Ever alternatives in Canada (2026): the app never launched

Ever never launched. The Vancouver startup took waitlist signups through 2022 for a no-fee account and a weekly $1,000,000 draw, then went quiet before its own launch date. So the best Ever alternatives in Canada are simply the live products that do the parts Ever promised: Wealthsimple runs the biggest draw in the country, EQ Bank pays a real rate, QUBER runs draws through workplaces, and Lodavo gives you free tickets for what you save. The table above lines up the cost, the rate and who ends up holding your money.

What happened to Ever?

Ever was a Vancouver fintech that raised from Techstars Toronto in October 2022 (opens in a new tab) and opened a waitlist for a prize-linked savings account. It planned to launch in the second quarter of 2023. Its website was captured by the Internet Archive through December 2022, stopped answering by April 2023, and ever.ca now redirects to a page offering the domain for sale.

It was a waitlist, not a product

Every button on Ever’s site said Join Waitlist. There was no app to download and no account to open, and directly under that button the archived homepage (opens in a new tab) described Ever as “a financial technology platform, not a bank” whose “banking services will be provided by a CDIC-Insured Partner”. Will be. Elsewhere on the same page the company said it was still “securing a banking partner”, two quarters before the launch it had scheduled.

The archived FAQ (opens in a new tab) is more specific about the plan: no monthly fees, 1.5% interest on money held in an Ever account, bank connections through Plaid, a Canadian SIN required to open one, withdrawals in three to five business days, and referral codes that paid bonus tickets. The homepage carried the mechanic: every $100 in your account earned one ticket a week, with prizes running from $10 up to the $1,000,000 weekly draw.

The site went dark before the launch date it published

Ever’s homepage was captured seven times between October and December 2022. The next successful capture, in April 2023, returned a 404, and every capture for the two years after that did the same. By mid-2025 the domain answered again, this time as a parking page.

That timeline sits either side of the Q2 2023 launch Ever had published, which is the strongest available evidence that no account ever opened. No trade coverage marks a launch either. Ever’s last mention is a February 2023 Vancouver fintech roundup (opens in a new tab) still describing the account as expected that year, and the founders’ public profiles now point at other companies.

The CDIC line on its site used an American number

One detail is worth carrying forward to whatever comes next. Under a heading reading CDIC Insured, Ever’s homepage said it was “securing a banking partner to provide pass-through CDIC insurance up to $250,000.”

CDIC protects $100,000 (opens in a new tab) per depositor, per category, per member institution. $250,000 is the FDIC limit in the United States. Pass-through coverage through a partner bank is a real arrangement and several Canadian fintechs use it honestly, but the number attached to it was the wrong country’s, on a page that also said the partner had not been signed. If you’re weighing a fintech that holds no banking licence, the two questions are which CDIC member actually holds the deposit, and what the limit on it is.

Why look for an Ever alternative?

Because there’s nothing to join, and because the three things Ever was selling are separate products in Canada. It bundled a weekly prize draw, a rate above the big banks, and a no-fee account with a card. You can have all three today, from more than one company, and which you reach for depends on the part of the pitch that pulled you in.

Pick the part you actually wanted

If it was the draw, prize-linked savings is alive and legal here. Wealthsimple, QUBER and Lodavo all run one, and none of them needs you to wait for a launch. Our guide to prize-linked savings in Canada covers how the model works and why it’s legal under Canadian contest law.

If it was the 1.5%, that number stopped being interesting a while ago. Ever measured itself against big-bank savings rates of 0.7% to 1.4% in October 2022, and EQ Bank pays 2.75% with direct deposit today. If it was the card and the no-fee account, that’s ordinary now, and Wealthsimple’s Chequing account is the closest fit.

One more line from Ever’s footer is worth knowing: the draw was open to Canadians “except for those living in Quebec”. That exclusion is a common shortcut, because Quebec contests carry their own filing and translation requirements. Lodavo’s draw is open to legal residents of Canada at the age of majority, Quebec included, which is where the company is. The contest rules have the full eligibility terms.

The best Ever alternatives in Canada, at a glance

Four live products between them cover what Ever described, and not one of them covers all of it. Here is how each actually works and who it suits, including where Lodavo is the wrong pick.

Wealthsimple: the closest thing to what Ever described

Wealthsimple bundles a no-fee Chequing account, a card, a rate and a prize draw in one app, which is the bundle Ever was pitching. Its Monthly Millionaire program (opens in a new tab) runs weekly draws building toward roughly $1 million a month. Chequing pays 1.25% at the base tier, and its separate Savings account pays 2.5% (as of August 2026).

The entries work differently from Ever’s plan, and the difference matters. Ever was going to count your balance: $100 held, one ticket a week. Wealthsimple counts money you move in, at one entry per dollar of net deposits, doubled if you set up direct deposit, and the count resets each month. A balance sitting still earns nothing on its own.

Wealthsimple is also by far the largest company here, and it holds no banking licence of its own. Chequing balances are held in trust at CDIC member banks, while the Savings account is a non-registered investment account, so CIPF covers that one instead. The chequing rate steps up at $100,000 in assets and again at $500,000.

Best for: someone who wants the whole Ever bundle from one company and doesn’t mind moving their money to get it.

EQ Bank: if the 1.5% was the appeal

EQ Bank runs no draw at all. What it has is a rate you can actually collect: 1.00% on the Personal Account as a base, or 2.75% with recurring direct deposits (opens in a new tab) of $2,000 a month, on rates effective June 11, 2026. The base sits below Ever’s 1.5%, and the boosted tier is nearly double it. It’s a trade name of Equitable Bank, a CDIC member, so the coverage question has a plain answer here.

Notice Savings pays 2.35% on 10 days’ notice or 2.75% on 30, and GICs run 3.40% to 4.00% over one-to-five-year terms. There are no monthly fees. The catch worth knowing is the shared limit: because EQ Bank is Equitable Bank under another name, deposits under both names share one $100,000 CDIC limit per category rather than two. Some products aren’t offered in Quebec.

Best for: someone who liked the number Ever put on the page and would rather have a real one, from a CDIC member.

QUBER: prize-linked savings through your workplace

QUBER is the other genuine prize-linked saver in Canada, and the closest in shape to Ever’s plan: you save into a QUBER Vault, and every $20 your balance grows (opens in a new tab) over a contest period earns a ballot in its Save to Win draws. Some employers match what you put in on top of that.

The gate is the problem. QUBER began as a workplace benefit, and an employer or foundation paying for it is still the only way in that’s reliably open. The direct plan costs $81.49 a year after a 14-day trial and is waitlisted as of August 2026. Prizes are modest by design, capped at $550 per person per calendar year, and the model is the mirror image of Lodavo’s: QUBER holds the money, and ballots are forfeited if you withdraw before a draw.

Best for: someone whose employer already offers it, especially with a match attached.

A weekly cash draw on the account you already have

Lodavo is the part of Ever’s pitch that doesn’t need you to open anything. It’s free, it works with the savings or chequing account you already use, and every $25 you save earns a free ticket in the weekly draw. At least $100 goes to a user every week, and the jackpot pays up to $10,000.

The difference from what Ever was building is the money. Ever needed a banking partner because the plan was to take deposits and pay prizes out of the interest. Lodavo doesn’t hold your money, which is why there was no partner to secure and no launch to wait for.

That also means there’s nothing to switch. Your savings keep earning whatever your own account already pays, and Lodavo works with virtually any Canadian bank or credit union, so the draw runs on top of whichever one you pick from this page.

Where it’s the wrong choice: it pays no interest, so if the rate is what you’re after, EQ Bank is the honest answer here. Prizes come down to chance, so a win is a bonus and never a plan. And it reads deposit accounts, not investment or brokerage ones.

Best for: anyone who wants a cash prize riding on their saving without switching banks or moving a dollar.

How to choose the right one for you

Ever tried to sell both halves in one account and never got there. You can just have both, from two companies: keep your savings wherever the rate is best, and run a free draw alongside it. If you want the wider field first, our roundup of the best prize-linked savings apps in Canada covers Servus Credit Union’s Big Share and the promotional draws that come and go.

Terms and conditions apply. No purchase necessary (alternate method of entry available). Skill-testing question required. Open to legal residents of Canada who are the age of majority. Odds depend on the number of eligible entries received. Full rules and odds at our contest rules.