- Refund within 3 business days of purchase
- Fast load times with optimized servers, on-demand cloud backups, and automated daily malware scans
- 24/7 live chat expert support and phone support during business hours
- 30 Day Refund Policy
- Free Domain, Free SSL, Free CDN
- Support available 24/7/365 via Phone, Chat, Knowledge Base and Blog
Network Solutions vs Bluehost: Quick Summary
After testing both providers extensively, Bluehost emerges as the clear overall winner for most users. It delivered a perfect 100% GTmetrix performance score, sub-1-second load times, and a complete feature set covering free migration, WAF protection, and an AI site builder.
Network Solutions earns genuine credit for its $2.99/month entry price and impressive 94% GTmetrix A grade, but its outdated proprietary control panel, contradictory support responses, and 10-website cap limit its appeal. Bluehost suits anyone wanting a professional, scalable hosting experience, while Network Solutions works for budget-focused beginners who only need one simple site.
1. Prices and Plans Comparison
Network Solutions Wins on Entry Price, But Bluehost Delivers Far More Value Per Dollar
Network Solutions immediately grabs attention with that $2.99/month starter plan. For context, that is $1 less per month than Bluehost’s entry point. If price alone drives your decision, Network Solutions wins this round.
However, once you look at what each plan actually includes, the value gap shifts quickly. Here is what each provider bundles by default versus what costs extra:
Network Solutions includes by default:
- Unmetered bandwidth on all tiers
- 5 email boxes on Starter, unlimited on Premium
- Free domain and SSL on Essential and Premium plans (SSL renews at $69.99/year after year one)
- Daily malware scans
- On-demand cloud backups (you trigger these manually)
- 1-click installs for WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, PHP, and Python
Network Solutions charges extra for or lacks entirely:
- No VPS hosting at any tier
- SSL certificate renewal at $69.99/year after the first year
- No Web Application Firewall
- No automatic daily backups (on-demand only)
- No free site migration
Bluehost includes by default:
- Free domain for the first year
- Automatic SSL certificates (Let’s Encrypt, free ongoing)
- Free site migration included on all plans
- Weekly automated backups on standard plans, daily on eCommerce plans
- AI-powered WonderSuite website builder
- Managed WordPress updates on higher tiers
- Cloudflare CDN integration
Bluehost optional add-ons at checkout:
- CodeGuard advanced backup at $2.99/mo
- eCommerce tools at $6.99/mo
- Yoast SEO premium at $2.99/mo
2. Customer Support Comparison
Bluehost Delivers Fast, Accurate Live Chat While Network Solutions Left Me With Unanswered Questions
Network Solutions Customer Support
I tested Network Solutions’ live chat by clicking the chat bubble on their website. A bot appeared immediately and asked me to choose between help with existing products or purchasing new ones. I selected the purchasing option, acting as a potential customer evaluating the service.
The bot collected my name and email before handing me off to a human agent named Kevin in about one minute. I prepared three straightforward questions to test quality:
- Do you offer a money-back guarantee or free trial?
- Can you confirm you only offer web and WordPress hosting?
- What payment methods do you accept?
Kevin’s response to the refund question was the most telling. He first said Network Solutions “doesn’t seem to offer” a guarantee or free trial, then immediately followed with a second message saying they do have a “refund policy” of three business days involving “credits.”
That is a direct contradiction, and it left me genuinely uncertain: does “credits” mean money back to my card, or account credit locked inside the platform? I still do not know.
He answered the payment methods question cleanly: credit cards and PayPal. But he never responded to my second question about which hosting types they offer. It simply disappeared from the conversation.
After I sent a polite acknowledgment, Kevin immediately pivoted to a sales pitch asking if I had a domain name yet. When I did not reply for a few minutes, he followed up once more and then closed the chat.
Bluehost Customer Support
I tested Bluehost’s live chat by clicking the support button at the bottom right of their website. The system first asked me to categorize my need. I selected “Purchase New Services” and specified interest in shared hosting.
After entering my name, I was connected to a live agent named Louie in under one minute. I asked a realistic pre-sales question: “I’m planning to migrate an existing WordPress site with WooCommerce. Can you walk me through the exact steps, including how to avoid downtime and whether you offer any free migration tools?”
Louie greeted me professionally, confirmed he was glad to help, and set clear expectations by mentioning a few follow-up questions to understand my needs. When I clarified I just wanted resource information before buying, he provided two concrete migration options without any sales pressure:
- A free DIY migration using the Free Site Migration Tool
- A paid Professional Migration service at $149.99 per website and $99 per email account
He then provided a direct knowledge base link for the free migration tool: https://bluehost.com/help/article/free-wordpress-migration
The entire interaction took under 5 minutes. Every question I asked was addressed directly, and I left the chat feeling confident about what Bluehost offers.
3. Hosting Features Comparison
Bluehost Packs a Complete Website Toolkit While Network Solutions Covers Only the Basics
Network Solutions Features
Network Solutions takes a straightforward approach to features. You get what you need to run a basic website without much complexity.
- Storage and bandwidth: Plans range from 10 GB to 40 GB storage with unmetered bandwidth across all tiers. This is adequate for starter sites but limiting if you plan to grow.
- Email hosting: Genuinely generous. The Starter plan includes 5 email boxes, and the Premium plan offers unlimited. Custom domain email comes standard.
- Platform support: 1-click installs cover WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, PHP, and Python. Developers who want flexibility beyond WordPress will appreciate this.
- WordPress optimization: Their WordPress-specific plans claim 2x load times versus standard hosting, plus automated core updates to keep sites on the latest version automatically.
- Daily malware scans: All plans include automatic daily malware scanning, which runs without any setup required. This is a genuine strength.
- On-demand cloud backups: You can trigger backups at any time, but the system does not run them automatically on a schedule. If you forget to back up before a critical change and something breaks, you have no automatic fallback.
- Proprietary control panel: Network Solutions uses a custom panel completely separate from the main dashboard. The transition between the two felt jarring during testing, and the panel itself appeared visually dated with small icons and no search functionality.
Bluehost Features
Bluehost packages everything you need to launch a website right out of the box, and the “included by default” philosophy makes a real difference in day-to-day use.
- Storage: Plans range from 10 GB to 250 GB NVMe SSD. NVMe drives are noticeably faster than standard SSDs, and 250 GB provides substantial room for content-heavy sites.
- Free site migration: Bluehost moved a test WordPress site in under 5 minutes with zero downtime. No manual configuration required.
- AI WonderSuite builder: The AI site builder generated a custom, functional website in minutes. No coding required, and the output was genuinely usable rather than a generic template.
- Automatic backups: Standard plans include weekly automated backups. eCommerce plans bump this to daily. These run without any action on your part.
- WAF included: The Web Application Firewall filters out SQL injection attempts, cross-site scripting, and other common exploits before they reach your site. Network Solutions offers no equivalent.
- Managed WordPress updates: Higher-tier plans handle WordPress core and plugin updates automatically, reducing security risk without requiring manual maintenance.
- Cloudflare CDN integration: Built-in Cloudflare integration accelerates content delivery globally and adds a security layer for free.
- Scalability: Plans support 10 to 100 websites, depending on tier. Combined with VPS options starting at $4.99/month and dedicated servers starting at $141.19/month, you can scale within Bluehost without migrating to a new provider.
4. Website Performance Comparison
Bluehost Achieves a Perfect 100% Performance Grade While Network Solutions Earns a Strong A
I ran both tests using identical WordPress installations with the same theme, plugins, and content. Each test was conducted from the same geographic origin to ensure a fair comparison. GTmetrix served as the benchmarking tool across all metrics.
Network Solutions Performance Results
Overall Scores:
- GTmetrix Grade: A
- Performance: 94%
- Structure: 95%
These are genuinely impressive scores for a shared hosting plan at this price point. An A grade from GTmetrix is not common for budget hosting, and Network Solutions earned it legitimately.
Key metrics breakdown:
- LCP: 1.2s. Falls within Google’s “good” threshold of under 2.5 seconds. Users will not sit staring at a blank page.
- TBT: 0ms. A perfect Total Blocking Time score. The page was immediately responsive to clicks and interactions from the moment content appeared on screen. This result is rare and genuinely impressive.
- CLS: 0.07. Well within Google’s acceptable threshold of under 0.1. Content stays stable as the page loads.
- TTFB: 600ms+. This is where Network Solutions shows its weakness. Time to First Byte measures how quickly the server begins responding. Over 600ms is noticeably slow compared to best-in-class hosting. Visitors wait longer before anything starts appearing.
The story here is mixed in an interesting way. Network Solutions’ server response is slow (high TTFB), but once the page starts loading, it handles itself well, delivering stable and responsive content quickly. The 0ms TBT is a standout result that many premium hosts do not achieve.
Bluehost Performance Results
Overall Scores:
- GTmetrix Grade: A+ (100%)
- Performance: 100%
- Structure: 96%
These are exceptional scores that reflect a well-optimized, managed infrastructure working exactly as intended.
Key metrics breakdown:
- LCP: 527ms. More than twice as fast as Network Solutions’ 1.2s LCP. Users see the main content of the page in just over half a second.
- FCP: 503ms. Users see the first content element in under half a second, creating an instant, responsive feel.
- TBT: 14ms. Near-zero blocking time, meaning the page responds to user interaction almost immediately after loading.
- CLS: 0. A perfect layout stability score. No content shifts, no jumping elements.
- TTFB: 138ms. Sub-200ms server response time puts Bluehost in the top tier of managed hosting. This speed compounds across every other metric.
- TTI: 612ms. Fully interactive in just over half a second.
- Fully Loaded Time: 950ms. The entire page, including all background resources, loads in under 1 second.
Bluehost’s managed infrastructure handles all server-side optimization automatically: caching configuration, PHP tuning, CDN delivery, and database optimization. You get these speeds without touching a server configuration file.
5. Ease of Use Comparison
Bluehost’s Guided Setup and Modern Dashboard Beat Network Solutions’ Dated Interface
Registration and Creating a New Account
Network Solutions Registration
I navigated to Network Solutions’ homepage, hovered over “Hosting,” and clicked “Web Hosting.”
Three plans appeared in blue boxes: Starter, Essential, and Premium. I chose the Premium plan, marked as saving 59% at $6.99/month.
The next page asked about a domain. I checked “I want to use a domain I already own” and entered my domain name.
The shopping cart page that followed was the most important screen to pay attention to.
Two things stood out immediately. First, my Premium Hosting for one year was listed at $83.88 with a clear note that it renews at $203.88, more than double the introductory price. Second, an SSL Certificate was automatically added to my cart. It is free for the first year but renews at $69.99. Neither item is hidden exactly, but both require active attention to notice.
The checkout page kept the Order Summary visible on the right side throughout the entire billing form, which I genuinely appreciated. Accepted payment methods: credit cards and PayPal.
Overall, the signup took about 5 to 7 minutes. The process is logically ordered and familiar to anyone who has bought something online. The main caution: read every line before clicking through, because the automatic SSL add-on and the renewal price jump will catch you off guard if you rush.
Bluehost Registration
I clicked “Hosting” then “Web Hosting” from Bluehost’s homepage and was immediately taken to a clear side-by-side plan comparison. I chose the Business plan, labeled “recommended.”
After clicking “Choose plan,” Bluehost asked me to either claim a free domain or use an existing one. I opted for the free domain, checked availability in seconds, and was taken directly to checkout. A “Choose domain later” option was also available for users not ready to decide.
The account creation screen offered Email, Google, Apple, or GitHub signup options.
Once I filled in my details, Bluehost presented three optional add-ons with checkboxes: CodeGuard at $2.99/mo, eCommerce tools at $6.99/mo, and Yoast at $2.99/mo. None were pre-checked, and each had a clear description.
The right side of the checkout page showed a persistent shopping cart summary including my data center selection. Bluehost had defaulted to Mumbai based on my detected location, but switching to Arizona, USA required a single dropdown selection. The total, savings, and renewal cost were all clearly visible at all times.
The entire process took about 5 minutes. Bluehost’s social login options, upfront pricing transparency, and non-aggressive upsell approach make it one of the cleaner signup experiences I have tested.
User Interface, Client Area and Dashboard
Network Solutions Dashboard
Logging into Network Solutions, my first impression was that the dashboard felt like a busy storefront rather than a control center.
The left navigation menu is clean and intuitive with clear labels: Home, Websites, Professional Email, Domains, Hosting, Security. That part works well. The main content area is where the experience breaks down.
Most of the central space is devoted to upsell banners, a large domain search box, and suggestions to purchase additional domain variations. The “Pick up where you left off” section is helpful, but it competes for attention with all the promotional content around it.
Clicking “Hosting” takes you to a separate Web Hosting control panel that feels visually disconnected from the main dashboard. The interface uses small, old-fashioned icons in a grid layout, and the entire aesthetic suggests the panel has not been updated in over a decade. There is no search bar to find tools quickly. You scan visually until you locate what you need.
The panel contains all essential tools. Nothing critical is missing, and the category groupings are logical. But the experience of moving between the modern client area and this older control panel is jarring in a way that slows you down and creates unnecessary friction.
Bluehost Dashboard
Logging into Bluehost, I landed on a clean dashboard built around practical day-to-day management. The left sidebar presents clear sections: Home, Websites, Email and Office, Domains, Hosting, and Security. The labels are plain-language descriptions of what each section does.
The main content area includes a “Pick up where you left off” block that surfaced recent tasks like managing security and payment methods. A persistent floating chat icon keeps support one click away at all times.
Bluehost’s dashboard is organized around managing what you already own, not selling you new things.
The contrast with Network Solutions’ upsell-heavy home screen is immediate. One-click access to hosting management, security settings, and domain tools means I rarely needed more than two clicks to get where I was going.
Hosting Setup: Creating a New WordPress Website
Network Solutions WordPress Installation
The process for installing WordPress on Network Solutions involved:
- Logging in and clicking “Hosting” from the left menu
- Selecting my hosting package and clicking MANAGE
- Clicking “WordPress” in the left pane
- Clicking “Get Started”
- Selecting “Use Existing” since I had an active plan
- Creating a Site Name, Email, Username, and Password
- Clicking “Manage Site” once installation completed
The steps were clear, and the process worked without technical issues. The interface looked dated, and there were fewer upfront configuration options than I found with Bluehost. WordPress was ready within a few minutes.
Bluehost WordPress Installation
Bluehost’s WordPress installation runs through their Account Manager and took under 10 minutes from start to a live, designed website:
- Clicked “Websites” in the left sidebar, then “ADD WEBSITE”
- Selected “Install WordPress” and clicked CONTINUE
- Entered a Site Title (optional, skippable)
- Connected a domain or chose a temporary domain
- Choose between AI Site Creator and Import an Existing Site
- AI Site Creator prompted for title, description, logo, and skill level
- Bluehost presented design layout options with live preview
- Selected a layout, clicked “Save and Publish” or “Select and Customize”
- Accessed the WordPress Admin directly from the Account Manager
The AI builder was the standout element. It assembled a themed, structured website based on my inputs rather than dropping me into a blank WordPress install.
A complete beginner can have a functional, designed site running without any prior WordPress knowledge.
Server Management
Network Solutions’ hosting management uses a proprietary control panel with icons grouped by category. All essential tools are present: file manager, databases, email accounts, and security settings.
The layout is logical once you learn it, but there is no search function and the visual design is dated. Moving between the client area and the control panel requires navigating to a completely different-looking interface.
Bluehost’s hosting management is centered in the Account Manager and covers plan details, security settings, domain and DNS management, and payment and renewals in plain-language sections.
Everything uses the same visual design language as the rest of the dashboard. For users on VPS or dedicated plans, full cPanel access is available with one click.
6. Privacy and Security Comparison
Bluehost Delivers Fully Automatic Security Out of the Box While Network Solutions Leaves Critical Gaps
Network Solutions Privacy and Security
Network Solutions covers foundational security requirements, but the gaps matter once you look closely.
- SSL certificates: Available on Essential and Premium plans for the first year. After year one, the SSL renews at $69.99 annually. This is a recurring cost that Bluehost does not impose.
- DDoS protection: Active with 24/7 network monitoring. My test site remained accessible throughout the testing period without disruption.
- Daily malware scans: All plans include automatic malware scanning without any configuration required. This is a genuine strength.
- On-demand cloud backups: You must trigger backups manually. There is no automatic schedule. If you forget to back up before a critical change and something breaks, you have no automatic fallback.
- No WAF: Network Solutions does not offer a Web Application Firewall at any tier. This leaves sites exposed to application-layer attacks including SQL injection and cross-site scripting.
- Proprietary control panel limitations: Because Network Solutions uses a custom panel rather than cPanel, the ecosystem of third-party security extensions available to cPanel users does not apply here.
Bluehost Privacy and Security
Bluehost’s security is built around automatic protection that requires no user configuration.
- SSL certificates: Let’s Encrypt SSL is installed automatically on all websites. There is no renewal fee and no risk of forgetting to renew before expiration.
- WAF included: The Web Application Firewall filters malicious traffic before it reaches your site, blocking SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and other common exploits. This is active protection, not reactive scanning.
- Automatic backups: eCommerce plans include daily automated backups. Standard plans include weekly backups. No manual triggering required.
- Malware scanning: SiteLock integration provides continuous scanning and automatic removal on managed WordPress plans when threats are detected.
- Cloudflare CDN integration: Built-in Cloudflare provides performance acceleration and blocks known malicious traffic at the CDN edge before it reaches your server.
- DDoS protection: Active protection with automatic traffic segregation on advanced plans.
- Two-factor authentication: Available through the account management interface to protect login credentials.
- Blacklist monitoring: Bluehost monitors whether your site has been flagged by search engines and alerts you if it appears on any blocklists.
7. Server Locations Comparison
Bluehost Offers Transparent Location Selection at Signup, While Network Solutions Relies on Third-Party Cloud Distribution
Network Solutions Infrastructure
Network Solutions uses a distributed, cloud-based infrastructure powered by Vultr rather than owning its own data centers.
- North America: Multiple U.S. locations through Vultr’s network
- Europe: European coverage via Vultr partner infrastructure
- Asia: Asian coverage via Vultr partners
- South America: Available via Vultr partners
- Australia: Available via Vultr partners
The cloud-distributed approach means your data is not tied to a single physical server. This provides redundancy by design: if one node experiences issues, your site can be served from another. CDN edge caching further extends content delivery speed to visitors regardless of their location.
Bluehost Infrastructure
Bluehost operates 9 dedicated data centers with explicit location selection available during the signup process.
- North America: Arizona (USA), Virginia (USA)
- Europe: Frankfurt (Germany), Paris (France), London (UK), Madrid (Spain)
- Asia Pacific: Mumbai (India)
- South America: Sao Paulo (Brazil)
- Australia: Sydney
During my signup test, the data center dropdown appeared directly in the checkout cart. Bluehost had defaulted to Mumbai based on my detected location, but switching to Arizona, USA required a single dropdown selection.
This level of transparency and control during signup is not universal across hosting providers, and it is a meaningful advantage for users who need their site to perform best in a specific region.
One limitation: once your account is live, changing your data center is not a simple process. You would need to migrate your site rather than switching a setting.
The Bottom Line
Bluehost is the clear winner in this comparison, and it is not particularly close once you look past the entry-level price difference.
Across six of the seven categories I evaluated, Bluehost delivered a better experience: a perfect 100% GTmetrix performance score versus Network Solutions’ 94%, faster TTFB of 138ms versus 600ms+, free site migration versus no migration offering, a Web Application Firewall versus no WAF, automatic backups versus manual-only, and support that actually answered my questions versus support that contradicted itself and ignored one of my three questions.
| Category | Winner | Why |
| Pricing and Plans | Network Solutions | Entry plans start at $2.99/mo vs Bluehost’s $3.99/mo, though Bluehost bundles significantly more value per dollar |
| Customer Support | Bluehost | Instant live chat resolved the question in under 5 minutes with accurate answers; Network Solutions gave contradictory information and ignored one question |
| Hosting Features | Bluehost | Free migration, WAF, 250 GB NVMe storage, automatic backups, and AI site builder versus Network Solutions’ 40 GB cap and manual-only backups |
| Website Performance | Bluehost | Perfect 100% GTmetrix grade with 950ms fully loaded time versus Network Solutions’ 94% and 600ms+ TTFB |
| Ease of Use | Bluehost | AI-guided WordPress setup in under 10 minutes with a consistent, modern interface versus Network Solutions’ dated proprietary control panel |
| Privacy and Security | Bluehost | Automatic WAF, Cloudflare integration, scheduled backups, and automatic SSL renewal versus Network Solutions’ manual backups and absent WAF |
| Server Locations | Bluehost | 9 named data centers with explicit location selection during signup versus Network Solutions’ cloud-distributed model with no geographic precision |
