DreamPress Review 2025 – Rated (7.0/10)
DreamPress Hosting Review: Quick Overview
DreamPress is a managed WordPress hosting with excellent uptime and TTFB but slow at handling load and poor global performance. It is best suited for small WordPress sites with focus on North American audiences alone.
We have been testing them for the last four years. This is the first year, we are giving them BUY rating as they have improved their TTFB and uptime. Till 2023, they have one of the worst uptime records, even poorer than poorest shared hosting services. Their TTFB will be below-average even for North American locations, where their physical data centers are present. With improvements over TTFB and uptime, load handling should also be improved in coming years. Given their track record of poor performance over the years, anyone getting DreamPress, should continue monitoring the performance to see if it provides the value for money spent.
Performance Metrics
Pros
- Excellent uptime in last 12 months (99.99%)
- Strong TTFB performance in North America
- User-friendly control panel
- New features getting added every year.
- 24/7 WordPress support
Cons
- Poor load handling performance (223ms)
- Not much speed difference seen with their new CDN enabled
- Per site pricing is much higher compared to competitors
- Average WPBench score (6.2/10)
Our Testing Approach
At Hostingstep, We conduct long term testing to measure the real performance of web hosting companies. All hosts, including DreamPress, go through five different testing protocols.
TTFB & Uptime Monitoring
- Tool: Pingdom synthetic monitoring
- Frequency: Every 60 seconds (525,600 checks/year)
- Locations: 22 North American regions
- Metrics: Response time (TTFB), uptime percentage
This continuous monitoring provides real-world performance over time, not just random testing time periods.
Load Testing
- Tool: Loader.io
- Protocol: 0-100 concurrent users over 60 seconds
- Metrics: Average response time, error rate
- Frequency: Monthly stress tests
These tests showcase how DreamPress handles traffic spikes and whether it actually handles the load without any issues.
WPBenchmark Testing
- Tool: WPBenchmark plugin
- Metrics: CPU, memory, file system, database
- Scoring: Standardized 10-point scale
- Frequency: Quarterly benchmarks
These benchmarks evaluate the hardware performance of DreamPress hosting.
Global TTFB Testing
- Tool: SpeedVitals
- Coverage: 40 worldwide locations
- Regions: North America, Europe, Asia, Australia
- Metrics: Region-specific response times
Got sites with international traffic? We test our DreamPress test site from 40 global locations to see if they are fast enough for your visitors.
Standardized Test Environment
- Platform: WordPress with identical installs
- Theme: Twenty Twenty-Four
- Plugins: WP Fastest Cache, Rank Math, Contact Form 7
- PHP Version: 8.1 across all tests
All our test sites including DreamPress are tested using the same test bench for fair comparisons.
Long-term Data Collection
- Duration: Minimum 12 months of testing
- Data Points: Over 500,000 tests per host
- Baseline: All hosts purchased independently
- Updates: Quarterly reviews of all metrics
We include standard 12-month data collected over a year (Jan – Dec) of the previous year and latest Q1 (Jan – Mar) data for better performance identification.
The Hostingstep Difference
Unlike many review sites that rely on short-term unverifiable tests or affiliate relationships, our methodology-backed test bench setup ensures standardized performance data collection across all hosts including DreamPress using our test sites. We independently purchase hosting accounts (access our invoices), deploy standardized test sites, and conduct performance monitoring 24/7, 365 days a year. This approach brings you the most accurate real-world performance data that users expect to know about the company.
Learn more about our testing methodologies:
DreamPress Verified Performance Data
TTFB Response Time
43,800 data points from 22 locations
Uptime Performance
Load Test Results
Testing Protocol: 0-100 concurrent users over 60 seconds
Error Rate: No errors detected
Compared to Average: Below average performance
WPBench Score
Global TTFB
Performance Rating Scale
Hands-on DreamPress Feature Analysis
We’ve thoroughly tested DreamPress’s features over our extended testing period. Here’s our detailed analysis of what the platform offers beyond the performance metrics.
Control Panel Experience
Notable Tools:
- One-Click Staging: Fully functional staging environments at a single click
- WordPress Toolkit: Simple WordPress installation and management.
- SSL Management – Easy Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate installation and renewal
What We Liked:
- Clean, intuitive interface focused on WordPress features
- staging environment creation and deployment
- Improved performance settings for advanced control
What Could Be Improved:
- User interface is good but also cluttered as it includes the features/setting for Dreamhost shared hosting services.
- Limited advanced configuration options for developers
Backup System
Restoration Testing Results:
- Full site restoration time: 4-7 minutes
- Partial content restoration: Available (files, database)
- User interface for restorations: Simple, one-click process
Limitations Discovered:
- No options for partial or selected backup restore
- No option to download full backups from the dashboard
- Limited options to schedule custom backups
Data Centers & CDN
Data Center Locations:
- North America: Oregon and Virginia (U.S.)
- Europe: Amsterdam (Netherlands)
- Region Selection: Available during site setup
CDN Details:
- Provider: BunnyCDN integration
- Coverage: Global network with 100+ POPs
- Type: Static file caching (not full edge caching)
- Configuration: Should be enabled manually.
Performance Impact:
After enabling BunnyCDN, we saw minimal speed improvments in static file delivery from the CDN pop locations. We gathered this data through the waterfall chat with before/after enabling the CDN. The TTFB remains the same, so the initial performance load is unchanged.
Email & Migration
Email Features:
- Email Accounts: Available on all plans
- Webmail Access: Integrated within dashboard
- Spam Protection: Basic filtering included
- Email Forwarding: Available
Migration Experience:
- Free Migration Service: Yes
- Method: Automated WordPress plugin migration
- Success Rate: High for standard WordPress sites
- Manual Options: SFTP/MySQL access available
Migration Test Results:
We migrated a test WooCommerce site using the automated migration tool. The process is completed in around 35 minutes with the whole contents transferred with no downtimes.
Scalability Options
Plan Upgrading:
The plan upgrade can be done at one-click within the dashboard. Resource allocation changes take effect within minutes.
Traffic Handling:
- DreamPress: ~100k monthly visitors
- DreamPress Plus: ~300k monthly visitors
- DreamPress Pro: ~1M monthly visitors
Limitations:
Our load test on DreamPress starter plan shows, the host had increasing response time at higher load, indicating DreamPress may slow down in handling traffic spikes.
Customer Support Evaluation
| Channel | Hours | Avg. Response | Quality (1-10) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live Chat | 24/7 | 2-3 min | 8.0 |
| Tickets | 24/7 | 4-6 hours | 7.5 |
| 24/7 | 8-12 hours | 7.5 | |
| Phone | Not available | N/A | N/A |
Support Experience Notes:
During our testing period, we submitted 18 support inquiries across different categories. WordPress-specific questions were answered accurately and thoroughly, with support agents demonstrating strong technical knowledge.
The lack of phone support is a notable limitation compared to some competitors like WP Engine, though the live chat service was responsive and effective for most issues.
Hosting Plans and Pricing
DreamPress
- WordPress Website
- Free Domain
- ~100k monthly visitors
- Unmetered bandwidth
- 30GB SSD storage
- WordPress installer & SSL certificate
- Unlimited email
- 24/7 WordPress support
- Free site migration
- Backups: 2 weeks retention
- NGINX hosting, CDN, staging
DreamPress Plus
- All DreamPress features, plus:
- ~300k monthly visitors
- 60GB SSD storage
- Enhanced server resources
DreamPress Pro
- All DreamPress Plus features, plus:
- ~1M monthly visitors
- 120GB SSD storage
- Priority support
- 4 weeks backup retention
Hidden Costs & Add-ons
- Domain Registration: Free first year, then $14.95/year renewal
- Domain Privacy: $11.95/year (not included)
- SSL Certificate: Free Let’s Encrypt
- Premium Support: Only on Pro plan
3-Year Total Cost of Ownership
| Plan | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | 3-Year Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DreamPress | $203.40 | $239.88 | $239.88 | $683.16 |
| DreamPress Plus | $299.40 | $347.88 | $347.88 | $995.16 |
| DreamPress Pro | $863.40 | $899.88 | $899.88 | $2,663.16 |
Value Analysis: DreamPress falls in mid-tier segment for value, considering the performance and hosting cost (including domain renewal costs). The price is definitely higher than any managed WordPress hosts like WP Engine and Kinsta, as DreamPress pricing is based on per site pricing.
Money-Back Guarantee
DreamPress offers a standard 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans.
Pricing Verdict
DreamPress offers resonable value for its performance. However, it doesn’t offer the best value for money considering the poor performance in load handling and global TTFB. WP Engine is a great alternative to DreamPress, which offers better pricing and even better performance.
Mohan Raj, founder of Hostingstep.com is passionate about WordPress and specializes in server management and speed optimization. With experience across top hosting providers, he launched Hostingstep.com to deliver honest, data-backed hosting reviews, helping website owners focus on growing their business instead of troubleshooting websites.