Best Free Web Hosting in Canada 2024

Web hosting reviews & comparisons

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Matthew Rogers

Author: Matthew Rogers

Last Updated on July 6, 2023

For those on a tight budget, choosing free hosting over quality Canadian web hosting services may sound better because it’s free! While that’s true when you’re just starting out, it does come with a few caveats 🙂

Limited URL Subdomain: Some free web hosts only allow you to customize part of your website domain.

Ads: The host displays advertisements on your website in exchange for profits every time a visitor views and clicks the ad. Unfortunately, this can be a distraction and drive visitors away from your site. 

Limited Design Features: Free web hosting has certain limitations like basic design features and tools.

Limited Bandwidth: Bandwidth affects how long it takes for your site to load. Do you expect a lot of web traffic or have media like audio, video, and animation? If so, then unlimited bandwidth is the best option. 

Limited Customer Support: A free service affects the level of support you receive from the staff. Most paid services offer 24/7 support along with other advanced features.

Proprietary Control Panel: You won’t be able to get the industry standard cPanel which allows you to see website traffic statistics, configure and check email accounts, restore backups, and more.

Now that you’re aware of the possible disadvantages, let’s look at the best free website hosting services in Canada, plus their pros and cons.

A few of the sites we’ve been featured on:

Featured on sites

Best Free Web Hosts for Canada

1. Hostinger – Best Almost-Free Web Host

Website: www.hostinger.com
Price: $1.99 (USD)
Disk space: 10 GB
Support: Live Chat
Global reach: Yes
Hostinger review

Hostinger Logo

Since its founding in 2011, Hostinger has become one of the best cheap web hosting providers for Canadians. Affordable plans start from $1.99, and you can upgrade as needed.

High-quality hosting, flexibility, and a simple setup make it ideal for beginners and developers. Whether you’re just starting or migrating your existing website, their customer success team is available to help 24/7/365. 

Pros

  • Fast Load Times: No one likes a website that takes several seconds to load. You can count on lightning-fast speed for an impressive user experience. 
  • Free Domain: When you purchase the Premium or Business plan, you’ll get a top-level domain extension, free of charge during the first year.
  • Easy to Use Interface: All plans come with a drag-and-drop style website builder with templates so you don’t have to be an advanced web developer to create a professional-looking site.
  • Money-Back Guarantee: If you’re not 100% satisfied, they’ll refund your payment with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Cons 

  • Lacks phone support: One of the main reasons customers prefer phone support is because they want quick resolutions with a real human. Unfortunately, the only way to contact customer support is via live chat. 

2. Wix – Best Free Host and Website Builder

Wix Logo

Wix is a website-building tool that offers users the opportunity to create a website without coding skills. Wix provides secure and free web hosting s that is automatically set up once you’ve published your website. No installation is needed.

It includes 500MB of cloud storage and 500MB bandwidth, but you will have to upgrade for additional cloud storage and unlimited bandwidth.

Pros

  • Bandwidth: Website hosting includes 500MB of cloud storage and a 500MB bandwidth. You can upgrade to a premium plan. 
  • Huge Template Collection: With the Wix Editor you can start from scratch or choose from over 800 designer-made templates. New templates are added regularly to provide users with unique designs and features across many industries.
  • Drag And Drop Interface: Calling all beginners! The drag-and-drop feature makes it easy to edit your pages quickly so you don’t need to learn code and spend long hours building a website. 

Cons 

  • Minimal Customer Support: Phone support the traditional way is virtually non-existent. You can live chat or request to receive a callback. To reach customer care, you’ll have to log in to your Wix account, visit the contact page, and describe your issue.
  • No template changes after going live: You can’t switch to a different template once your website goes live. Instead, you have to start over with a new template and transfer it to a premium plan to the new site. However, when starting over, there are some features that you can’t transfer over.
  • The starter plan doesn’t remove ads: To remove the ads from your site, you must switch to a different monthly plan which is particularly expensive. compared to competitors.

3. 000WebHost

000webhost logo

Starting a free web hosting account with 000WebHost is a simple four-step process. No credit card or payment information is required, but there are certain limitations.

With the free version, you can only hold up to two active websites. When you upgrade to paid hosting services, you’ll get more functions, and features, plus larger data and bandwidth caps. 

Pros 

  • Easy-to-use: From creating an account to installing WordPress, the process is fairly easy to use and takes only a few minutes to launch your website.
  • Great cPanel Support: It has a custom control panel with a range of admin tools, including one-click installers and the ability to manage your domains.
  • Display Your Ads: You can show your ads on the website or monetize your traffic in other ways.

Cons

  • Past Security Issues: In March 2015, the personal records of millions of 000Webhost clients were compromised when hackers gained access to the hosting provider’s databases and made it available on black-market forums. The company has since apologized and increased security measures but it’s worth noting when using the free hosting service.
  • Limited bandwidth and disk space: Free hosting comes with bandwidth limitations therefore you will experience slow loading speeds. It is advised to buy a paid subscription if heavy traffic and branding are your goals.
  • Limited Customer Support: If you experience a technical glitch using the free plan there’s no dedicated customer support to call but there is a forum where users can ask questions and get help from moderators. Response times vary so don’t expect your problem to be resolved right away.

4. FreeHosting.com

Freehosting logo

Since 2010, FreeHosting.com has been providing free and paid web hosting services. They offer a full range of tools and resources most suitable for lightweight websites like WordPress, Internet forums, or websites with a site builder. 

Pros

  • Free Plan Offers: includes one website, 10 GB storage, 1 MySQL database, unlimited bandwidth, and one email account.
  • Domain name: You can host your own domain name, even if it is registered with another company. If you don’t have one they can register one for you at a competitive price.
  • Unmetered bandwidth: They offer unlimited downloads to your visitors but your website must comply with their Fair Use Policy.

Cons 

  • PHP mail and Sendmail program: The script’s mailing functionality is disabled by default on free accounts. However, it is available as a one-time add-on or as part of the paid subscription.
  • Domain Limitations: They do not provide free subdomains like user.somedomain.tld so you’ll be stuck with a .com/ .com.au for example which isn’t a huge flaw. You need to own a registered domain to host with FreeHosting.com. 
  • Unreliable Uptimes: They have been known for poor response and uptimes. In addition, security is not the best either and lacks some basic features like SSL. 

5. x10Hosting

x10hosting logo

For more than a decade, x10Hosting has been on a mission to provide free high-performance web hosting worldwide with over 750,000 active users. As of June 25th, 2022, free web hosting signups are currently unavailable due to maintenance.

Pros

  • Free Plan Offers: Includes free plan is 1-click CMS installs, cPanel access, and PHP.
  • Good speeds/ uptimes: With a 99.9% uptime, most customers applaud its speed with no issues of delays and mishaps on the servers.
  • Website Builder/Design: User-friendly interface and website builder with 150+ templates.

Cons

  • Limited Customer Support: The only support channel for free users is the community-based forum at this time.
  • Price: Some would think the paid service is pricier than other competitors.
  • Inactivity: Users are required to sign into their website account at least once per month or else they are at risk for suspension.

Free Hosting vs. Paid Hosting

Deciding between free vs. paid web hosting is one of the first dilemmas potential website owners face when starting a new site. Generally, the free web hosting platforms have limitations making the paid plan the better option. If you do not expect much traffic to your website, then these limitations may not be an issue. However, many top-tier paid hosting plans are available for $5 or less per month for the budget-conscious.

Do you expect more capabilities from a website? Then, a paid host is better. A free web host usually limits the amount of storage and bandwidth. As a result, it affects how long it takes for your site to load. Slow page loading also impacts website traffic and how you rank in search engine results.

Many paid-to-host plans also give you a free custom domain name for the first year, with renewal fees often half of what you’ll see elsewhere. 

Regarding privacy and security, paid plans are less likely to have low-security standards which harm site visitors. You can count on performance and stability through the use of modern technology.

Finally, customer support options such as phone, chat, and email are available under paid plans giving you the best assistance in case something goes wrong, and if you’re a new user, it most likely will!

choosing web hosting

Free Hosting Questions

Here are some frequently asked questions about free web hosting Canada has to offer. 

Can I host my website for free?

Yes, there is a wide range of hosting platforms with no costs. Free web hosting is available because the service provider earns profits in other ways besides paid monthly plans. Popular free hosting platforms like Hostinger.com, Wix.com, 000WebHost.com, FreeHosting.com, and x10Hosting.com make it easy to get started for free.

Whether or not free web hosting is right depends on various factors like your customization needs, the volume of traffic, personalized URL, and other considerations. Disclaimer: Once you sign up for free web hosting services, you will soon discover the limitations that cause you to upgrade.

How much does web hosting cost in Canada?

Understanding web hosting in Canada is key when making a purchase. Every hosting provider has pricing plan levels and different variables to consider, such as which option is the best value for your website needs. Prices range from $2.95 to $72.99 per month, depending on the host and plan tier. 

The cheapest Basic shared plan on Bluehost.com is $2.95 per month and includes one website, one domain, and 10 GB SSD storage. In contrast, the higher-tiered Pro Plan is $13.95 per month with unlimited websites and domains, 100 GB SSD Storage, and additional perks and features.

Where can I host my HTML website for free? 

Yes, you can host an HTML website for free. There is a wide range of hosting platforms with no costs. Free web hosting is available because the service provider earns profits in other ways besides paid monthly plans. 

Whether or not free web hosting is right depends on various factors like your customization needs, the volume of traffic, personalized URL, and other considerations. Disclaimer: Once you sign up for free web hosting services, you will soon discover the limitations that cause you to upgrade, and therefore, it is no longer free.

Is free web hosting safe? 

If you’re considering a free web hosting provider, they are generally safe but lack proper security measures that typically come with paid plans. In exchange for the free service, there are no resources to invest in security features and firewalls, so using a free web host comes with a risk.

To protect your website from hackers and keep your visitor’s data safe, one of the first steps is choosing a secure web hosting company. Then, find a plan that offers basics like SSL, server firewalls, and automated backups, to name a few.