Migration guide
Moving from Bluehost to Hostinger
Of the moves covered on this site, this is the one with the least manual work. Hostinger will do the website migration for you for free, and unlike most hosts its DNS editor accepts a BIND zone file — which is exactly the format Bluehost exports. The two halves that usually cost an evening each are largely automated.
It also has the one property that makes a DNS move genuinely safe: records you add while the domain still points elsewhere are saved rather than rejected. They simply do not take effect until the nameservers change. That means you can build the entire zone, check it, and only then flip the switch — the order that SiteGround and Bluehost both prevent.
The four jobs below are independent. Doing only the website move, and leaving the domain and DNS at Bluehost, is a perfectly reasonable place to stop.
Steps checked against both control panels on August 9, 2026. Provider interfaces change — if a menu has moved, the official docs linked in each section are the authority.
Just need one thing?
Every guide below is written to be followed on its own. Pick the one thing you actually need — there is no requirement to move everything.
Move your website from Bluehost to Hostinger
Yes, and it is the natural place to stop if all you wanted was cheaper hosting. You can have the site running on Hostinger with the domain, DNS and email all still at Bluehost, and switch over whenever you are ready..
15 minutes to requestEasy
Import your DNS records into Hostinger
Yes, and in its smallest form it is a single A record edit. If all you want is the website served from Hostinger, you do not need to move the zone at all — Hostinger documents a "Connect via DNS record" option for exactly this, and explicitly mentions keeping DNS at a provider like Cloudflare..
20–40 minutesEasy
Point your domain from Bluehost to Hostinger nameservers
Yes, provided the zone at Hostinger is already populated — which, unlike most hosts, you are able to do in advance here. If it is empty, this single click takes down your email along with everything else, so the honest answer depends entirely on whether you did the previous step..
10 minutes to changeEasy
Transfer your domain registration from Bluehost to Hostinger
Yes, and this is the task most safely done on its own. It is a billing and ownership change.
20 minutes of workEasy
Moving all of it? Do it in this order
Only relevant if you are moving everything. Done together, this sequence is the one that never leaves the site pointing at an empty account.
- 1
Move your website from Bluehost to Hostinger
Request the free migration first. Hostinger copies the site while Bluehost stays live, so nothing is at risk.
15 minutes to requestEasyOften under 2 hours; allow up to 24Full steps → - 2
Import your DNS records into Hostinger
Import the Bluehost zone export into Hostinger. The records are stored inactive, so you can build and check the whole zone with no consequences.
20–40 minutesEasyApplies when nameservers changeFull steps → - 3
Point your domain from Bluehost to Hostinger nameservers
The cutover, and unusually low-stress here because the zone you are switching to already exists and has been checked.
10 minutes to changeEasyUp to 24 hours, often a few hoursFull steps → - 4
Transfer your domain registration from Bluehost to Hostinger
Last, or never. It takes up to seven days and nothing else waits on it.
20 minutes of workEasyUp to 7 daysFull steps →
What each step involves
Move your website from Bluehost to Hostinger
Start by letting Hostinger do it. The free migration service takes your Bluehost admin login, copies the site across, and reports back — typically well inside a day. It is unlimited, and there is no upsell attached.
Downtime risk: None. The migration copies the site and the live one stays on Bluehost until DNS changes.
Read the 5-step guide →Import your DNS records into Hostinger
This is the easy one. Bluehost exports your zone as a file, and Hostinger's DNS Zone Editor imports BIND zone files in bulk, with a choice of appending to or replacing the existing records. The usual hour of retyping becomes a file upload.
Downtime risk: Very low. Records are staged inactive, so mistakes are visible and fixable before anything goes live.
Read the 5-step guide →Point your domain from Bluehost to Hostinger nameservers
Nameservers decide which company answers DNS for your domain. Changing them hands the whole zone over at once — website, email, subdomains and verification records together.
Downtime risk: Low if the zone was staged and checked first. High if it was not.
Read the 4-step guide →Transfer your domain registration from Bluehost to Hostinger
A registrar transfer changes which company holds the registration and bills you for it. It moves no files, no email and no DNS records, and the site stays exactly where it is throughout.
Downtime risk: None, provided you choose to keep your existing nameservers when asked.
Read the 7-step guide →Where you will be working
Bluehost
Shared and WordPress hosting with its own account portal; cPanel sits behind it on most plans.
ns1.bluehost.com · ns2.bluehost.com
Sign in to Bluehost→Hostinger
Budget shared and VPS hosting on hPanel, with free managed migrations and a DNS editor that imports BIND zone files.
Sign in to Hostinger→Bluehost to Hostinger: common questions
Is Hostinger's migration service really free?
Yes, and unlimited — one request per site, up to five active at a time. It covers website files and databases. It explicitly does not cover cron jobs, DNS records, custom SSL configuration or FTP accounts, and email is a separate job entirely. Those exclusions are the whole reason the rest of this page exists.
Do I have to move my domain to Hostinger?
No. Hostinger will host a site whose domain is registered at Bluehost indefinitely. Its transfer flow even offers to keep your existing nameservers, which tells you how separable these things are.
What happens to my Bluehost email?
It stays at Bluehost and does not come with the migration — Hostinger's migration explicitly excludes email. If you are keeping those mailboxes, their MX records must exist in whatever zone becomes authoritative. If you are not, download the mail over IMAP before you cancel anything.
How long does the whole move take?
Less than most. The managed migration is often under a couple of hours and Hostinger allows up to 24. The DNS import is minutes rather than an evening because the zone file goes straight in. Nameservers propagate within about 24 hours. A registrar transfer, if you want one, runs up to seven days alongside everything else.
Want this Bluehost to Hostinger move done for you?
I do these end to end — files, database, DNS records, nameserver cutover and the registrar transfer — with the old host kept as a rollback until it has settled.