Best website builders for Canadian small businesses

A Canadian small-business website has two jobs that US roundups smash together: look like a real firm, and take money in a way that survives GST/HST, CAD payouts, and — if people stand in front of you — Interac. Those are different products.

This comparison is five options Canadians actually buy: Squarespace, Wix, Shopify for a simple storefront, WordPress.com, and Hostinger as managed hosting plus a builder. Website-builder prices checked against public vendor pages, 2 September 2026. Buttons are official marketing URLs, not affiliate trackers.

I have not designed or hosted client sites on each of these for NorthOffice. Fit is inferred from what the vendors publish — including Interac they do not list.

Who each tool is actually for

• Squarespace — service businesses and portfolios that want templates and invoices on one platform. Not the Interac till.
• Wix — similar brochure/service job, plus a Canadian POS add-on if you later take tap Interac at a counter.
• Shopify — product storefronts that also need a Canadian card table. Deeper rates: Shopify vs Square vs Lightspeed and POS in Canada.
• WordPress.com — hosted WordPress when you want the CMS without picking a host. Lower tiers are not “install any plugin and forget it.”
• Hostinger — CAD-priced hosting with WordPress or Hostinger’s builder. Cheap only if you read the 48-month intro and the renewal line. Host-to-host compare: web hosting for Canadian small businesses.

Snapshot (public pages, 2 September 2026)

Squarespace — templates, Canada payments, no Interac table

Squarespace’s current website plans are Basic, Core, Plus, and Advanced (Canada is in the Squarespace Payments region, so Plus is offered). Squarespace’s public pricing page does not print a single CAD list. Official marketing says plans start around USD $16/month and go up to about USD $99/month; “pricing varies by location.” Confirm CAD and tax at checkout. 14-day free trial; no free forever plan. Annual billing saves up to 36% vs monthly and includes a free custom domain for year one Source: https://www.squarespace.com/pricing.

Selling fees from Squarespace Help: 2% online-store transaction fee on Basic; 0% on Core/Plus/Advanced. Squarespace Payments domestic-card fee on Plus: 2.7% + $0.30 (Squarespace Help). Squarespace Payments domestic-card fee on Advanced: 2.5% + $0.30 (Squarespace Help). Squarespace Payments is available in Canada. Official FAQ lists major cards, Apple Pay, Klarna, Afterpay, and ACH — not Interac debit. Help: https://support.squarespace.com/hc/en-us/articles/29215717722637-Selling-on-the-Basic-Core-Plus-and-Advanced-plans.

Squarespace can calculate GST/HST on what you sell (automated tax). Tax on your Squarespace subscription is shown at checkout from your billing address — confirm the invoice. That is not the same as Interac at a counter — see accepting cards in Canada. Service businesses that invoice from the site still need CRA invoice fields — how to invoice GST/HST in Ontario.

Wix — free start, USD reference, POS Interac is a till

Wix’s plans page displays yearly rates and says USD figures are for reference; “prices and currency vary by location” and tax is added from the billing address. Public yearly-equivalent figures on that page were Light $17, Core $29, Business $39, Business Elite $159. Confirm CAD + GST/HST at checkout. Listed plan prices do not include tax; Wix adds tax from the billing address (Wix VAT/tax help). Sources: https://www.wix.com/plans, https://support.wix.com/en/article/vattax-charges.

Wix Payments supports Canada in CAD. Wix Help lists Canada POS Interac at $0.15 CAD and Canada POS cards at 2.7% + $0 CAD. That is in-person POS, not a published Interac online-checkout table. Source: https://support.wix.com/en/article/enabling-point-of-sale-pos-for-wix-payments. Do not paste Shopify’s 15¢ Interac onto a Wix online checkout.

Wix Bookings is a calendar product, not a replacement for Jobber in the field. Booking compare: scheduling software for Canadian small businesses.

Shopify — the storefront, with published CAD and Interac

Use Shopify when the website is the store, not a five-page brochure. Canadian plans on shopify.com/ca/pricing (checked 29 August 2026, still the figures this site cites): Basic $49 CAD/month or $37 CAD/month billed yearly yearly; Grow $132 CAD/month / $99 CAD/month billed yearly. Online cards on Basic 2.8% + 30¢ CAD. In-person Interac 0% + 15¢ CAD. Source: https://www.shopify.com/ca/pricing.

A consultant who sends retainers does not need Shopify Basic. A maker selling 40 SKUs into Canada probably does. Pair the books with invoicing software or a ledger — Shopify is not your GST/HST return.

WordPress.com — hosted WordPress, currency toggle

wordpress.com/pricing shows Personal from $4/month and Premium from $8/month on longer-term displays (also higher monthly-equivalent figures on the same page). Currency is selectable, including CAD. Do not treat a blog’s converted CAD number as the list price. Official plans: Free, Personal, Premium, Business, Commerce. Premium lists PayPal and Stripe payment buttons — not Interac debit Source: https://wordpress.com/pricing.

WordPress.com is not the same as WordPress.org on a host you pick. If you need arbitrary plugins and a Canadian payment plugin, you are usually on Business/Commerce or on self-hosted WordPress (next section) — confirm the current plan matrix on that pricing page before you promise a client “any plugin.”

Hostinger Canada — CAD intros, read the renewal

hostinger.com/ca/pricing lists CAD. Intro rates are 48-month prepaid. Renewal is much higher. Prices exclude applicable taxes. Retrieved 2 September 2026: Premium CAN$4.19/month on a 48-month term (CAN$16.79 regular display). Premium renews at CAN$15.39/month on the same page. Unlimited CAN$5.59/month on a 48-month term. Unlimited renews at CAN$23.69/month. Cloud Startup CAN$11.19/month on a 48-month term. Cloud Startup renews at CAN$36.29/month. WordPress or Hostinger’s AI builder, free domain year one on annual terms, SSL Source: https://www.hostinger.com/ca/pricing.

Hosting/builder — not a published Interac till. Store payments depend on WooCommerce or other plugins you add. GST/HST on the Hostinger invoice is tax on hosting. GST/HST on your customer invoice is still your CRA account. HostPapa and other hosts: web hosting for Canadian small businesses.

A practical pick

1. Service brochure + invoices, no SKU catalogue: Squarespace or Wix. Confirm CAD and HST on the SaaS bill at checkout.
2. Products plus a Canadian card table: Shopify Basic (or Grow if you already know the volume).
3. You want WordPress and do not want to pick a host: WordPress.com, and read which plan actually allows the plugins you need.
4. You want WordPress on cheap CAD hosting and will do the updates: Hostinger or HostPapa, priced on the renewal line — web hosting for Canada.
5. The site collects emails and you need a list tool: email marketing for Canadian small businesses.