DreamHost is one of the leading web hosting service providers. It has grown and maintained a successful hosting business for the last 18 years. It currently hosts around 1.5 million sites, blogs, and applications. IsItWP users get an exclusive 40% discount on web hosting.
4.7 / 5.0 5.0 / 5.0 5.0 / 5.0
4.0 / 5.0 4.0 / 5.0 4.0 / 5.0 4.7 / 5.0
DreamHost is one of the oldest web hosting companies, founded back in 1996, even before the advent of Google. DreamHost is now the home for over 1.5 million websites, blogs, and applications, with over 400k happy customers, spanning throughout more than 100 countries.
DreamHost offers a wide variety of web hosting plans for customers of all sizes. Their hosting services include:
Their team is top-notch, and they are always ahead of the curve when it comes to their technology stack. It is one of the officially recommended web hosts by WordPress.org and also the highest-rated web host by PCMag.com.
They offer everything you need to get your website up and running. They give you free domain registration with annual plans, free SSL encryption with Let’s Encrypt, a one-click installer for WordPress and a website builder known as Remixer for those who want to kick start a website with absolutely no coding involved.
On top of that, every shared hosting plan with DreamHost comes with a 97-day money back guarantee. That means you get full three months to try DreamHost and if you’re not fully satisfied, you can request a full refund.
They are also a domain name registrar and offer domain registration and parking services as well.
DreamHost’s shared hosting plan starts at $8.95 per month (regular price). You’ll find their extensive knowledge base immensely helpful to kick off a website from the ground up.
4.3 / 5.0
DreamHost offers cheap hosting, also known as shared hosting, which is the best choice for entry-level and small websites. With cheap hosting, you share the same physical server with many other DreamHost users. Although you share server resources like physical hard drives and RAM with other users, your website files are secured and only accessible to you.
There are 2 shared hosting plans: Shared Starter and Shared Unlimited. DreamHost lets you pay monthly, annually or every 3 years. DreamHost’s 3-year plan provides the best value with over 47% cost savings over the monthly plan.
With any of the DreamHost hosting options, you can waive off the domain name registration fees for one year. You’ll also get free SSL encryption, and 1-click WordPress installer.
Unlike most other web hosting providers, DreamHost comes with a 97-day risk-free money back guarantee.
5.0 / 5.0
DreamHost’s dedicated hosting could be the best choice for websites with high-traffic volume. With dedicated hosting, you get a complete server for your sole use, giving you much more control over the server and operating environment.
With DreamHost’s dedicated server, you get RAID 1 storage, 24×7 server monitoring and tech support, 100% network uptime guarantee, DDoS protection, full root, and shell access and more.
You get a custom-built control panel for your dedicated hosting needs with the flexibility to add or remove servers, reboot or powercycle your server whenever you need it. Plus, you can also manage your domains, websites and email address with ease.
4.6 / 5.0
Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting is the best bet for you if you want to build websites with secured data or resource-heavy applications that are growing through rapid growth and expansion. With VPS, you get a tremendous amount of bandwidth and storage along with easy backup and scalability.
With every managed VPS hosting plan, you get expert assistance on installing manual security patches, user-friendly control panel, 20 x faster SSD storage.
DreamHost allows you to choose from three different VPS plans based on RAM (1GB to 4GB) and SSD storage capacity ranging from 30GB to 240GB.
If you’re technically inclined and looking for an inexpensive, scalable server that gives you full control with root access, you can choose DreamCompute, which is unmanaged VPS hosting also known as cloud hosting.
5.0 / 5.0
DreamHost’s WordPress hosting protects your website from WordPress specific vulnerabilities and malicious attacks.
With their managed WordPress hosting, you’ll get automatic WordPress updates so you can ensure your site is always updated and secured. With every plan, automatic daily backups and on-demand backups are included.
DreamHost’s managed WordPress hosting is the best solution for you if you don’t want to perform site maintenance yourself and needs WordPress specific support for maintaining your WordPress site. With Plus plan or higher, you get Jetpack Pro subscription, daily malware and scanning repair, and instant access to the extensive collection of WordPress themes.
4.8 / 5.0
DreamHost offers WooCommerce hosting for users who want to quickly build an online store without the tedious process of WordPress and WooCommerce installation. WooCommerce hosting is almost similar to the Plus plan of managed WordPress hosting. The only difference is that WooCommerce will be preinstalled on your account.
Upon subscribing to a WooCommerce hosting plan, you can easily get your online store up and running just by logging into your WordPress dashboard. The storefront theme is preinstalled with WooCommerce hosting. You’ll also get a Jetpack Pro subscription.
Here’re a few things we liked about DreamHost
Here are a few limitations of DreamHost…
Does Dreamhost live up to their uptime promise?
To test the server performance for our DreamHost review, we’ve created a test WordPress site using the default Twenty Seventeen theme and dummy content for theme development, including images. This way our test site looked and behaved like an actual average WordPress site.
After setting up our test site, we ran a speed test on our site using Pingdom.
As you can see in the results, our DreamHost test site loaded in less than half a second. That’s faster than 97% of all tested sites, which is incredible for a site without any performance optimization plugins.
Apart from Pingdom, we also used a testing tool called Load Impact to figure out whether our DreamHost site can survive a traffic surge. Load Impact sent some virtual users (VUs) to our site and gradually built up to 100 visitors at a time to test how the server handles it.
In the chart, you can find a blue line (VUs active) which shows the number of virtual users sent to our DreamHost site and a green line (VU load time) which represents how much time it took to load a web page for a user.
As you can see, DreamHost’s performed was great and consistent throughout the test. The number of live visitors on the site doesn’t have an impact on site performance.
The content of your site can have an impact on your page loading time. For instance, if your site contains too many images, it will take more time to load. In fact, images account for most of the downloadable bytes in a typical site.
To get a more accurate result for our test, instead of solely analyzing page load time, we decided to test the actual server response time with Bitcatcha by ignoring the content of our page entirely.
Bitcatcha works differently than Pingdom. It ignores the content of your page and records the page loading time from eight different global locations: New York, LA, London, Brazil, India, Singapore, Japan, and Australia. The speed for each location is measured three separate times, and then the results are averaged.
From the result, you can see that DreamHost server response time remained under less than half a second for all geographic locations. It was particularly great in the United States.
If you need help with DreamHost’s hosting service, you can check out their extensive knowledge base that comprises of tutorials and recommendations. You’ll find DreamHost’s support portal immensely helpful for building and growing your website with a DreamHost hosting account.
DreamHost provides live chat and ticket based support for free with every hosting plan. The main drawback is that Live Chat is only available during 5am – 10pm PST, 7 days a week.
The DreamHost support team strives to answer all emails within 24 hours. Although call back requests are available, they’re not included in every hosting package. You’ll have to subscribe to it separately either by making a one-off payment or monthly subscription. Bear in mind that callbacks cannot be made for numbers outside the United States and Canada.
If you’re just starting out with a new website, you can choose DreamHost’s shared hosting plan.
There are 2 shared hosting plans: Shared Starter and Shared Unlimited.
For WordPress optimized hosting, you can choose from their managed WordPress hosting plans.
Take a detailed look at the pricing of different DreamHost hosting plans.
| PLAN | DISK SPACE | BANDWIDTH | PRICE |
| Shared Hosting | Unlimited | Unlimited | $2.59 / mo. |
| WordPress Hosting Starter | Unlimited | Unlimited | $2.59 / mo. |
| Basic VPS Hosting | 30 GB | Unmetered | $10 / mo. |
| Dedicated Hosting | 1 TB | Unlimited | $169 / mo. |
Having helped thousands of users choose a web hosting plan and start their website, we have answered just about every question you can think of. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about DreamHost.
Which DreamHost plan should I get?
The answer really depends on your hosting needs. When you’re starting out, simply choose their shared hosting plan. DreamHost has only a single shared hosting plan, which makes it easy to get started with an account. If you want to create an online store, then we recommend using their WooCommerce hosting which is specifically designed to handle eCommerce websites.
Can DreamHost handle high traffic?
DreamHost is capable of handling high traffic. But keep in mind that it all depends on the plan you choose. If your site starts consuming too much resources, then DreamHost will ask you to upgrade to a higher plan.
Can I upgrade my DreamHost plan later?
We always recommend users to start with the smaller plans and upgrade as needed. DreamHost makes it very easy for you to upgrade.
Does DreamHost offer a month-to-month payment option?
Yes! DreamHost offers month-to-month payment option. However, keep in mind that they offer significant discounts for longer-term deals.
Can I create subdomains in DreamHost?
Yes, you can easily create subdomains in DreamHost using the cPanel.
Do I have to register my domain name with DreamHost?
No. While you can claim a free domain name while purchasing a hosting plan, you’re not obliged to register a domain name with DreamHost. You can use Godaddy, NameCheap, or any of your preferred domain name registrar.
Does DreamHost offer free SSL?
Yes, DreamHost offers free SSL with all of their plans. Ecommerce plans come with dedicated IPs and private SSL.
Do I need to purchase the addons that DreamHost offers me?
No, you do not need to purchase any addons at the time of purchase. Should you decide that you need them later, you can always add them to your account.
Does DreamHost really offer unlimited disk space and bandwidth?
Just like any other hosting company, DreamHost also advertises unlimited resources. When they say unlimited, it just means that you don’t have to worry about disk storage or bandwidth because you get enough resources to operate a small site in a normal condition.
Can I create an ecommerce site on DreamHost?
Absolutely. DreamHost’s WooCommerce hosting plan comes pre-configured with all the things you need to start an online store.
Wondering how DreamHost stacks up against other web hosting companies? See our side-by-side comparison to see for yourself.
We think DreamHost offers a very reliable platform for hosting your websites. Their starting prices may be slightly higher than the competition, but being upfront about the prices, they leave no room for confusion down the line. With a DreamHost plan, you don’t find any hidden charges and comes with an unlimited website and email hosting.
We were also impressed with their custom control panel and quick support. DreamHost could be the best solution for you if you don’t want a cPanel based backend option. We rate DreamHost as an excellent choice for hosting any kind of website.
All DreamHost plans include a money-back guarantee. 
I work with several hostings services, but Dreamhost seems to be the best at responding to my demands so far.
We have been using Dreamhost for a couple of years.
In those two years, we have created half a dozen product prototype.
This year, one of our projects became a real product.
So, last week we moved from the shared hosting to the VPS option.
We did have a few problems with the servers in the past, about one year ago.
By the time that happened, we were about to move to some other hosting provider.
But, we have decided to wait and it all was figured out and fixed.
Everything has been working beautifully during the last 12 months.
Since we have not had any problems in one year, we will stick with it when we move to dedicated servers.
Overall, we are very happy with Dreamhost, specially with their support team during the migration to VPS.
I’ve been happy with Dreamhost over the years, I’ve been a customer since 2011 and haven’t had any major problems. The email support is fast enough in most cases and I’ve found the staff to always be helpful and pleasant.
Nothing but great service from DH. Extremely helpful and willing to explain details for the many issues I’ve faced (almost always user error :X).
I have been with Dreamhost for I am not sure but maybe 10 years.. a previous server was bad and I am glad I found Dreamhost. nothing but good things to say, they help as much as they can. and anyone saying bad things about them are not understanding things.. they say you can talk to someone but for a fee. people can use go daddy but they will charge you more and seem to always up sell people for your lack of knowledge.. Dreamhost is great if you know somewhat about things.. because they let you run it.. and I love it. I host many sites.I am happy with them for sure. Godaddy is for people who know nothing and do not mind being charged way more, two different services, try to do what you can here.. you will not be happy , sure customer service is good but you pay for it, so you better use it 🙂 but Dreamhost support through email is amazing.. they have helped me through so many troubles and went far beyond what I expected.. they really know what they are doing which is good because I know what I am doing but need that extra answer sometimes I do not know.. thank you so much. I am just sad Facebook is taking over so much business , the web is getting ugly , no one seems to care about pretty websites..which I want to change 🙂 people dig into Adobe Edge.. It is the old beautiful stuff but it works on phones.. 🙂 Lets make this a beautiful web again 🙂 anyone have any Adobe Edge stuff to share please do 🙂 thanks DREAMHOST !!!! never will I leave unless you change.. so far so good 🙂
I have not signed up with Dreamhost yet, but did try the live chat which was not helpful at all. There really needs to be a telephone number one can call before becoming a customer. The only way for a potential customer to communicate with someone is via email which in today’s day and age is RIDICULOUS!!! I exchange emails with someone for over 35 minutes and still never got my questions answered. ONLINE should mean online help before, during and after signing up to be a customer. The website is not 100% clear and 24/7 service is NOT 24/7 service as I found on the blog. I still am not sure if this is the company for me and being you cannot talk to someone in real time, that may be the deciding factor in signing up with this company. Even some comments above say customer service is not good,. Leaves a LOT of room for questions about how they handle customer service…
I moved over to DreamHost about a year ago, after being continually frustrated with my previous hosting company’s terrible support and frequent down-time.
I have not had to contact DreamHost support as much, because things actually run smoothly now. When I have contacted them, I have been blown away with the speed and technical proficiency of their support personnel. They know exactly how to communicate to my skill level, and give me the direct answer I need (instead of dancing around the problems like the last company I used).
They may cost a bit more than the plethora of cheap hosting solutions out there, but in my opinion they are completely worth it. Great packages and fantastic support. I strongly recommend them.
I have been with Dreamhost for over 10 years and have seen very good and very bad services. As they have grown they have become less personable because in the “good old days” you knew most of the technicians, abuse team, developers and ever founders by name and they all were available to assist where needed. Now you wait for answers and assistance or pay a premium to get them to call you. However, overall, I would say they are one of the best going these days because of the features they offer, their pricing, and in the end, they do help you to solve your issues. I would, and have, recommended them to may people.
Getting hacked (and other events and mistakes that break your site) sucks. Most hosts do not include automated backups in their basic packages. DreamHost does actually include them, however. You shouldn’t rely on these backups because they are sporadic, but they are available to you in case of emergency.
You can find more info in their documentation: http://wiki.dreamhost.com/Backup#Automatic_Backups
For anyone else worried about protecting their sites from disaster… You should really be proactive here and pay attention when reading what comes with your hosting plan. Don’t assume your site will never die, and definitely don’t expect your super-cheap hosting plan to cover your every need.
i am using dreamhost hosting services since ten years, and I have always received an accurate and prompt reply. I recently had a very urgent issue (still, mistake was mine, i messed around with some config), and by applying for a urgent support ticket, I received reply in 4 minutes. I was amazed. the most responsible and reliable web-hosting I have been using.
Love Dreamhost because they’re real & so is their support. I just had to ask a few detailed questions about email ports, etc. It took a while for the chat to start, like 30-45 minutes, but I was OK as I just kept the window minimized while I was working on other things…
Have to admit the sound that told you that you were still on-line was a bit irritating (every 2 minutes) and not helpful because the conversation sound (Ding I think) is the same as the waiting sound… It would be more helpful if it were a different sound when someone came on… But I think the guy sent a couple of messages in succession to get my attention as I had the window minimized.
Once we got to chatting, it was someone who was actually knowledgeable and worth the wait and my questions were answered quickly and insightfully. In just a few minutes, I was happily on my way 🙂 Thanks Happy Dearmhost Chat Support Team!
I have had a tremendous amount of difficulty moving our website over to Dreamhost. Mainly because the response time in their tech support area is horrendous. If you want to Chat better be prepared to sit a while waiting for them to start the Chat cycle. And if you are too much trouble the tech person may ask you if you would like him to help you get a refund. Want to email tech support? Better be prepared for an 8 – 12 hour response time. Want to phone tech support? Forget about that as there is no phone support at all. After a number of weeks our site is now transferred after countless man hours. Now I can finally see if Dreamhost is actually better than our former host.
There are a lot of others that might be better, but this is the perfect place to be for a basic webserver that has great uptime and tons of features. Perfect for small sites, personal blogs, and a place to tinker with stuff. Been with them since 2005
It would have been helpful if the second dreamhost rep who took over the conversation had actually read the previous exchange of emails, as his comments were totally irrelevant and sent the whole discussion totally off course. The third rep seemed to have the right approach, which I hope will be borne out by the future dreamhost responses, he said “The form is not designed for what you want to do, but just accept it anyway and it will be sorted out later”.
So it seems any problem sorting is being pushed down the line into the future, but i hope that is with someone who can sort it!
I’ve had various sites with different hosts over the years and Dreamhost is by far the best. Their customer service is always fast whether I send an email or live chat, everything is resolved quickly, they’re friendly and polite and I find them very easy to deal with. Couldn’t be happier!
My website has been up and running for about 1 year and I am very much a novice. I have chosen to use WordPress for the site and overall all is good. The support I have received from DreamHost has been great. I needed help on ftp and on my discussion list and both were answered quickly and successfully. I use chat and email for contacting them. No question that running a website requires constant attention, but at least I have a team to help me, thank you Dreamhost.
I host my clients’ websites and email accounts with Dreamhost and purchase all of my domain names through them. So far, they have proved themselves trustworthy and more than adequate for my needs.
This is my second time around with Dreamhost but first time using WirdPress. So far the experience has been good. Looking to continue…
I’m glad to read that I am not the only customer who has had to wait online forever for help. I would rate Dreamhost’s customer relations at the very bottom of the scale. I really don’t think this company cares if they have customers or not. If it wasn’t such a pain to move to another host, I would have done it a long time ago. I would not recommend this company to anyone.
The response was great but it took so long to receive I went with another host.
Always good help when I call. I recommend Dreamhost to my friends.
I have read and heard alot of good things about dreamhost but have yet to experience anything good. Yes we have hosting with them. In the last 6 months Ive tried to live chat with customer support about a half dozen times or more. I have yet to ever connect to an agent in less than 45 minutes!
So if you think you might ever need live chat support be prepared to wait for about an hour on average. and then most of the time they will tell you they cannot do anything and refer you to a wiki link to do yourself. I mean from basic stuff to complicated ssh access, tunnels, etc.
So many other good reliable hosting companies out there that offer better service and support, IMHO. I would NOT recommend them to anyone.
i’m sorry that you had bad experience with dreamhost. as a 9 year user i would say that their live support is not online very often,but for most tickets i received replies within 24 hours. and every time they resolved my problem or gave me very professional advice even it’s my software problem, nothing about the host. i don’t know much about IT but i feel comfortable with them.
I have just requested to move my shared account from old HDD server to SSD server, they provided an outstanding service for the transfer. Really high efficiency! The new SSD server looks great too.
As a 9 year customer of dreamhost, i would say in the first a few years i was quite satisfied with their server and service, in recent 2-3 years DH is gradually running a little bit behind other industry competitors, as could severs and cloud computing developed quickly. I’m glad that DH is back again in its track to compete with them. Next time i might try their new VPS even cloud servers.
As far as i can see, the shared account on SSD server is quite good for now. 5 start experience.
I have been with Dreamhost for several years. Recently I ran in to a problem that I just could not figure out. I did an online chat with one of the Dreamhost Techs. Their Tech answered my question immediately. I have been impressed with not only the technical knowledge of their techs, but also the level of service provided every day.