Overview
This article explains how refunds and credits are issued for the various types of hosting plans and services.
The 97-day money-back guarantee only applies to Shared Hosting services. See the sections below to learn more about refund policies for specific hosting plans and services.
Credits and refunds
The following sections provide more information about the specific policy for the various types of hosting plans and services.
Shared Hosting
DreamHost offers a full refund on Shared Hosting fees if your plan is canceled within the first 97 days of opening the account. This applies to monthly and annual plans.
Renewed yearly plans are refunded the current subscription cost if canceled within 30 days of the annual subscription renewal. The account is refunded automatically upon account closure.
If canceled within 30 days of the annual subscription renewal, yearly plans are automatically credited the current subscription cost. See this article for further details.
VPS
No credits are available when canceling a monthly VPS Hosting plan.
New yearly plans canceled within the first 30 days will be charged for the first month, and the unused balance will be credited. The account is refunded automatically upon account closure.
If canceled within 30 days of the annual subscription renewal, renewed yearly plans are refunded the current subscription cost. The account is refunded automatically upon account closure.
Dedicated
Refunds are not available when canceling a monthly Dedicated Hosting plan.
If a yearly plan is canceled within 30 days of the annual subscription renewal, the current subscription cost is refunded. The account is refunded automatically upon account closure.
DreamPress
DreamHost offers a full refund on DreamPress monthly and yearly hosting fees if your plan is canceled within the first 30 days of opening the account.
If a yearly plan is canceled within 30 days of the annual subscription renewal, the current subscription cost is refunded. The account is refunded automatically upon account closure.
Remixer
Credits are the same as Shared Hosting plans when canceling a Remixer plan.
DreamCompute
Credits are not available when canceling a DreamCompute plan.
DreamShield
Credits are not available when canceling DreamShield.
Paid email
Credits are not available when canceling a Paid email plan.
SSL Certificates
Credits are not available when canceling an SSL Certificate.
Unique IPs
Credits are not available when canceling a Unique IP.
DreamHost SEO Toolkit
DreamHost will provide a prorated credit for any remaining time on the canceled SEO Toolkit plan, which you can apply to other DreamHost services.
FAQs
General refund and account credit topics
Are all payment methods refundable?
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No. DreamHost does not offer automatic refunds for the following payment methods:
- PayPal
- Check (written checks or electronic checks)
- Money Order
- Gift Certificate
If you select PayPal to process a refund, a 3% transaction fee will be applied. This fee is only applied if the payment was not originally processed via PayPal.
If you close your Shared Hosting plan within 97 days of opening the account and made a manual payment toward the plan with one of these methods, then Contact Support for further assistance with your refund.
If your account is closed after the 97-day refund period has passed, no refunds are issued. View the Terms of Service page for further details.
If I cancel a hosting plan, will I receive a refund automatically?
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No. However, if you decide to cancel a service plan while keeping the account active, DreamHost may provide a prorated credit for any remaining time on the canceled hosting plan, which you can apply to other DreamHost services. Please see the sections above for more information about specific hosting plan refund policies.
When will I receive a refund?
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Refunds are only issued after an account is closed, the credit is confirmed to be refundable, and the last payment method is confirmed to be active. When these conditions are met, the refund is then processed and can take up to 30 days to complete (depending on the type of payment method). For example, credit card refunds typically take 5–7 business days to reflect back to the customer's credit card account; if the refund is processed via a manual check, it may take up to 30 days for the check to be mailed out.
Any other credit will remain on the account after closure.
What account credits are refundable?
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Refundable account credits are generally only issued under DreamHost's 97-day guarantee or within 30 days of purchasing or renewing a yearly service plan.
What happens if I change from a yearly to a monthly plan?
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If you change your billing plan from yearly to monthly, you will receive an account credit for the remaining unused balance.
What if I paid for a 2-year or 3-year plan and I want a refund?
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If it's within the 97-day guarantee period, DreamHost will provide a full refund on paid hosting fees. After the 97 days have elapsed, hosting fees are no longer refundable.
If I close my account with unused account credit, how will I be refunded?
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A refund is automatically processed to the original credit card used for the fees only after you close the account in your panel.
Payments made via check/money order cannot be refunded once cleared.
Domain registration topics
Are domain registrations refundable?
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No. Registrations are yours for the full term you originally purchased them for, which is usually 1–3 years.
If your registration includes a free domain with your Shared Hosting plan and you canceled the plan in the first year, you are then required to pay for the free registration. See this article for further details.
Can I use my domain registration elsewhere?
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Yes. If you would like to point your domain to a different web host at some point, you can log in to the DreamHost panel and change your DNS settings to point to the new host.
Are domain registration renewals or transfers refundable?
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No. Once a domain is transferred, auto-renewed, or manually renewed, your credit card is charged, and the domain is renewed for one more year.
At this point, the domain registry updates its information to show that you are the owner for an additional year. Since the registry cannot reverse the renewal, a refund is not possible.