We all enjoy receiving things for free. We are always looking out for free stuff; free clothes, free beer, free tacos and more. Some of the free goodies we receive are tossed somewhere in the back of our closet, and we forget about it.
None of these free goodies were life-altering, but the word free seemed to trigger some genetic response that piques our interest. When we receive something for free, we feel special, I guess!
Free web hosting! Does it interest you? Is it going to be as good as receiving a beer or a wrong fitted t-shirt? Well, that entirely depends on the requirements of your website.
Web hosting definitely has its importance in the market. However, not everyone wants to get a paid web host and start with grand plans online, taking on every online e-commerce store.
Many of us have modest intentions, looking for a space to run marketing campaigns, quickly share stuff or even brainstorm thoughts and ideas without much hassle.
If these ideas relate to your plans, then this is your day! Keep reading to find out the top web host in the business offering (almost) free plans.
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Economical vs Free basic hosting
I would like to point out; we see many people struggling to find an excellent free web hosting, one that offers a free domain URL of your choice – such web hosting doesn’t exist.
Let me give you an example; if I plan to create a website for my restaurant, no web hosting firm will offer me a myrestaurantwebsite.com. Why? Because registering the name and hosting the DNS costs money.
What they offer; myrestaurantwebsite.atsomehostingcompany.com. The parent firm owns your website, as reflected in your domain name.
Someday you decide to have complete control over the title; you will be charged a very high fee.
Hence, this article will focus on the ‘Almost Free’ cheapest web hosting companies in Canada. We have seen plenty of people make this blunder.
We would like to share our experience and advice after all these years of web hosting multiple websites ourselves. We have seen many people get exploited with the ‘Free Host’ concept.
Free hosts don’t exist, here’s why…
Think about it; free hosts don’t get things for free. They have to pay their marketing partners, staff salary. The big question is, how can they afford it? Well, clearly, web hosting is not their merchandise – your data becomes their merchandise.
This is how they make their money;
- When you decide to upgrade, you will find yourself paying 15 times as a migration fee.
- All your details are sold to advertisers, and in turn, these advertising companies try to market to you.
- Forced advertising – you will find some odd ads displaying on your website.
- Unprofessional – someday, you decide to change your extensive collection of pictures to a photo album that’s professional. You will find it challenging to portrait the same in the professional world; this free domain name won’t help!
Web Host that is Almost Free
The idea of getting a web host 100% free is fascinating; however, don’t overlook the minute details that come along with the so-called ‘Free’ version that leads to severe bandwidth, performance and storage limitations.
If you pay for the upgraded version, you will be spared from the intrusive ads everywhere on the website. This is very unappealing and is definitely a con.
You can have free web hosting for an unlimited period of time, but if you wish to commit to a fully developed website, you will need to upgrade to a robust plan. It will involve a monthly charge.
Today, it is astonishing that various benefits and features that seem almost free host involve spending every month between $3-$10. We are looking at the free domain, e-commerce functionalities, sufficient storage, and email accounts.
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We have our list of top five all-time favourite almost-free web hosting providers:
Hostinger – At a Discounted Price receive Premium Hosting
Key Features
- Email Account – Free
- Free Domain
- SSL Certificate – Free
- Bandwidth – 100 GB
- MySQL Databases
- Customer support – 24×7, 365 days
- Control panel that’s powerful
As and when we check the load times and uptime of Hostinger, they seem to be improving. They are an excellent option if you’re looking for economical web hosting – especially for newcomers.
It is definitely challenging to decline a monthly fee of $0.99. Their premium plans are unlimited, with a monthly cost of $2.15.
| Sr# | Pros | Cons |
| 1 | High-quality service with unbeatable price. | You can host just one site with the beginner plan. |
| 2 | You can make your payment using cryptocurrency. |
Inclusive of Website Builder
An economical web hosting offers a bonus; Hostinger has an economical website builder – Zyro.
I agree it has basic features, but be informed it is not so basic; instead, it is innovative with its Logo Maker. So, if your logo needs a makeover, it can be taken care of in a few minutes.
Hostinger is one of the most in-demand web hosting on the globe. We weren’t impressed by what we were reading about them, so we took a little test of our own. Over the past 12 months, Hostinger, with regards to performance numbers, has revealed results that were impressive.
Great Bonus Features
Apart from their prices being so economical, they offer a wide range of bonuses; some of them include email accounts (free), free domain, free SSL certification.
You get all this on signing up. This gives you a boost, especially if you’re trying to launch a blog site or small business online.
It doesn’t stop here; on average, you also receive an uptime of 99.91%. This is a vital feature because when your server is not up and running, it means you will be missing out on potential customers, resulting in loss of sales and loss of money.
In addition, they offer a rapid-fire load time of 389 ms. All this is definitely value for money.
HostPapa – Overall provides best web hosting services
Key Features
- They guarantee an uptime of 99.9% with unlimited bandwidth.
- With just one account, you can host multiple WordPress sites.
- For concerns and queries, you can reach their 24×7 customer support via email, phone or chat.
- A site builder that offers free drag-and-drop.
- Iron-clad security to keep it hack-free.
There are multiple reasons we have to add HostPapa to our list of top almost-free web hosts.
To begin with, they offer a consistent uptime of 99.9%; this is vital, especially for our web traffic visitors that have less attention span.
Also, with a single account, you can launch multiple WordPress sites. So, you can create various blogs and WordPress.
| Sr# | Pros | Cons |
| 1 | Their business practices are environmentally – friendly. | The customer executives take a long time to get your issues sorted, especially if it is a tough one. |
| 2 | Your CMS Website can now be migrated for free. |
Multiple Features
I must point out, you will have limitations with the beginner plan. However, the plan is filled with loads of goodies that include fantastic web security and a user-friendly free site builder.
Best of all, you can migrate your current website for free. Most hosts charge a fee for migration.
Therefore, HostPapa is an excellent deal in terms of benefits and raw costs. Once you try it, we assure you, you will be impressed instead of disappointed.
Special Discount for Canadian users
HostPapa plans to get customers with their low-cost beginner plan. They offer great features and service, proving to be fantastic business partners with their full-service.
HostPapa is in a continuous process of upgrading various e-commerce features, keeping their business-minded clients as their primary focus.
SiteGround – Trusted Host
Key Features
- They have a helpful and very supportive staff.
- Since 2004 they have maintained their setup as straightforward and very reliable.
- They offer unlimited email accounts and storage.
- They also offer a free site builder and shopping cart.
- The customer support staff are available 24×7, 365 days.
SiteGround will make it to your list of reliable and cheap hosts. All thanks to the extra features and a server that offers solid technology.
We genuinely appreciate domain and website builders that allow online access at a low cost and quickly.
| Sr# | Pros | Cons |
| 1 | Their customers support staff is available 24×7. | They have plans that expect a minimum commitment of 12 months. |
| 2 | The staff can install the website from a remote location. | |
| 3 | In comparison with the various other hosts in the business, they are straightforward to use, especially for beginners. |
E-commerce store setup
There are various e-commerce additions and functionalities apart from the site builder, making it a great choice to launch an e-commerce store.
For example, you get a shopping cart that’s free, which works perfectly with the site builder.
Now, your customers can buy things asap from the site. The customer support team is an added benefit; they are available 24×7 so, you can get your site working even if your technical help is minimum.
Incredible Performance
It has an excellent uptime of 99.92%, which is above the market average, given the minimum price paid.
We have also reviewed their loading speeds, and for the past year, they have delivered a good loading speed of 500 ms, which is absolutely pleasing.
SiteGround can be a good alternative for users in search of affordable yet fast web hosting services.
Bluehost – The Starter Host
Key Features
- They are well-known for their low-cost package and solid performance.
- They are most loved by WordPess.org.
- They have a free Weebly website builder and multiple free templates too.
- They offer Cloudflare CDN for free.
Bluehost has made it to the list of top-five and maintained its position there. We see them slowly climbing the charts. They are well-known for their customer support and quality infrastructure.
| Sr# | Pros | Cons |
| 1 | With regards to their VPS hosting, their prices are super competitive. | Site migration charges are $100. |
Website Builder
Bluehost is famous for its WordPress users, and the firm does advertise them frequently.
A major bonus they offer is the multiple excellent templates, making your WordPress engaging and distinctive. Bluehost provides a website builder for free – Weebly. It is known to be the finest in the business, considering the price being low.
Server Resource
Bluehost provides its users with Cloudflare CDN: CDN (Content Delivery Network) is designed to boost the load speed of your website’s page.
In addition, it also reduces the CPU usage and the bandwidth of your server. This allows you to stretch your server’s resources further. There are a lot of excellent features they have to offer.
Our web hosting reviews have backed Bluehost in our list of the best top five. They have exceptional performance and speed, and they are all you would anticipate from a leader in the business.
InMotion Hosting – Upon Signup- Free Trial and Multiple Features
Key Features
- cPanel migration and websites are available for free.
- For quick website loading, they offer SSD.
- They provide unlimited bandwidth and email account.
- Security suite with hack protection and SSL – free.
- Free template and Boldgrid builder.
Online entrepreneurs and IT geeks are in love with their web hosting plans at a business-class level; I can say we definitely do.
At the basic plan, you will pay a bit more in comparison to other web hosting plans. However, you get that much more at a nominal extra fee.
What’s the extra, you ask? Let’s begin with – SSD drive is used with all their server. This ensures that the users receive faster loading times.
Considering that if your site runs slow, about 32% of visitors will leave the page. Now, that could mean a loss of a potential customer.
| Sr# | Pros | Cons |
| 1 | They guarantee a full refund of your money in 90 days. | Their basic plans have certain limitations. |
Advanced Features
InMotion provides extra value for your investment by offering you unlimited email accounts and bandwidth. This is provided with the basic plan too.
They also migrate your website with no additional charges, giving you hack protection and SSL certification for free.
One thing’s clear, if your current web hosting is not as good as InMotion, you will definitely find yourself changing hosts.
With high-end hardware and various data centres to choose from, you will have an excellent experience with InMotion.
A2 Hosting – The Quickest Canadian Web Host
Key Features
- Free SSD and Cloudflare CDN.
- Various CMS installs and single-click WordPress.
- Unlimited databases, domains, and email addresses.
- Multiple free templates and website builders.
- Free security measures that are advance and hack scans too.
A2 Hosting has custom-made software and hardware configurations that enhance the user’s security, speed and performance – considering the user would pay a few pennies every month in order to enjoy top quality service that is rare with shared hosts.
| Sr# | Pros | Cons |
| 1 | They guarantee an uptime of 99.99%. | Upgrade prices are a tad steep. |
| 2 | There is no limitation on any feature. | |
| 3 | Multiple data centres at various locations; Singapore, USA and Europe. | |
| 4 | They do not have a time frame on their refund policy. |
High Security
A2 Hosting offers various benefits like SSD loading times and Cloudflare CDN. Shared hosting is always associated with servers that have limited resources and slow load time.
With SSD and Cloudflare, this is not the case anymore; your loading time is given a significant boost.
User-Friendly
A2 Hosting provides a single-click installation for WordPress and a website builder for free with multiple templates that help you customize your website according to your requirements.
There is an abundance in the security features that are advance; one of the features includes Hack Scan.
The multiple features and high performance confirms A2 as the best, almost–free web host.
Top 4 Free Web Hosts
Free Web Hosts, is there such a thing? Yes, there is.
We scanned the internet in search of the best web hosting with no buck. There are a couple of well-known web hosts in the business that could be a potential match.
You may be a naive newcomer, advanced developer, or web designer, and you need a location to collect your work with whistles and bells.
WIX – Website builder and Hosting – Free
It is a famous website builder that is user-friendly, allowing you to build your website and create your account in a couple of minutes. The builder offers a prompt learning curve.
Within minutes you will find yourself manipulating sliders, images, texts, menus and more. There is no surprise that WIX made it to our #1 list of website builders.
| Sr# | Pros | Cons |
| 1 | They keep updating their features and templates online. | They need to work on their live customer support. |
Volusion – Apt for E-commerce
Key Feature
- You can, with much ease, integrate it with Amazon, Facebook and eBay.
- They offer multiple options to collect payment with no added fee.
- With the SEO built-in, the search results will have your store on them.
- It is PCI compliant. However, you will have to purchase an SSL certificate.
- The e-commerce tools are robust for shipping, payments, orders and inventory.
Volusion majors in business people that are in search of building and hosting online stores. When compared to its competitors, it’s not the lowest-priced host, especially if you’re looking at putting up a personal blog or just an informational site.
However, people that are ready to take the plunge into e-commerce are going to love this firm, especially for the way they focus on the business front.
| Sr# | Pros | Cons |
| 1 | It is an e-commerce goldmine. | With the paid web hosting plan, you get to use multiple e-commerce features. |
One – Fantastic Support Team and Affordable
Key Features
- It has a single-click installation for WordPress and has a cPanel dashboard.
- Email accounts are unlimited.
- Their support team is available 24×7, 365 days.
- Their upgrades are available at competitive rates.
- Anyone can design the website with a site builder that’s offered free.
If you can operate without an email host, don’t need the extra frills, or you’re on a tight budget, then One is apt for you.
However, they do have their basic package at a yearly fee of $3 that includes a website builder, no limit on email accounts and a domain. You could get a package bit higher than the basic that will consist of WordPress with a monthly charge of $3.50.
| Sr# | Pros | Cons |
| 1 | For the price it is available at, it is pretty good | Compared to the average of 30 days offered in the market, 15 days seems pretty stingy. |
| 2 | As soon as you create your website, you can preview it on your mobile and desktop before you publish it. |
Shopify – Post Free Trial a tad Pricey
Shopify is popular for e-commerce; if that is what you’re looking at, then I must say Shopify is well equipped to help you with it. With minimum or no fuss, they help get your online store up and running in no time.
Entrepreneurs with a small budget who are looking at making some extra bucks may consider the subdomain Shopify before investing in the upgraded hosting.
| Sr# | Pros | Cons |
| 1 | You can build a fully functional marketplace without a third-party help. | If you choose to pay without using Stripe, you will have an added charge. |
Other Free Builders and Hosts Worth Watching
I think it’s genetic to be attracted to free deals. That’s what fuels the web hosting business to circulate the idea of low and cheap prices, like irresistible bait, overwhelming users and making it difficult for them to make a choice.
We have made it our project to sort it out. That’s what we do best. Some hosts that offer deep discounts are worth a short while some others are hands down excellent web hosting companies, and there are a few we wouldn’t consider at all.
These are the unpolished conclusions we have come to after putting each of them to the test.
Let’s dig further without any waste of time. These hosting companies don’t fit in our earlier two categories; hence they are called the ‘Finest of the Rest.’
000Webhost
Key Features
- Storage- 1.5 GB; Bandwidth: 100 GB.
- Domain: Free domains, Unlimited too.
- 5 Email Accounts.
- Website Designs/ Builder: Multiple templates.
Over the past couple of years, 000Webhost has proven to be a capable web host. Since 2004 it has catered to 14 million users with no-cost hosting. No doubt, many speak about this hosting.
If your business is small or medium-sized, then this host is good for you. Its free web hosting will help you curb your expenses until your business is capable of supporting paid high-end web hosting services.
000WebHost was the first company to provide its users with SSL certificates for free; now, it has become a common practice and industry standard.
| Sr# | Pros | Cons |
| 1 | It is free hosting with very few limitations in regards to storage and bandwidth. | They can do better with regard to technical and customer support. |
X10Hosting
Key Features
- They offer unlimited storage and bandwidth.
- The domains they offer are one parked, 2 Sub-domains and two add-ons.
- E-commerce: Single-click installation for many others, including Magento.
- Three free email accounts.
- They offer free website builders that have multiple templates. They also have cPanel installations.
| Sr# | Pros | Cons |
| 1 | They have an online support community with over 750,000 members. | Their web hosting services are a tad higher than their competitors. |
Weebly
Key Features
- They offer unlimited bandwidth and 500 MB of storage.
- They offer a free subdomain.
- They don’t support e-commerce.
- They don’t provide email service.
- They have the drag and drop feature, HTML edit, CSS and various free templates.
In the DIY drag-and-drop website building universe, Weebly has a good reputation. In the past few years, Weebly has improved its quality in regards to templates.
If you go in for the entry-level package, they may not have much to offer in terms of features; it’s not like WIX that allows its users to get the professional-looking website that too in a short period.
| Sr# | Pros | Cons |
| 1 | They have an online support community with over 750,000 members. | They have branded the footer of the website with their logo that has weebly.com on it. |
AwardSpace
Key Features
- They offer the storage of 1 GB and bandwidth of 5 GB.
- They don’t provide e-commerce.
- You get one email account.
- In terms of website design and builder, they don’t have the drag and drop feature.
- They do have the Joomla and WordPress installers.
- They offer three subdomains and one domain.
AwardSpace has a business model very similar to famous names like Weebly and WIX, the reason being; free hosting and users have the chance to try out the services without a long-term commitment.
They are confident of their services offered that they could convert their users to be a long-term customers.
Once you are on a paid plan, you begin to enjoy sophisticated service. The storage and bandwidth space is not much, and then drag and drop feature is missed, but apart from that, it is an excellent web hosting company to consider.
| Sr# | Pros | Cons |
| 1 | You can get the basic plan for a minimum monthly fee of $0.17. | It doesn’t have the drag and drops feature. |
| 2 | You can reach them by raising a ticket whenever you face an issue. |
Freehostia
Key Features
- They offer a bandwidth of 6 GB and storage of 250 MB.
- They offer five domain per account.
- E-commerce – simple install of well-known platforms.
- They offer three email accounts.
- Website Design/Builder: Single-click installs; free multiple website templates.
Freehostia has a server with a load-balanced approach. They also give their users 15 times more page loading speed than their competitors.
With the free plan, you will not have unwanted ads, giving your website a professional look. They also have 24×7 customer support assistance, which makes it convenient for their customers.
| Sr# | Pros | Cons |
| 1 | It has a customer-friendly feature – Server cluster. | The included storage of 250 MB isn’t sufficient. |
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking at beginning an online business and publishing it to everyone, we do agree that free web hosting service is not apt as a long-term solution. Instead, any small-business web hosting will be a great option.
However, there are some minimum fees involved; they are not entirely free. They apply a monthly charge of a few dollars. If you are on a limited budget, these hosts will help you minimize your development cost on the website.
An important point to make a note of is that these web hosting providers are looking at a long-term commitment, and they are aware of the fact that they are being judged on the quality of their services with their free and basic plans.
They look forward to you upgrading your plans, and that will only happen when they give you exceptional web hosting service on the free and basic plans.
If at any point in time you feel a particular provider’s services don’t match with you, you can always switch as it involves a very minimal fee. You can also check our review on the Best WordPress Hosting Canada.
Do you have your website online? Wait no more; you’ve got all the tools you need in this article. It’s time to get your own website!