WordPress Hosting Review: WP Engine vs Bluehost

When it comes to choosing a web host for your WordPress site, there are a lot of options to choose from.
Depending on your experience, you may want a lightweight option that handles basic queries
quickly or a full-featured, enterprise-level option that can host complex
websites and offers a free domain if you’re new to the platform.

Which one you choose depends on your needs.
For example, if you’re just getting started, go with the cheap but light option
since you won’t need all the features that a pricier solution offers.
Or, if your needs are bigger, choose the one that suits your budget best.

Fortunately, it’s not like choosing a web host means you’re stuck with it.
You can always switch web hosts if you find their features aren’t sufficient for your needs.

That’s why it’s important to do your research before you buy.
Here, we’ll compare the features and pricing of two popular web hosts, WP Engine and Bluehost.

Features Of WP Engine And Bluehost

Let’s start with the basics: how much does each plan cost?

WP Engine offers a free basic plan that allows you to host up to three websites with one domain.
For smaller sites, this is more than sufficient. In fact, if you’re just getting started,
it might be the cheapest option available. That’s because their starter plan costs only $2.95 per month.
But, to get the most out of their service, you’ll need to upgrade to their standard plan, which costs $5.45 per month.
After that, you can either choose to pay per month or annually for the annual plan.

Bluehost’s pricing is a little more complicated.
You get three free months for their standard plan, which allows you to host one website with one domain.
But, to get the most out of their service, you’ll need to upgrade to their plus or business plan.
The difference between these two plans is that the plus plan allows you to host unlimited sites with unlimited domains while the business plan offers additional features.
For instance, if you have a growing business that needs a dedicated IP address, the business plan is where you want to be.

Pricing

Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the price.
As we mentioned above, Bluehost’s plus and business plans cost more than WP Engine’s basic plan.
But, if you’re looking for a reliable web host with additional features, you should consider paying a bit more.

When it comes to shared hosting, pricing is all about supply and demand.
As more people want to use these services, web hosts need to raise their prices to keep up with the demand.
In other words, if you want the best price for shared hosting, you need to be willing to sign up for one of the smaller web hostings.

As a general rule, the more features you need, the more you’ll need to pay.
If you want a free domain, you’ll have to be careful about which host you choose since many premium hosts offer additional features for free.

Customer Support

One of the most important aspects of a web host is their customer support.
Do they respond quickly to your questions? Do they provide expert advice? Do they solve your issues easily?

Bluehost’s customer support is, in our opinion, the best in the industry.
They have extremely knowledgeable and friendly support agents that are available 24/7 via email
and live chat. And, best of all, their customer support is absolutely free.

WP Engine’s customer support is also pretty good.
Depending on which plan you choose, you get a choice of support agents to contact.
But, in general, their customer support is pretty good since they also offer a money-back guarantee if you meet the right conditions.

Security

Another important consideration when choosing a web host is security.
Do they take the security of your data seriously? Do they use strong, sophisticated encryption technologies? Do they implement the security measures set by your web hosting company (e.g., WordPress) or your company (e.g., Stripe, Shopify, etc.)?

Bluehost takes security pretty seriously. For instance, they use the free, advanced encryption technology, OpenSSL.
To top that off, they also use a 256-bit encryption key that is uniquely generated for your account.
So, even if someone does get access to your account, they’ll still need a rather large key to decrypt your data.

As for WP Engine, we couldn’t find any information about their security measures.
But, based on their pricing plan, it doesn’t seem like they take security all that seriously.
If you need security, you should look for a web host with a dedicated IP address
(i.e., one that isn’t shared with other customers) or pay a little bit more for a premium plan that offers additional security features.

Storage

Another important consideration when choosing a web host is storage.
Do they have enough storage for your needs? How much space do you get for your websites and what type of storage do you get?

As we mentioned above, Bluehost offers limited storage for free and their premium plans provide more storage.
But, even in their premium plans, the storage is minimal.
WP Engine also offers minimal storage. But, if you’re looking for a dedicated IP address, you can get all the storage you need with their Plus plan for $5.45 per month.

The best way to find out how much storage you need is to look at the amount of content that you have.
If you’re creating videos, images, or have lots of documents, you’ll need more storage.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth is another important consideration when choosing a web host.
For online stores that sell digital goods (e.g., music, videos, e-books, etc.), the demand is usually high so web hosts need to provide enough bandwidth to serve those customers.
How much bandwidth do you need?

As we mentioned above, Bluehost provides limited bandwidth.
But, if you need more than that, their Plus plan provides additional bandwidth.
WP Engine also has a minimum monthly bandwidth requirement of 20GB. If you need additional bandwidth, you can get it with their Plus plan for $5.45 per month.

How Do You Like The Customer Support In General?

Now, let’s talk about the last important aspect of a web host: their customer support in general.
Simply put, how good is their support? Do they provide excellent, quick responses to your questions? Do they offer a help page with all the necessary details?

As we mentioned above, Bluehost’s customer support is excellent. In fact, if you message them via Twitter or Facebook, they’ll often respond right away with a helpful link or solution.

But, sometimes, you have to wait a while for a response. So, it’s best to email them or call them directly to get an answer as soon as possible. That way, you won’t have to worry about getting disconnected when you try to access their support chat.

WP Engine’s customer support is also quite good.
It seems like their priority is to provide accurate information to their users.
So, if you message them via Twitter or Facebook, they usually respond right away with a helpful link or solution.

But, again, sometimes, you have to wait a while for a response. So, it’s best to email them or call them directly to get an answer as soon as possible.

In our opinion, Bluehost’s customer support is the best in the industry. But, if you’re looking for a dedicated IP address and additional security, you should consider paying a little bit more for a premium plan with the best customer support.

Final Takeaway

In conclusion, Bluehost and WP Engine are two very good web hosts.
If you’re new to the platform or just need a web host that can be adjusted easily, go with Bluehost.
If you need additional security and the best customer support, go with WP Engine.

Now, you might be wondering, which one is better? It really depends on what you’re looking for.
If you need a dedicated IP address and additional bandwidth, go with WP Engine. If you need a free domain and additional security, go with Bluehost.