The verdict in three sentences
In Montreal, a marketing-site maintenance retainer runs 1 300 to 5 200 CAD/year depending on scope: security, backups, monitoring and small enhancements. Hosting (180-600 CAD/year) is a separate line item not to be confused with maintenance. Without a contract, a single uncovered outage averages 2 200 to 9 000 CAD in lost revenue plus emergency work billed at top rate.
What maintenance actually covers
A serious retainer is not just updates. It combines corrective (bugs, breaches), preventive (updates, backups) and enhancement (small improvements) maintenance. Here is the breakdown by tier.
| Service | Essential (1 300 CAD/yr) | Standard (2 600 CAD/yr) | Premium (5 200 CAD/yr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security updates | Quarterly | Monthly | Continuous |
| Backups | Weekly | Daily | Daily + off-site |
| Uptime monitoring | Basic | 99.9 % | 99.95 % + alerts |
| Enhancement hours included | 0 | 6 h/yr | 18 h/yr |
| Incident response time | 72 h | 24 h | 4 h |
| Monthly report | No | Yes | Yes + quarterly audit |
Hosting, corrective, enhancement: keep them separate
Many owners pay for three distinct things without knowing it. Separating line items avoids overpaying or discovering a coverage gap the day an outage hits.
| Line item | What it covers | Annual cost 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Managed hosting | Server, CDN, SSL, availability | 180-600 CAD |
| Domain name | Registration + DNS | 18-55 CAD |
| Corrective maintenance | Bugs, breaches, restore | included in retainer |
| Preventive maintenance | Updates, backups, monitoring | included in retainer |
| Enhancement maintenance | New pages, tweaks | 6-18 h included |
| Out-of-contract outage (est.) | Emergency fix + lost revenue | 2 200-9 000 CAD |
Mini case study
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Nadia, managing partner of a consulting firm in Montreal (9 staff), first refuses any retainer to save 2 600 CAD/year. Six months later an un-updated plugin opens a breach: her site is defaced for 3 days. The emergency fix costs 2 000 CAD, plus an estimated 4 200 CAD of lost revenue (contact forms down mid-campaign). Total: 6 200 CAD for one incident, versus 2 600 CAD/year for a Standard retainer that would have prevented it via monthly updates and a 24 h response time. She subscribes to Standard: over 3 years, 7 800 CAD of maintenance against a risk of several incidents at 6 000+ CAD each. Immediate ROI on the first avoided incident.
FAQ
How much does annual website maintenance cost in Montreal in 2026? Between 1 300 and 5 200 CAD/year depending on tier, excluding hosting. A simple marketing site is usually well served by a Standard plan at 2 600 CAD/year.
Does maintenance include hosting? No, they are separate. Managed hosting costs 180 to 600 CAD/year; the retainer covers security, backups and enhancements. Some contracts bundle them, so check the breakdown.
What happens without a maintenance contract? You pay each intervention at top rate (90-160 CAD/h) and carry the outage risk alone. An uncovered incident averages 2 200 to 9 000 CAD all-in.
What uptime should a good retainer deliver? A Standard plan targets 99.9 % availability, under 9 hours of downtime per year; a Premium reaches 99.95 % with real-time alerts.
How many enhancement hours are included? Typically 6 h/yr in Standard and 18 h/yr in Premium; beyond that, hours bill at 90 to 160 CAD/h depending on complexity.
Let's scope your project. Share your tech stack, traffic and availability requirements: we price a right-sized retainer, hosting bundled or separate. 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.
