If you are looking for the best cloud hosting services on the web, then you have probably come across the name DigitalOcean and perhaps Bluehost. DigitalOcean is among the emerging leaders in price-valued and flexible hosting solutions that are scalable. DigitalOcean is an exclusive cloud hosting provider and as of 2018, Bluehost has concentrated on shared hosting. You can read Bluehost’s announcement here.
They announced it on their blog, as shown on the snapshot below:
DigitalOcean has proven itself as a leader with almost all the tools and functionalities that you may need for your business, group or personal websites.
With my comparion below, I have made it possible for you to be able to decide which of the two web hosting providers are ideal for you given that they provide slightly differentiated forms of hosting – traditional web hositng vs cloud hosting.
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DigitalOcean and BlueHost Comparison Criteria
Cloud hosting is the best hosting service that you can use for your brand or business website. Nonetheless, in order for cloud hosting to fully effective and functional for your business needs, you need to consider the following factors:
- Reliability
- Pricing
- User-Friendly
- Customer Support
- Available Features
I compared a vast majority of user reviews from BlueHost and DigitalOcean and consolidated the appropriate ratings with regards to the factors to be considered:
| BlueHost | DigitalOcean | |
| Reliability | 9.8/10 | 10/10 |
| Pricing | 9.4/10 | 9.0/10 |
| User-Friendly | 9.5/10 | 9.0/10 |
| Customer Support | 9.5/10 | 9.0/10 |
| Available Features | 9.4/10 | 10/10 |
Even though both DigitalOcean and BlueHost are both above average with the provision of their services, BlueHost is the ideal cloud hosting service with respect to the cost-friendliness, user-friendliness as well as a great customer support that will help you navigate any of your website needs.
Nonetheless, this does not disqualify DigitalOcean as a great cloud hosting provider. In fact, if you are specifically looking to have a fast, reliable service with a great array of features, then DigitalOcean is your best bet. All in all, the best web hosting provider for you should be able to fulfill all your relevant website needs.
Even with regards to the server locations, BlueHost and DigitalOcean both have data centers in North America, but DigitalOcean still has other data centers in Europe and Asia as well. This means that they can effectively deliver high quality features which work seamlessly regardless of your location around the globe. This is probably why they have higher pricing tiers and minimized contact with the users. DigitalOcean is more focused on offering reliable cloud hosting services with amazing features that can be used to improve your brand or business website.
About DigitalOcean and BlueHost
On one hand, DigitalOcean is a top-rated cloud hosting platform that was founded in 2011. Ever since its inception, DigitalOcean has kept a consistent record of excellent uptimes in the provision of flexible cloud hosting services at reasonably affordable prices.
On the other hand, BlueHost has had a bit of experience in the web hosting industry, having begun in 1996, fifteen years before DigitalOcean came to life. BlueHost has been able to master web hosting services such that it is able to provide unlimited bandwidth, hosting memory space, as well as unlimited email hosting. In fact, BlueHost is able to provide these services with a very robust performance record that indicates that even their customer service is up to the challenge.
I have effectively been able to create this comparison by creating a variety of factors which include:
Pricing
BlueHost has very good pricing tiers which start from only $2.95 per month. This is a relatively inexpensive considering that they provide a lot of features. You can even get an additional Search Engine Submission Tools as a bonus. You will find that BlueHost will offer a range of services that include free SSL, free CDN, free domain in the first year, and 24/7 support. If you opt for their SEO tools and their ads program, you can even get a $100 Google advertising credit for your account, as well as a $50 Facebook Ad-free.
Below is a snapshot of Bluehost web hosting pricing plans:
Prior to phasing out their cloud hosting plans, Bluehost had the following prices for their cloud hosing plans:
All the while, the cheapest DigitalOcean pricing tier goes for $5 a month which offers only 1Gb of RAM and only 25Gb of SSD storage space. It is suffice to argue that while these features seem a little less for a $5 starting price, you will be able to satisfy your small business website needs and operate at reliable speeds and uptime. You can also scale up the provision of your services depending on the relative growth of your business.
Even further you will be able to get access to an active developer community that will be able to solve any site issues within minimal response times as well as a forum to share your relative site ideas. Check out more about DigitalOcena’s droplets here.
DigitalOcean vs Bluehost: Comparison
Below is a comparison of some of BlueHost and DigitalOcean cloud hosting features
| DigitalOcean | BlueHost | |
| BBB Rating | A+ | A+ |
| Customer Support | Available on: Phone, Live Chats, tickets | Available on: Phone, Live Chats, tickets |
| Data centers | 6 data centers: London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, San Francisco, Toronto, Singapore | 2 data centers: Provo, Utah |
| Unlimited Data Transfer | Not available (Only from 1TB) | Yes |
| Unlimited Data Storage | Not available (Only from 25Gb) | Yes |
| Unlimited Emails | Not available | Yes |
| Multiple Domain Hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Control Panel | DigitalOcean Interface | cPanel |
| Server Uptime Guarantee | 99.99% | Over 99% |
| Dedicated Server Hosting | Not available (cloud hosting only) | Yes |
| Starting Prices | $5 per month | $2.95 per month |
| Money – Back Guarantee | 30 days | 30 days |
Customer support
Both BlueHost and DigitalOcean have great customer support and can be accessed through multiple channels. For instance, if you are unable to reach them through their live support or through their chats, you can book a ticket or give them a direct call for any enquiries that you may have concerning your site needs.
Even so, I should mention that BlueHost has had multiple positive reviews that insinuate that they have excellent customer support services. This is because they have great response time to all their users, and they critically analyze your specific problem to find out the best solution for your site issues. Even further, they have a great online platform that enables users to access the Q & As that have been encountered by different users and solved by their expert team of analysts.
DigitalOcean customer support is also up to standard but does not compare to that of BlueHost. This is why most users looking to start a business opt to choose BlueHost as their preferred cloud hosting service so as to be able to effectively communicate any site issues that might derail the progress of your brand or business site. While DigitalOcean may take some time to reach, they make sure that they have provided great user accessibility and reliability of services such that it would be hard to find errors in the running of your brand or business site.
Pros
| DigitalOcean | Bluehost |
|---|---|
| DigitalOcean has a quick setup that is able to spin up quickly. I would take you less than a minute to be able to effectively get DigitalOcean to run your website. | First off, BlueHost has a variety of hosting plans which are inclusive of not only cloud hosting but also, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, as well as managed WordPress hosting. BlueHost further enables you to change your hosting depending on the needs of your site. |
| DigitalOcean has also been able to set up very high benchmarks with respect to the provision of valiant features needed for your cloud hosting services | In addition, BlueHost has a 24/7 customer support that enables you to be able to access valiant help from BlueHost support experts. You can also be able to access the best self-help platform such that you can fix some of the site problems with ease. Either way, you will be able to access instantaneous help via their live chats, hotlines or support tickets. |
| In addition, DigitalOcean has a static IP for your cloud hosting at no additional prices. In fact, you will get this service for free while other cloud hosting providers to access a static IP for your cloud hosting services. | BlueHost gives you the best insurance investment in your site. This is because you will be able to get all your funds back in case you feel it does not meet your needs within the first thirty days of using BlueHost. You might even be able to get refunds for cancellation beyond the initial days if you have a prorated account. |
| Another advantage of using DigitalOcean for your cloud hosting services is that it uses SSD disks only. These are much safer and secure than the typical storage drives which can be easily damaged. | BlueHost also gives you the best starter prices which ensure that you save on costing for your investment. At just $2.95, you will access an array of features sufficient to start your brand or business site. I doubt any other top rated offer great hosting plans at these pricing tiers. |
Cons
| DigitalOcean | BlueHost |
| DigitalOcean cloud hosting can be a challenge to master for novice users. Nevertheless, you can get up to speed in a short and smooth learning curve. | One of the major disadvantages of BlueHost is that there is no uptime guarantee. This creates the impression of unreliability among users. Subsequently, you will not be compensated for any unexpected downtime or prolonged server downtime altogether. |
| If you want to migrate to BlueHost hosting service, you would probably have to factor in an additional cost for the website migration fees. Unlike DigitalOcean and another top web hosting that does not charge for this service, BlueHost includes a charge for migrating pre-existing websites and/or even cPanel accounts. |
So,
Which do I Choose? BlueHost or DigitalOcean?
BlueHost
BlueHost stands out as a decent web hosting provider that can support a horde of professional features. You will be able to get access to an all-round service provision, from web development to domain management features and especially for WordPress websites and blogs.
Furthermore, BlueHost has had a positive impression among users with respect to developing technologies. BlueHost invests in new technological additions and improvements and ensures that it has an innovative platform. In fact, BlueHost has made a lot of customization to their back-end administration such that it has improved usability and flexibility with the browser interface.
It is worth noting that BlueHost also directs most of its focus towards the WordPress customers. To be able to effectively provide the best services to build and maintain your brand or business site, I would recommend using either their hybrid cloud or the managed WordPress platform.
All factors considered, I would argue that BlueHost is generally a well-planned organization that keeps improving the quality of their services through investing in upcoming technologies. As a matter of fact, they not only update their software regularly, but also their hardware in their respective data centers. It is even considered by a majority of users on the internet to be the leading developer of new cloud hosting platform services.
Contacts
BlueHost has its headquarters at BlueHost Inc. 560 Timpanogos Pkwy Orem, UT 84097. To be able to reach BlueHost, Contact BlueHost through their website or through their phone number: (888) 401-4678.
This cloud hosting platform on the other hand is a great choice for start-ups who are looking to get started on their feet quickly. Furthermore, Digital Ocean especially focuses on the scalability and infrastructure of your website to make sure that they provide the best feature provision for your site.
DigitalOcean is very powerful for running micro services for your website. This might be a little tricky if you do not have prior development experience as their cloud platform is more tech savvy. In any case, you will be able to run pre-configures service scenarios where the limits of your hosting might not allow during your site hosting.
This together with other features like prototyping will enable us to have better control of your site functions. In retrospect, this can be viewed as more time spent on the website than on the brand or business. Nonetheless, automated infrastructures are helpful in notifying you when you have important system updates.
DigitalOcean headquarters are located at 101 6th Ave, New York, NY 10013. You can reach DigitalOcean through their contact phone number: (347) 903-7918 or simply through their website: www.digitalocean.com
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My name is Nate Reiner and I am the editor here at 10Webtools. I have 8 years of experience using 50+ different web tools ranging from podcast, web hosting, email marketing, and much more. I previously managed a team offering support services to a large conglomerate that utilized tens of software solutions. I now run this blog full-time and when I am not reviewing or testing software, I enjoy riding bikes and supporting my clients achieve internet success. You can reach me directly at [email protected]