DreamHost vs Kapsule
DreamHost is a US-headquartered shared host with 25+ years of history. They\
International
DreamHost
Shared Starter
Entry price
USD$2.59/mo intro
Renewal: USD$8.99/mo
3-year cost: ~$385 over 3 years (NZD)
Kapsule Cloud
Web Hosting Start
Match for DreamHost
Entry price
NZ$5/mo
Renewal: $5/mo (locked, clause 7.5)
3-year cost: ~NZ$180
Read the breakdown
The cost math
What you actually pay, year by year.
All bars normalized to USD so length reflects real spend.
Year 1
DreamHost
USD$3/mo
Kapsule
Year 2
DreamHost
USD$9/mo
Kapsule
Year 3
DreamHost
USD$9/mo
Kapsule
DreamHost 3-year cost
~NZ$416
~$385 over 3 years (NZD)
Kapsule 3-year cost
~NZ$180
Locked at signup, never increases
You save with Kapsule
~NZ$236 (57%) over 3 years
Totals shown in USD. DreamHost pricing snapshot 2026-06-07; check their current rate before signup. Kapsule renewal price guaranteed at signup price in Terms of Service clause 7.5.
Scorecard
Where Kapsule wins vs DreamHost.
USD billing, sales tax handled
Invoiced in USD with any sales tax shown on the invoice. No hidden fees, no surprises.
In-house human support
Every ticket lands with an in-house engineer. No outsourced overflow desk, no tier-1 scripts.
Locked at signup price
Clause 7.5 of our Terms: your renewal price is locked to whatever you signed up at. Forever. Not a marketing claim, a contract clause.
Mailboxes bundled with hosting
Web Hosting plans include mailboxes (5 on Start, 25 on Pro) with 10 GB each, calendar, mobile apps. DreamHost charges USD$1.99/mailbox/mo as a separate plan.
Free white-glove migration
Our team migrates your site, database, email, and DNS for you. Zero downtime, scheduled with you. Free.
Spec sheet
Feature by feature.
Honest note
Where DreamHost legitimately wins.
25+ years operating
DreamHost since 1997. Brand maturity matters for some buyers, particularly procurement processes that require an established vendor history.
B-corp certified
One of the few B-corp-certified hosting companies. If certified social/environmental performance matters to your purchase, that's a legitimate differentiator.
Established US/global infrastructure
DreamHost runs a long-established datacentre fleet. Our edge is global, distributed across multiple regions worldwide.
When to pick DreamHost
If brand longevity AND B-corp certification both matter to your purchase, and you\
Moving over
Free migration from DreamHost.
Free white-glove migration from DreamHost. We work from a DreamPress backup or direct SSH access, mirror to Kapsule, cut DNS outside business hours.
Q + A
What buyers ask us about DreamHost.
Why move from a 25-year-old company to a 2026 startup?
Honest reasons: in-house human support, USD billing without surprise fees, renewal-price-locked-in-TOS. If those don't matter, DreamHost is fine.
Can I keep DreamPress workflow on Kapsule?
KPanel covers the same workflows: 1-click WordPress, staging, auto-update gates, backup restore. The UI is different but every DreamPress feature has a KPanel equivalent.
What about the B-corp values angle?
We're not a certified B-corp. We're a small NZ company with a public Terms-of-Service commitment to honest renewal pricing, no upsells, and GDPR-compliant data handling. Different framing of the same kind of commitment.
Ready?
Start on Web Hosting Start.
$5/mo, locked at signup. Free migration from DreamHost. Cancel any time.