Dreamhost quietly drops promised free starter website perk, FAQ lags
What happened
Between the Sep 14, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026 captures of Dreamhost's pricing page, Pulse recorded one change: The 'Free Handcrafted Starter Website' perk was dropped from the Launch, Growth, and Scale plan feature lists, though the FAQ still describes it as an included benefit. Pulse files it as a product change (feature removed) with a downward direction. Pulse's latest capture (Oct 21, 2026) lists Web Hosting Launch at $10.99, VPS Stack 4 at $11.99, Web Hosting Growth at $12.99, VPS Stack 8 at $16.99 and DreamPress 1 at $19.99.
It lands 80 days after Dreamhost's previous change, "Remixer AI Website Builder now free (was $1.99/mo)" (Jul 2, 2026). Dreamhost has been tracked since 2023-11-14.
In the same window Hostgator, Kinsta and Siteground also changed their Cloud & DevOps pricing pages. Those moves are listed further down, and the Pulse Agent can compare them side by side.
- Scale · FeatureRemoved
Before'Free Handcrafted Starter Website' perk
AfterNot listed
| Plan | Field | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scale | Feature | 'Free Handcrafted Starter Website' perk | Not listed | Removed |
Values as written on Dreamhost's public pricing page in the two captures Pulse compared; where the page states no number, the cells give the wording before and after.
Evidence
The two captures Pulse comparedFull-page captures of Dreamhost's pricing page (dreamhost.com) from Sep 14, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026; the change is marked near the top of the page, where the 'Free Handcrafted Starter Website' perk no longer appears.
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The two full-page captures with this change marked up are free with an account.
Dreamhost, the last 90 days
Full history- Oct 19, 2026improvedDreamhost adds Liftoff AI Website Builder to Launch, Growth and Scale plans
- Sep 21, 2026packagingDreamhost quietly drops promised free starter website perk, FAQ lags · this change
- Jul 2, 2026decreaseRemixer AI Website Builder now free (was $1.99/mo)
Across Cloud & DevOps in the same window
All Cloud & DevOps changes- HostgatorJul 3HostGator: AI-Powered Malware Detection & Removal rolled out across all plans
- KinstaOct 19Kinsta adds free agency site hosting and dedicated enterprise servers
- KinstaJun 16Kinsta rebrands support promise to Expert support 24/7
- HostgatorJun 8Hostgator swaps AI promo for VPS and small biz hosting carousel
- SitegroundMay 13Siteground makes free AI tokens a core feature across all plans
Questions about this change
Did Dreamhost raise prices in September 2026?
No list-price increase was recorded between Sep 14, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026. The change Pulse detected was a product change: feature removed.
What changed on Dreamhost's pricing page between Sep 14, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026?
Scale feature: 'Free Handcrafted Starter Website' perk → Not listed, removed. Pulse compared the captures it took on Sep 14, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026; the before/after table above lists each item as written on the page.
How often does Dreamhost change its pricing?
Pulse recorded 1 other pricing-page change for Dreamhost in the 90 days before this one; the previous change was "Remixer AI Website Builder now free (was $1.99/mo)" on Jul 2, 2026; Dreamhost has been tracked since 2023-11-14.