The verdict in three sentences
For the 40-page B2B site of an industrial SME in Montreal, the right care plan costs between CAD 150 and 2,000 a month, and the standard tier at CAD 400 to 750 covers most needs. The difference between a good and a bad contract is not the price but three clauses: the guaranteed recovery time, reversibility (exit terms) and the cap on rollover hours. A site that generates quote requests every week justifies a 4 to 8 business-hour SLA; a corporate showcase can live with the essential tier.
The three typical tiers in 2026
In Montreal and across Canada (Toronto rates run CAD 300 to 2,000 a month), agencies and freelancers offer similar levels. The figures below are 2026 orders of magnitude for a 40-page WordPress or headless site, with Quebec's Law 25 adding privacy duties to every plan.
| Service | Essential | Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price excl. tax | CAD 150 to 250 | CAD 400 to 750 | CAD 1,000 to 2,000 |
| CMS, plugin and security updates | Monthly | Weekly | Continuous + critical patches within 24 h |
| Backups | Daily, 7-day retention | Daily, 30 days, off-site | Hourly, 90 days, quarterly restore test |
| Uptime monitoring | No | Every 5 min, alerts | Every minute, on-call |
| Included change hours | 0 | 2 h/month | 6 to 10 h/month |
| Response time | 48 business hours | 8 business hours | 1 h, 7 days a week |
| Guaranteed recovery time | None | 24 business hours | 4 h |
| Monthly report | No | Yes (security, performance) | Yes + quarterly review |
Out-of-plan development runs CAD 95 to 150 an hour in Montreal. For comparison, a similar standard plan in Grenoble, France costs EUR 250 to 450 a month.
Clauses to demand before signing
Most disputes come from vague contracts. A marketing manager does not need to be a lawyer to check these points.
| Clause | Wording to obtain | Common trap |
|---|---|---|
| Response time | Time from report to start of work | Confused with resolution time |
| Recovery time | Maximum time to bring the site back online | Missing or "best efforts" only |
| Service credits | 5 to 10 % of the monthly fee per breach band | No credits, so no real commitment |
| Rollover hours | Carry over 3 months, capped at 6 h | Hours lost every month |
| Reversibility | Code, access and documentation handed over within 15 days | Charged at full rate or not covered |
| Ownership | Domain and accounts in the company's name | Domain registered to the supplier |
| Term and termination | 12 months, 1 to 3 months' notice | 36-month automatic renewal |
Also ask for a precise list of exclusions: redesign, new features, content, major PHP migrations. A poorly planned version migration can cost CAD 2,500 to 6,000 outside the plan.
Choosing the right tier for the commercial stakes
The calculation is simple: what does a day of downtime cost? If the site generates 15 quote requests a month with 20 % conversion and CAD 12,000 margin per deal, a week offline means about 0.7 lost deals, or CAD 8,400 of margin. The standard tier alone pays for that risk. Premium is justified for a site with a client portal, an ERP-connected catalogue or online ordering.
Mini case study
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Marie-Claude, marketing manager of a 60-person industrial components maker in Laval, pays CAD 180 a month for care with no SLA. In March a compromised plugin takes the site down for 6 business days, and cleanup costs CAD 3,600. With 18 quote requests a month, 25 % conversion and CAD 10,000 margin per deal, the outage cost about 0.9 deals, or CAD 9,000 of margin. Total incident cost: CAD 12,600. Moving to the standard tier at CAD 550 a month costs CAD 4,440 more a year: one avoided incident pays for it nearly three times.
FAQ
How much does B2B website care cost in Montreal in 2026?
CAD 150 to 250 a month for essential, CAD 400 to 750 for standard and CAD 1,000 to 2,000 for premium with a 4-hour SLA. Out-of-plan work is billed CAD 95 to 150 an hour.
What is the difference between response and recovery time?
Response time is how long before someone starts working on the incident. Recovery time is the maximum delay to bring the site back: that value, for example 4 h or 24 h, is what protects you.
Are unused hours lost?
It depends on the contract. Negotiate a 3-month rollover capped at 6 hours: it is common and accepted by most suppliers.
How do I get my site back if I change supplier?
Through a reversibility clause: code, database, access and documentation delivered within 15 days. Without it, a takeover can cost CAD 2,500 to 4,500 in audit and reconstruction.
Do I need a care plan for a brand-new site?
Yes, from launch: a CMS left unpatched for 6 months typically accumulates several known vulnerabilities. Launch warranties cover bugs, not security or updates.
Let's scope your project. Send us your site URL, CMS and monthly enquiry volume and we will propose the right tier, a priced SLA and a clear exit clause. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
