Bluehost vs Wix: We Compare Costs, Features, & More

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4.8

out of 5

4.8

out of 5

If you’re comparing hosting providers, Bluehost and Wix are two high-quality – but super different – ways to get a website up and running. Wix is a more beginner-friendly option, since it offers an all-in-one solution, whereas Bluehost provides hosting, giving you control over the resources you want powering your website.

Key Takeaways 🔍

  • Wix is more beginner-friendly than Bluehost since the website builder bundles everything together, including hosting and security
  • If you want greater control over your site’s resources, choose a dedicated hosting provider like Bluehost
  • Wix has a free plan and premium plans ranging from $17 to $159 per month
  • Bluehost’s pricing is cheaper than Wix initially, but you’ll need to pay for extras, like templates and plugins
  • Both Bluehost and Wix provide 24/7 customer support

What's the Difference Between Bluehost and Wix?

The main difference is this: Bluehost is a hosting provider, which focuses more on website resources, like storage space.

Wix is a website builder, which focuses more on website design tools, like templates, and ongoing maintenance. But which type of platform will you need?

comparison quiz

No platform is perfect for everyone. This comparison table shows gives you a clear overview of the key benefits and drawbacks of Wix and Bluehost:

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Bluehost

Wix

Overall rating
4.8
Overall rating
4.8
Best for

Best overall hosting provider

Best for

Best for all-in-one website management

Starting from

$3.99

Starting from
What we like
  • Popular web hosting choice
  • Very affordable plans
  • Recommended by WordPress
  • Reliable performance
What we like
  • Drag-and-drop website editor
  • 2,000+ templates
  • Built-in features and AI tools
  • Caters to all industries
What we dislike
  • No website building support
  • Complex design process
  • Not a beginner-friendly option
What we dislike
  • Less powerful server resources
  • Limited by website builder capabilities
  • Plans are more expensive
Visit Bluehost Try Wix

Is Bluehost or Wix Cheaper?

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editors choice icon
The Winner

Bluehost is better value for money

Bluehost offers better value for money than Wix, but it’s important to note that you’ll be paying for very different services.
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Both platforms have a range of paid plans to choose from, but Bluehost offers a cheaper starting point at $3.99 per month. That said, the features included in Bluehost plans and Wix plans differ since one is a hosting provider and the other is a website builder.

How Much Does Bluehost Cost?

  • Cheapest web hosting plan = $3.99 per month (36 month term)
  • The cheapest plan includes a free domain for one year, 50GB storage space, and unlimited bandwidth
  • Hosting plans range from $3.99 to $312.19 per month (36 month term)
  • You’ll need to pay for extras, such as premium WordPress themes and third-party plugins
Bluehost shared web hosting plans and fees
It's cheaper to pay for a longer subscription when choosing a Bluehost hosting plan. Source: Website Builder Expert

How Much Does Wix Cost?

Wix website builder plans and fees
Wix's website builder bundles everything you need into one subscription fee. Source: Website Builder Expert

Does Bluehost or Wix Have Better Website Features?

Wix logo
editors choice icon
The Winner

Wix has the best features

These two providers offer the best of the best in regard to their service, but Wix is the winner by having everything one could need for starting a  website, including hosting.
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Wix incorporates the entire website-building experience into one package, which is why it’s our winner when it comes to website features. With Wix, you can expect:

  • A high-quality AI website builder
  • A suite of AI tools, including a dedicated chatbot assistant called Astro
  • Personalized SEO support for your website
  • A built-in email marketing hub
  • The ability to connect with your social media accounts
  • Ecommerce functionality to sell products online
Wix AI Marketing Agent page in the account dashboard
Wix has introduced new AI features, such as its AI Marketing Agent, to help businesses grow online. Source: Website Builder Expert

Bluehost has some of the best tools for a hosting provider, but it’s limited by the fact it’s a hosting provider only. It’s cheapest plan includes storage space, unmetered bandwidth, and security measures, such as an SSL certificate. Extras, such as email marketing, aren’t automatically built-in to your Bluehost plan.

That said, as a hosting provider, Bluehost offers great resources to help your site perform better, load faster, and accommodate high-traffic days. But, when it comes to your website’s look, feel, and general user experience, you’ll have to outsource to a CMS like WordPress.

In comparison, Wix does it all, for one subscription fee.

What about apps with Bluehost and Wix?

If you want to add extra functionality to your site, Wix and Bluehost (via WordPress) offer app markets. Wix’s app market offers hundreds of third-party integrations, which you can seamlessly integrate with your Wix site at the click of a button. In comparison, WordPress has over 60,000 plugins to choose from, which is necessary because WordPress has less built-in functionality than Wix.

Is Wix Easier To Use Than Bluehost?

Wix logo
editors choice icon
The Winner

Wix is easier to use than Bluehost

Wix’s drag-and-drop website builder requires absolutely no prior knowledge, and all of the technical stuff – including hosting – is taken care of for you.
Try Wix Today

Wix’s website building tools are easier to use and more intuitive than Bluehost, especially for beginners.

Wix provides a drag-and-drop editor and quality AI website builder to help you build and design your site, whereas Bluehost’s basic website builder is more of a formality that no one uses. With Bluehost, the most popular option is to create your Bluehost-hosted website through WordPress, which can take some time to get used to.

💻 My Experience With Wix

  • Drag-and-drop editor for complete creative control
  • Wix’s AI website builder asks you questions about your business and website needs to generate a custom template
  • You can create a website with AI in less than 10 minutes
  • Wix’s code-free editor is great for beginners, but advanced customization is also available
  • Choose from over 2,000 free templates if you don’t want to use AI
  • Follow your Wix dashboard’s setup checklist to help you get started
  • You don’t have to set up hosting or manage your server

💻 My Experience With Bluehost

  • Most Bluehost users rely on WordPress to build and design their website
  • Bluehost doesn’t provide the same all-in-one package as Wix
  • WordPress isn’t very beginner-friendly – some coding knowledge is beneficial
  • WordPress provides total creative freedom
  • A cPanel dashboard makes it straightforward to oversee your Bluehost website
Dragging a testimonial section into the Wix editor
I could easily drag and drop pre-designed elements into my Wix site. Source: Website Builder Expert

Reviews for Bluehost and Wix ⬇️

According to Trustpilot, Bluehost is favored by customers. Both platforms have roughly 25,000 reviews on the site, but Wix has a rating of 4 out of 5 and Bluehost has a rating of 4.6 out of 5.

Can You Customize Your Site With Wix and Bluehost?

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The Winner

It's a tie! Bluehost and Wix are similarly matched for design

Wix websites are easier to design but will still look amazing, whereas Bluehost WordPress websites require more advanced knowledge but allow for infinite design freedom. Because they each succeed at satisfying a different function, we can’t say which is better. So it’s a tie.

Wix templates are modern and stylish, and they give you a stunning website without any work involved on your part. You can also use Wix’s AI website builder to create your own template from scratch, or customize a theme’s design in the editor, such as colors, fonts, and layouts.

The biggest draw of Wix’s templates is that they’re ready-made and high-quality. Plus, there are over 2,000 to choose from, covering a wide range of industries and website types. With Wix templates, you can have style and ease of use.

Wix templates library showing filters for businesses
I could filter Wix's template library for specific business types, which made browsing the 2,000+ catalog much easier. Source: Website Builder Expert

Through Bluehost, you can access thousands of templates via WordPress. Like Wix, these are free to use. However, from my initial review, these templates aren’t as sleek or modern as Wix’s templates.

However, WordPress themes are more customizable than Wix’s templates. If you have a little bit of coding knowledge, and some time to get comfortable with the WordPress CMS, then you’ll be able to create your own unique pages.

WordPress theme library
WordPress has over 13,000 templates to browse, but they're not as high quality as Wix's templates. Source: Website Builder Expert

Which Platform Has Better Performance and Security?

bluehost logo
editors choice icon
The Winner

Bluehost has the best performance and security

Hosting providers are better than website builders in this area because they’re more focused on the resources and reliability of the actual web server, rather than the front end of the website that your visitors see.
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Both Bluehost and Wix provide dependable performance and security, so your site will be well-protected and run smoothly. That said, Bluehost has more resources available, guaranteeing a better uptime rate and giving you the opportunity to tweak your technical settings.

With Wix, you have no access to the technical side of your site and you’re limited by what the set website builder plans provide. Bluehost lets you change factors in the backend if your website starts loading slowly, or you can even upgrade your hosting plan for more storage and memory.

Bluehost Wix
SSL certificate Free Free
Uptime guarantee 99.98% 99.8%
Website backups Manual Automatic
Software updates Manual Automatic

How Do Bluehost and Wix's Support Options Compare?

Wix logo
editors choice icon
The Winner

Wix has the better help and support

They both have responsive support teams that you can reach over the phone or email. But Wix editor’s built-in tips, which guide you as you go along, push this builder over the top.
Try Wix Today

Bluehost trails behind Wix when it comes to help and support. What elevates Wix’s support over Bluehost’s is its ease of use and the amount of guidance you get when building or designing your website.

Since Bluehost isn’t a dedicated website builder, it can’t offer this level of on-the-job guidance for website design.

That said, Bluehost and Wix offer multiple ways to contact their support teams:

Wix Support

✅ 24/7 phone support
✅ Wix Astro (AI assistant)
✅ Live chat (Monday to Friday)
✅ Help Center
✅ Community forum
✅ In-editor support
❌ Email support

Bluehost Support

✅ 24/7 phone
✅ Email
✅ Live chat
✅ Knowledge base

Wix on-page hints and tips
If you're stuck, look for these blue question marks in Wix's editor for help. Source: Website Builder Expert

How We Test Hosting Providers

We’ve spent hundreds of hours researching and testing each platform to bring you unbiased and accurate recommendations. For hosting providers, we looked at a few key areas in particular:

  • Pricing
  • Performance
  • Features
  • Help and support
  • Market analysis

We’ve also carried out hands-on testing to bring you personal insights and tips on using each platform. Based on this research, we’ve been able to determine the overall ratings for Bluehost and Wix.

Final Verdict: Should You Use Bluehost or Wix?

It’s clear that Bluehost and Wix are very different platforms. But one thing’s for sure: they’re both high-quality tools! To put it simply, Bluehost is a hosting provider (so it’s more hands-on to manage), whereas Wix is a website builder (providing built-in features already).

Of course, the platform you choose to host your website will depend on your needs:

Bluehost is better for those who want more security and design freedom...

Bluehost is a hosting provider, meaning it runs your website for you. If you don’t like the look of Wix or any other website builder templates for that matter, Bluehost gives you an empty lot to build your dream. You’ll have to do the work yourself, but you’ll have total creative freedom. Because Bluehost only hosts, it has better security as well, meaning you don’t have to worry about potential hackers.

Wix is better for those who want an easier-to-use platform that still has plenty of style...

If the idea of having to build your own website from scratch fills you with dread, then perhaps Wix is better suited for you. It provides you with a professionally-designed template that you can really make your own with a super easy-to-use editor and tons of great features. There are hundreds of templates too, spanning dozens of industries. If you’re a beginner or don’t have the time, Wix is the choice for you.
Written by:
Headshot of Emma Ryan
Emma is Lead Writer at Website Builder Expert, having first joined the team in 2022. She manages the website's topical content strategy to help website owners navigate the highs and lows of being online. Emma also specializes in following the development of leading website builders Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify, through hands-on testing and research. Her work and expertise have been featured in Startups.co.uk, Digiday, TechRound, Industry Today, and Digital Information World.
Researched by:
natasha_willett
I love to understand human behavior and the cognitive biases that drive us to do what we do. For over nine years I have worked as a mixed method researcher – research using a mix of numerical data and personal experiences – across a range of sectors, from insurance and policy development to finally arriving at Website Builder Expert five years ago. Fascinated by consumer decision-making, I meticulously built our leading ranking methodology to explore where providers like Wix sit within a competitive industry and what value they truly bring to our audience.
As a member of the Market Research Society, I’m an advocate for high ethical, commercial, and methodological best practices. All of this combines to give you the most ethical recommendations based on real data.

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