Best Web Hosting Services In Canada For May 2024

The Forbes Advisor Small Business team is committed to bringing you unbiased rankings and information with full editorial independence. We use product data, strategic methodologies and expert insights to inform all of our content and guide you in making the best decisions for your business journey.

We reviewed 16 web hosts using a detailed methodology to help you find the 10 web hosting platforms. Our ratings consider factors that included pricing, general features, additional features and a review by our panel of experts. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.

IONOS: Best for startups
HostGator: Best perks
Bluehost: Best for new websites
DreamHost: Best for WordPress beginners
InMotion Hosting: Best for reliability
MochaHost: Best for lifetime SSL certificates
GoDaddy: Best for easy site setup
Hostwinds: Best for content-heavy sites
InterServer: Best for website security
TMDHosting: Best for fast-growing businesses

Web hosting is a service that allows anyone to essentially rent space on the internet, and websites must have web hosting in order to be accessible online. Some content management systems (CMS), such as Squarespace and Wix, include web hosting as part of their monthly fee, whereas if you’re building a site on WordPress, you’ll need to purchase web hosting from a web hosting provider, such as MochaHost or IONOS.

Think of web hosting as the process of finding your website a home. The contents of your website—the domain name, HTML code, images, text and so on—all need a place to live. Web hosting provides a place for this content to live on a server.

In short, a server is a computer that connects users to your website. In other words, the server is like a large condo building or office building and web hosting is the process of renting office space or buying a condo in that building.

Web Hosting vs. Domain Hosting

Before you can find a home for your website via web hosting, you first need a domain name. While related, web hosting and domain hosting are very different services. Web hosting is the process of connecting your website to a server, whereas domain hosting is the process of securing a domain name or web address for your website.

Following our earlier analogy, if web hosting is akin to renting space in a building then domain hosting is like putting a nameplate outside your door with your name and address. The domain is what people use to navigate to your address on the Internet.

Many service providers provide both domain hosting and web hosting, which can provide one-stop-shop convenience, but depending on your needs, you may want to consider separating the services. Regardless, before you can even consider web hosting, you first need a domain name via a domain registrar.

When choosing the best web hosting service, consider factors such as pricing, storage space and bandwidth limits, customer service, server location options, security features and whether it has automatic backups. Another thing you need to consider is its scalability. Migrating a website, even when a web hosting service does it for you, isn’t an easy task. Does the host offer a wide range of options that will scale with your site? Additionally, how easy is your web host to use?

Essential Web Hosting Features

We recommend that you look for a web hosting provider with the following key features, regardless of your specific website needs

• Reliability and performance: Look for a hosting provider with good uptime, preferably 99.9% or higher so your site won’t experience outages. Most hosts provide a contractual guarantee where they’ll reimburse you part of your premium for outages.
• Security: Make sure your web host has DDoS protection, SSL certificates and other security features so your site is safe from malicious attacks.
• Customer service: Look for a host with 24/7 customer support, so you can easily get help if something goes wrong. What support options are available? Chat, phone, ticket and email support are typical for web hosts.
• Storage and bandwidth: Storage and unmetered bandwidth are two of the most important factors to consider when choosing a web host. The more storage you have, the more content you can store, such as videos and images. Bandwidth affects how quickly your website loads and how much data is transferred when visitors view your site. Look for a host that provides unlimited storage and bandwidth.
• Backups: It’s important to have regular backups of your website, so make sure the web host you choose offers automatic backups. If a hosting provider doesn’t automatically back up your website, consider investing in a third-party backup service.

Ease of Use

Look for a web hosting provider with an intuitive user interface and control panel. This will save you time in the long run if you need to make changes or updates to your website. A good web host should offer one-click installations for popular content management systems (CMS), such as WordPress or Drupal, and a drag-and-drop website builder if you’re not comfortable with coding.

Scalability

Finally, it’s important to consider scalability when choosing a web hosting service. How will you grow your website in the future? Will your host’s services be able to keep up with your growth? Does the host offer an easy way to scale up, such as offering VPS and dedicated hosting options? A good web host should be able to handle the growth of your website. Similarly, if you’re taking a break for a while, can you drop to a lower-tiered plan?

There are several different types of web hosting available. While there may be a tendency to favour the cheapest option, depending on your needs, this can lead to problems down the road. For this reason, it’s important to look not just at cost, but at customer service, security, speed and customization options as well.

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is most popular with small businesses and websites that don’t need a lot of customization or expect a lot of traffic. Shared hosting provides space for several websites—dozens, hundreds or thousands—on one server.

Because the costs are relatively low, it is an economical option, but there could be service disruptions or slower connection speeds because several clients/websites are all accessing the same server’s resources, including disk space, RAM and central processing unit (CPU) power.

Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting

A step up from shared hosting is VPS hosting. Similar to shared hosting, various websites are all housed on the same server, but each website’s files and content are housed in its own dedicated space on the server. You will pay a little more than with shared hosting, but you also have your own section of the server isolated from other clients on the server. For this reason, VPS hosting is more secure. Additionally, VPS hosting is scalable to your needs and you’ll be able to modify the server and install any software that you need.

VPS hosting can be managed or unmanaged. If you choose managed VPS hosting, the host will provide all maintenance and services necessary to keep the website and server up and running. You’ll pay a little more for managed VPS hosting, but you won’t be responsible for maintenance.

Conversely, using unmanaged VPS hosting will mean you are responsible for configuring and maintaining the server yourself, monitoring security threats, installing software upgrades and backing up your data. Unmanaged VPS hosting is a good option for website developers, businesses with a dedicated IT department and individuals with a technology background.

WordPress Managed Hosting

Because WordPress is such a popular content management system, many web hosting providers offer WordPress-specific hosting. In addition to web hosting, these providers also offer services such as technical support and software updates specific to WordPress. It offers advantages like scalability, speed and security, but it comes at a price with a cost of about $2 USD ($2.67 CAD) to $30 USD ($40.10 USD) per month. Additionally, there are fewer customization options since it is limited to WordPress features.

Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting houses your website on multiple servers for maximum performance and connection speeds. It is more expensive than shared hosting, but it will minimize any connection or speed issues because it can handle traffic surges with ease. Cloud hosting also offers scalability, backups and disaster recovery. These additional services come with a price, however, and the pricing models of cloud hosting providers can be confusing, depending on customization of the plan.

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated web hosting is when a website has sole use of the entire server. Because you have your own dedicated server, you minimize security and connection issues. But it comes at a price.

The costs may be justified, however, in a few situations. For instance, if you expect your website traffic to increase significantly, service disruptions and slow connection speeds could be detrimental to your business. In this case, the cost of a dedicated server would be worth it because it will provide uninterrupted service and quick connection speeds. A dedicated server will also provide additional security, which will be helpful if you are dealing with personal information like credit card information.

Web hosting can range from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars a month, so it’s important to find a plan that fits your budget. Consider the renewal cost of the hosting plan as well, since some providers offer a lower rate for the first term and then significantly increase the price when it’s time to renew. Additionally, keep in mind that there may be some hosting features that you don’t need or can live without, so look for a plan that offers the best value.

For example, a cheaper plan doesn’t usually include a domain name, and often includes just one website. A more expensive plan may include multiple domains, more storage and bandwidth and other features.

Average Cost By Hosting Type

Pricing varies significantly between various types of web hosting services. Even within each type, there can be price differences between service providers depending on the level of customer service and the length of service plan chosen. In general, prices range as follows:

• Shared web hosting: up to $15 USD ($20.05 CAD) per month
• VPS web hosting: $18 USD ($24.06 CAD) to $85 USD ($113.62 CAD) per month
• WordPress managed hosting: $2 USD ($2.67 CAD) to $30 USD ($40.10 CAD) per month
• Cloud hosting: $5 USD ($6.68 CAD) to $50 ($66.83 CAD) per month
• Dedicated server hosting: $80 USD ($106.93 CAD) to several hundred dollars per month

Website Hosting Cost Factors

There are several factors that go into the cost of website hosting. These include:

• Storage: The amount of data storage your hosting plan allows.
• Bandwidth: How much traffic you can have on your website without interruption or slow speeds.
• Number of websites: Depending on the plan, you may be able to host multiple websites with one account.
• IP addresses: If you need a static IP address with your hosting plan, you may have to pay an additional cost.
• SSL certificate: An SSL certificate keeps your website secure and safe from hackers. Some hosting plans offer a free SSL certificate, but others may require you to purchase one in addition to the hosting plan.
• Customer service: Some hosting companies offer 24/7 customer service while others may only provide limited support. Others will charge a premium, but will walk you through fixing things that break on your site.
• Customization options: Hosting plans that allow for customization and add-ons, such as databases or web servers, will usually cost more.

Related: Website Hosting Cost Guide 2024

Fees & Add-Ons

Your web hosting provider may also charge additional fees, such as setup fees (often waived when signing a contract and paying up-front), domain registration fees or monthly support fees. Additionally, there may be add-on services you can purchase to enhance your website, such as SEO optimization or extra security features. Be sure to read the fine print of your contract and thoroughly understand what is included in your hosting plan before signing up.

Having a website for your business or personal use is essential in today’s digital world. You can choose to build and host your site yourself, or you may opt for an all-in-one website builder that includes hosting. However, if you want more control over your site and access to additional features, using a separate web hosting service might be the better choice.

In addition to hosting, there are a few other items you may want to consider when setting up your website. These include website builders, domain registration, email hosting and e-commerce functionality.

Website Builder

Website builders are tools or programs that allow you to create a website without the need for coding. They provide a variety of drag-and-drop templates and often include hosting, so you don’t need to purchase a separate plan.

Domain Registration

Your domain name is the URL or web address that users type in to access your website. You can usually purchase and register a domain name when signing up for hosting, though many web hosting companies have an additional fee for domain registration. A domain name is important for businesses as it helps to create a professional online presence.

Email Hosting

Having a dedicated email address is essential if you want to build customer trust. You can usually purchase email hosting from your web host, or use a separate service such as Google Workspace (formerly known as G Suite). Other web hosts include email hosting for free in their hosting plans.

E-commerce Functionality

If you plan to sell products or services online, then you’ll need to look for a hosting plan that offers e-commerce functionality. Hosts usually offer e-commerce hosting tools such as payment gateways, shopping carts and secure checkout pages to help you get started.

Forbes Advisor researched the industry and analyzed dozens of different web hosting providers and plans. We then scored each of these providers across five categories of features looking at 23 different metrics that were weighted to favour features that small business owners find valuable in a web host.

Pricing

We did a deep dive into each provider’s pricing options. Focusing on shared hosting, we looked at the starting price of each one’s lowest-priced plan to see what it cost per month, how long of a contract (if any) was required, and what features come with that plan. Then, we looked at each provider’s high-tiered plans with the same scrutiny as well as how much the price increased for each plan upon renewal. We also looked at how many sites each provider covered for hosting under each plan as well as its money-back guarantee. Pricing accounted for 10% of our weighted scoring.

Features

We had high expectations for features offered by web hosts―not only essential features that we thought that each platform should offer but additional features that helped a provider stand out from the rest of the pack. We graded many of these features on whether they came as part of the original plan or were available as a paid add-on. Some of the essential features we looked for included unlimited storage and bandwidth, free SSL certificate and domain name, one-click WordPress installation, offering an uptime guarantee and 24/7 support in some format.

Some of the unique features we gave weight to included offering a CDN, free business email address, website builder, automatic backups and free domain name privacy protection. Combined, features accounted for 50% of our total score.

Third-party reviews

Many real users of these web hosting platforms posted reviews on Trustpilot, so we reviewed that site to gauge what these users thought of each one. We first looked at the number of reviews left for each provider, giving a higher rating to those that received positive reviews of 3.5 or higher of at least 300 or more. These accounted for 10% of the total score.

Expert analysis

Turning to customer reviews again, our panel of experts looked at certain criteria that are also important to users of web hosting platforms. These categories included ease of use, value for the money, stand-out features and popularity. Our experts’ analysis accounted for 30% of the total score.

As the internet continues to grow and develop at an astounding rate, the web hosting industry has adapted to increased demands and greater expectations. These adaptations are apparent in the major 2024 web hosting trends we are seeing as we move into the new year.

Fewer On-Site Data Centres

Similar to everywhere else, the cloud is becoming the number one choice for consumers in the web hosting industry. Companies are moving away from dedicated on-site servers and instead choose to base operations out of third-party, cloud-hosted servers.

Servers that operate in the cloud provide a tremendous number of benefits, including increased scaling potential, more flexibility, lower costs, the ability to create backups, improved security, regular maintenance and better software capability. Cloud computing is here to stay, and we expect more entities to move operations onto the cloud in 2024.

Multi-cloud Hosting

Multi-cloud hosting refers to the practice of delegating a site’s computing tasks to two or more different cloud computing platforms. Essentially, some functions of a site are performed by one vendor and other functions by another.

Multi-cloud hosting has become increasingly popular in recent years. By using this model, a company is not dependent on a single vendor for all its needs, and it can take advantage of the unique benefits and areas of strength each host offers. We expect to see multicloud hosting becoming an even more popular choice in 2024 as companies try to stay competitive in the virtual world.

Canadian spelling conversion and Canadian specific research, such as Canadian availability and price conversion, conducted by Anna Rey.