I once tried Bluehost to host some of my WordPress blogs, but it didn’t last long. Performance is the main reason why I didn’t settle with Bluehost. Plus, Bluehost required me to buy add-ons to use some features I needed. If you are in the same situation and plan to switch away from Bluehost, I have compiled a list of the faster alternatives you can try.
Bluehost is not a bad hosting service, actually. It is still one of the hosting services recommended by WordPress.org so far.
But if you are in an attempt of boosting your site performance, moving away from Bluehost could be a reasonable move. I have tested some managed WordPress hosting services that can deliver better performance than Bluehost.
A bit pricier, indeed. But I can say that using one of the hosting services on the list below will be a worthier investment for your online businesses.
Tips to Choose a Faster Bluehost Alternative
Bluehost is indeed an affordable web hosting service. But you need to be careful with an “affordable hosting”. Otherwise, you will end up spending more money on optimization plugins and extra services like CDN as your website grow.
It’s true that affordable hosting services like Bluehost and SiteGround also come with a CDN feature, but it is usually available as a paid add-on. Or if it is available as a free feature, the capacity is limited and you need to pay more to enlarge it.
In SiteGround, for instance, you only get a 10GB of free CDN. For more CDN capacity, you will be charged an extra fee of $7.5 per month. So, be thorough when looking at every feature detail.
Here are some features you need to look if you are looking for a faster hosting service to replace Bluehost.
- CDN. Make sure it is available as a built-in feature instead of an add-on
- Detailed configuration such as PHP version, maximum file upload, maximum memory limit, etc.
- Scheduled backups so that you don’t need to install an extra backup plugin
- Security so that you don’t need to install an extra security plugin
Top 3 Faster Bluehost Alternatives
On the list:
1. WP Engine
WP Engine is one of the most popular names in the WordPress hosting market. Based on a stat on BuiltWith, there are over 600,000 live websites hosted on WP Engine. These websites are built with WordPress as WP Engine is a designed specifically for WordPress. You can’t install other applications on the service.
As you can see on the above screenshots, WP Engine has great performance scores on both desktop and mobile. You can learn more about WP Engine performance on my review here.
Worth noting that I didn’t make any optimization tweak when taking the above screenshot. In other words, what’s you see on the screenshots are purely the original performance of WP Engine.
WP Engine is a cloud-based hosting service. You have three options of cloud services to power your hosting account. From Google Cloud, AWS, to Microsoft Azure. In WP Engine, CDN (powered by Cloudflare) is available as a built-in feature instead of add-on. No extra fee is charged to use it. Other handy features offered by WP Engine include scheduled backups, team collaboration, and staging environment.
Key Features of WP Engine:
- Built-in CDN and caching
- Staging environment
- Scheduled backups
- Team collaboration
- WAF
- Free migration via plugin
Pros and Cons of WP Engine
Pros:
- Excellent performance on desktop and mobile
- Built-in CDN
- Easy to collaborate with team
- Scheduled backups
Cons:
- Fixed contract (monthly and yearly)
- Requires add-ons for some basic features
- No file manager
2. Rocket.net
As you can see on the above screenshots, Rocket.net also has great performance scores on both mobile and desktop. The above scores are the original performance of Rocket.net as I didn’t make any optimization tweak when testing it. You can read my detailed review here.
Rocket.net is also a cloud-based hosting service. The hosting infrastructure of Rocket.net is powered by Cloudflare. Including its features like CDN and firewall.
Yes, Rocket.net comes with a built-in firewal to add extra security layer to your WordPress. With this feature, you no longer need to install a security plugin on your website. Rocket.net scans every traffic to your website and automatically blocks suspected IP addresses.
Rocket.net has a built-in file manager which is pretty useful to access your WordPress files. You can directly edit a certain file right from the file manager without needing to download the file first. Same as WP Engine, Rocket.net is also designed specifically for WordPress.
Key Features of Rocket.net:
- Built-in CDN and caching
- Staging environment
- Scheduled backups
- WAF
- Free migration
- Built-in file manager
- Team collaboration
Pros and Cons of Rocket.net
Pros:
- Excellent performance on desktop and mobile
- Built-in CDN
- Easy to collaborate with team
- Scheduled backups
- Built-in file manager
Cons:
- Lack of documentation
- Lack of controls over CDN and cache
- Too many recommended plugins
3. Kinsta
Kinsta is a cloud-based hosting service like WP Engine and Rocket.net. It is also a great option if you want to migrate from Bluehost with the hope of getting a better site performance. During my test (which you can read here), Kinsta didn’t deliver an impressive mobile performance as you can see on the above screenshots. But it still has an excellent performance score on desktop.
Kinsta has a built-in image optimization feature which I didn’t activate during the test. If you enable this feature, your images will be automatically converted into WebP format on the CDN servers of Kinsta.
You can use Kinsta if you want to have a full control over the CDN feature. While CDN is enabled by default on every website you add to your Kinsta account, you can disable it for a certain reason. Also, Kinsta has better analytics feature than WP Engine and Rocket.net. You can monitor the CDN use as well as other resources on your account such as cache, Ajax, to bandwidth.
Key Features of Kinsta:
- Built-in CDN and caching
- Staging environment
- Scheduled backups
- Super clean and intuitive control panel
- Servel-level firewall
- Team collaboration
- Image optimizer
- Free migration
- Comprehensive analytics
Pros and Cons of Kinsta
Pros:
- Intuitive control panel
- No fixed contract
- Second-to-none documentation
- Schedule backups
- CDN control
Cons:
- No file manager feature
- A bit pricier
- Average performance on mobile
Summary: Which One is Best to Replace Bluehost?
Bluehost is a good hosting service for a new blog. But, as your blog grow bigger, it is only a matter of time to switch to a better alternative.
WP Engine, Rocket.net, and Kinsta are better Bluehost alternatives in terms of performance. You will get a significant performance improvement after switching to one of these hosting services. They have a cloud hosting infrastructure and performance-focused features like built-in CDN and cache, without needing to spend extra fee to use.
While the overal features offered by the three hosting services are quite similar, you can look at other details like contract scheme. Kinsta is the best in this area as it offers no fixed contract scheme (pay as you go).
Rocket.net, meanwhile, is a more suited option if you look for a hosting to handle high traffic as a lower price.
