DreamHost
Independent web, WordPress, VPS and dedicated hosting with daily backups and in-house 24/7 support.
Best for bloggers and small businesses who want plain renewal prices and lots of sites on a cheap plan
Facts checked November 4, 2026 · First written by Mutuo Mbilla
The short answer
DreamHost suits a blogger or small business that wants room to grow on a low first bill: Web Hosting Launch costs $2.89 a month for the first year and covers 25 websites, 25GB of NVMe storage, daily backups and a free domain. It prints the renewal rate on every plan card ($10.99 a month for Launch), and it has been independent since 1997. There is no phone support, the email that comes with hosting is free for 3 months only, and the 30-day refund does not cover VPS or dedicated servers.
Choose it if
- You want to host many small sites on one cheap plan: Launch covers 25 and Growth 50
- You want to see the renewal price next to the sale price before you buy
- You'd like someone to build your first site: every Web Hosting plan includes a free four-page Handcrafted Starter Website
- You want daily automated backups and a 100% uptime guarantee on the entry plan
- You want a host that is independently owned rather than part of a large hosting group
Skip it if
- You want phone support: DreamHost offers 24/7 chat and email, and chat may start with an AI assistant
- You need email included for the long term: mailboxes are free for 3 months, then billed separately
- You want a refund window on a VPS or dedicated server; the 30-day guarantee covers website hosting only, and dedicated payments are non-refundable
- You need a site moved from Wix, Squarespace or Weebly; DreamHost says those sites can't be migrated and need rebuilding
- You want the lowest price without a long prepaid term: the cheapest WordPress price needs a 4-year term
Main features
Many sites on the entry plan
Web Hosting Launch covers 25 websites and 25GB of NVMe storage, Growth 50 and Scale 100. Bandwidth is unmetered, with no per-GB overage fees under fair-use rules.
Daily automated backups
Web Hosting and WordPress Hosting plans back up your sites every day. DreamPress adds on-demand backups and keeps 14 days of history.
100% uptime guarantee
DreamHost credits one day of hosting for each hour of downtime caused by its systems, up to 10% of your next renewal. The clock starts when you open a support ticket.
Free Handcrafted Starter Website
Every Web Hosting plan includes a four-page site that DreamHost's team sets up with your first content and a customized template.
Liftoff and Remixer builders
Liftoff builds a personalized WordPress site from your answers to a few questions. Remixer is DreamHost's separate AI website builder.
DreamPress managed WordPress
DreamPress adds WordPress expert support, 1-click staging, Bunny CDN and fully managed performance for sites where you don't want to handle the technical side.
Free WordPress migration plugin
The plugin copies your WordPress site to DreamHost while your old hosting stays live, so you can check the copy before pointing your domain. Moving other sites costs $99 for the Site Transfer service.
VPS, dedicated and app hosting
Self-managed VPS plans give you root access on AMD EPYC servers, Managed VPS and dedicated servers are run for you, and DreamHost also sells hosting for n8n and AI agent apps.
Traffic Dashboard
See visits, popular pages and where visitors come from inside the DreamHost panel, without adding an analytics tool.
Pricing
Prices checked November 4, 2026, in US dollars from DreamHost's own US price data, before tax. Sale prices apply to the first term, the full term is charged at checkout, and plans renew at the listed rate. DreamHost offers monthly billing on every web hosting plan, but its pages show the yearly and 4-year prices by default, so monthly rates are not listed here. Optional add-ons include an SEO Toolkit from $3.99 a month per site, Bunny CDN from $9.95, DreamShield malware scanning from $3, email from $1.67 per mailbox billed yearly, and a $99 transfer service for sites that aren't on WordPress.
Web Hosting Launch
$2.89 / month, first year on a yearly term
25 websites, 25GB NVMe storage, about 40,000 visits a month, unmetered bandwidth, daily backups, free SSL, free domain for a year, 20 mailboxes free for 3 months; renews at $10.99 a month
Web Hosting Growth
$3.99 / month, first year on a yearly term
50 websites, 50GB NVMe storage, about 200,000 visits a month, 40 mailboxes free for 3 months; renews at $12.99 a month
Web Hosting Scale
$9.99 / month, first year on a yearly term
100 websites, 100GB NVMe storage, about 400,000 visits a month, 60 mailboxes free for 3 months; renews at $25.99 a month
WordPress Hosting Launch
$1.99 / month, first 4 years on a 4-year term
Same allowances as Web Hosting Launch, with the Liftoff AI WordPress builder; renews at $7.99 a month. Growth is $3.49 and Scale $7.99 on the same term
DreamPress 1
$14.99 / month, first year on a yearly term
Managed WordPress for 1 website, 15GB NVMe storage, 14-day backup retention, staging, Bunny CDN, performance scans; renews at $19.99 a month
VPS Stack 4
$6.99 / month, first year on a yearly term
Self-managed with root access: 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 75GB NVMe storage; renews at $11.99 a month
Managed VPS Business
$13.75 / month, first year on a yearly term
Unlimited websites, 60GB NVMe storage, 2 cores, 2GB RAM, server management; renews at $31.99 a month
Dedicated servers
From $119.99 / month, first year on a yearly term
Fully managed AMD EPYC servers with 16GB RAM and up; renews at $165 a month
Reviews
Write a reviewNo reviews yet. If you use DreamHost, yours would be the first.
Alternatives to DreamHost
| Product | Choose it instead if | Starts at |
|---|---|---|
| Bluehost | You want phone support and a host WordPress.org lists as recommended | $3.99 a month (Starter,... |
| Easy Blog Networks | You want the best for SEO operators running 10 to 500 WordPress blogs as a private blog network who want hosting, updates and backups handled for them | $39 a month for 10 blogs |
| HostPapa | You want phone support and a free expert migration for any site, not only WordPress | $2.95 a month for Essent... |
| HostGator | You want a 36-month plan sized for 20 sites (Baby) or 100 sites (Pro) | $10.99 a month at the re... |
| SiteGround | You want the best for small businesses and WordPress site owners who want a managed host with staging, daily backups and support by chat, phone or ticket | $1.99 a month for the fi... |
Questions people ask
How much does DreamHost cost?
As of November 4, 2026, Web Hosting Launch costs $2.89 a month for the first year and renews at $10.99. WordPress Hosting Launch costs $1.99 a month for the first 4 years on a 4-year term, and DreamPress starts at $14.99 a month for the first year.
Does DreamHost have a money-back guarantee?
Yes, 30 days on website hosting paid by card or PayPal. It does not cover email, VPS, dedicated servers or Remixer, and domain registrations are never refunded. Dedicated server payments are non-refundable.
Does DreamHost include email?
Every web hosting plan includes a free 3-month trial of Professional Email on your domain, with 20 mailboxes on Launch, 40 on Growth and 60 on Scale. After the trial, email is billed separately, from $1.67 per mailbox a month on a yearly plan.
Does DreamHost have phone support?
DreamHost lists 24/7 live chat and email through the panel, plus a knowledge base and community forum. Chat may start with an AI assistant, and you can ask for a person.
Is DreamHost good for WordPress?
Yes for most small sites. Its WordPress plans include daily backups, free SSL, the Liftoff builder and in-house WordPress support, and DreamPress adds staging, a CDN and managed performance. DreamHost is not one of the three hosts on WordPress.org's recommended hosting page in November 2026.
Does DreamHost give a free domain?
Yearly and multi-year Web Hosting, DreamPress and Managed VPS plans include a free domain for the first year, with domain privacy protection. Check the domain's renewal price before you pick it.
Sources we checked 12
- dreamhost.com for products, plan highlights, money-back, uptime claim, sites hosted, independence since 1997 checked November 4, 2026
- dreamhost.com/pricing for Web Hosting Launch, Growth and Scale prices and renewals (USD price data), inclusions, add-on prices, Site Transfer fee, monthly billing, FAQs checked November 4, 2026
- dreamhost.com/hosting/shared for DreamPress 1, Managed VPS Business and Stack 4 prices and renewals, support, uptime guarantee, free starter website checked November 4, 2026
- dreamhost.com/wordpress for WordPress Hosting prices on the 4-year term, DreamPress features checked November 4, 2026
- dreamhost.com/hosting/vps for VPS plans checked November 4, 2026
- dreamhost.com/hosting/dedicated for dedicated server starting price and renewal checked November 4, 2026
- dreamhost.com/company for founding year, address, customer and site counts, support channels checked November 4, 2026
- dreamhost.com/legal/terms-of-service for 30-day refund scope, uptime credit terms, dedicated server refunds, auto-renewal checked November 4, 2026
- wordpress.org/hosting for recommended hosts list checked November 4, 2026
- bluehost.com/wordpress/wordpress-hosting for Bluehost comparison in alternatives checked November 4, 2026
- hostgator.com/web-hosting for HostGator Baby plan site limit in alternatives checked November 4, 2026
- web.archive.org/web/20261006211438/https://www.hostpapa.com/web-hosting-plan for HostPapa alternative: free website migration and 24/7 phone support (hostpapa.com blocks our server, so read from the archived copy) checked November 4, 2026