SiteGround vs Bluehost Hosting Comparison

After 3 years of testing, let’s compare SiteGround vs Bluehost and find out how they’ve performed so far…

SiteGround vs Bluehost – Testing Method

  • Prior to testing, I have setup identical content on all 8 Live Test Sites
  • Each week over 80,000 speed & uptime tests are run using independent tools, GTmetrix & Pingdom
  • GTmetrix Logo 50Pingdom Logo 50
  • Test results below are from 04 Apr 2016 to 22 Dec 2018

Test #1: Speed

The GTmetrix Speed Test checks how long it takes for a website to fully load using a desktop internet browser. This test is then repeated every hour throughout the week (1,340 times).

  • SiteGround’s speed was typically in the bottom half of our hosts during 2016. How things have turned around in 2017 & 2018, with a dramatic improvement to 2nd during the 1st half of 2017. SiteGround have then taken it a step further to be our fastest host in H2 2017, H1 2018 and H2 2018.
  • Bluehost’s average speed was poor across 2016 & 2017, consistently finishing in the bottom 2 hosts. However, in 2018, there has been a massive turnaround, as they have been our 4th fastest host in both H1 & H2 2018.
  • SiteGround is currently sitting in 1st place and Bluehost 4th in our Speed Rankings.
SiteGround vs Bluehost Speed Table - Apr 2016 to Dec 2018

H2 2018 Results

SiteGround vs Bluehost Speed Chart - Jul 2018 to Dec 2018
SiteGround vs Bluehost Speed Table - Jul 2018 to Dec 2018

H1 2018 Results

SiteGround vs Bluehost Speed Chart - Jan 2018 to Jul 2018
SiteGround vs Bluehost Speed Table - Jan 2018 to Jul 2018

H2 2017 Results

SiteGround vs Bluehost Speed Chart - Aug 2017 to Dec 2017
SiteGround vs Bluehost Speed Table - Aug 2017 to Dec 2017

H1 2017 Results

SiteGround vs Bluehost Speed Chart - Jan 2017 to Aug 2017
SiteGround vs Bluehost Speed Table - Jan 2017 to Aug 2017

2016 Results

SiteGround vs Bluehost Speed Chart - Apr 2016 to Dec 2016
SiteGround vs Bluehost Speed Table - Apr 2016 to Dec 2016

Test #2: Uptime

The Pingdom Uptime Test confirms that the website is actually accessible to visitors. This test is then repeated every minute throughout the week (80,640 times).

  • SiteGround have performed brilliantly when it comes to Uptime, showing rare consistency for the 3 years we’ve been testing. Their performance in H1 2018 has been their best so far, with just 12 minutes of downtime, while H2 2018 was also impressive with just 23 minutes of downtime.
  • Bluehost performed poorly when it came to Uptime across 2016 & 2017. But once again 2018 is a different story, recording just 6 minutes of downtime in H1 2018 and 8 minutes in H2 2018. It is a remarkable result when you consider the past performance, but amazingly Bluehost is the best performing host for uptime in 2018.
  • SiteGround is currently ranked 2nd and Bluehost 4th in our Uptime Rankings.
SiteGround vs Bluehost Uptime Table - Apr 2016 to Dec 2018

SiteGround vs Bluehost – Overall Test Results

The Overall Ranking accumulates the results from the speed & uptime tests to determine the #1 Host.

  • SiteGround’s performance was solid throughout 2016, but has really stepped up across 2017 & 2018. Their uptime consistency has been very impressive plus they have been our fastest host over the past 18 months. These results have led to SiteGround achieving for the first time the coveted #1 Overall Ranking – Congratulations!!
  • Bluehost was consistently the slowest of our active hosts across 2016 & 2017. Combined with a less than stellar uptime resulted in it being 8th Overall at the end of 2017. But the big news of 2018 is the miraculous turnaround of Bluehost’s speed and especially it’s uptime performance. This has led to a massive jump in the overall rankings.
  • This results in SiteGround currently sitting in 1st and Bluehost 4th in our Overall Rankings.
SiteGround vs Bluehost Overall Table - Apr 2016 to Dec 2018

How do SiteGround & Bluehost compare to our 8 other Hosts?