Hosting.ca

What Hosting.ca does

Hosting.ca, operated by Canada Wide Hosting Services Inc., is a privately held Canadian telecommunications and hosting provider founded in 1997 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company delivers a full portfolio of web hosting, email hosting, and managed infrastructure services to Canadian small and medium-sized businesses, public sector organizations, and select enterprises. Core products include Linux and Windows shared web hosting (cPanel/Plesk), Microsoft Exchange hosting (versions 2010/2016/2019), SmarterMail hosting, dedicated Dell servers, BlackBerry Enterprise services (UEM, BBM Enterprise, SecuSUITE), FreePBX-based PBX hosting, SharePoint hosting, domain registration, and SSL certificates (Let's Encrypt, Symantec/GeoTrust EV). The technology stack is built on Dell server infrastructure housed at TeraGo's Tier III Uptime Institute-certified, SOC 2 Type II-certified Vancouver data center, with email security layered via Barracuda Spam Firewall and SpamTitan.

The company generates revenue through primarily subscription-based, recurring monthly and annual billing, with entry-level web hosting at $10/month, Exchange at $10+/user/month, and PBX hosting at $150/month, plus add-on fees for spam protection, SSL, and managed services. Customers can transact in CAD or USD, with approximately 10% discounts for annual commitments. Hosting.ca sells predominantly via a self-serve online storefront at hosting.ca and client.hosting.ca, supplemented by inside sales 'Request a Callback' and direct phone support for mid-market and enterprise leads. There is no disclosed channel partner or reseller network and no publicly disclosed revenue, funding history, or M&A activity.

Hosting.ca's value proposition centers on Canadian data residency, 100% Canadian in-house support with no overseas outsourcing, compliance with PIPEDA, PHIPA, FOIPPA, and PIPA, and completion of the Public Works Canada Contract Security Program, positioning it as a vendor able to host secure government and regulated workloads. Customer evidence includes Ronald McDonald House BC, Pacific Academy School, Vancouver Community College, and Bell Canada. The company is presently operating in maintenance mode, with 2024 price increases tied to inflation and ongoing documentation updates for Exchange 2019, iOS 18, and Microsoft 365 autodiscover compatibility.

Name

Hosting.ca

Legal name

Canada Wide Hosting Services Inc.

Website

https://hosting.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Hosting.ca is a privately held Canadian web and email hosting provider, founded in 1997 and headquartered in Vancouver, serving Canadian SMBs, public sector, and enterprises with Linux/Windows hosting, hosted Exchange, BlackBerry Enterprise, PBX, and compliant Canadian-resident infrastructure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Web Hosting Services

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Cloud PBX & Hosted Telephony (HDAIAHAB)

Keywords

• Web hosting services
• Email hosting
• Managed exchange hosting
• Dedicated server hosting
• Domain registration

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Web and Email Hosting Subscriptions: Monthly and annual recurring subscription fees for Linux web hosting, Windows web hosting, hosted Exchange, SmarterMail email, and dedicated servers. Customers can select CAD or USD billing. Annual billing offers approximately 10% discount.
2. Managed Services and Add-ons: Additional monthly fees for spam protection add-ons (Barracuda, SpamTitan), SSL certificates, Canada Post shipping integration, merchant accounts, BlackBerry enterprise services, and PBX hosting.
3. Domain Registration and SSL: Domain name registration and SSL certificate sales (including free Let's Encrypt SSL for cPanel/Plesk/Hosting Controller plans, and paid EV SSL certificates).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Hosting.ca is a Canadian web and email hosting provider that sells Linux and Windows shared web hosting, Microsoft Exchange email hosting, SmarterMail business email, dedicated servers, PBX phone hosting, BlackBerry Enterprise Services, and SharePoint hosting, along with domain registration and SSL certificates. All services are delivered from Dell servers in a Tier III Uptime Institute-certified Vancouver data center operated by partner TeraGo, with billing in CAD or USD on monthly or annual subscriptions.

Product overview

Hosting.ca is a Canadian web hosting provider offering a comprehensive portfolio of hosting and communication services. The core offerings include Linux and Windows web hosting (with cPanel/Plesk control panels), Microsoft Exchange hosting (versions 2010, 2016, and 2019), and SmarterMail email hosting. The company provides supplementary services including dedicated servers, WordPress hosting, BlackBerry Enterprise services (UEM, BBM Enterprise, SecuSUITE), PBX phone hosting with FreePBX, SharePoint hosting, domain registration, SSL certificates (including free Let's Encrypt and EV SSL), e-commerce integrations (Canada Post shipping, Beanstream/Bambora payments), spam filtering solutions (Barracuda and SpamTitan), website builder (Weebly), website security (Sitelock), VPN (NordVPN), and free DNS management. The company operates from a Tier III Uptime Institute-certified data center in Vancouver, Canada through a partnership with TeraGo.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Linux Web Hosting Shared web hosting on Linux servers with PHP and MySQL support, 1GB–20GB disk space, 20GB–250GB bandwidth, and cPanel control panel. Targeted at SMB websites needing standard PHP/MySQL stacks.
• Windows Web Hosting Shared web hosting on Windows servers supporting PHP and ASP.Net, MSSQL and MySQL databases, 1GB–20GB disk space, and 10GB–250GB bandwidth with Plesk control panel. For SMB websites requiring Microsoft technology stacks.
• Hosted Exchange Managed Microsoft Exchange email hosting on versions 2010, 2016, and 2019 with 1GB–25GB storage per mailbox, large attachment size, Outlook Web Access, and ActiveSync mobile sync with remote wipe. Sold per seat from $10+ per user per month. For organizations needing fully managed Exchange without in-house deployment.
• SmarterMail Hosting Business email hosting using SmarterMail with IMAP, POP3, SMTP, SSL/TLS encryption, CardDAV/CalDAV synchronization, and webmail access. Provides an Exchange-like experience at lower cost for organizations that do not need full Microsoft Exchange.
• Simple E-Mail Hosting Basic email hosting for businesses requiring straightforward mailboxes without advanced collaboration or mobility features.
• Dedicated Servers Dedicated server hosting on Dell hardware with guaranteed resources and no overselling, for organizations needing dedicated compute capacity.
• WordPress Hosting Optimized web hosting for WordPress websites with server configurations and support tailored to the WordPress stack.
• BlackBerry Enterprise Hosting Hosted BlackBerry Enterprise Services including BES, BBM Enterprise, BlackBerry UEM, and SecuSUITE, with containerization for security and compatibility with BlackBerry, iOS, and Android devices. For organizations needing secure mobile communications and device management.
• PBX Hosting Hosted FreePBX phone system with one DID phone number, 1–5 concurrent calls, 5 extension setup, 3-option IVR, and SIP trunking at $0.025/minute. For SMBs needing business telephony without on-premises PBX.
• SharePoint Hosting Hosted Microsoft SharePoint for document management, collaboration, and file sharing. For organizations needing managed SharePoint infrastructure.
• Domain Registration Domain name registration supporting .com, .net, .org, .ca, .biz, .info, and other TLDs including international domain names.
• SSL Certificates SSL certificate offerings including free Let's Encrypt, Symantec, and Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificates with green address bar. Supports cPanel, Plesk, and Hosting Controller environments.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• TeraGocoreTechnology or IntegrationTeraGo is a key infrastructure partner that houses Hosting.ca's servers in its Tier III designed and constructed Uptime Institute-certified data center in Vancouver, Canada. TeraGo recently acquired Rogers Data Centers in Vancouver. The data center holds SOC 2 Type II certifications. This is a core infrastructure partnership enabling Hosting.ca's service delivery.
• Barracuda NetworkscoreTechnology or IntegrationHosting.ca has used the Barracuda Spam Firewall for over 10 years as its primary email spam and virus filtering solution. Barracuda is integrated into Exchange hosting plans (free for Exchange customers) and offered as a paid add-on for Linux customers. Features include spam/virus filtering, DLP, SPF/DKIM authentication, and outbound scanning.
• BlackBerrycoreTechnology or IntegrationHosting.ca offers BlackBerry Enterprise Services including BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Server) hosting, BBM Enterprise, BlackBerry UEM (Unified Endpoint Management), and SecuSUITE. Services include containerization for security and separation, compatible with BlackBerry, iOS, and Android devices. Provides an extra layer of encryption and device control.
• SmarterToolssecondaryTechnology or IntegrationHosting.ca offers SmarterMail hosting as an alternative to Microsoft Exchange. SmarterMail provides IMAP/POP3 email with SSL/TLS encryption, CardDAV/CalDAV for contact and calendar synchronization on iOS/Android devices, webmail, and spam filtering. Incoming server: mail2.hosting.ca.
• Canada PostsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationHosting.ca integrates Canada Post shipping into customer e-commerce websites, providing real-time shipping quotes. Part of their e-commerce setup services.
• Bambora (Beanstream)secondaryTechnology or IntegrationHosting.ca offers Beanstream/Bambora merchant account integration for accepting credit cards online. Supports Canadian and USD currencies from Visa, MasterCard, AMEX, Diners, and Discover.
• Symantec / GeoTrustsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationHosting.ca uses Symantec SSL certificates for security between servers and customers. SSL certificates are presented as increasing search engine rankings and building customer trust. Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificates offered as premium product with $1.5M USD warranty and GeoTrust dynamic Secured Seal.
• Let's EncryptsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationHosting.ca supports free SSL certificates from Let's Encrypt on cPanel, Plesk, and Hosting Controller plans. cPanel and Plesk implementations are automated; Hosting Controller requires manual CSR creation and validation through FTP, website files, or DNS.
• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationHosting.ca is a Microsoft-focused hosting provider offering Microsoft Exchange (2010, 2016, 2019) hosting, SharePoint hosting, and related Microsoft services. Supports Exchange ActiveSync, Outlook Web Access, and integration with Microsoft 365/Office 365 autodiscover. Provides support documentation and registry fixes for Microsoft Outlook autodiscover conflicts.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• WHC (Web Hosting Canada): Canadian web hosting provider offering shared, VPS, and reseller hosting with .ca domain focus. Directly comparable to Hosting.ca as a domestic Canadian host for SMBs.
• DreamHost: US-based shared, VPS, dedicated, and managed WordPress hosting provider with email services. Comparable to Hosting.ca in product breadth and SMB focus.
• HostPapa: Canadian-headquartered (Burlington, ON) shared, VPS, and WordPress hosting provider serving SMBs globally. Directly comparable to Hosting.ca in customer segment, product mix, and Canadian-origin positioning.
• SiteGround: Global shared and managed web hosting provider with strong SMB focus, WordPress optimization, and email hosting. Comparable to Hosting.ca on web hosting product set though broader geographic reach.
• Intermedia: Major provider of hosted Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft 365, and business email services with bundled security and compliance. Direct competitor to Hosting.ca's Hosted Exchange and SmarterMail offerings.
• PlanetHoster: Canadian web hosting provider offering shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting with multilingual support and data centers in Montreal. Comparable to Hosting.ca as a domestic Canadian host targeting SMBs and resellers.

Broad incumbents

• Rackspace Technology: Global managed cloud and hosting provider offering dedicated servers, Exchange support, and managed email. Comparable to Hosting.ca's dedicated server and managed hosting offerings, but at much larger scale.
• Aptum Technologies: Canadian managed hosting, colocation, and network services provider (formerly Peer 1/Cogeco). Comparable to Hosting.ca as a Canadian infrastructure provider but operates at a larger scale with enterprise focus.
• GoDaddy: Largest global domain registrar and shared hosting provider offering cPanel hosting, email, SSL, and website builder. Comparable to Hosting.ca's full stack of domain, hosting, email, and SSL offerings but at vastly greater scale.

Regional players

• Sherweb: Canadian cloud solutions distributor specializing in Microsoft 365, Azure, and hosted Exchange services. Comparable to Hosting.ca's Exchange and Microsoft hosting portfolio, though Sherweb is primarily a channel-driven provider based in Quebec.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hosting.ca