What to look for in the best Canadian web hosting companies
Most of the things you want to look for in a Canadian web host are the same things you would want from any other host:
- 99.95%+ uptime. Every minute your website is down, you are losing money. Any worthwhile web host will be able to guarantee 99.95%+ uptime.
- Good loading speeds. Every second your website takes to load costs you. Look for a host that guarantees fast loading times.
- SSL certification. SSL certification ensures the security of your site and improves your Google ranking. A free SSL should be included with your web hosting plan. If it isn’t already bundled in, it should at least be an affordable add-on; you shouldn’t have to pay a fortune for such an essential feature.
- Free domain name. A website can’t function without a domain. The best Canadian web hosting companies generally offer domains bundled in with their hosting packages for this reason. That said, buying a domain separately will only run you $10-15, so this shouldn’t be a deal breaker.
- Number of websites allowed. Most basic plans only come with one website, but some may allow you to publish two sites or more.
- Ease of use. The control panel should be easy to navigate. One-click install should be available for web apps and content management systems like WordPress. The standard of the industry is for web hosts to use a management panel like cPanel.
- Ease of transfer. If you’re moving a website to a new host, this process should be easy. Look for hosts that offer some level of assistance with website migration.
- Email hosting. An email address that ends in your domain name helps you look professional and avoid spam filters. Your web host should offer at least one free email account.
There are also a couple of location-specific details you want to consider:
- Pricing in Canadian dollars. Keeping all of your expenses in one currency makes things easier when tax season arrives.
- Local servers. This ensures that Canadian customers will always enjoy the fastest loading speeds possible when they visit your website.
- Local customer service. Local customer service centers ensure that someone will be able to help you during your regular office hours.
?? Best Canadian web hosting companies
Here are the companies that have made the list:
1. HostPapa (www.hostpapa.ca)
- $3.95 CAD/month (regular $8.99/month)
- Servers in Canada: ✅
- Canadian customer service: ✅
- Two websites allowed + free domain
- 100GB of SSD storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Starter website builder (two pages)
- Free SSL certificate
- Free one-on-one training
HostPapa is a Canadian-owned company that hosts over 500,000 websites. They eschew the extra online services many hosts offer in favor of focusing entirely on high-quality hosting plans.
One thing that really stands out about HostPapa is the number of websites you can have on each plan. The basic plan comes with hosting for two sites, and both of the higher-priced plans allow creating unlimited websites. This can save you a lot of money over time if you want to run multiple sites.
HostPapa is also quite easy to use. The dashboard they use – cPanel – is easy to navigate and includes one-click installs for numerous web apps, including a variety of eCommerce platforms. Their customer service is also known as some of the best in the industry.
2. Web Hosting Canada (whc.ca)
- $3.89 CAD/month (renews at $5.99/month)
- Servers in Canada: ✅
- Canadian customer service: ✅
- Unlimited storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Unlimited mailboxes with up to 1GB space per mailbox
- One-click install for over 300 web apps
Web Hosting Canada is another Canadian-owned web hosting company. They also offer domain registration, email marketing services, and online marketing services. In other words, you can have the majority of your online business needs met by this one company.
One thing that stands out about Web Hosting Canada is that every one of their plans comes with unlimited storage. This means you’ll never have to worry about running out of space.
Another great thing about Web Hosting Canada is their email hosting. You get unlimited emails, all with 1GB of storage, and you can connect them to email software like Outlook or Apple Mail. This makes the experience far more pleasant than using email clients provided by other hosts.
3. A2 Hosting (www.a2hosting.ca)
- $4.08 CAD/month (regular $12.29/month)
- Servers in Canada: ❌
- Canadian customer service: ❌
- 100GB SSD storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Five databases
- SSL certificate
- Unlimited email accounts
A2 Hosting is a popular website hosting company that offers several different types of hosting. Their shared hosting plans are the most affordable, starting at $4.08 CAD/month.
Every A2 Hosting plan comes with free SSL certification, a CloudFlare CDN, and unmetered bandwidth. You’ll also get unlimited email addresses.
A2 Hosting is also known for their loading speed. When compared to other popular shared hosting services, A2 Hosting always has good metrics.
4. FastComet (www.fastcomet.com)
- $2.95 USD/month (regular $9.95 USD/month)
- Servers in Canada: ✅
- Canadian customer service: ❌
- 15GB SSD storage
- Free SSL certificate
- Unlimited databases
- Unlimited free email accounts
FastComet is a website hosting company with data centers all over the world, including one in Toronto, Canada. They offer a variety of hosting types including shared hosting, WordPress hosting, WooCommerce hosting, and Cloud VPS hosting.
All FastComet plans come with free SSL certification, daily backups, and unlimited free email accounts.
The 15GB storage provided with the basic plan is small compared to other hosting options we’ve looked at in this comparison of the best Canadian web hosting companies, but it is plenty of room for most new websites. FastComet plans are also only available in US dollars, which means Canadian users will have to factor the exchange rate into their costs.
5. Bluehost (www.bluehost.com)
- $5.42 CAD/month (regular $10.57 CAD/month)
- Servers in Canada: ❌
- Canadian customer service: ❌
- 50GB SSD storage
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Free SSL certificate
- Free domain
Bluehost is an international web hosting company that offers shared hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, and more. All of their plans come with free SSL certification, free email accounts, a free domain name (not always the standard in the industry), and unmetered bandwidth.
Bluehost also has specialized plans for managed WordPress hosting – called WP Pro – which come with all-in-one marketing center and dashboard, SEO features, email marketing, and social media tools included.
Still, Bluehost is one of the best Canadian web hosting companies because of their continuous uptime, fast loading speeds, and reliable customer service.
6. SiteGround (www.siteground.com)
- $6.99 USD/month (regular $14.99 USD/month)
- Servers in Canada: ❌
- Canadian customer service: ❌
- 10GB web space
- Unmetered traffic
- Free SSL certification
- Unlimited email addresses
- Unlimited databases
SiteGround is a web hosting service known for its excellent customer service. They offer a variety of plans, including shared hosting, WordPress hosting, WooCommerce hosting, and cloud hosting.
Every SiteGround plan comes with free SSL certification, daily backups, and unlimited email addresses. The only basic feature you won’t get is a free domain name. SiteGround is most known for their optimized WordPress hosting plans and WordPress-knowledgeable support team. If you want to launch a site running on WordPress, SiteGround might be your best choice.
A drawback for Canadian users is that SiteGround has no plans available in Canadian dollars. This means that you will have to tack on the cost of the exchange rate to the regular web hosting cost. This can also make things more complicated for you at tax time.
Final thoughts on the best Canadian web hosting companies
The truth about website hosting is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. You need to choose the company that best fits your needs:
- To run more than one site on a single web hosting plan, choose HostPapa.
- For the most cost effective plan, choose Web Hosting Canada.
- For all around great features, security and compatibility with WordPress, choose Bluehost or SiteGround.
Still not sure what the best Canadian web hosting company is for you? Check out this side-by-side comparison:
