What's the difference between terms of service, terms of use and terms and conditions?

Founders often ask which one they need, as if they were different legal instruments. They aren’t. The name is a drafting choice; the content and the way users accept it decide whether it works.

Is there a legal difference?

No. Canadian law doesn’t define “terms of service”, “terms of use” or “terms and conditions”, and none of the labels changes how a court treats the document. The questions are ordinary contract questions: did the user have reasonable notice of the terms, did they agree, and is each clause enforceable. Ontario’s Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 lets acceptance be given by clicking an icon, and in Rudder v. Microsoft an Ontario court enforced online terms accepted by clicking “I agree”. See are clickwrap agreements enforceable in Canada.

How are the names usually used?

Name	Usually used for	Typical contents
Terms of use	A website people browse without an account	Permitted use of the site, content ownership, disclaimers, links, governing law
Terms of service	An app, platform or SaaS product with accounts	Accounts, acceptable use, user content, subscriptions, suspension, liability limits, AI features
Terms and conditions	Online sales, often e-commerce	Ordering, pricing, payment, shipping, returns and refunds, warranties, plus the general terms
Terms of sale	A shorter set focused only on purchases	Price, payment, delivery, returns
End user licence agreement (EULA)	Downloaded or installed software	The licence to use the software, restrictions, ownership
SaaS or master services agreement	Business customers buying on invoice	Negotiated fees, service levels, security, data, liability. See SaaS agreements
Acceptable use policy	A standalone list of prohibited conduct	Referred to by the main terms. See acceptable use policy

Which ones does my product need?

• A marketing website only: short terms of use, plus a privacy policy if you collect anything, including analytics.
• An app or self-serve SaaS: terms of service and a privacy policy. Add AI product terms if the product generates output or uses customer data with models.
• An online store: terms and conditions of sale, with a refund and shipping policy, and a privacy policy. Shopify’s own terms of service (s. 4) require merchants to post terms of service, a refund policy, shipping policies and public-facing contact information. See privacy policies for online stores.
• Business customers on invoice: a SaaS or master services agreement, often alongside public terms for self-serve users.
• A mobile app: Apple applies its standard EULA to your app unless you provide your own, so most companies point users to their own terms of service as well.

Can one document do everything?

Often, for an early product. Terms of service can include sales terms, an acceptable use section and AI terms in one document. Separate documents start to make sense when audiences differ: consumers and businesses, buyers and sellers on a marketplace, or free and enterprise plans. Consumer terms in Ontario have to meet the Consumer Protection Act’s rules, which don’t apply to business customers. See consumer protection rules for online terms in Ontario.

Does the name matter for SEO or users?

Users look in the footer for “Terms” and “Privacy”, so clear labels help. Use one name consistently in your footer, sign-up flow, checkout and emails, so nobody can argue they agreed to a different document.

What to do next

We draft terms of service for websites, apps and platforms, and SaaS agreements for business customers, at fixed fees on our fees page. See also do I need terms of service.

This guide is general information about Ontario and Canadian law, not legal advice for your situation. To work out which documents your product needs, book a free 15-minute consult.