Affiliate Disclosure & Editorial Transparency

How HostScout is funded

To keep HostScout free to use, regularly updated and currently ad-free, the site participates in affiliate programs with selected web hosting, server and domain providers.

When you click certain links on HostScout and purchase a service, HostScout may earn a referral commission from the provider. This normally comes at no additional cost to you. In some cases, an affiliate partnership may also make a promotional price or special offer available to readers.

Affiliate revenue helps cover the cost of operating the site, researching Canadian hosting companies, verifying infrastructure claims, maintaining comparison data and producing new guides for Canadian website owners.

Strict editorial independence

Financial compensation does not determine HostScout rankings, recommendations or research conclusions. A larger commission does not buy a higher position, a better review or preferential treatment.

Providers may be listed even when no affiliate relationship exists. Likewise, a provider with an affiliate program can receive a lower rating or be removed from a recommendation when its ownership, infrastructure, service quality or other important facts no longer meet HostScout's standards.

How providers are evaluated

HostScout focuses on criteria that matter to Canadians rather than commission rates. Depending on the type of hosting being reviewed, that research can include:

• Canadian ownership: corporate ownership, business registration and a genuine operating presence in Canada.
• Infrastructure control: whether the provider owns or directly operates its servers, racks, network equipment or other hosting infrastructure.
• ASN and IP network: providers receive stronger consideration when they operate their own ASN, IP space and routing because this can demonstrate greater network control and transparency.
• Canadian hosting locations: the data-centre or colocation facilities used to deliver hosting services in Canada.
• Services and value: available hosting products, pricing in Canadian dollars where offered, support options and the overall fit for Canadian customers.

If a provider performs poorly against the criteria relevant to its category, an affiliate relationship does not change that assessment.

Canadian advertising transparency

HostScout aims to make commercial relationships clear and to follow Canadian transparency principles for affiliate marketing. The Competition Bureau of Canada advises publishers and promoters to disclose material connections that could affect how consumers evaluate a recommendation.

Read the Competition Bureau guidance on material connections.

Hosting partnerships

HostScout participates in affiliate programs with a selection of hosting companies and infrastructure providers that serve the Canadian market. Participation in an affiliate program does not mean every product from that company is recommended, and it does not replace independent research.

Hosting prices, introductory promotions, renewal rates and server inventory can change. Readers should always confirm the current terms directly with the provider before purchasing.

Your trust is the priority

Affiliate commissions help support HostScout, but the long-term value of the site depends on accurate research and reader trust. Recommendations are intended to highlight services that appear to offer genuine value to Canadian website owners based on the information available at the time of review.

If you have a question about an affiliate relationship, a provider listing or how HostScout is funded, please use the Contact page.