Merry Maids vs. Molly Maid vs. Beaver Maids vs. Ezi: Ottawa Cleaning Companies Compared

Ottawa's best-known cleaning firms are Merry Maids and Molly Maid. Both are national brands with local branches. Beaver Maids is a long-running local firm. Each one runs on a different setup. That setup shapes price, booking speed, and who has your back if something goes wrong. This guide lines up the facts on each, plus where Ezi fits in.

The city's population passed 1.2 million people in 2026. Home starts jumped 12% in 2025, per CMHC. More homes mean more people comparing cleaners for the first time. That search gets crowded fast: Ontario alone has 1,493 registered cleaning firms, per IBISWorld, more than any other province in Canada. Here's what the public record shows on each firm.

Merry Maids Ottawa: The Longest-Running Brand in the City

Merry Maids has served Ottawa since 1991. That makes it one of the longest-running cleaning brands in the city. It's part of a bigger US-based brand with a long record across North America.

The local office holds a 4.5-star score on Google. It has over 230 reviews, per the review tracker Birdeye. Clients often praise the team's care on repeat visits. Some reviews flag price concerns. Check your own quote closely before you book.

Merry Maids offers weekly, biweekly, three-week, and monthly plans, plus one-time visits. As a franchise, local branches follow set training and checklists from the parent brand. That can mean more consistency between visits.

Merry Maids backs its work with a 24-hour promise. If a spot bothers you, call within 24 hours and a crew comes back to fix it at no charge. You do have to speak up fast, though; the window closes the next day.

Merry Maids also runs its own eco line, called Shineffective. Some products in the line carry the Design for the Environment logo, a US EPA mark that means each ingredient gets screened for health and environmental harm. Ask for this line by name if low-fume products matter to your home.

Molly Maid Ottawa: A Bigger Footprint, Mixed Price Reviews

Molly Maid runs several local offices. Two are Ottawa West and Ottawa East. One office alone shows a 4.4-star rating. It has close to 929 reviews. That's a high count for a cleaning brand in this city.

Price feedback is mixed. Some clients report strong work and a fast, thorough crew. Others say the price ran higher than they expected. One review cites $180 for a small condo. Another cites $300 for a full house visit. Get a firm quote first. A flat rate can shift once a provider sees your home.

Molly Maid offers ongoing, one-time, and seasonal cleaning, plus move-in and move-out visits. It also offers green products and senior-focused plans. Like Merry Maids, it runs as a franchise network with set training across offices.

Its guarantee runs a bit longer than Merry Maids'. Contact your local branch by the end of the next business day, and a crew returns to redo the spot at no cost. That extra day can help if you don't spot an issue right away.

There's no long-term contract, so you can stop or pause any time. But watch the cancel window: most branches ask for 72 business hours notice before your next visit, or you may face a fee. That's longer than a same-day change most homeowners expect.

Beaver Maids: Ottawa's Established Local Option

Beaver Maids has worked in Ottawa for about 15 years. It covers Ottawa West, Kanata, and Stittsville. Unlike the two brands above, it's locally owned. It's not a branch of a bigger US chain.

The firm holds 137 tracked reviews with a 96% average score. It also holds a 4-star Trustpilot rating. Clients often note strong professionalism and steady scheduling. Beaver Maids covers regular, biweekly, monthly, deep, post-build, and office cleaning.

Beaver Maids sends a crew of two for most jobs, with three or four on larger homes. It skips bleach and ammonia and uses Green Seal-certified products instead, a real eco label, not just a marketing claim. The firm backs every visit with a 100% satisfaction promise and a free return if you're not happy.

Franchise vs. Local: What It Means for You

Most guides skip this part. But it affects your risk if something goes wrong. Ontario's WSIB has a rule for firms with staff. They must sign up for it within 10 days of their first hire. That rule protects a cleaner hurt in your home. It also shields you from a lawsuit tied to that injury.

Franchise branches, like Merry Maids and Molly Maid, tend to hire staff on their own. They carry set WSIB, bonding, and cover rules from the parent brand. Local firms can carry the same cover, but it varies branch to branch. Always ask; don't assume. Bonding and cover aren't the same thing. Bonding pays you back if a job isn't done as promised. Cover pays for damage or harm during the visit. A solid firm, franchise or local, should carry both.

You don't have to just take a firm's word for WSIB status. Ontario's WSIB runs a free online tool to check a firm's clearance status by name or account number. A valid clearance means the firm is paid up and in good standing. It takes under a minute to check, and it's worth doing before any crew steps into your home.

Bond size is worth a quick ask too. Firms that clean homes usually carry $10,000 to $25,000 in bond cover, per industry bonding guides. That's the ceiling on what you could recover if a job goes badly wrong. A firm at the low end isn't automatically a red flag. Still, it's a fair question to ask before you book.

Background checks are standard at both national brands. Merry Maids runs a background check and drug screen on staff before hiring. Molly Maid runs a criminal background check and a driving record check on every House Cleaning Professional. Beaver Maids and Ezi don't publish the same level of public detail on staff screening, so ask directly if this matters to you.

How Ezi Compares

Ezi Home Services has cleaned Ottawa homes for over 10 years. It holds 200-plus Google reviews and a 4.7-star score. The biggest gap versus the three firms above is booking speed. You can book any cleaning type online in about two minutes at ezi.services/order. No phone call or home visit needed first.

Ezi covers standard, deep, move-in and move-out, post-build, and Airbnb turnover cleaning. All book through the same online flow. See our house cleaning services for the regular option. Or check the full list of house cleaning services for every type.

Guarantees at a Glance

Line the three redo windows up and the gap is clear. Merry Maids gives you 24 hours to flag a problem. Molly Maid gives you until the end of the next business day. Beaver Maids backs every visit with a 100% satisfaction promise and doesn't put a strict clock on it. All three will send a crew back for free once you speak up; the difference is how fast you need to notice and call.

Team size also varies. Beaver Maids sends two cleaners for most homes, growing to three or four for bigger jobs. Merry Maids and Molly Maid don't publish a fixed crew size, since it depends on your local branch and home size. A bigger crew usually means a shorter visit, so ask before you book if speed matters to you.

Cost and Booking Compared

Franchise pricing often starts with a call. Or you fill out an online quote form. A firm price follows, after a home visit or photos. Beaver Maids and Ezi both post clearer price ranges upfront. A final quote still depends on your home's size and shape. Standard cleaning across the city runs $30 to $55 an hour. Flat rates run $113 to $282, per HomeStars and Green Building Canada rate data. That range holds no matter which firm you pick.

Booking speed sets the four firms apart the most. Franchise offices often need a call-back first. Some also need a set visit just to give an estimate. Only then does your first clean land on the calendar. Ezi's online flow skips that step for standard bookings. That matters if you need a cleaner this week, not next month.

Payment terms are worth checking too, since they vary more than most homeowners expect. Franchise branches often bill after the visit, by card on file or invoice. Local firms and online-first firms like Ezi tend to charge upfront at booking, which locks in your price before anyone arrives. All four should show the 13% Ontario HST on your final bill; if a quote looks tax-free, ask why before you agree to it.

Methodology

This guide covers four firms, picked for how well-documented each one is. Merry Maids and Molly Maid are the two national franchise brands with the widest Ottawa footprint. Beaver Maids is the city's best-documented local option. Ezi is the online-first comparison point. Ontario's 1,493 registered cleaning firms mean plenty of other solid choices exist too. These four just have the clearest public record to check against.

Review counts and star scores above come from Birdeye, Google, and Trustpilot. These sites track public reviews. This data shifts over time. It can also vary by branch, so check current scores before you book. Price figures come from HomeStars and Green Building Canada's Ontario rate guides. WSIB and bonding facts come from Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, plus trade guides. Company policy details, like guarantees, screening, and eco-product lines, come from each firm's own public pages. Ezi's own stats come from its local Google Business page.

Which Fits Your Home?

A big family home often does best with a firm that runs a set checklist every visit. That points toward Merry Maids or Molly Maid. Their franchise training aims for the same result branch to branch, so repeat visits should look similar even with a new crew.

A smaller condo or apartment can work well with any of the four. Still, Beaver Maids' two-person crew and flat local pricing tend to suit a smaller footprint best. Its eco-only product line also matters if you have kids, pets, or allergies in a tighter space.

First-time bookers in a hurry get the most from Ezi's online flow. So does anyone who needs a cleaner this week and hates phone tag. Standard, deep, move-out, post-build, and Airbnb turnover cleaning all book the same way, in about two minutes, without a quote call first. For a breakdown of those five service types side by side, see our Ottawa house cleaning services comparison.

Which Ottawa Cleaning Firm Should You Book?

There's no single right pick here. Merry Maids suits homes that want a long-running brand with set training. Molly Maid offers wide local coverage. Just get a firm quote first, given the mixed price feedback. Beaver Maids fits homes that want a local, independent firm with strong scores. Ezi fits anyone who wants to book online in minutes, no call needed.

Whichever you pick, ask about WSIB cover and bonding first. Check current reviews close to your booking date, since scores shift. Get a firm price for your home's size too. Skip the general range. Ask for a real number before anyone shows up.