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Both of these hosts sell one shared plan on two different terms. Each term carries its own renewal rate. The same DreamHost figures against a Cloudways server are in our Cloudways and DreamHost comparison.
So there are four three-year totals rather than two. They run from $104.04 to $467.64.
Four Totals for the Same Three Years
DreamHost Launch on its four-year term reaches $104.04, because 36 months sit inside a 48-month promotion.
On its annual term the same plan reaches $298.44, since the $10.99 renewal arrives after twelve months.
SiteGround StartUp reaches $251.64 on its 24-month term and $467.64 on its annual one.
Therefore DreamHost is cheaper on every pairing of terms. The gap between the best term at each host is $147.60.
The Short Answer
DreamHost, and by more than the scores suggest. We rank SiteGround 3.9 and DreamHost 3.7, yet the cheaper host wins every price comparison here. The same DreamHost figures set against Newfold Digital’s Bluehost are in our Bluehost and DreamHost comparison.
Of course, one condition applies. You have to buy the four-year term to get $104.04.
The Dropdown Costs More Than the Choice
DreamHost’s two terms sit $194.40 apart. SiteGround’s two sit $216.00 apart.
Both figures exceed the $147.60 between the best term at each host. In other words, the checkout dropdown moves more money than the company.
That pattern appears at four hosts in our tables, and every term sits beside its renewal there.
| Host and plan | How it builds | 36-month total |
|---|---|---|
| ChemiCloud Starter, 36-month term | 36 prepaid months at $2.49 | $89.64 |
| InterServer Standard | 36 months at $2.50, price locked | $90.00 |
| DreamHost Launch, 48-month term | 36 of 48 prepaid months at $2.89 | $104.04 |
| Namecheap Stellar, 24-month term | 24 at $1.98, then 12 at $4.88 | $106.08 |
| Hostinger Premium, 48-month term | 36 of 48 prepaid months at $2.99 | $107.64 |
| HostGator Hatchling, 36-month term | 36 months at $3.75, renewal not reached | $135.00 |
| HostGator Hatchling, with daily backups | 36 at $3.75, plus CodeGuard at $35.88 a year | $242.64 |
| Bluehost Starter, 36-month term | 36 months at $3.99, renewal not reached | $143.64 |
| GoDaddy Economy, 36-month term | 36 months at $5.99, renewal not reached | $215.64 |
| GoDaddy Economy, with SSL from year two | 36 at $5.99, plus $119.99 in years two and three | $455.62 |
| Hostwinds Basic, annual | 12 at $4.54, then 24 at $6.99 | $222.24 |
| SiteGround StartUp, 24-month term | 24 at $2.99, then 12 at $14.99 | $251.64 |
| DreamHost Launch, annual | 12 at $2.89, then 24 at $10.99 | $298.44 |
| Scala Hosting Mini, annual | 12 at $2.95, then 24 at $11.95 | $322.20 |
| Bluehost Starter, 12-month term | 12 at $3.99, then 24 at $11.99 | $335.64 |
| IONOS Plus, annual | 12 at $1.00, then 24 at $14.00 | $348.00 |
| GreenGeeks Lite, 36-month prepay | 36 months at $2.95 | $106.20 |
| GreenGeeks Lite, annual | 12 at $2.95, then 24 at $13.95 | $370.20 |
| SiteGround StartUp, 12-month term | 12 at $2.99, then 24 at $17.99 | $467.64 |
| Cloudways, from | 36 months at $14.00, flat | $504.00 |
| A2 Hosting Turbo Boost, annual | 12 at $6.99, then 24 at $20.99 | $587.64 |
| Rocket.net Starter, annual | 12 at $25.00, then 24 at $30.00 | $1,020.00 |
| WP Engine Startup, annual | 12 at $27.00, then 24 at $35.00 | $1,164.00 |
| Liquid Web managed VPS | 36 months at $33.00 | $1,188.00 |
| Kinsta Starter | 36 months at $35.00, flat | $1,260.00 |
| InMotion Core, 36-month term | 36 months at $3.19, renewal not reached | $114.84 |
| InMotion Launch, 36-month term | 36 months at $4.99, renewal not reached | $179.64 |
Read the middle column rather than the last one. It says how the total was built, and that is where the term hides.
One Column Has Figures in It
Three published studies measured DreamHost in 2026. One recorded a 450 to 500 millisecond band, another a 239 millisecond average, and a third 142 milliseconds on shared and 94 on managed. The same DreamHost figures against Kinsta are in our Kinsta and DreamHost comparison.
Those figures disagree with each other by a factor of five. That is still data, and the disagreement is itself informative.
No response time or uptime figure for SiteGround appears anywhere in our tables. We have had to say that in every SiteGround comparison so far.
Part of the DreamHost spread has an explanation. It runs Apache rather than LiteSpeed, which decides which caching plugin will work.
The Refund Window Nobody Agrees On
Most published reviews state DreamHost gives 97 days. One states the current terms describe 30 days on most plans.
We could not settle it, so we print both. Confirm the figure at checkout rather than relying on any review.
Our tables hold no refund window for SiteGround at all, so we cannot compare the two. Six weeks matters when migrating, and ninety-seven would matter more.
Ownership, Where Only One Is Documented
DreamHost has never been acquired and describes itself as employee-owned. That row is in our Who Owns What table.
SiteGround has no row there. We could not establish its ownership from the sources we read, which is the wall we hit at several hosts. Bluehost, by contrast, has belonged to Newfold Digital since 2021.
Independence is worth something on a shortlist, because a group brand can appear twice under two names.
What DreamHost Gives Away
WHOIS privacy for the life of the domain. Most registrars bill for that annually from year two.
Our Hidden Costs table lists it as included, alongside one other host that does the same. It lists nothing for SiteGround.
That absence means we found no charges, not that none exist. Charges sit on help pages rather than pricing pages.
How We Research
Every figure here comes from our own tables, each row naming the source that published it, checked on 12 September 2026. Four figures are arithmetic on those rows: $194.40 and $216.00 are the gaps between each host’s two terms, $147.60 is the gap between their best terms, and $169.20 is the gap between their annual ones.
Where a table holds no row for a host, we say so rather than filling the gap. We run no tests of our own. Our criteria are on our About page.
SiteGround vs DreamHost FAQ
DreamHost, on every pairing of terms. Its four-year term reaches $104.04 across three years and its annual term $298.44, against $251.64 and $467.64 for SiteGround.
Because both hosts sell the same plan on two terms with different renewal rates. DreamHost renews at $7.99 or $10.99, and SiteGround at $14.99 or $17.99.
Only DreamHost has been measured in our tables, and the figures disagree. One study recorded 450 to 500 milliseconds, another 239, and a third 142 on shared. No figure for SiteGround appears at all.
Sources disagree. Most published reviews state 97 days while another says the current terms describe 30. We could not settle it, so confirm at checkout before paying.
DreamHost has never been acquired and describes itself as employee-owned. We could not establish SiteGround’s ownership from the sources we read.
The Verdict
DreamHost on the four-year term, by $147.60 against the best SiteGround option. On matched annual terms the gap is $169.20.
In short, the cheaper host is cheaper whichever way you cut the terms. It is also the one somebody has measured, however inconsistently.
We still rank SiteGround higher by two tenths of a point. That reflects criteria our tables do not yet cover, and we intend to close the gap.