Metals 'R' Us vs Metal Pros: Canada's two online cut-to-size metal stores

Should you buy from Metals 'R' Us or Metal Pros?

Buy from Metal Pros if you're near Ottawa, you're restocking long runs of thin flat bar, or your order will clear $300 and earn their top 25% discount tier. Buy from us if your job needs exact lengths with the cut included, you want freight on the screen before you pay, or you're on the East Coast where our free Dartmouth pickup lives.

This is the closest matchup in Canadian metal, and we mean that as a compliment. Of the seven Canadian suppliers we checked for our guide to buying metal online in Canada, only three publish real prices, and one of those prices store by store. That leaves two true online cut-to-size stores with one national price list: Metal Pros and us. They price by the foot from Ottawa, we price by the inch from Dartmouth. We ran the same six-piece basket through both stores in June 2026 to see what the two models actually do to your invoice.

Where does Metal Pros beat Metals 'R' Us?

Thin flat bar, the top discount tier, live stock numbers, and 1″ alloy depth. Their 44W flat bar lists at $0.95 per foot, so a 48″ piece lands at $6.80 with their $3.00 cut, against our $10.34. That's about a third cheaper, and light structural flat is their sharpest shelf.

Their volume tiers start at 5% over $100 and reach 25% at $300; ours run 5-15%. Their quote tool shows live stock on every item before you log in, down to the foot. We don't match that: our product pages show whether a length is available, not how many feet remain. On 1″ alloy rounds, their June 2026 menu also ran deeper: annealed 4140, heat-treated 4140, and cold-rolled 1045 all listed at once. Our 1″ rack carries 1045 precision ground and 4140 heat treated and stress relieved, and our plain hot-rolled 1045 starts at 2-1/2″. Add curbside pickup for Ottawa locals and offcut bins marked up to 80% off, and you've got a serious operation run by people who clearly cut metal all day.

Where does Metals 'R' Us beat Metal Pros?

Cuts, odd lengths, visible freight, and a counter you can walk up to. Every cut here is free, to ±1/8″; theirs is $3.00 for the first and $1.00 each after. We price by the inch, 1″ to 96″ on every bar, so a 17″ piece costs a 17″ price. And the cart quotes live courier rates before checkout; their freight is confirmed after you order.

The basket test backs this up. Five of the six pieces priced cheaper here with cuts included: three were close calls of $1.42 to $2.04, the brass hex was $6.95 cheaper, and the sheet was about $16 cheaper. If you're near Halifax, pickup at the Dartmouth counter is free and walk-ins run Mon-Fri, 7:30am to 5pm Atlantic. Need the paperwork? We pull a mill test report on request at any order size, a single 12″ piece included; here's how MTRs work on small orders. Metal Pros' public site doesn't address MTRs either way as of June 2026, so ask before you order if the cert matters.

What does the same six-piece basket cost at Metal Pros and Metals 'R' Us?

$130.70 here with cuts included; the same pieces total $140.80 at Metal Pros' per-foot list, before their cut fees go on and their volume discount comes off. Work their published numbers in any order and the basket lands in the $140s before shipping. The method was simple: we locked six everyday pieces, bought them into a live cart here on June 11, 2026, and matched each one in Metal Pros' public quote tool the same day. Prices below are CAD, each piece priced as a standalone buy.

The grades are honest matches. Their 1045 is cold-rolled PGS at $17.36 per foot against our precision ground A108. The sheet cell is their $28.46 per square foot times the 2 sq ft asked, before any cutting; the public tool doesn't show a sheet cutting charge. Our sheet preset is 25″ × 12″, an inch wider than the piece we asked for. The whole rack's June 2026 pricing lives in our Canadian metal prices guide.

Then freight separates the models. Our cart quoted this exact basket live: $42.42 to Halifax, $50.99 to Toronto, and $54.73 to Calgary, for landed totals of $173.12, $181.69, and $185.43. Metal Pros delivers from Ottawa to anywhere in Canada, but publishes no rates and no estimator; we couldn't price their freight without placing an order, so we compare what's public. From Ottawa to a Toronto door, their truck may well win the landed total. You just can't know until after you've ordered, and that's the difference we'd flag.

Is per-foot or per-inch pricing cheaper?

On even feet, it's nearly a wash, and we'll say so plainly. Three feet of 1″ 6061-T6 round runs $31.11 at their list plus a $3.00 cut, $34.11 all in; our 36″ piece is $32.69, cut included. That's $1.42 apart. Two stores pricing the same aluminum land within pocket change of each other.

Odd lengths are where the models part ways. Our 1/2″ 304 round prices at $9.68 for 12″, $11.80 for 17″, and $13.51 for 24″: you pay for your inches and nothing else. Their tool prices stock by the foot, so how an odd 17″ piece bills is a question for their counter, not something the tool shows. One honest note in the other direction: our order minimum is $40, so a single short stick of their 95-cent flat bar is exactly the buy where their model beats ours. Here's how ordering by the inch works if you've not bought this way before.

How do you choose between Metal Pros and Metals 'R' Us?

Price your real cut list, not the brochure. A railing, a bench frame, or a batch of machined pins wants exact lengths: order here, the cuts are free and the freight shows before you pay. A shop restock of full sticks, or one big order past $300: get their number too, because a 25% tier is real money. Ottawa buyers should use their curbside; Maritimes buyers have our counter.

Either way you're buying Canadian, paying CAD, and never touching a border broker; here's why that matters on landed cost. Start your list on our carbon steel rack and type your lengths in inches; the price updates as you go. Want to compare quotes properly on a mixed or volume job? Send the list through a quote request and you'll get our number to put beside theirs.