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Best Web Hosting Services
Thinking of starting your own website, blog, business venture or eCommerce store sometime soon?
The number of web hosting and registration options can be bewildering – especially as a first time user, you may find it a little overwhelming to sift through the different web hosts that are out there.
If you are looking for the best web hosting Canada has to offer for your new website or are thinking about moving an existing site to a new host, we’ve analyzed some of the major providers in the Canadian market.
Exclusive Offer: We have partnered with HostPapa to offer our readers 69% off shared hosting (be sure to visit the link to automatically receive the discount)
| Headquarters | Canada | Europe | USA | Canada |
| Data Center Locations | Global including Canada | Global including USA | Global including Toronto & Montreal | Multiple in Canada |
| Websites Hosted | 500,000+ | 2,000,000+ | 600,000+ | 130,000+ |
| Canadian Owned | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| In Business Since | 2002 | 2004 | 2008 | 2003 |
| Starter Shared Hosting Monthly (12 mth term) | $5.06 (Tech Daily Exclusive Offer: As low as $3.36/month) | $6.99 | $4.95 | $5.99 |
| 24 x 7 Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
1. HostPapa
Key Features
- Canadian business privately owned and operated
- Canadian data centers as well as global data centers
- 500,000+ websites hosted
- 24 x 7 Support – Phone / Email / Live Chat
- In business since 2002
- Based in Burlington, Ontario
Monthly Prices in CAD
Shared Hosting:
$5.06 (12 mth term) – As low as $3.36 (36 mth term)
.ca Domain Registration:
$14.99 – Free with annual web hosting plan
Overview
HostPapa is a local Canadian company, based in Burlington, Ontario that’s been in business for close to 20 years.
The company has become one of the largest privately owned web hosts, now servicing customers globally from data centers they’ve strategically placed around the world.
But worry not – they are a Canadian company and you have the option to use a server in Canada, USA or Europe, so actually a plus point for those with plans to expand internationally.
They offer web hosting, domain registration services and additional marketing services that you might need when first setting up a site with them.
HostPapa boasts over 500,000 websites hosted, so they’re very well experienced, and their sales and support teams are readily available to help with all of your needs.
Current Tech Daily Offer: 69% off the regular price for Shared Hosting – As low as $3.36 per month on a 36 month term.
2. SiteGround
Key Features
- 6 Global data centers
- Over 2,000,000 customers
- 24 x 7 Support in English and French – Phone / Email / Live Chat
- In business since 2004
- Europe Based
Monthly Prices in USD start at
Shared Hosting:
$6.99 (12 mth term)
Managed Cloud Hosting:
$80.00 monthly
Overview
SiteGround has become a strong competitor in the shared hosting space over the last 5 or so years.
Having started their business in 2004, they now boast over 2,000,000 domains hosted, supported by over 500 employees.
While they are a European company, they make it easy to choose the data center of your choice on checkout – USA, London, Sydney, Singapore, Frankfurt or The Netherlands.
Despite not having a data center in Canada, SiteGround is still a solid provider as they have infrastructure nearby in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
The company has a “security first mindset” as they have a team of experts dedicated to monitoring vulnerabilities on both a server and website level.
This team is constantly writing new security patches and making enhancements with over 300 custom rules created in the past year, that have prevented several third-party software vulnerabilities.
Siteground places an emphasis on customer support, demonstrated by their 24/7 chat and phone support with an average 15 minute reply time.
The company also boasts 99.9% uptime and offers customers peace of mind with a 30 day money back guarantee for all shared plans.
3. GreenGeeks
Key Features
- Privately owned and operated US company with Canadian presence
- Toronto and Montreal data centers
- 600,000+ websites hosted for over 50,000 customers
- 24 x 7 x 365 Support – Phone / Email / Live Chat
- In business since 2008
Monthly Prices in CAD start at
Shared Hosting:
$9.95 – As low as $2.95 (36 mth term)
Managed VPS:
$39.99 monthly
.ca Domain Registration:
$18.95 – Free with annual web hosting plan
Overview
GreenGeeks is a larger US company with a Canadian presence: They’ve been in business since 2008 and were first founded in California.
They’re trusted by more than 50,000 customers across 600,000 websites according to their home page.
GreenGeeks is a multiple-award winning company: Several markets have chosen them as the Top Web Host several times in a row – and this can help to tip you off that they’re one of the most reliable web hosting companies you can choose to use.
Even though the company was initially founded in California, there are several data centers globally today.
These include Toronto and Montreal in Canada, as well as Chicago and Phoenix in the US and Amsterdam, Netherlands in Europe.
Similar to the others, they have a 99.9% uptime guarantee and their support team is available 24/7 through live chat, e-mail (or phone) should you experience any issues with your hosting account.
Of note, GreenGeeks has hosting options at under $3 per month and they also offer a unique 30-Day Money Back Guarantee for customers.
4. WHC
Key Features
- Canadian business privately owned and operated
- Canadian data centers
- 130,000+ websites hosted
- 24 x 7 Support in English and French – Phone / Email / Live Chat
- In business since 2003
- Based in Montreal, Quebec
Monthly Prices in CAD start at
Shared Hosting:
$5.99 – As low as $3.89 (36 mth term)
Managed Cloud Hosting:
$34.99 – As low as $33.24 (36 mth term)
Managed Dedicated Hosting:
$163.99 – As low as $155.79 (12 mth term)
.ca Domain Registration:
$9.99 for 1 year – $65.95 for 5 years
Overview
WHC is short for Web Hosting Canada, offering powerful and at the same time affordable solutions.
They offer a quick and user-friendly way to get a professional website online in minutes with support for newer users who don’t have the experience of setting up web hosting.
WHC prides themselves on reliability and data protection for small businesses and emerging ventures.
Their local data centers are home to more than 60,000 happy customers, being in business since 2003.
They’re entirely local with several data centers that are located on both the east and west coast.
WHC’s platform has been built with speed and security in mind, 2 of the main things they focus on.
They also offer cPanel powered by Cloudlinux which makes it easy to manage your website, as well as allowing 1-Click installs of over 300 apps.
If you do run into any issues, know that their support is available 24/7, whether your question is a novice, advanced or intermediate one, they are available to help.
And if you’re migrating from another host, be sure to check out their free migration service, where their tech team will assist you in moving your website over, so don’t fret over any of the technical details.
Should I Choose Web Hosting in Canada?
There are a number of considerations when first choosing a web hosting service for your brand, business or eCommerce website.
As seen by comments on many different forums, skipping the research leads to many users being unhappy with their initial web host a few weeks or months into signing up,.
People realize they could have picked a better plan or web host that would have suited their site and user’s needs better than their current one.
Sites can be hosted on servers located anywhere in the world, including the United States, Canada and other international countries.
If you are a Canadian business, hosting in Canada is a great option.
Canadian web hosting affords you a ton of benefits that hosting in other countries cannot.
Canadian Internet Usage Stats1:
- 91% of Canadians 15 and older are regular internet users.
- 84% of users reported having bought something online.
- The average Canadian was reported to spend 24.5 hours on the internet – and this was in 2016!
- Most Canadians access the internet with high-speed internet connections: Sites and servers have to keep up!
Here are a few reasons you should consider when deciding whether to host in Canada or not, whether your picking your first host or migrating from where you currently are.
1. Data Center Location and Google Search
The Canadian market is large, with millions of users accessing this particular space of the web every day.
Some people use it to get their daily news, while others log on to find their sports scores or to go shopping online.
If your website is hosted through a Canadian web host in a Canadian data center, you can potentially rank better in Canada-based search results.
All of the options we’ve provided above all have their data centers located in Canada.
While there are varying opinions and thoughts on this concept, most will agree that server location is one of the many factors in Google’s algorithm
So if you are solely targeting Canadian users, it makes most sense to host with a company that has a data centers in Canada.
Through your research, you notice that many Canadian web hosts have a data center or their entire address as 151 Front St W, Toronto, ON M6J 0B2.
This is the location of a very large “carrier hotel” or in other works, colocation centre owned by large data center operators.
Web hosts lease blocks of space in this colocation centre – they have full control over the block of servers in the centre, they just don’t own them.
So if you see multiple Canadian web hosts noting they have a data center at 151 Front St. W, this isn’t cause for alarm, this is a facility that many use.
However, the larger web hosting providers usually own their own data centers and facilities.
2. Potential of a .ca Domain
One of the first things you choose when registering your website or business name on the Internet for the first time is your domain name.
As you know, websites can end in .com .ca .net and many other extensions these days, with .ca clearly being the extension for Canada.
Educational websites might have the .edu suffix and government sites usually have a .gov suffix.
If you’re business solely focuses on Canadians, it makes sense to register a .ca domain vs anything else.
This can be powerful for companies who want to promote their brand in the Canadian consumer space, for companies who are migrating their brand into Canada or for people who already have a Canadian fan or client base out there.
Domain suffix is also a known indicator in the Google search algorithm, so while it may only be a low level indicator, using a .ca clearly tells Google your focused on the Canadian market.
Check out our guide on domain names in Canada to learn more.
3. Competitive Pricing
Choosing to host your website in Canada rather than another country could mean that website hosting costs you less than it does right now – or at least, less than it would for the same speed and data in another country.
The Canadian hosting market, like many others, is competitive, and regularly sees hosts offering substantial discounts to attract new customers.
Using a Canadian host that bills in Canadian dollars also avoids currency exchange fluctuations.
4. Legal Benefits of Canadian Web Hosting
Canadian web hosting services can be cheaper and more secure than your current host, but there are also additional legal benefits that might make it a worthwhile option.
Websites hosted in Canada have data protection laws particular to Canada which may serve you or your business better.
If you are a Canadian business collecting customer data, it probably makes the most sense to keep that Canadian data on our soil.
You want to ensure you’re in compliance with Canadian data protection and privacy laws.
You also don’t want your Canadian data being stored in another country if you don’t have to.
If your traffic, customers and data is Canadian, choose a host that is Canadian who keeps your data in a Canadian data center.
