In this A2 Hosting vs Bluehost comparison, I’ll look at how these two companies compare in terms of cost, simplicity of use, performance, and other factors.
Are you seeking for a dependable web hosting provider that has been in business for a while and understands the intricacies of the hosting industry? Both suppliers are household names in the business, with over 20 years of combined expertise. They are not, however, the same.
To begin, A2 Hosting emphasises speed and claims to provide “blazing fast hosting.” Meanwhile, Bluehost takes pleasure in providing beginner-friendly hosting options, with a focus on WordPress hosting.
While this provides some insight into what to expect from each host, it just scratches the surface.
So, to find out the good, the bad, and the ugly, I put both providers through rigorous testing in terms of cost, convenience of use, performance, security, and support to give you with an in-depth Bluehost vs A2 Hosting comparison. Without further ado, let’s get started.
A2 Hosting vs Bluehost -- Overview
Both hosts provide a wide range of reasonably priced options for both novice and experienced customers. While A2 Hosting is a high-performance hosting company, Bluehost focuses primarily on WordPress and business-related features.
Here’s a short rundown of how both suppliers compare to one another. If you want to view the ultimate conclusion, skip to the final suggestions at the end.
WINNER
Bluehost
A2 Hosting vs Bluehost Pricing Review
Bluehost is the somewhat less expensive alternative in terms of pricing. The shared hosting plans offered by A2 Hosting vary from $2.99 to $12.99 per month. Meanwhile, Bluehost’s somewhat less expensive shared packages start at $2.95/month and run up to $13.95/month.
In addition to shared hosting, both companies provide:
In any event, shared hosting remains both companies’ most popular offering and the topic of this Bluehost vs A2 Hosting comparison.
One thing to keep in mind is that A2 Hosting does not feature a free domain in any of its plans, shared or otherwise. As a result, you must purchase one directly from the host for $14.95/year or via domain registrars such as Namecheap.com or Name.com for at least $7.98/year. Bluehost, on the other hand, offers a free domain with all of its plans.
When it comes to A2 Hosting and Bluehost’s lowest shared hosting plans, both allow you to host one website and provide a free SSL certificate.
There are several distinctions, however:
- A2 Hosting Startup ($2.99/month) comes with 100GB of storage space and an unlimited number of email addresses. Furthermore, DDoS protection, a server-level firewall, server hardening, virus scanning, and brute force defence are included.
- Bluehost Basic ($2.95/month) includes 50GB of storage space, unmetered bandwidth, a free domain, and DDoS protection from Cloudflare.
A2 Hosting base package, with its 100GB disc space and security measures, is clearly twice as generous. However, if you’re only hosting one website, Bluehost’s 50GB is plenty. You also receive a free domain name.
While the lowest plans appear to be the most appealing, companies provide more alternatives. So, which one should you go with?
A2 Hosting Pricing Review
A2 Hosting offers four shared hosting plans with monthly rates ranging from $2.99 to $12.99.
Check out Turbo Boost if you want a strategy that has strong resources as well as enhanced speed. For $6.99 per month, you may host an unlimited number of websites on a high-speed Turbo server. Furthermore, critical features like as limitless NVMe storage and a LiteSpeed web server are offered.
Our Recommendation
Choose Turbo Boost with a 3-year membership and select its premium add-ons as well as a domain to receive the best bargain. That comes to $251.64 for three years up front, with the renewal fee rounding up to $755.64 for the next billing cycle.
Bluehost Pricing Review
Meanwhile, Bluehost offers four shared hosting plans ranging in price from $2.95 to $13.95 per month.
If you only need to host one website, the Basic plan can be enough. If the starter plan is too restrictive, the next best option is Plus. While Bluehost suggests Choice Plus as the best alternative, Plus provides the same unlimited websites and storage while having substantially cheaper renewal costs.
Our Recommendation
Choose the 3-year membership to get the greatest pricing on the Plus plan. The first payment will be $178.20, and the renewal will be $431.64.
A2 Hosting vs Bluehost Pricing Review — Summary
One thing to keep in mind is that, although Bluehost provides a typical 30-day money-back guarantee, A2 Hosting goes above and above. Aside from its 30-day full refund policy, A2 Hosting also offers a money-back guarantee for unused services at any time.
Overall, Bluehost is the less expensive alternative. While the changes may not appear to be significant at first, they do mount up, especially with the longer billing cycles and higher renewal rates. Furthermore, Bluehost includes a free domain name.
WINNER
Bluehost
A2 Hosting vs Bluehost -- Ease Of Use
Both A2 Hosting and Bluehost are extremely user-friendly, with Bluehost taking the lead. A2 Hosting provides a simple account administration interface as well as a cPanel. Bluehost, on the other hand, offers its own bespoke user-friendly control panel as well as an integrated cPanel for more sophisticated operations.
While both providers offer effective and user-friendly control panels, they take significantly different approaches to website management. So, to see what varies, I’ll discuss each host separately.
Things are old-school yet straightforward at A2 Hosting. To begin with, its account management page is pretty archaic and has a plain appearance. It appears little dull to me and lacks the slickness of a contemporary UI. The good news is that you actually just need it for billing and cPanel access.
Speaking of cPanel, A2 Hosting employs the conventional cPanel as the primary administrative interface for your website. So it’s a familiar picture if you’re already familiar with the famous panel.
A2 does not employ any special skins or branding on its cPanel in terms of appearance. The design, however, has no effect on the panel’s operation. It’s still incredibly structured and straightforward for both experienced webmasters and newcomers.
This is how cPanel appears:
This is where you’ll discover crucial features and tools at your fingertips. It features domain, email, file, and database administration, app installations, stats, and basically everything you need to run your website.
Bluehost is a two-pronged service, with its own proprietary control panel as well as cPanel for more complex settings.
The native Bluehost panel may be used as a stand-alone website administration interface. You’ll find useful items like a checklist on how to construct a WordPress site here, as well as all of the major pieces including domains, email accounts, SSL certificate settings, and plugins.
Bluehost’s native UI looks like this:
It’s fresh, clean, and well-organized, as you can see. Everything is labelled clearly and easily accessible, with all of your day-to-day website maintenance activities on the left.
Bluehost now offers cPanel for more complex capabilities including as file and database administration, security setups, and content management system instals. Simply choose the Advanced option on the left side menu to access the cPanel.
In terms of appearance, Bluehost’s cPanel appears to be a part of its native administration panel rather than a distinct panel when compared to A2 Hosting’s. The supplier has even incorporated its own skin for seamless integration, as you can see.
Both A2 Hosting and Bluehost are quite simple to use. Bluehost, on the other hand, comes out on top due to its more functional and user-friendly custom control panel, which contains all of the required site administration functions such as domains, SSL, emails, and many more.
WINNER
Bluehost
A2 Hosting vs Bluehost -- Performance
When it comes to A2 Hosting vs Bluehost performance, the services compete at 99.99 percent uptime. However, in every other aspect, it’s a tight match with strong performance from both suppliers. A2 Hosting is the speedier alternative overall, however Bluehost’s server is more responsive.
Uptime and response time
A2 Hosting and Bluehost both maintained a 99.99 percent uptime in less than two months. However, when it comes to average response time, A2 Hosting behind Bluehost.
Let us begin with A2 Hosting. The provider’s 99.99 percent uptime was commendable, with only four brief disruptions totalling 7 minutes of downtime. That’s quite close to 100%, and it exceeded its SLA’s 99.9% uptime promise.
A2 Hosting’s response times were poor, averaging 597ms. This is rather close to the market average of 600ms. To its credit, though, its reaction times were highly regular and reliable.
Bluehost, too, performed admirably in terms of dependability, with a 99.99 percent uptime for more than two months. There were six outages, but they only lasted 11 minutes, which is excellent.
My main concern with Bluehost is that their SLA does not include an uptime guarantee. As a result, you will not be reimbursed if your website is down for a lengthy period of time.
Website loading time
I also established WordPress hosting sites for Bluehost versus A2 Hosting to do simple page loading speed testing. A2 Hosting won by having a higher Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and completely loaded time.
For the A2 Hosting versus Bluehost speed test, I’m looking at:
LCP – improved results aid in search engine ranking. Google’s maximum standard is 2.5s.
Fully loaded time – it should be less than 3 seconds for the optimal user experience and minimal bounce rates.
A2 Hosting outperformed in both areas. It had an LCP of 1.3s and a fully loaded time of 1.4s.
I’m testing my US-hosted site from the United States. It does, however, have servers throughout Europe and Asia. So, if you choose the server nearest to your target audience, they should receive comparable favourable results.
Bluehost had a significantly slower LCP of 1.8s than A2. This is also the period when it is Fully Loaded. Nonetheless, the service is significantly quicker than both the 2.5s and 3s standards.
However, Bluehost only has servers in the United States. As a result, if your intended audience is located elsewhere, there is no option to select the server nearest to the audience for better speeds.
In summary, both providers passed inspection with above-average LCP and fully loaded times, but A2 Hosting wins by simply being quicker.
Finally, A2 Hosting and Bluehost are both extremely dependable, with nearly flawless uptime. A2 Hosting, on the other hand, is the speedier of the two choices.
WINNER
A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting vs Bluehost -- Security
When it comes to security, A2 Hosting provides better protection. Meanwhile, Bluehost covers the fundamentals and offers a plethora of additional choices, but they are not free.
A2 Hosting and Bluehost both include:
- Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates are included in all hosting plans, with advanced options available for purchase.
- 24/7 server monitoring;
- DDoS defence (A2 Hosting has built-in DDoS protection, while you can set up one for Bluehost by using Cloudflare).
And here is how they differ from one another:
- With its Drive plans and higher, A2 Hosting features daily automated backups. Bluehost’s backups, on the other hand, are free with Choice Plus and above. Otherwise, a third-party utility will set you back $2.99 each month.
- For all of its plans, A2 Hosting provides Perpetual Security, the Patchman Enhanced Security tool, and 24/7 network monitoring.
- Bluehost charges $5.99 per month for SiteLock as a premium add-on.
There is a clear winner in the A2 Hosting versus Bluehost security edition. While Bluehost provides free SSL certificates and server monitoring, A2 Hosting provides a more complete security solution.
WINNER
A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting vs Bluehost -- Support
A2 Hosting and Bluehost provide customer service via live chat, phone, email, and a ticketing system that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Furthermore, the partnership has knowledge bases.
The ticketing system is A2 Hosting’s primary support route. As a result, you’ll notice that your phone and live chat enquiries are frequently forwarded to that channel – especially if you have a technical query. As a result, be prepared to wait. In general, though, inquiries and difficulties are resolved rather quickly.
If you don’t want to wait, A2 Hosting also offers a large knowledge base. They cover everything from setup to typical difficulties and everything in between.
When it comes to Bluehost, the company concentrates mostly on live chat assistance. In general, wait times are short, and the agents are polite and willing to assist. However, depending on the particular agent’s knowledge, this may be a hit or miss.
Aside from that, Bluehost’s knowledge library is extensive, covering both fundamental and complex topics. However, a few of its articles and guidelines may benefit from an update.
When it comes to assistance, neither of them is perfect. However, I believe Bluehost takes the lead since it offers more help channels and a lower wait time.
WINNER
Bluehost
A2 Hosting vs Bluehost: Our Recommendation
Bluehost came out on top in all categories. It’s less expensive, more user-friendly, and almost as quick as A2 Hosting. It’s an excellent choice for small to medium-sized websites.
A2 Hosting, on the other hand, is an excellent choice for a quick and secure web hosting solution for a small company website.
WINNER
Bluehost
Wix and Bluehost Alternatives
If Wix and Bluehost aren’t exactly right for you, there are plenty of alternative solutions on the market. Hostinger and HostGator are two excellent solutions worth considering.
Hostinger
Are you on a tight budget? Then Hostinger is the most affordable solution. Its entry-level package starts at $2.59 per month. In comparison, Bluehost charges $2.95 per month and SiteGround charges $2.99 per month. You just cannot. Furthermore, it lets you to select one of its seven data centre locations, making it an excellent choice if your target audience is in a certain place.
When you see pricing like these, you might wonder, “What gives?” Nothing, it appears. Hostinger provides fantastic speed that I can vouch for, a bespoke control panel called hPanel that is simple to use, and trustworthy 24/7 customer service.
DreamHost
DreamHost, like SiteGround and Bluehost, is a WordPress-focused service that has been endorsed by the platform’s designers. It’s a less expensive option, with costs beginning at $2.59 per month.
Simultaneously, DreamHost introduces new security features like as daily backups and domain privacy. Consider this web host if you need a dependable and safe web host at a low cost.
hostgator
HostGator, Bluehost’s sibling company, provides a variety of hosting options. In reality, it caters to both beginners and experts. In addition, if you want to swiftly put up your site, HostGator provides its own proprietary website builder. It has a drag-and-drop editor and is very simple to use.
Its pricing are reasonable, ranging from $2.75/month to $5.25/month for shared hosting. Plans for its website builder begin at $3.46 per month.
InMotion Hosting
InMotion Hosting is a versatile solution for nearly any website building project. The service provider is well-known for its dependable performance and wide range of hosting options.
You may select from shared, WordPress, dedicated, and VPS hosting options. If you want traditional cPanel hosting, shared hosting options beginning at $2.29/month are ideal.
A2 Hosting vs Bluehost FAQs
Is A2 Hosting superior to Bluehost?
No, A2 Hosting is not superior to Bluehost. While A2 Hosting has several advantages, Bluehost, despite its lower rates, provides all of the hosting necessities. Furthermore, Bluehost’s unique control panel is far more straightforward and user-friendly than A2 Hosting’s design.
Which is less expensive, A2 Hosting or Bluehost?
Bluehost’s entry-level shared hosting plan is somewhat less expensive, costing $2.95 per month. A2 Hosting’s comparable-level plan costs $2.99 per month.
Is Bluehost quicker?
No, A2 Hosting is quicker, with a higher LCP and a shorter time to fully load.
Do Bluehost and A2 Hosting provide me with a free domain?
Any Bluehost plan includes a free domain. Meanwhile, A2 Hosting’s plans do not provide a free domain. Instead, you’ll need to pay $14.95/year to a domain name registrar or A2 Hosting directly.
