Dreamhost vs Namecheap 2024: Which One Is The Best?

Dreamhost

Dreamhost was founded in 1996 and is based out of Los Angeles. It hosts more than 1.5 million websites across a wide variety of industries. The company offers nearly everything you could want from a web hosting provider, including:

• A free domain name and free SSL certificates
• A free website builder
• Cloud server storage
• Unmetered bandwidth
• And more

The company also stands out with its exceptional support. You can get assistance through phone support, live chat support, email support, and more. This makes it very easy to solve any problems that may come up with the hosting plans that Dreamhost offers.

Namecheap

Namecheap began as a domain registrar when it was founded in 2000. It’s since expanded outside of the realm of domain registrars to offer a wide variety of affordable hosting plans and domain names.

The company’s hosting performance is solid from an uptime perspective and you can access premium domains along with other hosting services like domain privacy protocols and WordPress installation support.

Namecheap offers some of the lowest-priced plans in the industry, and these come with free email support and free installation assistance to help you take full advantage of any sites created through the Namecheap ecosystem.

	Dreamhost	Namecheap
Price	From $2.59/mo*	From $0.91/mo*
Free Domain
Hosting types	WordPress Hosting, Website Hosting, VPS Hosting, WP Website Builder,  Dedicated Hosting,  Cloud Hosting	Domain Prices, Shared Hosting,  Email Hosting,  WordPress Hosting, VPS Hosting, Dedicated Hosting, Reseller Hosting
Money-back guarantee	97 days	30 days
Detail	Read Review	Read Review
Link	Visit Website	Visit Website

Best Overall Pricing and Value: Namecheap

Dreamhost

Dreamhost’s hosting plans offer a ton of value – especially the shared hosting option, which is very affordable and comes with a lot of nice features. When you’re looking for easyWP hosting packages, a site builder, extra SSL certificates, a domain lock, or anything else, you can get it at an affordable price through Dreamhost.

Namecheap

Namecheap wins on pricing simply because its subscription packages and service fees start at a lower price than Dreamhost. But while comparing Namecheap and its prices, you should think about what features matter to you.

If you don’t need many features, such as help with third-party app setup, then going with a low-cost provider like Namecheap makes sense. But if you do value these kinds of features, then application hosting through Dreamhost wins.

Best Performance: Dreamhost

Dreamhost

With Dreamhost, you get an average uptime of 99.99% and average response times of about 250ms. This is much better than the industry average, which is about 600ms. That makes Dreamhost the clear winner in this category.

Namecheap

Namecheap hosting compares poorly to Dreamhost in performance. The company has more frequent outages than Dreamhost and has an average response time of over 1 second. The Namecheap matchup with Dreamhost can’t compare in this category.

Best Common Features: Dreamhost

Dreamhost

Dreamhost offers a wide variety of site features that will help everyone from WordPress users looking for a secondary hosting platform and enterprise-grade websites looking for optimal site performance.

You’ll get access to a detailed control panel that makes it easy to customize every aspect of your website, regardless of how many sites you have. Plus, daily backups, a web application firewall, and even support for software application development if you need it.

Namecheap

Namecheap’s features on its shared hosting plans are a bit lacking. The company’s control panel is easy to use, but it’s a little bare-bones. You won’t get as much customization capability with this provider, even though it does offer some nice features for managed WordPress hosting and free automatic SSL installation when you complete a website transfer.

Best Customer Support: Dreamhost

Dreamhost

Dreamhost regularly receives great reviews for its customer support. You can access support for your cloud hosting service any way you want – phone, live chat, email, and online knowledge base. Not only that, but the company’s support agents are helpful and respond quickly.

Namecheap

Namecheap only offers 24/7 live chat support and an online ticketing system. This is okay compared to the industry average, but it’s not as good as what Dreamhost offers. That might matter when you need help with making manual PHP configuration changes or solving an issue with your free SSL certificate

Best Ease of Use: Dreamhost

Dreamhost

Dreamhost is easier to use because its control panel gives you access to all of the different customization features you want from a single, easy-to-navigate screen. And if you ever need help with domain privacy, server locations, or managed WordPress hosting plans, you’ll be able to get the support you need to move forward quickly.

Namecheap

Namecheap is also easy to use. Its control panel is simple, straightforward, and basic enough for anyone to navigate. The reason why it loses in this category is that WordPress Namecheap and other plans just don’t give you as much control over your site when comparing Namecheap-Dreamhost.

Best Account Management Dashboard: Dreamhost

Dreamhost

We’ve covered this in the previous two categories, so we won’t go as in-depth here. But the bottom line is that Dreamhost’s account management dashboard gives you more control over your site.

Namecheap

Namecheap’s account management dashboard is more basic and to the point. It may be a better option for users who just want a clean, simple experience and don’t mind missing out on added customization features.

Best Website Builder Experience: Namecheap

Dreamhost

Both Namecheap and Dreamhost offer solid website-building experiences.  However, despite Dreamhost’s current uptime guarantee of 100%, the site charges $2.59/month for its website builder services.

Namecheap

Namecheap doesn’t charge a thing for its website builder. You’ll get full access to it for free no matter which plan you sign up for. That’s why Namecheap dominates this category.

Best Website Migration: It’s a Tie

Dreamhost

Dreamhost will migrate any website you have through alternative site builders to its servers at no cost. You’ll be able to take advantage of the plan the hosting service recommends with unlimited SSD storage and a free SSL certificate without having to pay a dime. Plus, the company’s support team will help you with the process if you need it.

Namecheap

Namecheap offers the same free website migration service that Dreamhost does. That means there’s really no point of differentiation to make between these two competitors when it comes to site migrations.

Which Should You Choose?

Both Dreamhost and Namecheap can be good options for different kinds of websites and users. Here’s some more information about which could be better for you.

Choose Dreamhost if:

Dreamhost is a superior choice if you value site load times, added customization features, and exceptional customer support. It’s an all-around winner that you really can’t go wrong with – especially given all of the different plans that it offers.

Choose Namecheap if:

Namecheap may be a better option if you want a low-cost plan that is straightforward and easy to use, and you don’t mind missing out on some of the bonus features that Dreamhost offers.

Final thought

Dreamhost is the clear winner based on all of the categories of comparison we’ve covered above. It’s faster, offers more features, and provides better access to high-quality customer support than Namecheap.

However, there are some scenarios in which Namecheap may make more sense for a website developer. Its plans are some of the lowest-priced in the industry and it provides a streamlined site migration service with a free website builder, which Dreamhost lacks.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)