CDN Provider | Cloudflare CDN | Free CDN included |
| Server Locations | Provo, UT (US), Orem, UT (US), Frankfurt (Germany), Mumbai (India), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Paris (France), Sydney (Australia), London (UK), Madrid (Spain), Hong Kong (China), Shanghai (China) | Dallas, TX (US), New York, NY (US), Sofia (Bulgaria), Bangalore (India), London (UK), Frankfurt (Germany), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Singapore, Sydney (Australia), Tokyo (Japan), Toronto (Canada), Sao Paulo (Brazil) |
| Server Location Count | 11 | 16 |
| Choose Server Location | ||
| HTTP/2 Support | — | |
| Brotli Compression | — | |
| Uptime SLA Credit | ||
| Platform Support | ||
| Drupal Support | ||
| Joomla Support | ||
| Magento Support | ||
| Laravel Support | ||
| Django Support | ||
| Next.js Support | ||
| Rails Support | ||
| Static Site Support | ||
| Control Panel | ||
| cPanel Included | ||
| Control Panel | cPanel | SPanel |
| Softaculous | ||
| Website Builder | ||
| Builder Name | Bluehost Website Builder | SiteBuilder |
| Migration | ||
| Migration Websites Limit | 1 | Unlimited |
| Migration Turnaround | 4 days | 2 days |
| Paid Migration Cost | $149.99 | Free |
| Migration Quality | 4.0/10 | 5.0/10 |
| Compliance | ||
| GDPR Compliant | ||
| PCI Compliant | ||
| HIPAA Compliant | ||
| Data Center Certs | — | SOC 2 (via AWS) |
| Ratings | ||
| Value for Money | 3.0/10 | 4.5/10 |
| Performance Rating | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Support Quality | 3.5/10 | 4.5/10 |
| Security Rating | 3.0/10 | 4.5/10 |
| Features Rating | 3.5/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Ease of Use | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| Transparency Rating | 2.5/10 | 4.5/10 |
| Suitability Scores | ||
| For Bloggers | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For E-commerce | 4.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Agencies | 3.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Developers | 3.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Beginners | 5.0/10 | 4.0/10 |
| For Enterprise | 2.0/10 | 3.0/10 |
| Policies | ||
| Bandwidth Overage | Unmetered within fair use; excessive use may require upgrade | Unmetered within fair use; excessive use may require upgrade |
| Storage Overage | Must upgrade plan; inode limits apply (200K soft, 1M TOS violation) | Must upgrade plan |
| Adult Content Allowed | ||
| Gambling Sites Allowed | ||
| Crypto Sites Allowed | — | |
| Reseller Hosting | ||
| White Label | ||
| API Access | ||
| Company Info | ||
| Year Founded | 2003 | 2007 |
| Headquarters | United States | United States |
| Parent Company | Newfold Digital (formerly Endurance International Group, acquired 2010) | Independent (privately held; founded in Bulgaria, HQ moved to Dallas, TX) |
| Green Hosting | — | — |
| Instant Activation | — | |
| Managed WordPress | ||
| Managed WP Available | ||
| Pricing Model | — | — |
| Monthly Visit Limit | — | — |
| Visit Overage Cost | — | — |
| PHP Workers | — | — |
| Plugin Restrictions | — | — |
| Dev Environment | — | — |
| Dev Env Name | — | — |
| Regional Info | ||
| Best Countries | United States, India, United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia | United States, United Kingdom, Germany, India, Bulgaria |
| Local Currencies | USD, INR, GBP | USD, EUR, GBP |
| Support Languages | English | English |
| Data Sovereignty | GDPR | GDPR |
| External Ratings | ||
| G2 Rating | 3.4/5 | 4.8/5 |
| BBB Rating | Not Accredited | NR (A+ claimed on third-party sites) |
| Advanced Technical | ||
| Inode Limit | 200,000 | — |
| Max DB Size | 5 GB | — |
| Max Upload Size | 50 MB | — |
| Database Type | — | MySQL/MariaDB |
| Elasticsearch | — | |
| Image Optimization | — | |
| PHP Switching | ||
| Subdomains | — | Unlimited |
| FTP Accounts | — | Unlimited |
| Additional Pricing | ||
| Free Domain Duration | 12 months | 12 months |
| Money Back Exclusions | Cloud hosting excluded; Monthly term plans excluded; Domains non-refundable ($15.99 deducted if free domain used); Premium domains non-refundable; Setup fees excluded; Most add-on products excluded; Renewals only refundable within 30 days | 30-day full refund; Domain fees non-refundable; VPS/cloud services eligible for prorated refund |
| Payment Methods | Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal | Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal |
| Auto Renewal Default | ||
| Domain Privacy Included | — | |
| Domain Privacy Cost | — | — |
| SSL Provider | Let's Encrypt (auto-renewed every 90 days) | Let's Encrypt (auto-renewed) |
| Dedicated IP Cost | — | $3/mo |
| Additional Support | ||
| Phone Support Countries | United States | United States |
| Priority Support Cost | — | — |
| Community Forum | ||
| Support Outsourced | — | |
| Object Cache Type | — | Memcached/OPcache |
| Business & Affiliate | ||
| Affiliate Program | ||
| Commission Type | Flat rate (tiered) | Per sale (tiered) |
| Commission Amount | $65 per sale base; up to $125/sale for high performers; 30-day cookie; $100 minimum first payout; via Impact.com | $50-$500 per sale based on performance; 60-day cookie; Monthly PayPal payments |
| Additional Policies | ||
| File Hosting Allowed | ||
| Proxy/VPN Allowed | ||
| Bandwidth Overage Cost | — | $0.00 |
| Account Suspension Policy | AUP violations may result in suspension or termination; 48 hours to respond to abuse team before suspension | Violation of ToS; non-payment; resource abuse |
| Malware Removal Cost | — | $0.00 |
| Downloadable Backups | ||
| Additional Platforms | ||
| PrestaShop | ||
| Ghost | ||
| Shopify Migration | ||
| Wix Migration | ||
| Squarespace Migration | ||
| Webflow Export | ||
| Editorial Info | ||
| Best For | WordPress beginners (officially recommended by WordPress.org); Users wanting phone support 24/7; Users who need cPanel; Staging environment included; Free Cloudflare CDN; Global audience (11 data centers Oct 2025); High affiliate payouts ($65-125/sale) | Users wanting cPanel alternative without license fees; Managed VPS hosting at affordable prices; WordPress users needing staging and optimization; Small businesses wanting reliable support; Users who value security features (SShield) |
| Avoid If | Budget-conscious at renewal time; Need Node.js on shared hosting; Adult or gambling content; Require large email storage; Dislike aggressive upselling; Need cheap VPS (competitors much cheaper); Enterprise compliance requirements | Need dedicated server hosting; Prefer traditional cPanel interface; Need HIPAA/PCI compliance; Want largest provider brand recognition; Need extensive data center choices |
| Known Issues | Renewal prices 2-3x higher than promo ($2.95 → $9.99); Aggressive upselling on add-ons; Limited 100MB email on Basic plan; No Node.js on shared hosting; 4,000+ negative reviews cite cancellation/billing issues; VPS pricing significantly higher than competitors; G2 rating only 3.4/5; Not BBB accredited; Some Reddit reports of downtime issues; $99.95 domain redemption fee | Smaller company compared to major hosts; SPanel learning curve for cPanel users; No dedicated servers offered; Some advanced features only on higher tiers; Limited phone support availability reported by some users |
| Unique Selling Point | Only host officially recommended by WordPress.org with staging on all WP plans | Free SPanel control panel eliminating cPanel licensing costs plus SShield AI security |
| Ideal Customer | WordPress beginner wanting official endorsement and phone support | User wanting managed VPS performance without cPanel licensing costs and strong security |
| Best Alternative To | HostGator | SiteGround |
| Primary Competitors | HostGator, SiteGround, Hostinger | SiteGround, A2 Hosting, InMotion Hosting |
We strive for accuracy, but pricing and features change frequently. Some data may be outdated. Report an error and we'll update it promptly.
Our Verdict
Choose Bluehost if you...
- Prefer more predictable renewal pricing
- Require 24/7 live chat support
- Are new to web hosting
Choose ScalaHosting if you...
- Want to save money ($2.95/mo vs $3.99/mo)
- Want higher-rated hosting (4.3/5)
- Want LiteSpeed caching for WordPress
- Want to run Node.js applications
- Need enterprise-grade features
Bluehost vs ScalaHosting: Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bluehost cheaper than ScalaHosting?
Yes — ScalaHosting is cheaper, starting at $2.95/mo compared with $3.99/mo for Bluehost. Factor in renewals too: ScalaHosting marks up about 305% after the first term.
Which is better for WordPress, Bluehost or ScalaHosting?
ScalaHosting is the stronger WordPress host thanks to WordPress-optimized servers, LiteSpeed caching, staging and WooCommerce tuning. If WordPress or WooCommerce is your main workload, it's the safer pick.
Does Bluehost or ScalaHosting have better uptime?
ScalaHosting edges out Bluehost on performance with a 99.9% uptime guarantee and a 4.3/5 overall rating. For uptime-sensitive sites, it's the more dependable choice.
Which has better customer support, Bluehost or ScalaHosting?
Bluehost has the edge on support offering 24/7 live chat and phone support.
Is Bluehost or ScalaHosting better for beginners?
Bluehost is friendlier for beginners, scoring higher on ease of use in our assessment. New users will generally find it quicker to get started.
Should I choose Bluehost or ScalaHosting?
For most users, ScalaHosting is the better overall choice, winning 4 of our 7 categories (notably Price, Performance and WordPress). That said, the right host depends on your specific needs — check the category breakdown above for the factors that matter to you.