Hostingstep is supported by its readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission. Learn More.

WordPress Hosting Benchmarks 2025 [Real Data]

We are back with our WordPress Hosting Benchmarks for the year 2025.

Our WordPress Hosting Benchmarks reports let you analyze and benchmark the most popular WordPress hosting providers in the industry. 

What sets us apart is that we buy our own hosting accounts across popular hosting providers, set identical sites, and put them under 24/7, 365 days of performance monitoring. Thus, we bring the most valuable data, which is not available anywhere else on the internet.

This benchmark report is generated based on 365 days of data obtained from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024. We have measured all the crucial metrics like TTFB (Time to First Byte), Uptime, load handling, hardware performance, and global TTFB scores.

For those looking for a quick recommendation, check our best WordPress hosting roundup, where we picked top hosts, or continue reading for the complete performance breakdown of all popular WordPress hosting providers. 

HTML Table View
HostingTypePlanPrice (monthly)Test Site Datacenter LocationCDNBenchmark Start Date
A2 HostingSharedStartup$2.99Michigan (US East Coast)NoSeptember 1, 2020
BluehostSharedWordPress Basic Hosting$2.95Provo, UtahNoNovember 16, 2022
ChemiCloudSharedStarter$2.95DallasNoAugust 25, 2020
CloudwaysManaged CloudDigitalOcean Standard$11New YorkNoAugust 25, 2020
DreamPressManaged WordPressDreamPress$16.95Ashburn VirginiaNoJanuary, 30, 2021
FastCometSharedStarter$2.95Newark, USANoAugust 25, 2020
GreenGeeksSharedLite$2.95Chicago, USNoSeptember 1, 2020
HostGatorSharedHatchling$3.75Provo, UtahNoNovember 16, 2022
HostingerSharedSingle$2.99North CarolinaNoNovember 30, 2020
KinstaManaged WordPressStarter$35Iowa, Google CloudCloudflare EnterpriseSeptember 1, 2020
NameHeroSharedStarter Cloud$8.95WyomingNoApril 1, 2023
NexcessManaged WordPressSpark$21Southfield, MichiganCloudflareMay 1, 2021
RocketManaged WordPressStarter$30AshburnCloudflare EnterpriseOctober 12, 2020
SiteGroundSharedStartup$2.99IowaNoAugust 26, 2020
TemplManaged WordPressMicro$15North Virginia, Google CloudNoFebruary 3, 2021
WP EngineManaged WordPressStartup$35North AmericaCloudflareSeptember 1, 2020
WPX HostingManaged WordPressBusiness$24.99ChicagoWPX XDNMarch 26, 2021

Hostingstep Benchmark Methodology:

Test Environment:

  • WordPress Version 6.7.1
  • WordPress Twenty Twenty-Four theme
  • Active Plugins: Akismet, Contact Form 7, and Rank Math
  • Caching:
    • Default server-side caching on Managed WordPress.
    • WP Fastest Cache plugin is used to enable caching on shared hosting.
  • PHP version: 8.1
  • Testing Parameters: TTFB, Uptime, Load Test, WPBenchmarks, Global TTFB.

Benchmark Test 1 – TTFB

Time to First Byte (TTFB) is the crucial metric to evaluate the performance of any hosting company.

We use the Pingdom synthetic monitoring tool, configured to ping the test site at 60-second intervals from 22 geographically distributed test locations across the USA. The TTFB scores are collected from all locations and then averaged to bring the final TTFB score.

In numbers, we do 43,800 individual tests a month and a whopping 52,56,00 tests a year to write this annual WordPress benchmarks post. The test parameters:

  • Test Frequency: 60-second interval
  • Monitoring Locations: 22 points across the USA
  • Timeout threshold: 30 seconds
  • Test Type: HTTPS
  • SSL/TLS: Enabled
  • Test Duration: 365 days
  • Total Tests/Month: 43,800
  • Annual Tests: 525,600
  • Metrics Collected: Min/Max/Average TTFB

Results:

HostingAverage TTFB
Rocket335 ms
Templ.io357 ms
WPX365 ms
GreenGeeks395 ms
A2 Hosting397 ms
Cloudways405 ms
FastComet427 ms
ChemiCloud435 ms
DreamPress437 ms
Hostinger443 ms
NameHero452 ms
Nexcess454 ms
WP Engine462 ms
Kinsta466 ms
Bluehost472 ms
SiteGround510 ms
HostGator790 ms

Based on our benchmark report, Rocket Hosting maintains its top TTFB performer position with 335ms average TTFB. Templ hosting (357ms) and WPX (365ms) offer similar performance with sub-400ms TTFB scores.

Among shared hosting companies, GreenGeeks (395ms) and A2 Hosting (397ms) secure the top spots. HostGator, like last few years, takes the last spot with 790ms TTFB.

The data shows a ~455ms gap between top and bottom performing hosts, indicating how the hosting choices are critical for business websites. 

Based on the obtained TTFB data (335ms – 790ms), we grouped the companies by 50ms increments. 

Elite Performance (sub 400ms):

  • Rocket.net (335ms)
  • Templ.io (357ms)
  • WPX (365ms)
  • GreenGeeks (395ms)
  • A2 Hosting (397ms)

Strong Performance (400 – 450ms):

  • Cloudways (405ms)
  • FastComet (427ms)
  • ChemiCloud (435ms)
  • DreamPress (437ms)
  • Hostinger (443ms)

Average Performance (451 – 500ms):

  • NameHero (452ms)
  • Nexcess (454ms)
  • WP Engine (462ms)
  • Kinsta (466ms)
  • Bluehost (472ms)

Below Average Performance (>500ms):

  • SiteGround (510ms)
  • HostGator (790ms)

Benchmark Test 2 – Uptime

The Uptime benchmark is done through the same Pingdom synthetic monitoring tool, which pings the test sites from 22 locations. There is a 30-second threshold time, and if the site is unresponsive, downtime is calculated.

Each hosting provider offers an uptime SLA and below which they are obliged to compensate the users. So, it’s best recommended to use a proper uptime tracking for your website. The test parameters are:

  • Test Frequency: 60-second interval
  • Monitoring Locations: 22 points across the USA
  • Timeout threshold: 30 seconds
  • Test Type: HTTPS
  • SSL/TSL: Enabled
  • Test Duration: 365 days
  • Total Tests/Month: 43,800
  • Annual Tests: 525,600
  • Metrics measured: Total Downtime/outages/Average Uptime.

Results:

HostingAverage UptimeDowntimeTotal Outages
Templ.io100%00
Rocket.net99.99%1 min1
WPX99.99%2 mins2
Kinsta99.99%3 mins1
DreamPress99.99%35 mins4
WP Engine99.99%42 mins4
Cloudways99.99%1 hour 2 minutes5
Nexcess99.99%1 hour 5 minutes9
Hostinger99.99%1 hour 15 minutes26
SiteGround99.99%1 hour 18 minutes23
HostGator99.98%1 hour 54 minutes20
Bluehost99.97%2 hours 21 minutes34
NameHero99.97%2 hours 31 minutes55
A2 Hosting99.97%2 hours 47 minutes23
GreenGeeks99.96%3 hours 37 minutes39
ChemiCloud99.92%6 hours 55 minutes45
FastComet99.84%13 hours 56 mins133

The Managed WordPress hosts (Templ, Rocket, Kinsta, WP Engine, Cloudways, Nexcess, etc) generally offer better uptime compared to shared hosts.

Services like A2 Hosting and GreenGeeks offer excellent speed but lag in uptime, though the uptime range is within their SLA. We have tested their starter plans alone. Since they are superior in speed, we recommend trying their mid or top tier plans to get better reliability similar to what we get in Managed WordPress hosts. 

Our data reveals some interesting uptime patterns. We have nine hosting services recorded 99.99% uptime. But if you look closely, Rocket.net hosting with 1 minute of downtime and SiteGround hosting with 1 hour 18 minutes of downtime are calculated as 99.99% uptime.
So, we included the total downtime and outage data in the chart, giving you a clearer view for in-depth analysis of a company.

It’s evident from the report that the site owners should cautiously choose a reliable hosting provider because 99.99% uptime feels good on paper, but reality is different.

Since we use the same Pingdom tool for measuring TTFB and uptime, refer to the screenshots in the TTFB section to view the uptime data.

Perfect Reliability:

  • Templ.io (100%) – zero downtime, zero outages

Elite Reliability (99.99%):

  • Rocket.net (99.99%) – 1 min, 1 outage
  • WPX (99.99%) – 2 mins, 2 outages
  • Kinsta (99.99%) – 3 mins, 1 outage
  • DreamPress (99.99%) – 35 mins, 4 outages
  • WP Engine (99.99%) – 42 mins, 4 outages
  • Cloudways (99.99%) – 1 hour 2 mins, 5 outages
  • Nexcess (99.99%) – 1 hour 5 mins, 9 outages
  • Hostinger (99.99%) – 1 hour 15 mins, 26 outages
  • SiteGround (99.99%) – 1 hour 18 mins, 23 outages

Strong Reliability (99.98 – 99.96%):

  • HostGator (99.98%) – 1 hour 54 mins, 20 outages
  • Bluehost (99.97%) – 2 hours 21 mins, 34 outages
  • NameHero (99.97%) – 2 hour 31 mins, 55 outages
  • A2 Hosting (99.97%) – 2 hours 47 mins, 23 outages
  • GreenGeeks (99.96%) – 3 hours 37 mins, 39 outages

Below Average (< 99.95%):

  • ChemiCloud (99.92%) – 6 hours 55 mins, 45 outages
  • FastComet (99.84%) – 13 hours 56 mins, 133 outages

Benchmark Test 3 – Load Testing

The load test is an advanced benchmark for sites that receive constant traffic throughout the day. The test is done to know how the hosting handles the constant traffic in the fastest time.

We send 100 constant visitors to the site using the Loader.io tool to measure the average response time. A lesser than response time indicates the server handles the load exceptionally faster. The test parameters are:

  • Virtual users: 0-100 concurrent visitors
  • Duration: 1 minute
  • Test Type: Maintain Client Load
  • Method: GET
  • Protocol: HTTPS
  • Measured: Response time (Average / Min / Max)

Results:

HostAverage Response Time (Lower is better)
WP Engine19ms
GreenGeeks26ms
Kinsta27ms
WPX41ms
A2 Hosting44ms
Nexcess60ms
Templ68ms
FastComet79ms
Cloudways128ms
Bluehost131ms
NameHero *141ms
SiteGround147ms
HostGator *152ms
DreamPress223ms
Hostinger256ms
ChemiCloud *1068mS
Rocket.netIncomplete

For the first time, WP Engine secured the top position in load testing. This is due to their aggressive upgrades to their tech stacks in the last few years. Rocket hosting scored the top spot in the last few years, but their security settings block our testing, so unfortunately, we don’t have data to prove their load handling capabilities.

Looking at the results of GreenGeeks, it achieved elite performance with no CDN involved, whereas other Elite performers, WP Engine and Kinsta, are tested with CDN edge caching. GreenGeeks truly deserves applause here for the value they bring at an affordable price.

The strong performance group is led by most managed WordPress hosts, and A2 Hosting is the sole shared hosting provider with a 44ms response time.

The average performance group comprises mostly shared hosting services. Hosts like NameHero, HostGator and ChemiCloud received 4xx/5xx errors either due to poor server handling or their security blocks our testing tool. 

Elite Performance (<30ms):

  • WP Engine (19ms)
  • GreenGeeks (26ms)
  • Kinsta (27ms)

Strong Performance (30- 70ms):

  • WPX (41ms)
  • A2 Hosting (44ms)
  • Nexcess (60ms)
  • Templ.io (68ms)

Average Performance (71- 150ms):

  • FastComet (79ms)
  • Cloudways (128ms)
  • Bluehost (131ms)
  • NameHero (141ms)*
  • SiteGround (147ms)

Poor Performance (>150ms):

  • HostGator (152ms)*
  • DreamPress (223ms)
  • Hostinger (256ms)
  • ChemiCloud (1068ms)*

*Indicates hosts experiencing 4xx/5xx errors during testing.

Benchmark Test 4 – WPBenchmark Test

The WPBenchmark plugin is installed on the test sites, and the hardware performance is measured. It does a series of tests like CPU, Memory, file system and database performance and gives a score out of 10. The higher the score, the better the host is at handling huge workloads at the backend. The parameters are:

Server Tests Conducted:

  • CPU and Memory
  • Filesystem
  • Database
  • Network
  • Scoring System: Scale: 0-10

Results:

Like the last few years, Kinsta got the best hardware performance. The company claims to offer the fastest virtual machines on Google Cloud, and it’s evident from the fact that no other company has ever beaten Kinsta’s score in the WPBenchmark test. We recommend Kinsta for resource-hungry WordPress sites.

SiteGround and Hostinger secure the next spots despite their average speed performance in the above tests.

Elite Server Performance (8.0 – 8.5):

  • Kinsta (8.5)
  • SiteGround (8.3)
  • Hostinger (8.0)
  • Rocket.net (8.1)

High Server Performance (7.0 – 7.9):

  • WPX (7.7)
  • Nexcess (7.5)

Moderate Server Performance (5.0 – 6.9):

  • Templ.io (6.5)
  • DreamPress (6.2)
  • WP Engine (5.9)
  • GreenGeeks (5.1)

Limited Server Performance (< 5.0):

  • FastComet (4.8)
  • HostGator (4.3)
  • Bluehost (4.0)
  • Cloudways (3.7)
  • ChemiCloud (3.5)
  • A2 Hosting (3.4)
  • NameHero (3.4)

Benchmark Test 6 – Global TTFB

The Global TTFB test is for sites that get traffic across the globe. The SpeedVitals tools ping the site from 40 international locations, the scores are averaged to measure the overall global TTFB score. 

This test helps to identify the regional performance bottlenecks and helps us to choose the right regional CDN or hosting provider. The testing parameters are:


Locations:
 40 international points

  • Americas: 15 points
  • Europe: 15 points
  • Asia-Pacific: 10 points
  • Protocol: HTTPS

Analysis: Average and regional Global TTFB score.

Results:

Rocket hosting, powered by Cloudflare Enterprise, stays in the top position with a 177ms score. Templ hosting, powered by Google Cloud CDN, gets the second spot with a 264ms score. WP Engine secured third with a 298ms global TTFB score. All the top spots are secured by companies that use CDN edge caching, which demonstrates the need for CDN edge caching for the fastest TTFB performance.

Bluehost is in an interesting spot, thanks to the addition of Cloudflare CDN with Argo routing, it secured strong performance. Cloudways leads the non-CDN hosts with a 444ms score. SiteGround, which comes with its own CDN, got the worst performing TTFB like last year.

Elite Global Performance (< 300ms):

  • Rocket.net (177ms)
  • Templ.io (264ms)
  • WP Engine (298ms)

Strong Performance (300 – 500ms):

  • Bluehost (394ms)
  • Cloudways (444ms)
  • GreenGeeks (491ms)
  • Hostinger (503ms)

Average Performance (501 – 700ms):

  • A2 Hosting (527ms)
  • FastComet (553ms)
  • ChemiCloud (599ms)
  • WPX (597ms)
  • DreamPress (632ms)
  • Kinsta (622ms)
  • Nexcess (640ms)
  • NameHero (673ms)

Below Average ( >700ms):

  • HostGator (792ms)
  • SiteGround (886ms)

Regional TTFB Leaders:

  • Americas: Rocket.net (114ms), WP Engine (135ms), Templ.io (154ms)
  • Europe: WP Engine (112ms), Rocket.net (112ms), Templ.io (200ms)
  • Asia-Pacific: Rocket.net (273ms), Templ.io (393ms), WP Engine (560ms)

Benchmark Reports of individual Hosting Companies [Ordered by their Value Score]

WP Engine

8.3
★★★★
Overall Score
Performance Metrics
TTFB 462ms
Uptime 99.99%
Load Test 19ms
Global TTFB 298ms
WPBench 5.9/10
Key Strengths:
  • Exceptional global TTFB performance across all regions.
  • Elite load handling with fastest response time.
  • Improved and strong uptime over the years.
Areas for Improvement:
  • Limited server resource as seen on WPBench score.
Best Suited For:

Every WordPress website with a budget of over $30/month. Enterprise WordPress sites requiring fast TTFB and strong long handling capacity can utilize the service of WP Engine.

Value Assessment:

WP Engine lagged behind its competitors for the last few years. This year, they made a comeback with the launch of Global CDN edge content delivery. The TTFB and load handling performance is improved greatly with better results than its competitors. The uptime, which was also lagging last year, has improved. WP Engine gets a BUY rating for its improvements.

Rocket.Net

8.2
★★★★
Overall Score
Performance Metrics
TTFB 335ms
Uptime 99.99%
Load Test NA
Global TTFB 177ms
WPBench 8.1/10
Key Strengths:
  • Consistently securing the #1 host in offering the fastest TTFB.
  • Near perfect uptime with minimal outages.
  • Excellent WPBench hardware server scores.
Areas for improvement:
  • WPBench score can be improved.
Best Suited For:

All kinds of WordPress websites that require top notch performance, especially for sites with global traffic.

Value Assessment:

I say this again, Rocket is the best choice of hosting with integrated Cloudflare Enterprise solutions. It offers the best TTFB both in US and global regions. Their uptime is near perfect with nothing to worry about. We couldn’t test their load handling capabilities due to security limitations.

Templ

8.2
★★★★
Overall Score
Performance Metrics
TTFB 357ms
Uptime 100%
Load Test 68ms
Global TTFB 264ms
WPBench 6.5/10
Key strengths:
  • 100% uptime.
  • Elite TTFB performance across the globe.
  • Consistent TTFB, Uptime and load handling performance results year over year.
Areas for Improvement:
  • Moderate hardware resource allocation.
  • Limited brand recognition.
Best Suited For:

WordPress sites that require elite performance without enterprise pricing.

Value Assessment:

Templ.io is the only Managed WordPress hosting powered by complete Google Tech stacks (Google Cloud + CDN + DNS). Your sites will be hosted just like how Google services like Gmail, Youtube, etc are hosted on the internet. Their TTFB, uptime and load handling performance are superior to most branded managed WordPress hosting providers. Their WPBench scores are somewhat lower but it doesn’t affect the performance at any cost.

Kinsta

8.0
★★★★
Overall Score
Performance Metrics
TTFB 466ms
Uptime 99.99%
Load Test 27ms
Global TTFB 622ms
WPBench 8.5/10
Key Strengths:
  • Highest hardware server score among all hosts.
  • Perfect uptime with minimal outage.
  • Elite load handling.
Areas for improvement:
  • TTFB needs improvement.
  • Global TTFB performance lags behind competitors.
Best Suited For:

High traffic WordPress websites that require best load handling with infrastructure to support backend workloads.

Value Assessment:

Kinsta’s WPBench score is unbeaten in the last five years. Their claim of offering the fastest Virtual machines on Google Cloud is true to the core. It is the best hosting choice for resource hungry WordPress sites. Their load handling is next to none, securing the elite tier handling all the concurrent traffic loads in the fastest way possible. However, their TTFB is average compared to its competitors. Their global TTFB is not fast either despite the presence of edge caching and Cloudflare CDN.

WPX

8.0
★★★★
Overall Score
Performance Metrics
TTFB 365ms
Uptime 99.99%
Load Test 41ms
Global TTFB 597ms
WPBench 7.7/10
Key Strengths:
  • Elite TTFB performance over the years.
  • Excellent uptime with minimal downtime recorded.
  • Strong load handling capacity
  • High WPBench score
Areas for Improvement:
  • Unconsistent global TTFB response time across regions.
Best Suited For:

Any type of WordPress site that requires a combination of speed across all segments.

Value Assessment:

WPX delivers competitive TTFB, uptime and load handling performance. With consistent performer for years, WPX is a subtle choice in the affordable Managed WordPress hosting segment.

GreenGeeks

7.8
★★★★
Overall Score
Performance Metrics
TTFB 395ms
Uptime 99.96%
Load Test 26ms
Global TTFB 491ms
WPBench 5.1/10
Key strengths:
  • Excellent initial server response time (TTFB) over the years.
  • Elite load handling score, maintaining its consistency over years.
  • Impressive global TTFB performance for a shared host without CDN support.
Areas for Improvement:
  • Moderate hardware server score.
  • Room for better uptime
Best Suited For:

Small to medium WordPress websites that require strong performance on every front be it fast TTFB or load handling. It suits well for sites not only focused on USA visitors but can serve faster for global visitors also.

Value Assessment:

GreenGeeks is simply underrated and one of the greatest shared hosting services. It is the only shared host that has consistently top performing since 2020. The uptime is slightly concerning but it’s well within the guaranteed SLA and you might also try their Pro or Premium plan for better reliability. With the perfect combination of price and performance, GreenGeeks is an excellent choice and easily our top BUY rated hosting provider.

A2 Hosting

7.8
★★★★
Overall Score
Performance Metrics
TTFB 397ms
Uptime 99.97%
Load Test 44ms
Global TTFB 527ms
WPBench 3.4/10
Key Strengths:
  • Consistent TTFB and load handling performance over the years.
  • Decent global TTFB performance.
Areas for Improvement:
  • Their uptime is within their guaranteed SLA but it could be improved.
  • The WPBench scores are limited, indicating you need to choose higher plans for intensive workloads.
Best Suited For:

Small to medium sized WordPress sites that receive up to 100 concurrent traffic loads, primarily serving North American visitors.

Value Assessment:

A2 Hosting delivers what they are proud of, i.e., speed. The starter plan itself is capable of handling a good number of concurrent traffic, which makes it the best value for money choice for website owners.

Cloudways

7.5
★★★★
Overall Score
Performance Metrics
TTFB 405ms
Uptime 99.99%
Load Test 128ms
Global TTFB 444ms
WPBench 3.7/10
Key Strengths:
  • Year over year, it continues to offer exceptional performance in TTFB.
  • Highly reliable with minimal downtime, although it has increased this year.
  • Rock solid load handling capability.
  • It offers fast global TTFB without the need of CDN.
Areas for Improvement:
  • Low WPBenchmark score due to limited server resources per plan.
Best Suited for:

Individuals, Agencies, developers and businesses who are looking to upgrade from shared hosting services.

Value Assessment:

Cloudways bridges the gap between the shared hosting and Managed hosting services. The company heavily worked on the speed part which is evident from the consistent performance over the years. Be it TTFB, Uptime or load handling, their performance is always top notch compared to its competitors. We recommend Cloudways as a strong choice for all types of businesses that fall into their pricing segment ($11/month).

Nexcess

7.2
★★★★
Overall Score
Performance Metrics
TTFB 454ms
Uptime 99.99%
Load Test 60ms
Global TTFB 640ms
WPBench 7.5/10
Key Strengths:
  • Reliable uptime throughout the years.
  • Good load handling capabilities.
  • Generous server resources as found in our WPBench scores.
Areas for improvement:
  • Both their TTFB (Global TTFB) lags behind their competitors.
Best Suited For:

Agencies and resource intensive sites that require reliable hosting with generous server resources.

Value Assessment:

Nexcess is good at offering a decent service with good TTFB, Uptime and load handling scores. Their WPBench also looks good indicating an overall value for money hosting service. The only concern is their TTFB should be improved, though they are not bad, improving it will make them a great choice for any type of WordPress sites.

DreamPress

7.2
★★★★
Overall Score
Performance Metrics
TTFB 437ms
Uptime 99.99%
Load Test 223ms
Global TTFB 632ms
WPBench 6.2/10
Key Strengths:
  • Uptime is reliable now, used to have the highest downtimes (99.82%) in the previous year.
  • Decent TTFB performance.
  • Decent WPBenchmark hardware scores.
Areas for improvement:
  • Their load handling capacity is poor despite premium pricing.
  • High global TTFB score making them not a great choice for sites with global traffic.
Best Suited For:

Small WordPress sites targeting North American audiences with no concurrent traffic handling requirements.

Value Assessment:

DreamPress scores decently in most performance tests but doesn’t have the solid foundation to reach the top spot. There are many shared hosting services that perform better than DreamPress at half the price. They are also not competing with other Managed WordPress hosting providers in terms of speed.

Hostinger

7.0
★★★★
Overall Score
Performance Metrics
TTFB 443ms
Uptime 99.99%
Load Test 256ms
Global TTFB 503ms
WPBench 8.0/10
Key Strengths:
  • Excellent WPBench score indicates high hardware server resource allocation.
  • Highest uptime with minimal downtime recorded.
  • Strong TTFB score.
Areas for improvement:
  • Load handling needs optimization.
Best Suited For:

Any kind of small, medium to growing websites needing strong server resources at budget pricing.

Value Assessment:

Hostinger offers exceptional TTFB and uptime performance. Their load test results are poor, though we need to appreciate that it handles all the user loads without any errors. They offer one of the highest inode limits which is typically limited only to high tier plans. The combination of strong TTFB, Uptime and WPBench scores makes them a great choice for most websites from personal blogs to business websites.

SiteGround

7.0
★★★★
Overall Score
Performance Metrics
TTFB 510ms
Uptime 99.99%
Load Test 147ms
Global TTFB 886ms
WPBench 8.3/10
Key Strengths:
  • High WPBench hardware server score.
  • Reliable uptime.
Areas for improvement:
  • Poor TTFB score in spite of Google Cloud infrastructure.
  • Slowest Global TTFB performance
  • Average load test capability.
Best Suited For:

Small to Medium sized WordPress websites which required high hardware resources.

Value Assessment:

SiteGround continues to disappoint in most performance metrics. While their Uptime is good, rest metrics specifically the TTFB is below average. The load test fails to handle the load faster in both CDN ON and OFF conditions.

Bluehost

7.0
★★★★
Overall Score
Performance Metrics
TTFB 472ms
Uptime 99.97%
Load Test 131ms
Global TTFB 394ms
WPBench 4.0/10
Key Strengths:
  • The new integrated Cloudflare CDN with Argo Routing does an excellent job of improving TTFB performance.
  • It offers a decent load handling capability.
  • Their uptime is within their SLA but could be improved.
  • The global TTFB performance is balanced across continents.
Areas for Improvement:
  • The WPBench score is low, and needs improvement.
Best Suited For:

Small WordPress websites and blogs with US as well as global visitors.

Value Assessment:

The addition of Cloudflare CDN with Argo routing is a game changer for Bluehost. It has greatly improved the speed across the globe. Their pricing page says, the Basic plan (the starter plan) can handle 100 concurrent users which is verified by our testing. What I really like about their Cloudflare integration is that they are available at one-click from the dashboard. What I really liked about their cloudflare integration is that they are available at one-click in their dashboard. This is an unlikely story with other shared hosting providers where we need to dig deep into cPanel to activate Cloudflare with many technical complexity. Overall, Bluehost deserves a BUY rating in our 2025 benchmarks thanks to their improved TTFB and load handling capabilities.

FastComet

6.5
★★★★★
Overall Score
Performance Metrics
TTFB 427ms
Uptime 99.84%
Load Test 79ms
Global TTFB 553ms
WPBench 4.8/10
Key strengths:
  • Strong load handling capacity, maintaining its excellence since last year.
  • Good TTFB score in North American regions.
Areas for Improvement:
  • The uptime is the poorest of all with 133 outages in a year.
  • Low WPBench score.
  • Decent global TTFB score.
Best Suited For:

Local business websites without strict uptime requirements.

Value Assessment:

FastComet offers a mixed value in our tests. While the load handling is great, they have a poor uptime record. They launched a new low tier starter plan with lesser resources and considering the reliability issues in Essential plan, where our test site is hosted, the new starter plan is likely (or unlikely) to have reliability issues. Last year, we recommended a buy rating but we are downgrading them as there are better choices available for users.

NameHero

6.5
★★★★★
Overall Score
Performance Metrics
TTFB 452ms
Uptime 99.97%
Load Test 141ms
Global TTFB 673ms
WPBench 3.4/10
Key Strengths:
  • Decent initial response time TTFB performance in the USA region.
  • Decent uptime score.
Areas for improvement:
  • Load handling is not perfect with multiple 4xx/5xx errors.
  • Limited WPBench test scores.
  • Global TTFB performance is poor.
Best Suited For:

Basic WordPress websites focused on USA traffic.

Value Assessment:

NameHero struggles to achieve top tier in any of the performance benchmarks. While their TTFB and uptime is somewhat acceptable, the load handling is not good.

ChemiCloud

6.5
★★★★★
Overall Score
Performance Metrics
TTFB 435ms
Uptime 99.92%
Load Test 1068ms
Global TTFB 599ms
WPBench 3.5/10
Key Strengths:
  • It offers a decent TTFB performance.
Areas for Improvement:
  • There are no improvements on uptime. The 99.92% uptime is below their guaranteed SLA of 99.99%.
  • WPBench scores are low.
  • Poor load handling capabilities with 4xx/5xx errors.
Best Suited For:

Simple WordPress site with low to moderate traffic focused on USA visitors. Not recommended for sites getting concurrent visitors.

Value Assessment:

ChemiCloud looks strong on paper but the obtained uptime is below their guaranteed SLA of 99.99%. Hence, we don’t recommend them for real business sites. Maybe their top tier plans are super faster but we don’t have data to prove it. Despite the presence of strong tech stacks, the uptime and load handling is not up to the mark and it’s advised to look at alternatives that offer 2x better performance for the same cost.

HostGator

5.5
★★★★★
Overall Score
Performance Metrics
TTFB 790ms
Uptime 99.98%
Load Test 152ms
Global TTFB 792ms
WPBench 4.3/10
Key Strengths:
  • Great improvement in Uptime range compared to the last five years.
Areas for Improvement:
  • Slowest TTFB among all the tested hosts.
  • Load handling is not perfect with server errors.
  • Poor global TTFB performance across regions.
  • Limited WPBenchmark server scores.
Best Suited For:

Basic WordPress websites with no performance requirements, mostly suitable for local business sites.

Value Assessment:

HostGator has been consistently ranking for bad records. Their TTFB, uptime, load handling, global TTFB, WPBench everything seems to be slow and poor. Though their recent uptime score is something to rejoice, there is nothing good for us to recommend them when better choices are available.