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DreamHost vs Namecheap Review [current_date format=’Y’]. Which one is superior ?

Satyendra Prasad

February 4, 2023

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There are many web hosting service providers on the internet today, and DreamHost and Namecheap are one of them. Both hosts (DreamHost vs Namecheap) are quite popular amongst their users and provide good services. Both these hosts share more or less similar features but some differences in their pricing plan structures and services.

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Today in this article, we will compare these two hosts so that you can understand the basic difference between them.

Winner Snapshot – Here is a summary table to compare: DreamHost vs Namecheap

The winner is: NameCheap.

NameCheap is more affordable than DreamHost with similar features. You will get 30 free Email addresses with its basic plans, Whereas DreamHost will charge you more. Now we will compare these hosts one by one so that you can see the difference in their prices, features, and overall performance.

About DreamHost and Namecheap

DreamHost vs Namecheap: A side-by-side comparison

We know that DreamHost and NameCheap are Domain registrars and web hosts and have the same features. NameCheap, as per its name, is cheaper than DreamHost and offers all the required features. More affordable plans don’t mean low quality.

DreamHost offers its custom control panel, which is easy once you get accustomed to it, Whereas NameCheap offers the standard cPanel control panel in which you will get all site management tools. cPanel comes with a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate.

Their plans offer free security features, but most advanced security features are available as an add-on. DreamHost allows free daily backups, whereas Namehost doesn’t provide it.

Both these hosts offer free site migration to their users, but in DreamHost, you will have to do it on your own, whereas NameCheap manages to do it for you.

Let us compare them one by one to get a better understanding.

1: Key Hosting Features and Services: DreamHost vs Namecheap

Key DreamHost Features

Before choosing a web host, you must be acquainted with its features. Here is a list of some important features that DreamHost provides –

• Free SSL Certificate

• Custom control panel

• Fast servers

• 97-day money-back guarantee

• 1-Click WordPress installer

• Free automatic backups

• Monthly billing option

Free SSL Certificate

DreamHost offers users a free SSL certificate with all of its plans. It provides free ModSecurity, Web Application Firewall, and domain privacy protection, which are crucial for the security of your website data.

DreamHost custom control panel

DreamHost has its custom control panel, which is easy to use once you get accustomed to it. It is an all-in-one type of control panel which is well-organized to perform every task.

Fast servers

DreamHost offers a 100% uptime guarantee. According to Google, a 99% uptime is reliable for a good host. This 100% uptime of DreamHost makes it suitable for high-traffic websites.

97-day money-back guarantee

DreamHost is different in its money-back guarantee. Unlike other hosts, it offers a 97-day money-back guarantee which is quite interesting. Who won’t like to have a money-back guarantee of more than 3-months?

Easy 1-Click WordPress installer

DreamHost is a great choice when it comes to WordPress Hosting. DreamHost is an award-winning WordPress host with its easy and over 750,000 one-click installations.

Free daily backups

DreamHost provides free daily backups with all of its plans, so you will not have to worry about your website data. It also offers manual backups daily and stores the backups for two weeks.

Monthly billing option

If you want the flexibility of payment and don’t know how long you will use your website, then DreamHost offers a monthly billing option. You can purchase monthly plans but keep in mind that the lesser the time duration of a project, the more expensive it will be.

Key NameCheap Features

Now we will learn about the important features of NameCheap.

• EasyWP

• Comodo SSL certificates

• Free Email addresses

• Easy Site Migration

• Automated back-ups

• 30-day money-back guarantee

 EasyWP

NameCheap offers Easy WordPress hosting feature, which is a cloud-based program. It includes many cool features like one-click backups, a database, and SFTP access. SFTP is more secure than FTP and doesn’t pose any risk of hacking. Excellent!

Comodo SSL certificates

Where DreamHost offers free SSL from Let’s Encrypt, NameCheap offers a different Comodo SSL certificate. Both are more or less the same, but you will get customer support from Comodo and a $10,000 warranty.

Free Email addresses

NameCheap has many free offers. It provides 30-free Email addresses in its basic plan.

Easy Site Migration

Many hosts offer free site migration with their plans, and NameCheap is one of them. You won’t have to worry about this task as NameCheap manages to do it independently. You just need to follow a few steps, and NameCheap will do the rest.

Automated back-ups

Regarding backups, NameCheap’s Shared Hosting includes two backups in a week, and with the rest of the plan, it provides daily backups.

30-day money-back guarantee

NameCheap offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. These refunds are processed in US Dollars only, and purchases via Bitcoin are non-refundable.

And the winner is:

In terms of features, NameCheap is the winner as it offers more free features than DreamHost.

Visit Namecheap.

2: Website performance (Uptime & Speed): DreamHost vs Namecheap

The uptime and speed of any host are the most important thing to consider when choosing a good host, as it ensures the customers’ reliability. Both DreamHost and NameCheap provide SSD storage on all plans, ensuring better uptime.

DreamHost offers a 100% uptime guarantee, whereas NameCheap provides a 99.99% uptime guarantee. The Page loading speed of NameCheap is quite good when compared to DreamHost. And with NameCheap, your website is more likely to be available 24/7. Also, DreamHost’s servers are located in the USA only, whereas NameCheap’s servers are in the USA, Europe, and the UK. The server location of your host ensures better uptime for your site’s visitors.

And the winner is:

Though DreamHost offers a 100% uptime guarantee, NameCheap is far better in the actual performance, with its server located at different places. So, yes, NameCheap is our winner in terms of performance.

3:  Prices & Plans: DreamHost vs Namecheap

The next category in the comparison is the pricing and plans of these two hosts.

DreamHost Pricing and plans

DreamHost offers hosts like Shared, VPS, Managed WordPress, Dedicated, and Cloud Hosting.

Shared Hosting – It comes in Shared Starter and a Shared unlimited plan. It is a low-cost hosting.

• The Shared Starter plan at $2.59/mo includes one website.

• Shared unlimited plan at $3.95/mo, includes unlimited websites.

Both offer a free domain, unlimited traffic, pre-installed WordPress, WP website builder, free SSL, and free SSD storage.

VPS Hosting comes in basic, business, professional, and enterprise plans.

• VPS Basic at $10.00/mo includes 1GB RAM and 30GB SSD storage.

• VPS Business at $20.00/mo includes 2GB RAM, 60GB SSD storage

• VPS Professional at $40.00/mo includes 4GB RAM, 120GB SSD storage

• VPS Enterprise at $80.00/mo, includes 8GB RAM, 240GB SSD storage.

Dedicated Server Hosting – starting at $149.00/mo, it provides Standard and Enhanced plans. It offers 4-16GB RAM and 1-2GB HDD, a local MySQL Database server, and Ubuntu.

WordPress Hosting – it comes in starter and unlimited plans.

• WP Starter plan at $2.59/mo offers only one website.

• WP Unlimited plan at $3.95/mo offers unlimited websites.

They include a free domain, unlimited traffic, free SSL, and free SSD storage.

Cloud Hosting –  DreamHost offers DreamObjects and DreamCompute hostings.

• DreamCompute offers unparalleled Speed, full root access, and full control.

• DreamObject offers a connection to your storage applications and fully scalable object storage.

NameCheap Pricing and Plans

NameCheap also offers hosts like Shared, WordPress, Reseller, VPS, and Dedicated Hosting. These plans are available for beginners and small and large business owners.

Shared Hosting – It has three Stellar, Stellar Plus, and Stellar Business plans

• Stellar plan at $2.18/mo includes three websites, 20 GB SSD, and 30 Domain-Based mailboxes.

• Stellar Plus plan, at $2.98/mo, includes unlimited websites, unmetered SSD, and unlimited Domain-Based mailboxes.

• The Stellar Business plan, at $4.98/mo, includes unlimited websites, 50 GB SSD, unlimited Domain-Based mailboxes, auto backup & cloud storage.

All plans include a free Domain name.

WordPress Hosting –  it has three starter, turbo, and supersonic plans.

• EasyWP Starter plan at $34.88, includes 10 GB SSD storage, 50k visitors/month.

• The Turbo plan at $58.88 includes 50 GB SSD storage, 200k visitors/month, 1.5x more CPU and RAM, and free SSL.

• The Supersonic plan, at $68.88, includes 100 GB SSD storage, 500k visitors/month, 2x more CPU and RAM, and free SSL.

VPS Hosting –  it has pulsar, quasar, and magnetar plans.

• Pulsar plan at $6.88/mo, includes 2 CPU cores, 2GB RAM, 40GB SSD RAID 10, 1000GB bandwidth.

• Quasar plan at $12.88/mo, includes 4 CPU cores, 6GB RAM, 120GB SSD RAID 10, 3000GB bandwidth.

• Magnetar plan at $24.88/mo, includes 8 CPU cores, 12GB RAM, 240GB SSD RAID 10, 6000GB bandwidth.

Dedicated Hosting – starting at $48.88, provides 16-128GB DDR4, 100TB/mo- unmetered bandwidth, same-day Setup, and free migration.

Reseller Hosting – starting at $17.88/mo, provides 25-150 cPanel accounts, 30-150GB SSD, and unmetered bandwidth.

And the winner is:

NameCheap offers cheaper plans than DreamHost, and with their goals, we can see that NameCheap provides more features, so it is the winner in terms of pricing and plans.

4: Customer Support: DreamHost vs Namecheap

The next category of comparison is customer support. Not everyone is excellent in technology, and those people need good and quick customer support when choosing a good host.

DreamHost Customer Support

DreamHost offers customer support via live chat, phone calls, Email, and tickets. But the live chat is available during office hours only (8 AM – 4 PM Pacific Time on Mondays – Fridays), which is a big drawback.

You can use the ticket system for help. It also has a good knowledge base and discussion forums where you can seek the help of other customers.

NameCheap Customer Support

NameCheap offers 24/7 customer support via live chat and ticket. But the agents are sometimes slow in responding. It doesn’t provide phone call or Email support. You have to open a ticket to get a reply from their support team. It also has an extensive knowledge base with tutorial guides.

And the winner is:

DreamHost is our winner this time. The customer support of DreamHost is better than NameCheap. NameCheap lacks Email and phone support. And the live chat option in DreamHost provides fast response.

5: Ease of use: DreamHost vs Namecheap

The next category in the comparison is the ease of use of these two hosts. DreamHost offers a different kind of custom control panel, whereas NameCheap provides the industry standard cPanel control panel, which is easy to use.

EasyWP, provided by NameCheap, is easy to use with a one-click backup option and plugins. The NameCheap EasyWP plugins come pre-installed with WordPress installation and include many speed-boosting options in your website.

If you want to host a managed WordPress, DreamHost is a better option.

 And the winner is:

Regarding ease of use, NameCheap is the winner with a managed control panel and EasyWP.

6: Security: DreamHost vs Namecheap

In this virtual world, the security of your data is one of the most important things to consider when choosing a good host.

Both NameCheap and DreamHost offer standard security features. Both offer Free SSL certificates, but the approach is different as the SSL certificate provided by DreamHost is from Let’s Encrypt mode. In contrast, the SSL certificate provided by NameCheap is from Comodo. Well, there is a slight difference between them. With Comodo, you will get separate support and a warranty.

Both offer Domain privacy protection which protects your website data from publicly accessible databases. DreamHost provides free daily backups with all of its plans which is an advantage of this host.

And the winner is:

NameCheap offers some extra security features than DreamHost. So it wins the race.

Visit Namecheap.

DreamHost vs Namecheap: Final recommendations

In our comparison, we found that NameCheap is ahead in the race with its cheaper plans, extra security features, better uptime and speed, and ease of use. Though its customer support is not as good as DreamHost’s, it is still far better overall performance. And it is up to you which one you prefer. You can choose a host based on our comparison.

If you want an easy-to-use host, you can go with NameCheap, and DreamHost is a better option for managing WordPress.

If you are on a tight budget and want an affordable and reliable host that will provide all the features despite its low price, then you should go with NameCheap.