We may earn commissions from some providers for qualifying actions through our links. This page is currently ordered by editorial scores. Our published policy permits limited earnings-based reordering once real conversion data is available. How we make money.
Bluehost review: $3.99 for 36 months, then $9.99, and weekly backups
Updated Oct 6, 2026 · scored under rubric v1
Bluehost Starter suits someone running up to 10 small sites who can prepay three years: $3.99 a month, then $9.99. The catches: backups are weekly, not daily, email is a one-month trial, and Starter has no phone support.
Bluehost Starter costs $3.99 a month on a 36-month term paid upfront ($143.64), then renews at $9.99 a month. Its price list gives $11.99 on a 12-month renewal and $15.99 month to month. Starter allows 10 websites and includes a free first-year domain, free SSL and a staging site. Backups are weekly, email is a one-month trial, and support on Starter is 24/7 chat only.
What it does well
- 10 websites on the entry plan
- Renewal rates printed on its shared and WooCommerce plan cards and in a help-centre price list
- Staging site on Starter
- Free domain for the first year on 12- or 36-month terms
Where it falls short
- The $3.99 price needs a 36-month prepayment: $143.64 upfront
- Weekly, not daily, backups on shared plans
- No phone support on Starter
- Email is a one-month Pro Email trial, then a monthly fee
What Bluehost costs
| Plan | First-term price | Then | Term | The limit that matters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $3.99/mo | $9.99/mo | 36 months, paid upfront | 10 websites, 10GB NVMe |
| Starter | Not read | $11.99/mo | 12 months | Same |
| Starter | Not offered at sign-up | $15.99/mo | Month to month (price list only) | No money-back guarantee |
| Business | $6.99/mo | $13.99/mo | 36 months | 50 websites, phone support |
| eCommerce Essentials | $14.99/mo | $21.99/mo | 36 months | WooCommerce pre-installed |
| Agency Hosting Boutique | $65/mo | $65/mo | 36 months | Up to 10 websites |
Prices from its web hosting page, its renewal price list, its WooCommerce page and its agency page, read Sep 25 and 26, 2026. The 12-month introductory price sits behind a captcha on the term tab, so we could not read it. Boutique's card shows no renewal line; its button adds the package the price list calls Cloud 10, which renews at $65.00 a month on 36 months ($75.00 on 12 months, $90.00 month to month).
On the 36-month term, Starter costs $143.64 upfront for the first three years and $359.64 for the next three.
Over time
Total = monthly price × 12 × years, or yearly price × years, or a one-time price once. Only current plan prices; fees are listed separately. Taxes, add-ons and promotional prices are not included.
Current prices
| Plan | Price | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Starter (renewal, 36-month term) renewal rate after the first 36-month term | $9.99 per month | Sep 25, 2026 |
| Starter (renewal, 12-month term) renewal rate on a 12-month term; the 12-month introductory price was not captured (the /pricing 12-month tab returned a captcha) | $11.99 per month | Oct 9, 2026 |
| Business (renewal, 36-month term) renewal rate after the first 36-month term | $13.99 per month | Sep 25, 2026 |
| Starter (monthly term) monthly-term rate from the renewal price list; the sign-up pages offer only 12- and 36-month terms; monthly-term services are excluded from the money-back guarantee | $15.99 per month | Oct 9, 2026 |
| eCommerce Essentials (renewal, 36-month term) renewal rate after the first 36-month term | $21.99 per month | Sep 25, 2026 |
| eCommerce Premium (renewal, 36-month term) renewal rate after the first 36-month term | $30.99 per month | Sep 25, 2026 |
| Agency Hosting Boutique (36-month term) Agency Hosting (WPCloud) Boutique: up to 10 websites; 36-month term; no introductory discount shown; the renewal price list gives Cloud 10 (the package the Boutique button adds) the same $65.00/mo on a 36-month term | $65 per month | Sep 26, 2026 |
| Agency Hosting Boutique (renewal, 12-month term) renewal price list, plan named Cloud 10 (the package the Boutique button adds); 12-month term | $75 per month | Oct 9, 2026 |
| Agency Hosting Boutique (renewal, monthly term) renewal price list, plan named Cloud 10 (the package the Boutique button adds); month to month | $90 per month | Oct 9, 2026 |
What you get on Starter
- 10 websites, 10GB of NVMe storage and about 40k monthly visits.
- A free domain for the first year on 12- or 36-month terms.
- Free SSL. A help article adds "For WordPress Sites Only".
- A staging site (see the conflict below).
- Weekly backups: the pricing page says "All plans include: ... Weekly Website Backup".
- Email: a one-month free trial of Pro Email, which then renews at a monthly rate.
Catches and fine print
- Backups: two readings. The plan pages say weekly. The WooCommerce page lists "Daily backups" and a help article lists "Daily Website Back-ups" without naming plans. We use weekly, the worse reading, because it is what the plan cards say.
- Staging: two readings. The Starter cards list "Staging Site", the comparison row "Staging Environment" is ticked and a help article says yes; one row of the /pricing table leaves Starter blank. We count staging as included: a blank cell is not a statement that it is excluded.
- Email's rate after the trial. The /pricing pop-up says $2.99 a month; the web hosting page's code says $2.50. A help article lists "Free Email Quota 100MB per mailbox". We treat email as not included and use the higher rate.
- Monthly billing is on paper only. The price list gives $15.99 month to month, but the sign-up pages offer 12 or 36 months, and the terms exclude monthly terms from the money-back guarantee.
- Refund. "You can get a full refund for shared, VPS, or dedicated hosting if you cancel within the first 30 days of the Initial Term" (terms). If you took the free domain, its registration fee is deducted.
Support
The Starter card says "24/7 Chat Support" and "Phone Support Not Included" (source). Business and higher plans add phone support from 7am to 12am EST. A help article lists "24/7 Ticket/Phone/Chat Support" as a general feature; we go by the Starter card.
Who it suits
Starter suits a freelancer or small business running several small sites who is happy to prepay three years and can live with weekly backups. eCommerce Essentials puts Bluehost on our WooCommerce list, and Agency Hosting Boutique ($65 a month for 10 sites, "That's only $6.50 a site!") on our agencies list.
Look elsewhere if you want daily backups or phone support on the cheapest plan, or a short term at the advertised price.
See the full web hosting ranking, renewal prices side by side and how we score hosts.
Alternatives in Web hosting
| Alternative | Score | Best for | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| IONOS | 8.0/10Very goodOur score | Shared hosting with 24/7 phone support and unlimited websites, renewing at $8 a month No affiliate relationship | Visit IONOSOn ionos.com |
| Namecheap | 7.7/10GoodOur score | Shared hosting that starts with a 30-day free trial and renews at $4.66 a month No affiliate relationship | Visit NamecheapOn namecheap.com |
| Liquid Web | 7.3/10GoodOur score | One managed WordPress site at $9 a month, the same price at renewal No affiliate relationship | Visit Liquid WebOn liquidweb.com |