DreamHost is an independently owned hosting provider (New Dream Network, LLC), founded in 1996 by students at Harvey Mudd College. It is one of the few major WordPress hosts not owned by a conglomerate. DreamHost offers both shared hosting (Web Hosting) and managed WordPress hosting (DreamPress). Email accounts are included free on DreamPress; on shared hosting, email is free for the first 3 months, then $1.99/mailbox/month.
The SMTP sending limit is 100 recipients per hour per email address. Outbound email infrastructure uses MailChannels. Port 25 is blocked on shared hosting; port 587 is open and recommended.
Email on DreamHost
Email accounts
DreamPress plans include unlimited email accounts at no extra cost. Shared hosting (Web Hosting) plans include email free for 3 months; after that, the Paid Email plan is $1.99/mailbox/month ($1.67/month on annual billing). Each mailbox has 25 GB storage. Access is via IMAP, POP3, or webmail. The SMTP server is smtp.dreamhost.com on port 587 with STARTTLS.
This is a middle ground: more generous than Kinsta or WP Engine (which provide zero email hosting), but less than SiteGround or Bluehost (which include unlimited email on all plans).
WordPress email (wp_mail)
By default, WordPress on DreamHost sends via PHP’s mail() function through the local sendmail binary. This does not route through DreamHost’s authenticated SMTP servers, so outbound messages have no DKIM signature and fail SPF alignment. DreamHost recommends configuring the WP Mail SMTP plugin to send via smtp.dreamhost.com:587 with DreamHost email credentials.
Sending limits
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Recipients per hour, per email address | 100 |
The limit counts by recipients, not messages. One email to 5 recipients counts as 5 toward the quota. TO, CC, and BCC all count. Bounces, forwarded mail, auto-responders, and cron-job-sent email also count. Exceeding the limit triggers an immediate block with "Policy Rejection – Quota Exceeded." The block lifts after a full hour with zero send attempts.
100 recipients/hour is conservative. SiteGround allows 400/hour; Bluehost allows 500/hour. For sites generating significant email (WooCommerce, membership plugins, form submissions), the limit may be reached quickly.
DNS and authentication
DreamHost auto-creates SPF and DKIM records for domains using DreamHost email:
- SPF:
v=spf1 mx include:netblocks.dreamhost.com include:relay.mailchannels.net -all - DKIM: Auto-generated for all domains/subdomains using DreamHost email.
- DMARC: Not auto-created; must be added manually.
DKIM is only applied to mail sent through DreamHost’s SMTP servers, not through PHP mail(). This is another reason the SMTP plugin configuration matters.
What DreamHost does not provide
High-volume sending. 100 recipients/hour is the lowest documented limit among the major shared hosts. High-volume sites need a dedicated relay.
Free email on shared hosting (long-term). The 3-month free period ends; email becomes a paid add-on. Factor $1.99/mailbox/month into the total operating cost.
Email delivery monitoring. No bounce tracking, no delivery analytics from the platform.
When to add a third-party relay
Add a dedicated sending service (Postmark, SMTP2GO, Mailgun) when:
- The 100 recipients/hour limit constrains the site’s email output.
- Deliverability issues arise from shared IP reputation.
- The site needs bounce webhooks, suppression lists, or delivery analytics.
Port 587 is open; SMTP-based plugin integrations work directly. Port 25 is blocked on shared hosting but open on VPS and Dedicated plans.