The renewal dossier · PW-HOST-BLUEHOST
The advertised $3.99/mo is the introductory hook. This dossier leads with the number you actually pay — the three-year total on the Starter plan — and the recorded renewal jump waiting on the other side of the 36-month intro term. Every figure is a dated reading from 2026-02-19, not a live quote.
Figures are recorded readings from the PriceWorld hosting dataset, dated 2026-02-19 — not a live feed, not monitored, not promised-current. The $119.88 full-year-at-renewal figure is a modeled projection of the recorded renewal rate, not a source-backed reading. Confirm the current price with Bluehost before you buy.
Got a Bluehost renewal quote of your own? Read it before you pay Phase-1 preview — we normalize your quote to a monthly-equivalent you confirm; the verdict and benchmark aren't live yet.
The answer on file
Bluehost's Starter plan advertises $3.99/mo, but that is a 36-month introductory rate: the recorded renewal is $9.99/mo — a +150% step that lands in year 4. At the recorded rates the three-year total is $143.64, as read 2026-02-19. Dated readings, not live quotes; confirm at Bluehost before you buy.
As read 2026-02-19 Dated reading — not a live quote Confirm at Bluehost before you buy
Read cost-first: what the intro term really costs per month, the total across three years, and the size of the jump waiting at renewal. The first two are the calm figures; the third is the alert.
Folder F · Plan ledger
Each plan is entered with its intro reading, its standard renewal, the step between them, the three-year total at the recorded rates, and when the renewal step actually lands. The subject plan is shaded; the renewal column is the one to watch.
| Plan | Term | Intro /mo | Renews /mo | Step | 3-yr total | Step lands |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter · subject plan | 36-mo | $3.99 | $9.99 | ×2.50 | $143.64 | after term · mo 37+ |
| Business | 36-mo | $6.99 | $13.99 | ×2.00 | $251.64 | after term · mo 37+ |
| eCommerce Essentials | 36-mo | $14.99 | $21.99 | ×1.47 | $539.64 | after term · mo 37+ |
Each three-year total applies the plan's intro rate through its own promo term, then the recorded renewal rate for any remaining months of the window. Where a plan's term spans the full three years, its 3-year total is entirely at the intro rate and the renewal step is shown in the “Step lands” column as a later event. Taxes, fees, and pre-selected add-ons are not included.
Folder G · Cost over time
The cost recorded in each year, not a running total. A modeled “full year at the renewal rate” column shows where the standard rate sits — set apart in ink, labelled modeled, never beside a source-backed tag.
| Plan | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | 3-yr total | Full yr at renewal (modeled) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $47.88 | $47.88 | $47.88 | $143.64 | $119.88 |
| Business | $83.88 | $83.88 | $83.88 | $251.64 | $167.88 |
| eCommerce Essentials | $179.88 | $179.88 | $179.88 | $539.64 | $263.88 |
Years 1–3 are source-backed at 2026-02-19. The final column is modeled — twelve months at the recorded renewal rate — to show where the standard rate sits. It is set in ink, labelled modeled, and is never the headline figure and never carries a source-backed tag.
Folder H · Risk & evidence
A rubric output across 7 weighted dimensions — not buying advice. Cost dimensions lead; each line carries its 1–5 score, its published weight, the raw figure it was bucketed from, its provenance tier, and the dated reading it was read at. Pending lines are held, never dressed up as confirmed.
Promo at $3.99/mo × 36 months. Year 1 portion = $47.88. Price increased from $2.49 in Feb 2026.
3-year cost is just the promo term since it spans 36 months. Year 4+ would be 9.99/mo.
Email hosting available but limited. Backups require CodeGuard add-on.
Requires 36-month commitment for best price. Domain transfer is possible but not streamlined.
Scores are integer rubric buckets (1–5), combined with the published weights into the composite above (3.2, Average). Performance and uptime are held pending — they cannot bear headline weight. A score is a dated reading, not buying advice and not a freshness promise.
Folder I · File notes
Good starter option with aggressive promo pricing, but watch out for pre-selected add-ons at checkout.
Case note · suited to WordPress beginners who want one-click setup
Checkout risk Pre-selected at checkout unless unticked — they sit on top of the headline rate
+$1.33/mo+$2.99/mo+$2.99/mo+$7.31/moThese are not in any figure above. At +$7.31/mo they would raise the effective intro rate well past the advertised $3.99. Review the cart before completing a purchase.
Folder C · Provenance
One recorded reading, no backfilled history, an explicit evidence gate, and a correction path that opens a claim rather than editing the record.
The figures come from PriceWorld's hosting price dataset, read for the US catalog and dated 2026-02-19. It is a point-in-time reading held as a dated reference, not a live feed.
The record begins at the first reading. There is no continuous price history before it; an earlier promotional figure is the prior reading this one supersedes, not a tracked timeline.
Cost dimensions are source-backed and headline-eligible; performance and uptime stay pending review and are not promoted to headline claims until a reviewed, source-backed reading is supplied.
Seen a different price? It opens a pending claim, weighed against a source. It never moves the $143.64 headline or the renewal jump on its own.
A reader or the provider submits a figure backed by something checkable — a cart total, a price page, a screenshot. This opens a pending item against this record.
FiledThe claim is weighed against the source. While open it is marked needs-review; it does not change the published figure above.
Under reviewIf a source-backed reading confirms the change, the figure is updated, re-dated, and logged. If it cannot be confirmed, the record stands and the item is closed with a note.
Closed on fileThe rule: a report is weighed, not applied. A claim can never move the canonical figure on its own — only a source-backed reading closes a correction.
These actions work on the record itself — none of them reads your account, watches live, or moves a figure on its own.
Outbound · affiliate link · not part of the record
Prices, scores, weights and the as-read date are real values from the PriceWorld hosting dataset and the Bluehost score record, read 2026-02-19. The full-year-at-renewal cost is a modeled projection of the recorded renewal rate; the correction copy is documented method copy. Nothing here is presented as live, monitored, cheapest, best, or promised-current. Confirm the current price with Bluehost before you buy.
Questions on file
Each answer reads only from this file — the dated readings above, never a live quote. Confirm the current price at Bluehost before you buy.
Because the advertised price is an introductory rate. On the recorded Bluehost file, Starter reads $3.99/mo for the first 36 months and steps to $9.99/mo at renewal — a +150% increase (2.50× the intro). Dated readings from 2026-02-19, not live quotes.
$9.99/mo on the Starter plan, as read 2026-02-19. The intro rate of $3.99/mo covers the first 36 months; the renewal is the standing rate you keep paying after that.
$143.64 at the recorded rates — entirely at the $3.99/mo intro, because the 36-month term spans the three-year window; the recorded $9.99/mo renewal lands in year 4, after it. A modeled sum of dated readings, not a quoted total.
In year 4, at month 37 — the recorded 36-month intro term ends and the $9.99/mo renewal rate starts, after the three-year window this dossier prices. As read 2026-02-19.
Every hosting file on PriceWorld leads with the same pair — the intro rate and the recorded renewal it steps to. Some hosts on file renew at the price they advertise; others step up substantially. The hosting ledger lines the recorded pairs up side by side.