DreamHost’s shared starter hosting plan is just $2.59/month. Here’s the complete DreamHost coupon list.
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DreamHost “Starter” vs “Unlimited” Shared Hosting
Here’s a comparison table between the two:
| DreamHost Starter | DreamHost Unlimited |
|---|---|
| $2.59/month (No Promotional Code) | $3.95/month
|
| 1 Website | Unlimited Websites |
| 5 Subdomains | Unlimited subdomains |
| 6 MySQL Databases | Unlimited Databases |
| 6 FTP users | Unlimited FTP users |
| 50 GB storage | Unlimited storage |
| Need to install SSL | Free SSL Pre-Installed |
| No e-mail support - need to upgrade | In-built e-mail |
In addition, both plans include:
- Unlimited Traffic
- Automatic daily backups
- Free Domain
- Free domain privacy
- SSD Storage
- Free SSL with Let’s Encrypt
Is DreamHost’s Plan the Cheapest?
DreamHost’s starter shared plan is one of the cheapest if you sign up for 3 years. GoDaddy has a $1/m package, and Hostgator has a PENNY coupon code just for one month’s hosting. But these are gimmicks. They’re traps to make you overpay.
An alternative to DreamHost is Hostgator, whose cheapest plan starts at $2.57/m. Here’s the complete HostGator coupon code 2024 list. But I think DreamHost’s plan is better because of SSDs and free daily backups.
Does the DreamHost Price Increase on Renewal?
The DreamHost renewal price will change only if you apply a discount for the first billing cycle. For example, the new “Starter” plan pricing is applied without a discount as shown here:
In this, the price of $2.59/month is the natural price. And so when you renew it, you will be charged the same amount that you see in the screenshot above. There is no price increase on renewal. It also means that you don’t need to search for a DreamHost renewal coupon. The rate is yours forever!
However, the “Unlimited” DreamHost shared hosting is available at a discount. You can get a massive 56% for only $3.95/month.
The catch, however, is that this plan will renew at the full price as shown here:
This is because the original purchase was made via a discount coupon. So it doesn’t apply to renewals. Keep in mind, however, that you still get a price reduction for longer billing cycles that persists even during renewals. So the longer you choose to remain with DreamHost, the more money you save!
Does DreamHost Oversell Its Servers?
Of course. There’s no way that DreamHost can offer hosting for a couple of bucks a month in perpetuity for “unlimited” traffic without overselling its servers. But then, all shared hosting is oversold. The only question is, which hosts are honest about it and openly tell you what the limits are.
Not many web hosts are transparent about their site limits. NameHero is an exception and is 100% transparent about its limits. Others like InMotion do a great job of transparency as well. But at the end of the day, it’s called “shared” hosting for a reason. Your server will be shared.
To move away from shared hosting, you’ll need to upgrade to VPS servers. Here’s a comparison of VPS hosting prices. If you have the technical knowledge, you can get VPS hosting for just a few dollars a month.
Decent Site Storage
DreamHost’s starter shared hosting plan allows for 50 GB of storage. This is more than enough for a single site. If you want to host multiple sites, then you should purchase the unlimited plan instead. If you’re using more than 50 GB on a single site, you’re probably violating DreamHost’s terms of service by hosting a file-sharing server, or something similar.
If you still need more, check out my list of hosting providers with unlimited storage.
How Much Traffic Can DreamHost Shared Hosting Handle?
The promises of “unlimited” traffic are rather unrealistic. The real bottleneck is CPU time. DreamHost assumes that the average shared hosting account uses no more than 5 minutes of CPU time daily. But that’s very low.
To give you some perspective, WP Tweaks as of today is just a few months old. I get around 250 visitors daily. And because SiteGround is so transparent, it tells me that I use an average of 64 minutes of CPU time daily! So there’s no way my website would be able to run on DreamHost’s basic shared hosting plan.
Be warned. If you have traffic that’s even close to mine, DreamHost will be insufficient for you.
Can I Run WordPress on DreamHost’s Starter Plan?
Oh yes. After all, DreamHost is an official WordPress provider and is recommended on the WordPress site. If your site requirements are low, it’ll run pretty smoothly.
However, if you’re serious about WordPress and are expecting a few hundred visitors to your site daily, you need something more than shared hosting. Better still, look into a managed WordPress hosting provider. Like Kinsta for example. Hosts like this run WordPress as their bread-and-butter service. No slowdowns, and excellent WordPress-focused customer support. It’s much more expensive than shared hosting – check out the page on Kinsta pricing. But then, good customer service isn’t cheap!
In conclusion, DreamHost has thrown its hat in the ring for the contender of the cheapest web hosting without gimmicks. If you have low traffic requirements and need a starter website to get going, it’s a great and economical choice.
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