Comparing Smallest Plans
The longer term you commit to, the lower the price will be! If you can, 3-year terms give you the best bang for your buck, but we’ll compare 1-year term pricing as well.
| HostPapa | BlueHost | GoDaddy | DreamHost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Servers | Yes | No | No | No |
| Monthly Price (3 yr) | $3.95 | $5.12 | $5.99 | $2.59 USD |
| Monthly Price (1 yr) | $5.95 | $7.72 | $7.49 | $3.95 USD |
| Renewal Price | $8.99 | $11.66 | $11.99 | $3.95 USD |
| Disk Space | 100 GB | 50 GB | 100 GB | Unmetered |
| Bandwidth | Unmetered | Unmetered | Unmetered | Unmetered |
| Uptime | 99.9% | 99.99% | 99.9% | 100% |
| Money-Back | 30 Days | 30 Days | 30 Days | 97 Days |
| Free Domain | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Support | 24/7 | 24/7 | 24/7 | 24/7 |
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Full Reviews
#1: HostPapa – Best Canadian Hosting
HostPapa is the best Canadian web host out there – trusted by over 500,000 people. They are one of the smaller reputable web hosts in the market, which shines through their efficient and friendly customer support.
Pricing
HostPapa offers very competitive pricing on new plans, but the price does increase upon renewal. Keep this in mind when choosing your payment terms, as the discounted rate you see will be locked in for the duration of your first term.
Don’t forget you have a 30-day money-back guarantee, which they are happy to honour (though I would bet they don’t have to, often). One thing to keep in mind, is you will be charged for the free domain name if you do choose to cancel.
Plan Comparison
Even HostPapa’s Starter Plan is sufficient for most blogging newbies, with 100 GB of storage, unmetered bandwidth (traffic capacity) and 100 email accounts. It is limited to two websites, which likely isn’t a concern to you. When I started out, I loved creating small websites/pages for friends and family (I was addicted!), so this limit would have been an issue for me.
The Business Plan is the most popular, for good reason. For the same price in the first term, you knock-out all of these limits, and get a boost in CPU (meaning the website can handle more at once).
Summary
Especially if you are appealing to a Canadian audience, I would recommend HostPapa. Proudly Canadian with competitive plans and pricing, impeccable customer service, and a very beginner-friendly experience.
#2: BlueHost – Recommended by Veteran Bloggers
If you search for top web hosts, BlueHost is likely to come up in most cases. They have been around since 1996 and are trusted by many veterans in the blogging industry – powering over 2 million websites. They may not be the cheapest web host in the market, but they provide a very fair value for their service.
Pricing
BlueHost’s pricing remains competitive for their quality of service, but they’re not the cheapest out there. Their plans tend to spike a fair bit upon renewal, but they have great initial rates.
They have a standard 30-day money-back guarantee, which does not include the domain name, meaning if you do cancel you will still have to pay for the cost of the domain name. This is an industry-standard, as web hosts do incur a cost to register a domain name, and they cannot get that money back themselves.
Plan Comparison
If you are going with a .CA domain name, their Plus plan is likely more than enough for what you need. With any other domain name, I would suggest the Choice Plus as it comes with Free Domain Privacy ($15.41/year value) which is essentially the cost difference between Plus and Choice Plus (on a 12-month term). Domain Privacy automatically comes free with .CA domain names.
Summary
If you want to join the legends of blogging with a reliable web host, BlueHost is the one for you if cost is not a big concern. Their plans are worth the value, and even WordPress recommends them.
#3: DreamHost – Best Cheap Hosting
Okay, so DreamHost holds a dear piece of my heart. DreamHost is the first web host I had ever worked with, back in 2005. Their plans are just so simple, and so very affordable! They are also one of WordPress’ official recommended web hosts.
Pricing
DreamHost’s pricing is easily the most affordable web host I would ever recommend. You’ll likely find something cheaper if you look for it, but it’s likely to be a reseller that I wouldn’t trust so much.
Plan Comparison
If you’re going with at least a one-year term, the Shared Starter plan does not increase on renewal. This is so rare! You don’t really see this anywhere. The Shared Starter comes with 50 GB (this is low, by comparison, but still typically plenty for most blogs), and 6 databases. No email is included with their Starter Plan.
The Shared Unlimited plan does go up to $9.95 on renewal (with 1-year terms), but this is still so reasonable, especially considering the value of their services. There are essentially no limits on the resources available to you.
Summary
DreamHost’s servers are not located in Canada, but if this is not important to you, they are such an easy-win for beginners. I’m not a fan of limits, and would recommend their Shared Unlimited plan right off the hop, even if it’s just for those free emails.
#4: GoDaddy – Most Publicly-Known
Chances are, even if this is your first time looking into blogging, you’ve heard of GoDaddy. They are a corporate giant with over 20 million customers, meaning their pockets are deep, pouring tons of cash into marketing efforts.
GoDaddy is not my first recommendation, but they are one of the top reliable web hosts, so it truly had to make the list.
Pricing
My biggest recommendation with GoDaddy, is pay close attention to what you’re paying for! Their pricing can be worth the value, if you make sure to pay for what you need. All of their plans come with one year of Office 365 Email, which is a rare find, but not always needed.
The Economy and Deluxe plans do not come with an SSL Certificate, and their SSL Certificates are pricey ($99.99/yr), so make sure to weigh that option closely if you’re looking at their plans.
Plan Comparison
Storage and Bandwidth are not likely to be a concern for you with GoDaddy, as their lowest (Economy) plan starts at 100 GB, which is plenty for most blogs, and all plans have unmetered bandwidth. The Economy plan also only includes one website.
What you’ll want to focus on here, is the number of databases and the SSL Certificate. Every WordPress installation requires a “database” to store your information on, so you’ll need a minimum of one database per website. You may start looking at other programs for your website that require additional databases (like ad managing software, link tracking software), so be sure to keep that in mind.
Only the Ultimate and Maximum plans come with a Free SSL Certificate, so make sure to include this otherwise $99.99/year cost into your analysis when determining what’s best for you.
Summary
While GoDaddy wouldn’t be a top choice for me, this is a brand that is trusted by so many. Definitely a reliable web host, but just make sure you’re getting everything you need so you’re not paying a premium for it later.
