Best Web Hosting in Canada (2023 Reviews)

Score A+

In an industry where major corporations regularly buy out the smaller players, HostPapa is one of the few big privately-owned companies for web hosting in Canada.

HostPapa was founded in 2006 by local entrepreneur Jamie Opalchuk. By 2015 the company had already won several awards for the fastest growing business in Canada.

The main reason why I put it in the global section of my reviews of the best web hosting in Canada is the fact that HostPapa is quickly becoming a global brand. There are plenty of reasons behind its growing popularity, as you will shortly see.

HostPapa was also one of the first local hosts to “go green.” It did that by introducing sustainable business practices that help protect the environment. This includes utilizing wind and solar power, as well as putting equivalent renewable energy back in the grid and reducing the carbon footprint.

Nature comes first — I love that idea!

HostPapa Features

HostPapa likes to keep a wide variety of services so you can find a solution for practically any type of project. You have shared hosting, VPS servers, email provision, domain names…the whole shebang.

But what is that?

Am I dreaming?

The Starter and Business plans are at the same monthly rate?

It looks like with the current promotion, the Business plan is the most cost-effective deal. It packs plenty — from unlimited addon domains and mailboxes to an enhanced CPU/RAM allocation.

Come renewal you get the standard monthly rates — US$7.99/mo for the Starter and US$12.99/mo for the Business package.

HostPapa does not shy away when a client needs an extra helping hand. Apart from giving you the tools to build your website, this provider can do it for you.

In fact, that’s exactly what the web-building service is called — Do-It-For-Me.

This one can save you a lot of time and headaches if you have zero experience in website development.

On top of this, HostPapa performs impressively well, as our detailed metrics indicate.

HostPapa Support

Finding help with HostPapa is quite easy.

You have indications all over the website, prompting you to try the 24/7 support services via chat, phone, tickets, text, and video tutorials.

I never spent a lot of time in the HostPapa chat for one simple reason — I didn’t need to. My operators were always very prompt, and chatting with them felt like speaking to a real person instead of a bot.

Our billing policies? You can find them here and here.

Options for an upgrade? You betcha.

What green initiatives we are involved in? Boy, do you have the time…

The best thing is, they didn’t let me lead the conversation with endless questions. The operator stepped in and started asking me some things himself, so he could better understand my needs and offer only suitable solutions.

Kudos, HostPapa, great job!

Verdict

When it comes to the best web hosting in Canada, you cannot overlook HostPapa. The provider has a long experience in the industry and is ready to accommodate businesses of any nature or size. Novice users will find the support team very helpful and start their first website with as little hassle as possible.

Score A+

HostUpon is a true-blue Canadian provider, based in Toronto. CEO Alfes Velji vouches to deliver “the fastest and most secure hosting at the lowest possible rate,” and over 10,000 customers from around the world are already testing that claim.

With services tailored to the small and medium business clients, the future holds great prospects for this company.

As with other providers on this list, HostUpon has a strong focus on protecting the environment. The company utilizes energy-efficient hardware in “green” data centers, minimizes carbon emissions from its equipment, and even encourages telecommuting.

Someone give this Toronto web hosting provider a medal.

HostUpon Features

HostUpon offers three well-balanced shared plans which can serve websites of almost any scale.

• Starter — for new and small businesses
• Business — for SMBs
• Premium — for high-traffic websites

As you can see, “unlimited” is the keyword here.

HostUpon removes all bars when it comes to storage space, bandwidth, databases, email accounts.

You want to host unlimited websites on your hosting account as well? You got it!

Another noteworthy addition is the guaranteed resources you get with each shared plan. For example, with the Starter pack, you have 40% CPU allocation, 512MB RAM, 512KB/s I/O speed.

All for you and your needs only.

With HostUpon, you don’t get a lot of flashy extra features — just enough to get your project on the path to success.

Right now, you can start an account with HU for just US$3.95/mo, which is a 43% discount from the regular US$6.95 rate. The best thing is you can upgrade at any time and get a pro-rated refund of the unused months.

HostUpon Support

The best Canadian companies all have one thing in common — they like to provide across-the-board support assistance.

Live chat, emails, phone, ticketing, the works.

My first encounter with the online operators was more than promising. The host rep was very polite and patient with me and all of my questions. He didn’t take much time to reply either, which is a sure sign he knows his stuff.

My only disappointment was when I tried the live chat a couple more times and figured it is only available during business hours. That doesn’t match well with the 24/7 support promise on the website.

To be fair, I tried sending an email as well, and this time I got a reply within minutes.

Verdict

HostUpon.ca is an all-round great Canadian hosting provider with a focus on protecting the environment. Businesses can scale as they grow and enjoy a seamless, uninterrupted experience.

The packages are quite affordable, even at the high-tier plans. While support is not available 24/7, it is always prompt and helpful.

Score A

We are taking a trip around the galaxy with PlanetHoster. The PH rocket first took off in 2007 from Laval, Quebec and has since discovered the worlds of web hosting, hybrid cloud, domain names, and VPN.

PlanetHoster now has more than 60,000 inhabitants, who have expressed an overall 94% satisfaction rate.

The company utilizes servers in two locations — Paris, France, and Montreal, Canada. They reside in high-end Tier III data centers with certified uptime of 99.98%.

You can always check that yourself, with the convenient Server Status option on the company website.

PlanetHoster Features

Here is a host that takes an unusual approach.

Instead of dispersing their services in different packages, PlanetHoster prefers to squeeze all goodies in a single, ultimate plan that should suffice for your entire hosting journey.

The account, aptly named The World, looks utterly impressive:

• Unlimited sites and 100% account isolation
• Anti-DDoS and Anycast DNS
• Malware protection
• Twice-daily backups to an offsite location
• One free domain name for life

…and that’s just scratching the surface.

This abundance will cost you CA$9.90/mo, which is quite reasonable considering all the added goods.

PlanetHoster Support

Our web hosting comparison showed that PlanetHoster offers 24/7 support via phone and email. I saw a mention of a live chat on one of the pages but never found such an option.

Regrettably, it took ages for my email to get a response, which leads me to believe support is not really a priority with PH.

The phone and ticketing assistance seem the only viable means of getting extra help.

Verdict

PlanetHoster trusts its services so much that it’s not afraid to put all its eggs in one basket. The provider offers a single robust plan for shared clients and packs it with all kinds of security and optimization features. The lack of support is a little alarming, but if you know your way around hosting, you’ll see why it is ranked so high among the best web hosting providers in Canada here, on Hosting Tribunal.

Score B+

Web Hosting Canada, as you can probably tell by the name, is one of Canada’s first and most prominent hosting providers.

WHC has been in business for 16 years and hosts 30,000 clients and their 130,000+ websites.

The company has accreditation by the Canadian Internet Registry Authority (CIRA) and is ranked the #1 Canadian domain name provider by the CA registry.

One of the best web hosts for small business owners uses 100% PIPEDA-compliant servers in local data centers.

Web Hosting Canada Features

Web Hosting Canada offers various types of web hosting services — from shared and reseller accounts to cloud and dedicated servers.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room here.

Even though WHC supports three distinct packages, you can now get the Pro plan at almost the same rate as the Starter deal.

Feature-wise there is no point comparing the two.

With the Starter deal, you can host one web project, migrate your website for free, and get 40% CPU power.

The Pro plan includes a higher resource allocation plus a free domain, Anycast DNS, SSL certificate, SSH access, and an unlimited number of websites.

Which one sounds better?

I think we have a clear winner here.

It’s worth noting that those are initial discounts and only available for a 36-month billing period. Come renewal the gap between the two packages widens.

Web Hosting Canada Support

Before I contacted the WHC support, the company was probably going to be #1 or #2 on my list of Canadian website hosts.

But then I tried the live chat…

I wanted to learn more about the types of optimizations they can offer for WordPress, as the company page did mention that. What followed was a mess of a conversation in which I:

– was asked to supply a domain name three times

– was pushed two signup links

– got no clear or accurate response to my question

– was offered a completely different package that did not match my requirements

All in all, I’d be very wary if I need technical support from such a bunch. Better check the extensive tutorial archive first.

Verdict

Web Hosting Canada is a company with long traditions and experience in the hosting industry. Their packages are environmentally-friendly and suitable for small and medium business. The prices are amazingly low, and you can book for a longer billing plan to take full advantage.

Score B+

Another Toronto-based host worth noting is Cirrus Tech.

The company started operations in 1999 and is now one of the biggest local hosting providers.

But it’s actually much more than that.

Cirrus also offers IaaS and SaaS solutions, colocation services, remote backup plans, and more.

The provider employs three data centers in the Toronto area, just minutes from its headquarters. The servers are fully redundant and benefit from next-gen physical security and fire protection while being environmentally-friendly.

Cirrus Features

Behind the curtains of the shared hosting deals, we have four plans — Plan I, Plan II, Plan III, and… no, not Plan IV… the last one is called Dedicated.

Creativity at its best.

The entry-level deal is not particularly feature-rich. You get 50GB disk space and unlimited bandwidth to host a single website.

Cirrus might not be the best choice when it comes to email hosting in Canada. You have all kinds of limitations with the lower plans — from the number of mailboxes, to mail redirects and autoresponders.

Plan III is where things get interesting, with a free private SSL and dedicated IP. Still, you are now looking at over $CA10.00/mo, which is not very easy on the wallet if you are just starting out.

Cirrus Support

Cirrus mostly relies on phone support to assist their clients. There is a 24/7 toll-free line for the Sales, Support, and Billing teams, as well as an online contact form.

The option for live chat is sadly missing.

Similarly to PlanetHoster, Cirrus’s email replies were not very prompt and could’ve been more detailed after all that delay.

I took a virtual stroll around the company knowledge base, but it didn’t look very rich or well-maintained.

Customer care is definitely one thing Cirrus can improve in the future.

Verdict

Cirrus Tech provides reliable website hosting in Canada and proves a favored choice of the local crowd. The company has a long experience with startup and enterprise projects and partners with technology giants like Microsoft, Dell, Cisco, and Citrix. On the downside, client support is a bit limited and not available at all times.

Score A+

FastComet is a privately-owned host with headquarters in Bulgaria. Molded by a team of experienced professionals, the provider managed to grow to 50,000+ clients and 140,000+ domain names in just five years.

Security and performance are two of the key pillars of FastComet’s success, and the company heavily modifies its hardware to serve those purposes.

Speaking of the server machines, they reside in as many as ten locations around the world. You can take your pick between:

• Chicago, US
• Dallas, US
• Newark, US
• Frankfurt, DE
• Amsterdam, NL
• London, UK
• Singapore, SG
• Tokyo, JP
• Mumbai, IN

Something still seems missing, though…

What is that? Canada, you say?

FastComet hears you.

The provider was delighted to introduce a new data server location in Toronto just recently, so all Canadian businesses can enjoy a flawless website performance.

FastComet Features

Prepare your web project for blast-off, as FastComet has developed SSD-powered shared plans that give you much more than the ordinary.

Any of the three offers come with a ton of essentials that help your website get faster, more secure, and easier to operate. Right off the bat, you can find a free CDN, no-cost SSL certificates, daily backups, even a free domain transfer.

Growing bigger, you get more storage space, more server resources, and advanced customization options.

FastComet can easily apply for the title of “most secure web hosting in Canada” as well. The provider understands the importance of the hands-on approach, so it developed a proprietary monitoring system to ensure everything is working as it should 24/7/365.

Now might be the best time to get a FastComet account.

The current deals go as low as US$2.95/mo, which can beat most of the offers from local providers.

It gets trickier come renewal as this rate grows to the much steeper US$9.95/mo, but by then you would have a clear idea if this host is worth the money.

FastComet Support

Instant client happiness is a promise that FastComet seems very keen to keep. The FC employees undergo frequent courses and training sessions, and you can really see the results.

Go ahead, try the live chat right now.

When I did, I got a smiling face and a very polite person behind it. The operator took his time to understand exactly what I needed and gave me more than detailed answers.

I was feeling mischievous, so I snuck in a couple of technical questions, even though this was a sales chat. Much to my dismay, the rep did not mind, and he was quick to help me with the technicalities.

I get annoyed with the FastComet team sometimes. I can’t seem to corner them even once.

Verdict

Canada, the US, Australia — FastComet is one of the best hosting and server providers in many of the major and emerging world markets. The company combines optimized hardware with flawless support to ensure each and every customer gets the perfect treatment they deserve. Its performance is nothing to frown upon either.

Score A

Here is another environmentally responsible host for you.

GreenGeeks started operating in 2006 with the health of our planet as a top priority. This is one of the few hosting companies that offsets 300% of its emissions into energy-renewable credits.

They sure picked a suitable name.

Canadian clients can utilize a data center in the heart of Montreal, while international fans can choose between Chicago, Phoenix, and Amsterdam.

GreenGeeks aims to provide some of the best web hosting for beginners and SMBs, and you can easily tell by their offerings.

GreenGeeks Features

The GG shared hosting plans vary mostly in performance and not that much in terms of features.

The Lite plan, currently marked as the best valued one, gives you the chance to host one website and get unlimited space and monthly bandwidth for it.

The package also includes a drag-and-drop site builder, free SSL certificates, and CDN integration.

You can also get a no-fee domain name, but that is valid only for the first year.

As with FastComet, the GreenGeeks plans are super affordable but only for the initial billing period. From there on, you are looking at prices of at least CA$13.20/mo.

Support

Unlike many other hosting companies where live chat is a tool for basic sales assistance only, GreenGeeks actually encourages this form of communication.

You can easily find the chat popup on the company website and get a feel of their level of knowledge.

My personal impressions were excellent.

Apart from the few delays here and there, I always got clear and detailed answers plus a friendly attitude.

If chatting is not your thing, you can always try email or phone support (only available Mon-Sun 9 am-12 am EST).

GreenGeeks’s knowledge base is not particularly extensive, but it contains all the essentials for a complete newbie.

Verdict

If you are a small local business looking for web hosting in Canada, then GreenGeeks might be a perfect match for you. The company has a data center located in the Great White North, offers well-balanced accounts, and tries to be as green-friendly as possible. Our detailed review has additional info if you are keen to learn more about the Green.

So many great hosting contenders on this list, it’s not easy to pick just one.