DreamHost

What it is

DreamHost offers several hosting families; this record focuses on current shared Web Hosting Launch, Growth and Scale plans. They combine managed shared infrastructure, NVMe storage, SSL, MySQL, mailboxes, backups and a proprietary control panel. Headline monthly equivalents require prepayment and renew at different rates, while sites, visits, storage, inodes, mailboxes and databases are tier-limited. “Unmetered” bandwidth remains subject to acceptable-use and shared-resource policies.

Key features

• Shared hosting tiers

  Launch, Growth and Scale allocate increasing sites, visits, storage, inodes and databases.

• Managed essentials

  Provides SSL, panel-based administration, automated backups and traffic visibility.

• Web and email hosting

  Combines website hosting with plan-limited mailboxes and MySQL databases.

• Promotional term pricing

  Discounts the initial prepaid term and publishes a separate renewal rate.

Strengths and trade-offs

Who it is for

Individuals and small organizations whose conventional websites fit shared-hosting resource and policy limits.

Pick it or skip it

Closest alternatives we track

Same category, ordered by verified starting price.

• Hostinger

  $2.99/mo

  Managed web hosting with hPanel, WordPress and code deployment, email, backups and long-term promotional plans.

Frequently asked questions

What are DreamHost's shared hosting quotas and limits?

Per the DreamHost knowledge base: Launch allows 25 GB storage, 25 websites, 250,000 inodes, 20 mailboxes and 25 MySQL databases. Growth raises those to 50 GB, 50 sites, 500,000 inodes, 40 mailboxes and 50 databases. Scale gives 100 GB, 100 sites, 300 subdomains, 1,000,000 inodes, 60 mailboxes and 300 databases. Going over the storage quota makes uploads and one-click installs fail until you are back under it. Email is free for the first 3 months, then a paid email plan activates automatically.

How much storage does each DreamHost plan include?

Web Hosting Launch includes 25 GB of NVMe SSD across up to 25 websites with unmetered bandwidth, DreamPress 1 includes 15 GB for a single website, and VPS Business includes 60 GB with unlimited websites.

Does DreamHost's price go up after the first year?

Yes. The vendor states all plans renew at a higher rate than the first-year promotional price, so the advertised figure is an introductory rate.

How many mailboxes does DreamHost include?

Web Hosting Launch includes 20 mailboxes free for the first three months; DreamPress 1 includes unlimited mailboxes.

How much does DreamHost cost?

DreamHost starts at $1.99/mo as a flat monthly price. We verified this against the vendor's pricing page; see "What we checked" below for the date.

Does DreamHost have a free plan?

No free plan is listed on the vendor's pricing page. DreamHost is sold as a paid subscription.

Who is DreamHost best for?

Individuals and small organizations whose conventional websites fit shared-hosting resource and policy limits.

What are the main drawbacks of DreamHost?

The trade-offs we noted: Large renewal delta: The cheapest advertised monthly equivalent requires a four-year term and renews at a higher rate.; Shared-resource constraints: CPU, RAM, disk I/O and high-impact scripts remain governed despite unmetered bandwidth.; Backups are not a guarantee: DreamHost says file snapshots are generally kept about two weeks and recommends independent copies; database restore is separate..

When should you not use DreamHost?

Skip DreamHost if: You budget on the advertised rate — every plan renews far higher than the first-year price; You need more than 25 GB on the entry plan; storage is the binding limit, not bandwidth; You want mailboxes included indefinitely on the entry plan — they are free for 3 months only.