Bluehost Checkout Upsells 2026: Which Add-ons to Keep and Which to Uncheck

Bluehost's checkout process is designed to increase your total bill through pre-checked add-ons. By the time you reach the payment page, your cart may include $10-50/month in extras that you did not actively choose. This is a common practice in the hosting industry — HostGator, GoDaddy, and others do the same — but it catches first-time buyers off guard. This guide walks through every add-on Bluehost offers at checkout, tells you which ones to keep, which to uncheck, and shows you exactly how much you can save.

The Bluehost Checkout Add-ons Explained

Add-on #1: CodeGuard (Daily Backups)

What it is: CodeGuard provides daily automatic backups of your website files and database, with one-click restore and change monitoring.

Cost: $2.99/month ($35.88/year)

Keep or skip?

• ✓Keep if on Starter plan: The Starter plan does not include daily backups. CodeGuard fills this gap and is worth $2.99/month for peace of mind.
• ✓Skip if on Business or higher: Business plan and above include daily backups free. CodeGuard would be redundant.
• ✓Alternative: Install the free UpdraftPlus plugin for WordPress backups to Google Drive or Dropbox at no cost.

Add-on #2: SiteLock (Security Scanning)

What it is: SiteLock provides malware scanning, vulnerability detection, and blacklist monitoring. Higher tiers include malware removal and WAF.

Cost: $2.99-30/month depending on tier

Our verdict: Skip it. SiteLock is Bluehost's most overpriced add-on. The basic tier ($2.99/month) only provides scanning — it does not remove malware. The higher tiers ($10-30/month) are expensive for what they offer. Free WordPress security plugins provide comparable protection:

• →Wordfence (free): Malware scanning, firewall, login security, and traffic monitoring. The free version is excellent for most sites.
• →Sucuri Scanner (free): Malware scanning, blacklist checking, and security hardening.
• →iThemes Security (free): WordPress-specific security hardening — 2FA, file change detection, brute force protection.

Add-on #3: Domain Privacy Protection

What it is: When you register a domain, your name, email, phone, and address are published in the public WHOIS database. Domain privacy replaces your personal information with the registrar's information.

Cost: $14.99/year on Starter plan. Free on Business plan and higher.

Keep or skip?

• ✓Keep on Starter plan: Without domain privacy, your personal contact information is publicly accessible. Spammers, scammers, and telemarketers scrape WHOIS databases. $14.99/year is worth the protection.
• ✓Skip on Business plan: Domain privacy is included free on Business and higher plans. If you choose Business, this add-on is already covered.

Add-on #4: Bluehost SEO Tools

What it is: Basic SEO tools including keyword suggestions, search engine submission, and ranking tracking.

Cost: $2.99/month

Our verdict: Skip it. Bluehost's SEO tools are basic and do not compare to dedicated SEO plugins. Free WordPress plugins provide far more functionality:

• →Rank Math (free): Complete SEO suite — schema markup, XML sitemaps, keyword optimization, redirect management, and 404 monitoring.
• →Yoast SEO (free): The most popular WordPress SEO plugin. Content analysis, meta tags, XML sitemaps, and breadcrumb support.

The Smart Checkout Strategy

Here is the optimal strategy for checking out with Bluehost without overpaying:

1. 1.Choose the Business plan ($6.99/month) over Starter ($3.99/month): The $3/month difference includes daily backups (saves $2.99/month CodeGuard) and domain privacy (saves $14.99/year). You actually save money by choosing Business.
2. 2.Uncheck SiteLock: Install Wordfence (free) instead. Saves $2.99-30/month.
3. 3.Uncheck Bluehost SEO Tools: Install Rank Math (free) instead. Saves $2.99/month.
4. 4.Uncheck Site Backup Pro: Daily backups are already included on Business plan. Saves $1.99/month.
5. 5.Choose 36-month term: Locks in the lowest price for the longest period. Renewal at $13.99/month is higher but still includes all features.

By choosing the Business plan and unchecking unnecessary add-ons, you pay $6.99/month — less than half of what you would pay with the Starter plan and all pre-checked add-ons ($14.96/month). And you get more features: 50 websites, 50 GB NVMe storage, daily backups, domain privacy, and phone support.

For more Bluehost pricing guidance, see our Best Bluehost Plan 2026 guide and Bluehost Review 2026.