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What We Look for in the Best Web Hosts for Canada1. Hostinger: Fast and Reliable Shared Hosting in Canada2. InterServer: Flexible Monthly Plan With Unlimited Features3. Nexcess (Liquid Web): Affordable and Fully Managed CMS Plans for Canada4. GreenGeeks: Eco-Friendly International Hosting With a Canadian Presence5. Kinsta: Uber-Fast International Google Cloud Hosting Available in Canada6. FastComet: Shared Hosting With VPS Perks and a Data Center in CanadaOther Notable Web Hosts in CanadaCanadian Web Hosts to AvoidChoose the Best Host for Your Canadian WebsiteFAQ
Short on Time? These Are the Best Web Hosts for Canada in 2024:
- Hostinger – Affordable long-term plans and fantastic performance for small to mid-sized Canadian sites.
- InterServer – Flexible monthly plan with unlimited websites, storage space, and bandwidth.
- Nexcess (Liquid Web) – A wide range of hosting plans with excellent loading speeds in Canada and beyond.
What We Look for in the Best Web Hosts for Canada
We signed up for several months of hosting with each provider, and we used this time to take a good, hard look at everything from performance to support. Here’s the gist of our process:- Features. We looked for providers that give you plenty of storage space and bandwidth – but we didn’t stop there. We also made sure they offer SSL certificates, automatic backups, built-in caching, and other essential features.
- Ease of use. We awarded extra points to those hosts that made it easier for us to sign up, connect a domain, set up WordPress, and launch a site. Our goal was to ensure that even beginners with no previous experience could launch a website using the web hosts on this list.
- Performance. Most reviewers run speed and reliability benchmarks on blank websites, so their results aren’t realistic. We tested each host’s speed, global performance, and uptime using a WordPress-based website with text, images, and plugins.
- Support. We contacted each host through live chat, phone, and tickets (where possible). We rated these interactions based on availability, waiting time, and helpfulness.
- Pricing. Headline prices can be deceiving. To properly rate each host, we looked at hidden costs, renewal fees, and the commitment period required to get the best deals.
As a Canadian citizen, your first instinct may be to go with a local host. If your target audience is located in Canada or near Canada, choosing a host with data centers in the country is a smart move. However, local hosts often don’t offer the worldwide coverage demanded by sites with international reach.
In this case, you’ll want an international host with a network of data centers worldwide to achieve consistent loading speeds. Offering access to a content delivery network (CDN) is also a must-have feature.
Of all the services I tested, Hostinger has the best deals on long-term shared hosting plans. Its entry-level Premium plan is roughly the same price as a ten-pack of Timbits – so you know you’re getting a great deal. While less tasty, this plan gives you plenty of storage space and bandwidth, a free SSL certificate, and built-in caching. In short, it has everything you need to host a simple website.
Given the low price, I worried that performance might be subpar. I put Hostinger through some rigorous testing, and the results were surprising. Not only did Hostinger deliver faster page loading speeds than most other low-cost providers, but its performance was consistently great around the world. According to Sucuri Load Time Tester, it did better in Canada than most local hosts, even though its nearest data center is in Phoenix, Arizona.
The only real downside with Hostinger is that it upsells, but this is more of an annoyance than anything else. Feel free to ignore the popups – chances are, you don’t actually have to upgrade anything since Hostinger’s plans are more than generous.
Hostinger Web Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthFree SSLNumber of SitesPriceFree Months
More details Hostinger WordPress Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthNumber of SitesBackupPriceFree Months
More details Hostinger Cloud Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthCPURAMPriceFree Months
More details Hostinger VPS Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthCPURAMPrice
More detailsA free domain name is included with some hosting plans from Hostinger
Features
- Streamlined control panel. Compared to the traditional cPanel, Hostinger’s hPanel is less cluttered and easier to navigate. All the important tools are there, including a one-click installer for dozens of CMSs.
- Powerful caching. Hostinger uses the LiteSpeed web server, which comes with built-in caching for superior performance. You’ll find the Cache Manager in your dashboard, ready to go.
- Managed WordPress features. Hostinger creates backups of your website on a weekly or daily basis (depending on your plan), and automatically updates your core WordPress installation and plugins. Most hosts make you pay extra for both of these perks.
- Free email hosting. You can create up to 100 professional email addresses – “@yourdomain” – on all plans.
Server locations | US, UK, the Netherlands, France, Lithuania, Brazil, Singapore, India, and Indonesia. |
Free SSL certificate | ✔ |
Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
Types of hosting | Shared, VPS, cloud |
Pricing | $2.99 |
2. InterServer: Flexible Monthly Plan With Unlimited Features
InterServer keeps things simple with a single shared hosting plan that offers unlimited SSD storage space, bandwidth, and email accounts. The best part? This plan happens to have the cheapest monthly billing cycle on this list, which means you won’t have to pay up front for multiple years of hosting just to get a good deal.You also get to host unlimited websites, which is fairly unique for an entry-level plan. If you have multiple low-traffic websites, InterServer’s scalable hosting plan is perfect for you. InterServer’s data centers are all in the US but during my tests, I got fantastic speeds throughout North America from the New Jersey data center. The Standard shared hosting plan includes a free CDN from Cloudflare, which can further boost your website’s performance for Canadian visitors.
InterServer Web Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthFree SSLNumber of SitesPrice
More details InterServer WordPress Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthPrice
More details InterServer VPS Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthCPURAMPrice
More details InterServer Dedicated Server
Plan NameStorageBandwidthCPURAMPrice
More details InterServer Reseller Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthNumber of SitesPrice
More detailsFeatures
- cPanel with Softaculous (optional add-on). If this is your first time hosting a website, cPanel might seem a bit overwhelming. But once you get used to it, you’ll be able to set up domains, manage your email, enable SSL, and more. Plus, you can use Softaculous to easily install WordPress or add hundreds of other awesome apps (including galleries and contact forms) to your site.
- LiteSpeed web server. Like Hostinger, InterServer leverages the LiteSpeed web server to significantly improve performance. LiteSpeed is faster and more stable than the older Apache server software used by other hosts and comes with built-in caching.
- InterShield security. InterServer’s security solutions include a machine-learning firewall, a virus scanner, and automatic backups. And if your site is still somehow compromised, InterServer will clean it up for you.
- Redundant SSD. InterServer’s SSD drives are stored in a reliable RAID-10 array. This boosts performance and ensures replication of your stored data across multiple SSD drives. If one drive fails, your data will be safe on another.
Server locations | US |
Free SSL certificate | ✔ |
Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
Types of hosting | Shared, cloud VPS, dedicated servers |
Pricing | $2.50 |
3. Nexcess (Liquid Web): Affordable and Fully Managed CMS Plans for Canada
Nexcess is one of the top hosts for managed CMS-specific hosting. Besides tailoring its plans to offer full support for WordPress, Magento, and WooCommerce, it also provides more powerful cloud or enterprise hosting if your site needs an extra boost. A subsidiary of Liquid Web, you can expect a similar quality of service – but for a lower price. As such, Nexcess’ powerful hosting plans don’t conform to a standard shared hosting setup. You’ll get advanced tools such as autoscaled PHP workers and high bandwidth limits that accommodate more demanding sites. For Canadian sites, the host also performs really well. With an A rating from GTmetrix, 2-second loading times, and 100% uptime (in our tests), Nexcess isn’t messing around. However, be aware that this premium performance comes with a premium price, as Nexcess is one of the more expensive web hosts on this list. Nexcess WordPress Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthNumber of SitesBackupPriceFree Months
More detailsFeatures
- On-demand autoscaling. Occasionally, your site may experience a temporary spike in traffic. Typically, if these demands exceed your plan limits, you’re either looking at paying hefty overage fees or your site crashing. But not here – Nexcess automatically scales your resources to meet demand for up to 24 hours per month for free.
- Guaranteed number of PHP workers. Each managed CMS, cloud, and enterprise plan includes a set number of PHP workers to handle non-cached PHP requests. During autoscaling, your PHP worker quota also increases – typically, up to 2 times more than your standard operating quota (depending on your plan).
- Global coverage. With data centers in the US, the UK, the Netherlands, and Australia, you can expect excellent site performance – not only in Canada but worldwide.
- Managed hosting plans. As part of Nexcess’ managed service, it’ll handle technical tasks for you. This includes automatic backups, core and plugin updates, storage management, and setting up a caching system.
Server locations | US, UK, the Netherlands, and Australia |
Free SSL certificate | ✔ |
Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
Types of hosting | WordPress, Magento, WooCommerce, Cloud, Enterprise |
Pricing | $12.25 |
Many hosting providers claim to be eco-friendly but often just slap on this label to better market their services. Fortunately, GreenGeeks isn’t just a “green gimmick.” Although it doesn’t run on renewable energy like some of Hostinger’s data centers, it does offset its energy consumption by purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) with a 300% green energy match. It also plants a tree for every new web hosting customer. This environmentally friendly host packs performance into its plans as well. With a data center in Montreal, GreenGeeks was one of the fastest hosts that we tested for Canada. In our tests, load times for this region were consistently under two seconds – and it also performed well in the US and parts of Europe. GreenGeeks only offers shared and VPS hosting and some plan resources can be lacking. While the entry-level plan offers nightly backups, a free domain and SSL, and unlimited databases, you’ll only be able to host one site with 50GB of storage space. Upgrading to the Pro plan for a few dollars more per month unlocks unlimited resources.
GreenGeeks Web Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthFree SSLNumber of SitesPrice
More details GreenGeeks Reseller Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthNumber of SitesPrice
More details GreenGeeks WordPress Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthNumber of SitesBackupPrice
More details GreenGeeks VPS Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthCPURAMPrice
More detailsA free domain name is included with some hosting plans from GreenGeeks
Features
- WordPress repair toolkit. Available for all plans except Lite plan, this one-click tool promises to repair up to 90% of the most common WordPress issues. These include WordPress database optimizations, administrator logins, file and .htaccess configurations, and more.
- Multi-user access. All of GreenGeeks’ hosting plans allow for multi-user access. You can easily collaborate with designers, developers, employees, or business partners on your site design and management.
- 1-click Installer. Using GreenGeeks’ installer, you can install over 150 web apps, CMSs (WordPress, Joomla!, etc.), and more – all without writing a single line of code.
- Daily backups. GreenGeeks will automatically back up your site daily or on-demand, depending on the plan you choose.
Server locations | Canada, US, Singapore, and the Netherlands |
Free SSL certificate | ✔ |
Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
Types of hosting | Shared, VPS |
Pricing | $1.95 |
5. Kinsta: Uber-Fast International Google Cloud Hosting Available in Canada
At first glance, Kinsta looks like any other overpriced web host. However, what sets Kinsta apart (and justifies its price) is the infrastructure. Unlike many managed WordPress providers, Kinsta doesn’t do this on a shared server. Rather, it hosts its sites on the extensive Google Cloud network, which spans the globe. Fortunately, this network includes two data centers in Canada. So you can rest assured your local audience will be as well served as your international one. In fact, Kinsta returned some of the fastest loading speeds we’ve seen in tests, often hitting the 0.5-second mark. However, some cities like Montreal scored better with loading speeds of 0.46 seconds. Aside from top-tier performance, you can also expect a high level of managed site maintenance. Unlike typical “managed” WordPress plans that often include plugins that do the “management” for you, Kinsta’s cloud plans are truly fully managed – you’ll never have to do any of the site setup or optimizations yourself. That said, Kinsta uses some automations where necessary to keep everything running smoothly. Kinsta Web Hosting
Plan NameStorage
More detailsFeatures
- Free Cloudflare Enterprise. All Kinsta plans include Cloudflare’s full suite of premium enterprise security and performance tools. You’ll also get DDoS and bot mitigation, API protection, a Web Application Firewall (WAF), and more to keep your site secure and performing at its best.
- MyKinsta dashboard. Kinsta has a proprietary dashboard that lets you manage your site settings, DNS, and installed software. You can also view your resources usage so you don’t exceed your limits.
- Multilingual 24/7/365 support. You can get support in English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish any time you need it. All Kinsta plans come with the same level of support and customer service channels, too.
- DevKinsta for developers. Upon request, you can utilize DevKinsta, a local WordPress development suite designed for developers, designers, and agencies. It’s free to use with your Kinsta hosting plan and compatible with Ubuntu, Linux, and Windows.
Server locations | Canada, US, South America, Middle East, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa (260+ PoPs globally) |
Free SSL certificate | ✔ |
Money-back guarantee | 30 days |
Types of hosting | Cloud CMS (WordPress, WooCommerce), database and web application hosting |
Pricing | $7.00 |
6. FastComet: Shared Hosting With VPS Perks and a Data Center in Canada
Shared hosting is sufficient for simple websites but the reality is that sharing a server with hundreds of other users can lead to significant fluctuations in performance. FastComet avoids this pitfall by using CloudLinux with CageFS to isolate each shared hosting account.Thanks to this setup, you have access to a decent number of vCPU cores (1-4) and RAM (1-4 GB) at all times. There are fewer fluctuations in speed and your account is safer overall because a security breach in one account can’t spread to another. It’s almost like having a VPS – but at a much lower price.
Of course, FastComet isn’t the only host to use this technology. It is, however, one of the few international providers that has a data center in Canada. Plus, it includes everything you need on its cheapest plan, such as a free SSL certificate, a built-in CDN, and automatic daily backups.
FastComet Web Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthFree SSLNumber of SitesPrice
More details FastComet WordPress Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthNumber of SitesBackupPrice
More details FastComet Cloud Hosting
Plan NameStorageBandwidthCPURAMPrice
More details FastComet Dedicated Server
Plan NameStorageBandwidthCPURAMPrice
More detailsFeatures
- Automatic app updates. Whether you use WordPress or any other CMS, you can enable automatic updates for the core software and all your plugins. Your website stays safe while you save time.
- Superior caching options. Besides a Cloudflare CDN on all plans, if you opt for the FastCloud Extra plan, five different layers of caching – including LiteSpeed, Memcached, and APC – are set up for you. These can drastically improve your website’s performance.
- Hack-fix guarantee. FastComet has several security measures in place, but if your website somehow gets hacked, the tech team will restore it as quickly as possible.
- Live chat support. FastComet is available around the clock through live chat, tickets, email, and phone. I’ve bombarded them with questions at all hours of the day and the agents were willing (and able) to help with almost all hosting-related issues.
Server locations | Canada, US, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America |
Free SSL certificate | ✔ |
Money-back guarantee | 45 days |
Types of hosting | Shared, cloud VPS, dedicated servers |
Pricing | $1.79 |
Other Notable Web Hosts in Canada
7. HostUpon
HostUpon has a single data center based in Canada, so I was surprised by its exceptional results on GTmetrix and Sucuri Load Time Tester. It’s one of the fastest hosts for Canada (with an impressive loading speed of 1.4 seconds in our tests), and it got a rare A grade from Sucuri for global performance. To top it all off, uptime was nearly perfect throughout the testing period. That said, there is a reason HostUpon is not higher up on my list. Both its Starter and Business plans lack an SSL certificate (it costs extra) and automatic backups. While these extras are part of the Premium plan, it’s hard to recommend this when cheaper options like Hostinger and InterServer exist.8. Webnames.ca
There are lots of things to like about Webnames.ca’s shared and WordPress hosting plans. You get unlimited bandwidth and storage space (Advantage plan and above), WordPress-optimized servers, and decent performance throughout Canada. Webnames.ca also includes a free domain name for the entire lifetime of your hosting plan – a rarity in today’s market. But there are a couple of issues worth mentioning. The main one is that Webnames.ca’s basic support service is more or less useless. Live chat rarely works and neither does the ticket form, so you’re stuck with email or phone support. The provider also doesn’t support free SSL certificates.9. Web Hosting Canada
Most of Web Hosting Canada’s plans offer a number of solid features: SSL certificate, 1-click app and CMS installs, cPanel, website builder (SiteMojo), and $600 Google Ads credit. Performance is also respectable throughout Canada, although it tends to drop dramatically outside of the country. Still, if you have a mostly local audience, this shouldn’t be a problem. What might be a problem is pricing. Sure, WHC looks cheap at first, but the renewal fee is double to triple the initial price, depending on your plan. Sure, WHC isn’t the only provider that boosts its prices upon renewal, but I can’t think of many that get quite as expensive.10. SKGOLD Hosting
SKGOLD Hosting appears dated – and I’m not just saying that because of its early 2000s website design. The features you get with its plans are very limited, but the provider does have some redeeming qualities. For example, I found its performance surprisingly decent. It wasn’t as fast as some of the other Canadian hosts on my list, but it did well. SKGOLD is also pretty cheap compared to other local providers (starting prices are just $1.88), but this is a classic case of “you get what you pay for.” If you opt for the entry-level Baby plan, you get 300 MB of storage space and just under 5 GB of bandwidth. But if all you need to do is host a landing page or basic site, it can suit your needs perfectly. Additionally, the low quoted prices are full cost, meaning they won’t renew at a higher price.Canadian Web Hosts to Avoid
During testing, we also came across some hosts that you should avoid. Most have redeeming qualities but in general, you can definitely get better performance, support, features, and value elsewhere.CanSpace
I wouldn’t say CanSpace is a bad host, but it certainly lacks a lot of features that the services on my list have. Sure, the entry-level Starter plan is relatively cheap, but you’ll have limited storage space and bandwidth. There are also very few features besides free SSL. To get more resources, you’d have to go with either the Medium or Professional plan – and as you can guess, both are significantly pricier. As for performance, CanSpace is one of the slowest Canadian hosts I’ve tested. Its uptime was good, but page loading speeds averaged just over 3.5 seconds according to GTmetrix. Weirdly enough, performance was better in Germany, the Netherlands, and France than in some parts of Canada, even though the data center is in Quebec. There are simply cheaper (and much better) options on this list.Canadian Web Hosting
There’s not much going for Canadian Web Hosting (CWH). It’s one of the speediest local hosts on my list, but that’s pretty much it. Uptime was slightly lower than the promised 99.9% during my tests. And more importantly getting started with CWH was a bit of a nightmare. Buying a plan was easy enough, but CWH’s client dashboard is poorly organized and difficult to navigate. The obvious solution would be to opt for managed hosting. However, cPanel isn’t included with CWH’s managed WordPress hosting. Instead, you’re required to contact customer support whenever you want to change your settings. Now, I’m not one to pass up getting tasks done for me but in my experience, customer support was very slow and not always helpful.Cirrus Hosting
Cirrus Hosting covers most of the basics but the platform has issues that are difficult to ignore. While I appreciate the generous 30 GB of NVMe SSD storage available on the entry-level plan, I can’t ignore how poorly it performed. The average loading time was almost 3 seconds and uptime was well under the 99.9% standard. On top of that, Cirrus Hosting doesn’t have a service level agreement (SLA) so you won’t be compensated for any downtime. My experience with customer support was good, but only via ticket. Live chat was operated by non-native English speakers who offered little help before abandoning the session. Given that Cirrus Hosting’s prices are relatively high, its service is not easy to recommend.HostPapa
As much as HostPapa is often regarded as one of the best Canadian hosting services, I can’t recommend it. My team and I spent several months testing HostPapa, and our conclusion is that it’s way too pricey for what it offers. While it has lots of resources, automatic backups are not included in most plans (no go), and its servers are not properly optimized for best performance. In fact, HostPapa was one of the slowest hosts I’ve tested. Customer support was usually quick to respond, but rarely useful. Not only that, but some support agents focused entirely on upselling rather than answering my questions. Plus, HostPapa’s “affordable” prices are only available prior to renewal. In some cases, you can end up paying 10 times the initial fee once the first term runs out.Choose the Best Host for Your Canadian Website
There are several exceptional Canadian hosting options on our list but ultimately, your experience level, website needs, and audience location will determine the best host for you. If you’re in a hurry (or feeling a bit lost), these are my recommendations: If you want to host a simple, low- to medium-traffic site, Hostinger should be at the top of your list. It’s an international host but its US data center offers phenomenal loading speeds throughout North America and beyond. Hostinger’s entry-level plan is incredibly cheap even after renewal, and it gives you everything you need to host a successful website. Maybe you don’t fancy paying upfront for several years of hosting. In that case, InterServer is your best bet. The Standard InterServer shared hosting plan has unlimited everything and lets you host multiple websites. Even if you pay monthly, the price is still low. In comparison, Nexcess is the top choice for managed CMS hosting. With global performance and affordable pricing, it’s hard to beat for value. As a subsidiary of Liquid Web, you can expect a similar quality of service (but without the hefty price tag). Along with CMS-specific plans, you can also choose flexible cloud and powerful enterprise-level hosting.Check out the table below to see a side-by-side comparison of all the entry-level shared hosting plans on my list:
Standout feature | Data center locations | Free Domain | Starting price | ||
Hostinger | Cheap, fast, and reliable shared hosting plans | US, UK, the Netherlands, France, Lithuania, Brazil, Singapore, India, and Indonesia | ✔ | $2.99 | |
InterServer | Flexible monthly plan with unlimited features | US | ✘ | $2.50 | |
Nexcess (Liquid Web) | Affordable and fully managed CMS plans with global coverage | US, UK, the Netherlands, and Australia | ✘ | $12.25 | |
GreenGeeks | Eco-friendly Canadian hosting | Canada, US, Singapore, and the Netherlands | ✔ | $1.95 | |
Kinsta | Managed Google Cloud hosting with some of the best global performance. | Canada, US, South America, Middle East, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa | ✘ | $7.00 | |
FastComet | Shared hosting with VPS perks | Canada, US, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America | ✘ | $1.79 |