DreamHost vs Site5: Which Host Is Best For You & Your Site?

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I secretly test hosts every month for speed, reliability, and support. Here’s a comparison between DreamHost and Site5 with real proof of their performance.

DreamHost Hosting Plan

Dreamhost is known for their unlimited resources at a great value. They have been around since 1998 and hosts over 10 million sites. Data centers are located in California and Virginia.

I have purchased a hosting plan on DreamHost and set up a typical web site. I use that example website to run these tests. Learn more about how I test.

Here is the plan information I chose:

Site5 Hosting Plan

Site5 claims to be the "pros" when it comes to web hosting. They pride themselves on a custom control panel, 24/7 support, and data center locations all over the world. They've been around since 1999.

I have purchased a hosting plan on Site5 and set up a typical web site. I use that example website to run these tests. Learn more about how I test.

Here is the plan information I chose:

Page Speed Test Results

This test measures the total time it takes to load a standard web page. Lower is better.  Learn more about the Page Speed Test.

DreamHost performs above average in the Speed Test, with an average result of 2.65 seconds. It's best result was 0.00 s but it has been as bad as 21.25 s. DreamHost most recent result on Jan 4 was 0.00 s. I expected Dreamhost to have poor performance, but they're not that bad. There are faster hosts out there, but you're not going to be disappointed with them.

Site5 performs stellar in the Speed Test, with an average result of 3.05 seconds. It's best result was 0.00 s but it has been as bad as 46.29 s. Site5 most recent result on Jan 4 was 0.00 s. For the most part, Site5 has decent response times. They could make things load faster if they compressed resources and set caching headers, but at least connections are efficient.

Let’s see how DreamHost and Site5 compare in detail for their page speed stats:

Uptime Test Results

This test is performed by measuring the % uptime of a host. Higher is better. Learn more about the Uptime Test.

DreamHost performs pretty poorly in the Uptime Test, with an average result of 70.93 percent. It's best result was 100.000 % but it has been as bad as 0.000 %. DreamHost most recent result on Mar 16 was 0.000 %. Dreamhost has had a few significant outages, but I've seen worse. Their ping response time is pretty impressive, faster than most hosts, showing they have a decent network.

Site5 performs under par in the Uptime Test, with an average result of 88.81 percent. It's best result was 100.000 % but it has been as bad as 0.000 %. Site5 most recent result on Mar 16 was 0.000 %. Honestly, I expected Site5 to have better reliability. They've had a couple instances where my site was down for multiple hours, and that has ruined their overall average. But day-to-day they still have minor outages that annoy me.

Let’s see how DreamHost and Site5 compare in detail for their uptime stats:

Support Response Test Results

This test measures how quickly the host’s support team responds to your request. Lower is better. Learn more about the Support Response Test.

DreamHost performs alright in the Support Response Time Test, with an average result of 2.79 hours. It's best result was 0.20 h but it has been as bad as 11.00 h. DreamHost most recent result on Mar 22 was 1.30 h. Dreamhost will usually get back to you within an hour, although that's not always the case. Regardless their support is average.

Site5 performs above average in the Support Response Time Test, with an average result of 0.28 hours. It's best result was 0.10 h but it has been as bad as 0.80 h. Site5 most recent result on Mar 22 was 0.30 h. Site5 has always responded to my support tickets in under an hour. That's pretty awesome. They're also one of the only hosts that emails you ahead of time about planned outages, and I appreciate being informed.

Let’s see how DreamHost and Site5 compare in detail for their uptime stats: