Bluehost is only more popular than NameHero because of affiliates, but they’re not better. I don’t know 1 serious blogger who hosts their site with Bluehost.
NameHero uses LiteSpeed which is a faster server than Apache on Bluehost. While Bluehost doesn’t really offer a cache plugin/CDN, you can use LiteSpeed Cache + QUIC.cloud’s CDN on NameHero (one of the fastest setups on a budget and does a great job with core web vitals). Since there’s no need to pay for a premium cache plugin (QUIC.cloud also has a free plan), NameHero usually ends up being cheaper. Plus, NameHero uses faster NVMe SSDs on higher plans with more inodes, better support, and they have better TrustPilot reviews. Even when comparing CPU + RAM with Bluehost’s VPS plans, NameHero is cheaper with more resources. Between speed, support, and price, NameHero ends up being better (and faster) than Bluehost.
Bluehost is only popular because of their affiliate program – not for being a quality host. They’re only “recommended by WordPress” because they pay to be listed. In reality, they’re much worse than NameHero with slower Apache servers, SATA SSDs, and no cache plugin/CDN (besides Cloudflare’s free plan). They also have low inode limits which may cause problems if you use your hosting for email too. Support and TrustPilot reviews are both worse, and they’re owned by Newfold Digital who is infamous for offering cheap (but not good) hosting services. If you really want to put your site in the hands of a hosting conglomerate, then go with Bluehost.
| NameHero | Bluehost | |
|---|---|---|
| Facebook Feedback | Excellent | Many complaints |
| Server | LiteSpeed | Apache |
| Cache Plugin | LiteSpeed Cache | x |
| CDN | QUIC.cloud | Cloudflare free |
| Storage | NVMe on higher plans | Slower SSDs |
| CPU Throttling | Efficient with LiteSpeed | Throttling + 503 errors |
| Inodes | 250,000 – 500,000 | 200,000 |
| Data Centers | 4 (but less important if using QUIC) | 6 |
| Uptimes | Great | Average |
| Migrations | Free | Free on “qualified” Accounts |
| Dashboard | cPanel | cPanel |
| Support | Fast + helpful | Long wait times |
| Affiliate Hype | Average | Too much |
| Price | Cheap + high renewals | Cheap + high renewals |
| TrustPilot Rating | 4.6/5 | 4.1/5 |
| Pros & Cons | Mostly pros | Mostly cons |
| Winner | Yes | No |
1. Facebook Feedback – Bluehost Has A Bad Reputation
Since hosting reviews are so biased, here’s some feedback from groups I’m part of. While Bluehost is praised by their own affiliates, most unbiased people say to stay away from them.
2. Server – NameHero (LiteSpeed) Is Faster Than Bluehost (Apache)
LiteSpeed servers can handle 2x as many websites as Apache with better efficiency. Which means a faster site + less chance of CPU issues since NameHero uses LiteSpeed on all plans.
This also means you can use the LiteSpeed Cache plugin + QUIC.cloud’s CDN which are either free (or very cheap if you use QUIC’s paid plan). As you can see, with NameHero and LiteSpeed, there’s no need to pay for a premium cache plugin and QUIC has both a free/paid version. On Bluehost, you would need to pay for a premium cache plugin and CDN (or at least Cloudflare’s APO) to get the best results. And you’re also more likely to run into CPU throttling on Bluehost.
3. Cache Plugin – LiteSpeed Cache On NameHero For The Win
With NameHero, you’ll use LiteSpeed Cache.
Since Bluehost doesn’t include a cache plugin, you would need to buy a premium cache plugin to get the best results (I recommend FlyingPress). While FlyingPress is a great cache plugin and arguably faster than WP Rocket, it doesn’t use faster server-level caching like LiteSpeed Cache.
And since LiteSpeed Cache is free, faster, and does a great job with core web vitals, NameHero wins this category.
4. CDN – QUIC.cloud On NameHero Beats Bluehost’s Cloudflare
With NameHero, you’ll want to use QUIC.cloud’s CDN which is built specifically for LiteSpeed. This is setup through LiteSpeed Cache and is needed for image/page optimizations. A huge benefit is that is includes HTML caching which improves global TTFB when testing your site in tools like SpeedVitals. While QUIC has a free plan, it only uses 6 PoPs without DDoS protection. That’s why I recommend the paid/standard plan which is still very cheap at only $.02 – $.08/GB and uses all 70+ PoPs with DDoS protection. QUIC is currently one of the best WordPress CDNs. Ryan from NameHero has a helpful video on setting up LiteSpeed Cache with HTTP/3 and QUIC.
Bluehost only has Cloudflare (which is free and can be activated on any website regardless of which host you use). The free version of Cloudflare is OK, but it doesn’t include HTML caching which means you would need to purchase Cloudflare’s APO for $5/mo to get it. I would argue QUIC.cloud is a more powerful CDN than Cloudflare’s free version especially with HTML caching. Keep in mind that if you setup Cloudflare CDN through Bluehost, you only have limited settings.
5. Storage – NameHero (NVMe) Is Faster Than Bluehost (SATA)
NameHero’s higher Turbo Cloud and Business plans use NVMe SSDs which have faster read/write speeds, faster data transfer, and lower latency than slower SSDs used on Bluehost. Plus, NameHero clearly lists how many CPU cores + RAM each plan has while Bluehost doesn’t.
6. CPU Throttling – Bluehost Throttles Bandwidth Leading To Errors
503 errors can be common on Bluehost’s shared hosting due to low CPU limits.
Since LiteSpeed servers are more efficient than Apache, you’re already much less likely to run into CPU issues on NameHero. A CPU spike can be caused by plugins, scripts, malware, traffic, among other things. In this case, Bluehost will throttle your bandwidth which can make your site extremely slow, unusable, and result in 503 errors. This is why most people upgrade plans.
You can read about this more on Bluehost’s Wikipedia page.
7. Inodes – Low File Limits On Bluehost (Be Careful With Email)
Each hosting plan only allows a certain amount of inodes (files).
Bluehost only has 200,000 inodes on shared hosting plans. NameHero has 250,000 inodes on the Starter/Plus Cloud plan, then 500,000 inodes on Turbo Cloud and Business Cloud. So if you’re planning on using your hosting account for email hosting too (or store other large files), you probably want to use NameHero’s Turbo or Business Cloud plan which have more inodes.
8. Data Centers – NameHero Only Has Less (But Does It Matter)?
NameHero has 4 data center locations (3 in the US, 1 in the Netherlands). Bluehost has 2 US data centers and 4 throughout the world. Choosing a data center close to your visitors impacts your TTFB, but this becomes less important when using HTML caching (through QUIC.cloud) or Cloudflare’s APO. You can test the difference in SpeedVitals’ TTFB test which measures TTFB in 35 global locations. If you need a closer data center, look into Cloudways, ChemiCloud, or Scala.
| NameHero Data Centers | Bluehost Data Centers |
|---|---|
| Lansing, Michigan (USA) (3x) | Provo, Utah (US) |
| Phoenix, Arizona (USA) | Orem, Utah (US) |
| Kansas City, Missouri (USA) | Mumbai (IND) |
| Amsterdam (Netherlands) | London, UK (EU) |
| – | Hong Kong (CN) |
| – | Shanghai, Mainland (CN) |
| View NameHero’s data centers | Not listed on website |
9. Uptimes – Bluehost Can Have Downtimes
There are usually quite a few reports of Bluehost downtimes on downdetector.com.
NameHero has much better uptimes if you check their uptimes status page. It’s a good thing when a host has an uptime status page and is transparent about it. NameHero usually has very few (if any) weekly incidents. Bluehost doesn’t have an uptime status page which is a red flag.
10. Migrations – Bluehost’s Is Only For “Qualified Accounts”
NameHero offers a free migration but Bluehost only offers it on qualifying accounts, otherwise they charge $150/site.
11. Dashboard – Both Hosts Use cPanel
Both NameHero and Bluehost use cPanel.
I personally like cPanel especially since hosts like SiteGround’s Site Tools often lack features (this is especially true with GoDaddy’s awful dashboard). And Cloudways can be confusing for beginners. Installing WordPress, adding Cloudflare, upgrading PHP versions, and performing other tasks in cPanel is usually relatively easy with both. So this one would obviously be a tie.
12. Support – NameHero’s Is Faster And More Helpful
I know it’s hard to judge this if you haven’t used it, but I can tell you NameHero’s support is far better than Bluehost’s.
There are tons of complaints on Facebook Groups and social media about Bluehost’s support (usually because it’s slow and you can be on hold for hours). NameHero posts their support feedback on their website and you can reach their team instantly through phone, chat, or email.
13. Affiliate Hype – Bluehost Is Mainly Promoted By Affiliates
The amount of Bluehost affiliates is insane.
Search “how to start a blog” and about 7/10 first page results try to get you to sign up for Bluehost. But anyone who has been around the block with hosts knows Bluehost isn’t a good choice. They may offer higher commissions than NameHero (and are easier to sell because of their heavy advertising). But just because you see Bluehost more doesn’t mean they’re better.
14. Price – NameHero Is Cheaper
NameHero is cheaper than Bluehost because there’s no need to buy a premium cache plugin, QUIC.cloud’s paid plan is cheap (they have a free plan too), and prices are cheap for 1-3 years.
With Bluehost, you have to buy a premium cache plugin to get the best results, so it’s already more expensive (most premium CDNs are also more expensive than QUIC.cloud’s paid plan). They give you a cheaper price for 1 year, or a slightly higher monthly price for 3 years upfront.
For around $8/mo, you can get NameHero’s Turbo Cloud plan which comes with LiteSpeed, NVMe SSDs, 3 CPU cores, 3GB RAM, and 500,000 inodes. That’s the plan I usually recommend which is a better value compared to Bluehost Apache servers, SATA SSDs, and 250,000 inodes.
Even when you compare NameHero’s managed cloud VPS plans to Bluehost’s, almost all NameHero plans give you more CPU cores (and they all use NVMe, MariaDB, and PHP-FPM).
15. TrustPilot Rating – NameHero Is Rated Higher
TrustPilot ratings are a good indication of whether the support is good.
NameHero has an excellent 4.7/5 star rating while Bluehost has a 4.1/5 star rating (this used to be 3.1 stars about a year ago but I guess Bluehost started taking their reviews more seriously).
16. Pros & Cons Of NameHero vs. Bluehost
NameHero Pros
- LiteSpeed servers.
- NVMe SSD storage.
- LiteSpeed Cache is free and fast.
- QUIC.cloud is freemium and fast.
- Free migration with better support.
- Can sign up for 1-3 years with a cheap intro price.
- Better support as reflected in TrustPilot reviews.
- Less chance of 5xx errors with LiteSpeed (efficient).
- Cheaper with more server resources than Bluehost.
- Green-friendly (they briefly mentioned this in their blog).
- Better reputation in Facebook Groups and unbiased forums.
NameHero Cons
- High renewals (same with Bluehost).
- Data centers are only in the US + Netherlands.
Bluehost Pros
- Relatively cheap.
- Free SSL (same with NameHero).
- Free migration (same with NameHero).
- cPanel is user-friendly (same on NameHero).
Bluehost Cons
- Apache servers.
- Slower SATA SSDs.
- Overcrowded servers = slow TTFB.
- Bluehost’s support can be very slow.
- Premium cache plugin not included.
- No CDN with full page caching offered.
- High renewal prices (same as NameHero).
- Many downtime reports on downdetector.com.
- History of malware scams for no apparent reason.
- Lower inode limits can result in account suspension.
- Feedback is terrible if you search Facebook Groups.
- Too much affiliate promotion leaves a bad taste in mouth.
17. Winner – NameHero Is Faster And Better Than Bluehost
NameHero is better than Bluehost especially since they use LiteSpeed and you can use LiteSpeed Cache. They also have better support with more reliable uptimes at similar prices.
Who is better - NameHero or Bluehost?
Even though Bluehost is more popular, NameHero has faster hosting with LiteSpeed servers + NVMe SSDs at a similar price. They also have better support/uptimes than Bluehost, and LiteSpeed Cache with QUIC.cloud are free with no paid tools needed.
Is NameHero or Bluehost faster?
NameHero uses LiteSpeed servers which are faster than Bluehost's Apache servers. NameHero uses NVMe SSD storage while Bluehost uses slower SSDs. LiteSpeed Cache is also faster than any other cache plugin you can use on Bluehost with server-side caching.
NameHero vs. Bluehost - which is better for WordPress?
NameHero has more WordPress features than Bluehost mainly because you can use the LiteSpeed Cache plugin and QUIC.cloud CDN. Both use cPanel which also has Cloudflare.
Cheers,
Tom
