DreamHost vs HostPapa
DreamHost and HostPapa compared on measured uptime, response time, pricing and features from our own tests. DreamHost scores higher overall.
By Jennifer T. · Updated
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Verdict
DreamHostWins overall
Independent since 1997: three shared plans with renewals printed on the card, daily backups and a 100% uptime credit
Canadian cPanel host with phone support in 16 countries and five data centers; backups cost extra after year one
DreamHost wins 4 of the six sub-scores and comes out ahead overall (7.6 vs 7.3).
How do the scores compare?
DreamHost leads on 4 sub-scores, HostPapa on 2. Higher is better.
Which one is faster and more reliable?
Which one costs less?
On renewal, HostPapa is cheaper ($8.99/mo vs $10.99/mo). Intro prices need the listed term.
What does each include?
| DreamHost | HostPapa | |
|---|---|---|
| Free domain | First year, on annual and multi-year terms only | First year, on terms of one year or longer, select extensions; a non-refundable domain fee applies if you cancel in the first term |
| Free SSL | Unlimited certificates on every plan | Standard certificate |
| Backups | Daily automated backups on every plan, restored from the panel | Not stated |
| Free migration | The product page links a migration path for existing sites; terms not read | Yes |
| Free CDN | No | Not stated |
| Caching | No | Not stated |
| Staging | No | On every plan |
| 20, 40 or 60 mailboxes free for the first three months, then billed separately | Not stated | |
| Resource limits | No | Not stated |
| Data center choice | Oregon, Virginia, Amsterdam and Singapore per the product page and help center; the panel shows where each service lives | Not stated |
| Uptime guarantee | 100% in the terms, with a credit of one day of hosting per hour of qualifying downtime, up to 10% of the next renewal, counted from the support ticket | 99.9% measured monthly, excluding scheduled maintenance, as a reasonable-efforts commitment; no credit schedule in the terms |
| Performance scans | Automated and on-demand performance scans on every plan | Not stated |
| Phone support | No | 24/7, local numbers in 16 countries |
| Windows hosting | No | No |
| Automated backups | Not stated | 1 GB on Essentials and 5 GB on Growth free for the first year; a paid add-on afterwards |
| CDN | Not stated | Yes |
| Security | Not stated | Imunify360 basic on Essentials; Protection Power plus Imunify360 on Growth and above, free for the full term |
| Server resources | Not stated | Relative tiers 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x; cores, inodes and database size not published on the plan cards |
| Choice of data center | Not stated | Toronto, Buffalo, Miami, Los Angeles or Amsterdam, per the data centers page |