Why Dreamhost was the Frugal Choice for Me

When it came to hosting, I had a hard time making the decision. Eventually, I narrowed down my choices to Dreamhost and Bluehost-based on pricing, recommendations and cautions by people using both sites, etc. I went with Dreamhost because it seemed like the frugal choice.

As many have written, frugal is different from cheap. Dreamhost was cheaper up front (why I made the decision) but the two were also on equal footing from what I could find out. Both had some real glitches this year, both left some frustrated users. Both also offered a lot of the same services and had some very satisfied users.

Dreamhost's advantage: Coupon codes.

The annual fee for Dreamhost (if you buy just one year) is $119 at $9.95 per month with free setup. Bluehost is slightly cheaper (for a year) $95.40 at $7.95 per month with free setup as well.

Both require upfront payment. That was the sticking point for me. With equal service, I'd much rather sign up for a year or two with Bluehost and pay $7.95 or $6.95 per month.

However, using a coupon code for Dreamhost, I paid $22.40 for my first year!

(I used HERMOINE, but there are lots out there. I may create my own coupon code once I have time and figure out how it works (I saw an explanation but didn't have time to get more than the basics). For now, I'd recommend that if you want to use a different one, google "Dreamhost Coupon Codes". I can tell you that HERMOINE works as of November 1, 2007; I've heard that you have to be careful because some codes are for less than $97 or don't work. It's a risk you have to take.)

Anyway, with the code it came out to less than $2 for month--that's GoDaddy cheap!

It was important to me for two reasons. First, it's much cheaper. Second, you have to pay up front and I don't have the money to put down as much cash as I would without the code or with Bluehost. With the code, I was able to pay for it with my Paypal commissions from last month's alternative income. It didn't have to come out of my budget or even savings.