Best Web Hosting Canada

While looking for a good web host, most of us don’t pay much attention to the location. Cost seems to be at the top of our priority list. Canada has some of the best web hosting firms in the world that offer excellent service.

Do we need to choose an international company? And would they offer the same level of service?

This article is written with the intention to assist you in making an informed decision in choosing from one of the best hosting companies in Canada for your website.

We have been working online for decades, and we have made our fair share of mistakes. After much tribulation, trial and error, we have shortlisted some of the finest web hosting solutions in Canada.

Criteria for Choosing the Best Web Hosting in Canada

There are a few things you need to look for while choosing a good web host:

• Uptime: You will lose a lot of money every time your website is not running. Always look for a web host that offers an uptime of guaranteed +99.95%.
• Good Upload Speed: The longer your website takes to load, that much more money is lost. Ensure you get a host that guarantees good loading speed.
• SSL Certification: If you’re looking at better security for your site and improving Google ranking as well then, you need to have an SSL certificate. Look for a host that offers it for free; if not as an add-on, it should be light on your pocket.
• Domain Name: You cannot run your website without a domain name. Only the best companies offer domain names along with the hosting plans. However, if you purchase a domain separately, it would cost you just $10 – 15, so it isn’t bad at all.
• Website Allowed: If you look at the basic plans on the market, they permit a single website. However, some hosts allow their users to publish more than one too.
• User–Friendly: Control panel navigation shouldn’t be complex. The web apps should have a single–click installation process. They should also have CMS pre-installed like WordPress.
• Easy Transfer: The process to move your website should be easy. Make sure the host offers assistance with the migration of the website.
• Hosting Email: If you want to have a professional outlook and keep spam filters at bay, then ensure your email address has the name of your domain. You should receive one email account that’s free from your host.

A few details that is Canada-specific:

• Pricing: In order to keep the filing of your tax simple, ensure your payments are not in multiple currencies.
• Local Server: You customers will love the speed, especially if you have a local Canadian server.
• Customer Service: If you have a service center that’s local, then during working hours, you will have assistance.

Let’s check the price and the main features of the Top 5 Web Hosting Services in Canada

Let’s check the features of the Top 11 Web Hosting Services in Canada below

Top 11 Web Hosting Services in Canada

1. HostPapa

HostPapa is a Canadian web host that offers reseller hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, and shared hosting. They assist you with integration support for Office 365 and G Suite. For all sorts of issues that are technical, they offer helpful and responsive support.

HostPapa claims to set a live site ready in a few minutes. It is user-friendly and full-featured; you can build something that promotes your company and goes hand in hand with your aesthetics. They offer various tools to build your site and also sell solutions and products relating to

• Web hosting – you can now make a choice between VPS, reseller, or shared hosting plans.
• Domain names

Key Features

• It is optimized for performance and speed.
• They offer a full refund if canceled within the initial 30 days of subscription.
• Completely reliable technology and server.
• The Control panel is cPanel.
• They have a no-cost website transfer.

Refund Policy

• They offer a full refund if canceled within 30 of the subscription.

Customer Support

They offer excellent support 24*7, 365 days. They have three channels made available to reach them; ticket, phone, and chat. As soon as you raise a ticket, you will receive a response within 15 – 20 minutes.

Downtime Alert

• You will be notified of the downtime within the account.

Uptime

• They assure you an uptime of 99.9%.

Data Center

You can select a data center when you’re checking out. They have various data centers;

• Toronto – Canada
• New Zealand, Australia – Oceania
• India, Hongkong, Singapore – Asia
• UK, Spain, Germany, France – Europe
• Los Angeles – Chicago, USA

Pros	Cons
The moment you sign up for the shared hosting, basic plan, you get a free domain.	The renewal rates are pretty costly.
The business email is very reliable and secure.
The apps and tools are user–friendly and allow you to have full control.
They offer a free trial of 30 days.

2. Hostinger

Hostinger is one of the lowest-priced hosting services. We haven’t found a company that can match up to it in terms of pricing. A basic plan of competition costs five times more in comparison to Hostinger.

It sounds unreal, doesn’t it? But, here’s the catch, in order to get a good deal from Hostinger, you will need to stay committed to their services for a couple of years.

It is wise to commit, especially if the solution they offer is good. To be honest, your visitors don’t care about the cost of your web host. The only thing that concerns them is reaching your website when it’s required and the loading speed. They also need to be assured that their sensitive information will be protected and secure.

Hostinger is A very simple to use, economic, and secure hosting provider. It has a single click VPS (Virtual Private Server) access and instant setup. The moment you pay and register for your account, your hosting will be all set and running in no time.

Key Features

• WordPress hosting is optimized.
• It supports PHP and MySQL.
• The SSD storage is of high speed.
• The storage and bandwidth are unlimited.
• They have servers across the globe.

Refund Policy

• Your money may get refunded provided you cancel it within 30 days from your transaction date. This is applicable only if purchased from their website.

Customer Support

• Their global team offers support 24*7 across various locations.

Downtime Alert

• All their subscribers receive a downtime alert. They also have a status page. As the issue is resolved, you will get a notification

Uptime

• They claim to offer their clients an uptime of 99.99%.

Data Centers

Most hosting companies have data centers in two or three locations. However, Hostinger has servers located at multiple locations;

• Singapore
• Indonesia
• Lithuania
• Netherlands
• Brazil
• UK
• USA

Pros	Cons
With ease, you can manage the functionality, layout, and content of your website	The SSL certificate needs to be manually setup
The user gets a free backup and domain name	A single share plan doesn’t support a one-click installation
It has multiple themes, add – ons, widgets, and templates
Fast server and reliable time
Free SSL certificate and Bitninja

---

3. A2 Hosting

Since 2001, they have been on the market, and they are popular for their high loading speeds. Over the last couple of months, we haven’t seen a server as fast as A2 Hosting. They have good uptime, making their services reliable.

‘Developer–friendly’ and ‘Anytime’ money refund guarantee is a distinctive feature. If you’re looking for an economical hosting service that is fast as well, then this is a great option. If you see your website growing in the future, stay assured that they have the ability to expand along with your site.

Key Features

• Good storage limits
• Email hosting
• Bandwidth allowance
• Database support
• File Management
• E-Commerce Integration
• Supports Web Framework
• Supports Content Management System (CMS)
• Integration of Control Panel

Refund Policy

• If you require a full refund, you need to cancel the service within 30 days of the subscription. If you are unable to do so, then you will get a refund for the services that are unused on a prorated basis.

Customer Support

• Their customer support team is available 24*7 and assists you with any technical support. All you need to do is log in to the customer portal, and someone will get in touch with you as soon as possible.

Downtime Alert

• Every time there is a downtime, you will be notified.

Uptime

• They assure uptime of 99.9%

Data Centers

• Arizona – USA
• Michigan – USA
• Singapore – Asia
• Amsterdam – Europe

Pros	Cons
Developer – Friendly: It supports a huge number of frameworks, languages, and technologies.	Not Beginner Friendly: Not very friendly for beginners as most of its competitors.
Excellent speed and uptime	The cost is a tad higher than its competitors.

---

4. SiteGround

SiteGround is a provider of shared hosting, well known for offering its clients various hosting options. These include cloud hosting, WordPress, and dedicated servers. For an unbiased and transparent review, we have tried it ourselves.

Overall, the high speed and strong uptime have kept it running in the list for the top contenders. Along with the multiple upsides, it has some downsides as well.

Key Features

• Their hosting service is customized.
• Multiple site tools.
• Strong uptime and excellent performance.
• Great customer support.
• Advance support and priority.
• 100% guarantee of a full refund.
• They guarantee a strong uptime.

Refund Policy

• For their shared hosting service, they give a full refund within 30 days of subscription. Whereas for a cloud hosting service, you get a full refund within 14 days of subscription.

Customer Support

• Live Chat: They have an efficient and fast live chat. The chat representatives are friendly, and concerns are successfully resolved over 90% of the time.
• Phone support: Their experienced operators are equipped to handle issues over a call.
• Helpdesk tickets: With the ticketing system, your complex issues will be redirected to their advanced technicians. On average, you get a reply within 15 min of raising a ticket. Most of the time, the issue is resolved with one response. 24*7 support is available with the ticketing system.

Downtime Alert

• They send out a downtime alert notification in the account to keep you informed.

Uptime

• They guarantee an uptime of 99.9%

Data Center

They have multiple data centers

• London – UK
• Iowa – USA
• Frankfurt – DE
• Eemshaven – Netherlands
• Singapore
• Sydney – Australia

Pros	Cons
They guarantee money back in 30 days	Storage limits for data
Daily the data is restored and backed up automatically.	Overuse of resources.
Installation of WordPress automatically. WorPress.org officially endorses it.
All plans have managed WordPress hosting.
Their speed technology is innovative (NGINX, PHP7, HTTP/2, SSD, and more.

---

5. GreenGreeks

The founder of GreenGreeks is Trey Gardner. He founded it in 2008. Today they have more than 300,000 websites on their platform. They have various data centers across the globe.

Trey has worked with multiple web hosting firms that include HostPapa, Lunarpages, Globat, Dot5Hosting, StartLogic, iPage, and iPowerweb. GreenGreeks make bold claims as below

With all said and done, do they provide excellent support and uptime? Or these are simply just promotional claims.

We bought the shared plan from GreenGreek, set a WordPress test, and ran a performance test for months.

Keep reading and find out if we recommend GreenGreeks.

Key Features

• It is eco-friendly.
• Around the year expert support.
• Multiple data centers
• Strong uptime of up to 99.9%

Downtime Alert

• Whenever there is downtime, they will alert you by sending a notification to the account.

Uptime

• They guarantee an uptime of 99.9%. That means in one year; you will have a downtime of 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Datacenter

• Amsterdam – Netherlands
• Montreal – Canada
• Phoenix – USA
• Chicago – USA

Customer Support

• For direct assistance, you can reach the expert team via live chat, phone, and email.
• Phone support: You can reach them during EST – 9 am to 12 am Monday to Friday, EST – 9 am to 8 pm on weekends.
• Live Chat: Support agents are available 24*7, 365 days.

Pros	Cons
Their hosting services include shared dedicated, VPS, and WordPress server packages	Long term commitments for competitive rates
They guarantee a full refund in 30 days	Renewal of domains are expensive
The help center is rich in resources
Their customer support has multiple contact options.
They have an uptime of 99.9%, making it very reliable.
Their web hosting service is eco–friendly.
Daily backups for free
They have a free domain.
Free migration
They provide a site builder for free.

---

6. Kinsta

Kinsta takes care of all your needs with regard to your site as it is a managed WordPress host. Their technology is cutting edge, and client support is at the top of their list of priorities.

Key Features

• Excellent customer support. Although they offer support only through their chat services, they have experienced agents that work around the clock.
• The site architecture is WordPress-specific (read: faster and better).
• Before you publish your changes, you can stage an environment to assess your website.
• Premium migration is free (Concierge service).
• Basic migrations are unlimited from various other hosts through the WordPress plugin.
• You receive a full refund of your money if canceled within 30 days of subscription.
• Optimization of the database on auto-mode.
• Daily backup that happens automatically.

Refund Policy

They back their service with a 30 – day full refund, and they don’t expect you to make a long–term commitment.

Customer Support

• They offer 365 days, 24*7 customer support.

Downtime Alert

They send notifications to update you on the downtime.

Uptime

• They guarantee an uptime of 99.9%

Data Centers

They have a list of 25 centers that you can select from, the one more suited for your website. If your deployments are multi-regional, you can make use of various data centers.

• Jakarta – Indonesia (Southeast Asia)
• Las Vegas – USA
• Seoul – South Korea
• Osaka – Japan
• Zurich – Switzerland
• Hongkong – East Asia
• Los Angeles – USA
• Hamina – Finland
• Eemshaven – Netherland
• Montreal – Canada
• Mumbai – India
• Tokyo – Japan
• Jurong West – Singapore
• Frankfurt – Germany
• London – UK
• Sao Paulo – Brazil
• South Carolina – USA
• Virginia – USA
• Salt Lake – USA
• Oregon – USA
• Sydney – Australia
• Changhua County – Taiwan
• St. Ghislaine – Belgium
• Iowa – USA
• Warsaw – Poland

Pros	Cons
Excellent Performance: so far, it ranks second on our list in terms of speed. It is great for user experience and SEO.	WordPress Only: you can’t install other CMS on the Kinsta server
Uptime: There are no complaints here; it virtually runs 100%. You get some cash back if the uptime goes below 99.9%	Plenty of limitations: it doesn’t offer unlimited storage, monthly visits, or CDN. If you exceed your limit, you will be charged for the extra.
Support: Although it has only chat support, it is one of the best supports we have received.	Higher Prices: It isn’t economical. What you pay for, you will get, there is no doubt about it. But, it is not everyone’s cup of tea.
Server locations and features: They have 25 locations spread across the globe that you can choose from
User–friendly: The pleasing user experience and simple navigation is good for those that spend time in the dashboard of their hosting provide
Team Management: You and unlimited users can with much ease define roles and permissions at both site and company level.
Site backups: on the plans that are lower, you get automatic backups for just 14 days.  If you upgrade to business plan 3, you receive 20 days. Cloud backups and manual backups are available. You can download backups as well.
Designed for WordPress: They have optimized architecture for CMS and plugins. You will get resources that are handy and various tools that are Word – Specific.

---

7. Cloudways

There are various reasons that Cloudways is picked by many users. The plans they have are very flexible, with a strong uptime, good customer support, and quick setup time. You can rely on them to have your site up and available for your clients.

Cloudways is one of a few firms that give you a good balance between functionality and affordability. It has some fantastic features and has the potential to scale to resources as your site grows. If you are still undecided about hosting on the cloud server, then you can also check out their three days trial period that’s free. They allow you to test the platform.

Key Features

• The site migration is taken care of by Cloudways while moving hosts.
• The server speed is better with Cloudways CDN. Online stores find it vital to have a good site speed.
• It has an auto-healing feature that resolves issues and reduces the risk of the site crashing.
• Since WordPress is a popular CMS, it is targeted by hackers. Cloudways has dedicated firewalls that help secure the site.
• The SSL protects communication between your customers and your site.
• You get an additional layer of security keeping you away from hackers with two-factor authentication.
• Apps have a one-click installation.
• New sites find it easy to set up – On the sever, you can allocate a new site with a single click.
• 24*7 customer support is definitely an added benefit.

Refund Policy

If you wish to test the platform, you can make use of their three days trial. They do not have a full refund guarantee.

Customer Support

They have an excellent customer support team that offers support 24*7 globally.

Downtime Alert

• Their subscribers do get a notification; a status page is also available. As the issue is resolved, you will be notified.

Uptime

• They offer a 99.9% uptime.

Data Center

• Vultr – Singapore
• Oregon – USA
• Mumbai – India
• Tokyo – Japan
• Toronto – Canada

Pros	Cons
Easy to set up	The option to register your domain is not available
The uptime is excellent	If you plan to get an email, it will cost you extra
It supports multiple apps
It has various account tiers that are flexible.
It has plans that you need to pay for only when used.
You get a chance to use its services before paying for them.
It allows the cloning of sites.

---

8. Bluehost

Bluehost is WordPress’s official hosting provider, and it offers multiple hosting plans. So, if you have a large business or you’re just a beginner, it will assist you with your requirement. It provides dedicated VPS (virtual private server) and shared hosting. 

Key Features

• It has SSL certificates that are free.
• It also offers PHP and MySQL databases.
• Control panel.
• Their technical support is free.
• File Manager and FTP account

Refund Policy

• It offers a full refund of your money if you cancel within the initial 30 days.

Customer Support

• They offer phone support, ticket support, and live chat.

Downtime Alert

• There is no update on the downtime of the server. However, clients have rated their uptimes as one of the top hosting providers.

Uptime

• They assure uptime of 99%

Datacenter

They have multiple data centers;

• Hongkong
• Mumbai – India
• Shanghai – China
• London – UK
• Utah – USA

Pros	Cons
No charges are hidden.	Premium technical support is not available
The control panels are user–friendly and simple	Windows OS is not supported by it
Offers a focused hosting assistance
File manager and FTP account
You will receive a domain name for free when you sign – up. But it is applicable for only a year.

---

9. HostGator

HostGator is a well-known web host in the market, hosting more than 10 million active domains. With one-click installation, 24*7 customer support, and guaranteed uptime of 99.9%, it is definitely a wise choice. It is one of the best hostings in the market. They offer a free SSL certificate and domain name.

Key Features

• Reliability: Your website will be available for your users 99.9% of the time.
• Performance: Your website will load onto the HostGator server in no time. Excellent performance.
• Customer Support: You can rely on their customer service. You will get assistance whenever needed.
• Pricing: They have competitive pricing

Refund Policy

• You will get a full refund of your money if you cancel it within 45 days of your initial subscription.

Downtime Alert

• You receive notifications in your account whenever there is downtime.

Uptime

• They guarantee a 99.9% uptime.

Datacenter

• Utah – USA
• Texas – USA

Pros	Cons
Reliable Hosting: It guarantees a 99.9% uptime to its users. If the uptime drops below this, you will get a month’s credit.	Monthly Pricing: The monthly pricing is higher than the annual pricing. You can go in for an annual package with no stress, as your money is protected with a 45 days money refund guarantee
Full refund: they offer a full refund if canceled within the initial 45 days of the subscription	Aggressive upselling: be sure to select the services that you require. If you are unsure, uncheck the service. You can always return to make a purchase.
Billing cycle: the billing cycle is flexible. You can select a yearly or even a monthly cycle. The longer cycles earn you higher discounts.
Free migration: every new account gets a free migration service. You can move your site without paying a cent for it. This is applicable for the initial 30 days of subscription.

---

10. DreamHost

DreamHost shared hosting service comes with apps like website builder, Weebly, Wix and

WordPress. These plans come with unlimited disk space and bandwidth. You can try their services as they offer a 97 – day full refund. They seem to have limited customer assistance, but you must have a look at the past one-year performance.

Key Features

• Unlimited email
• SSL certificate is free
• Pre-installed WordPress
• SSD storage is fast
• The bandwidth is unmetered
• Unlimited traffic
• Includes a free domain

Refund Policy

• DreamHost gives its users a full refund of their money if they cancel within the initial 97 days of their subscription. Upon closure, the account is refunded.

Customer Support

• They offer excellent customer assistance 24*7 through chat, email, and phone.

Downtime Alert

• They do send a notification to the account. This keeps you updated on the status. 

Uptime

• They assure you of a 99.9% uptime. This is a pretty strong uptime.

Data Centers

• Virginia – USA
• California – USA

Pros	Cons
Best customer assistance in the industry	We had issues migrating from Bluehost. It seems to have compatibility issues at times
User – friendly dashboard makes it easy for users to navigate around.	We also had concerns with the updates from WordPress crashing the server, but customer support assisted us with it swiftly
The speeds of the website are good, especially when compared with the price.	It can get overwhelming to make a choice between their various packages and pricing structure.
The backup feature that they offer is great.

---

11. HostUpon

HostUpon offers its users economic plans with everything unlimited. It is one of the best web hosting services in Canada. It will assist you in expanding your business. Every plan will allow you to transfer or upgrade your site for free. With a couple of clicks and you will be able to install WordPress with easy scripts and over 100 software scripts if you require it.

Key Features

• You get a domain name for free.
• Control Panel is Cpanel.
• Unlimited space and website.
• Your email address can be personalized to your domain name, and you can access them with all email clients.
• Unlimited POP3 / IMAP accounts.
• Green – Hosting servers are eco–friendly.

Refund Policy

• They offer a full refund of your money if you cancel it in the initial 30 days of your subscription.

Customer Support

• They offer a 15 mins response time.

Downtime Alert

• You will not be notified of the downtime, but you can check it on their official website.

Uptime

• They guarantee an uptime of 99.9%.

Data Center

• Washington DC – USA
• Dallas – USA
• Seattle – USA

Pros	Cons
The disk space is unlimited	The extra features are limited
You get a domain name for free	It doesn’t offer daily backups
You can install over 360 apps like Drupal, WordPress, Joomla, etc.
They offer a website builder for free.
Unlimited websites can be hosted.

---

Final Thoughts

Now that we have got a deeper insight into the various Canadian web hosting platforms, you must understand that there isn’t a perfect web host that will suit everyone’s requirements. Each one of them has its unique features. You need to select a host that fits your requirements.

We hope we were able to assist you in getting more clarity on the options available in the market. This article will give you a place to start with. We wish you the best in your search for a web host to match your requirements.