Ah, vacation! Here to relax and have a break from it all.
Another guess, you’re a new settler who just moved into the country.
The first thing you want to do is call your loved ones and let them know that you arrived safely. You also want to call up your hosts for coordinates or look up the map for directions to your new apartment or hotel.
Before I offer some suggestions on the best cell phone plans in the country, I’d like to make one thing clear. At $55 per month, Canada has the most expensive cell phone bill in the whole world.
Just to caution you, you’ll be dealing with the world’s most overpriced cell phone plans you’ll ever come across.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, here’s a top 5 list of what I think are the best [read: cheapest] cell phone plans for a new settler in Canada:
No Contract, Prepaid, or BYOP Plans
With prepaid plans, you pay everything in advance. You pay for calls, texts, and the data you use first. This option also requires you to bring your own phone, or at least buy one first as the service provider will not be offering you one, except for a few that give you one for a small monthly fee.
1. Koodo 4GB With Unlimited Minutes
This ought to be the best cell phone plans in Canada at the time of writing this.
With this plan, Koodo gives you 4GB of data on top of their unlimited talk-time and texting – all at only $47 per month.
Why Is This A Good Plan?
You can get unlimited data for $75 per month – but the fact is, you don’t need it. According to a recent study finding, Canadians don’t use more than 2GB of cell phone data per month. The 4 GB should, therefore, be more than enough for you, considering your phone will be hooked to the Wi-Fi most of the time.
Shock-Free Data: You’ll be notified by text when your data is about to get depleted. They’ll also pause your data once you reach the cap to save you from overage charges.
The plan goes for $55, but if you sign up today, you’ll be eligible to an $8 credit with a promo code every month. So, you end up paying $47, and the rest returned to you.
Koodo Mobile $55 With 4 GB Of Data and Unlimited Minutes
Carrier: Koodo Mobile
Data: 4 GB
Type: No Contract
The Deal You Get: $8 credit on your monthly bill with promo code when you bring your own phone
Price: $47 per month
Website: https://www.koodomobile.com/rate-plans
Virgin Mobile 4GB with Unlimited talk-time
Another cell phone plan worth looking into is Virgin Mobile’s $55 BYOB plan.
This plan offers 4 GB of data with unlimited minutes for Canada-wide calls. That’s without mentioning, unlimited text both national wide and international.
Why Is This A Good Plan?
This plan has no long-distance charges. You can bring your own phone. Plus, the 4 GB of data should be more than enough to push you through the month.
You have unlimited texts to send to Canada and the US clubbed with BYOP plans. This is also inclusive of free international texts and incoming ones.
With Virgin, regardless of what plan you choose, you’re eligible for unlimited weekend and evening calls (from 5 pm to 7 am).
Getting a Virgin phone or SIM card automatically makes you their member, which qualifies you for their exclusive deals in Entertainment, Music, Fashion, Beauty, and so on.
Virgin mobile enjoys 97% coverage of the 4G network.
Virgin Mobile $55 With 4 GB Of Data and Unlimited Minutes
Carrier: Virgin Mobile
Data: 4 GB
Type: No Contract
The Deal You Get $8 credit for 12 months on your monthly bill. This offer is available to the new customers that select the new virgin mobile service under the BYOP post-paid plan.
Price: $47 per month
Website: https://www.virginmedia.com/mobile
2. Unlimited Nation-wide talk and Text with 500 MB of Data another 500 MB as Bonus
This plan comes with 30-days unlimited talk-time on the Canadian soil, coupled with unlimited international texts and 500 MB of Data running on 3G network coverage.
The plan goes for a measly $25. Users are also qualified for a bonus of 500 MB. All they have to do is activate AutoPay, and the data will be automatically loaded into their mobile phones.
open Sans’; font-size: 28px;”>Why Is This A Good Plan?
You’re allowed to customize your plan by adding more text, data, and talk to it. Even more impressive is that every unused minute, text, or data will be rolled over to the next month instead of being left to expire.
Talk Add-ons
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$15 for 400 minutes of international calls to 20 countries
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$8 for 200 minutes of calls to Canada and the USA
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$5 foe 500 minutes of Canada calls
Data Add-ons
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$30 for an extra 1GB of data
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$10 for an additional 200 MB of data
BYOP Plans
Public Mobile has no phones to sell. You have to bring your own phone and pick a plan.
They have no contract. Or we could say they’re a prepaid service, where you purchase the service credits that you’ll be using to pay for the plan and any of their add-ons.
To enjoy their service, you have to begin by setting up a Self-service account that you’ll be using to pay, view, and make all the necessary changes to your account.
3. Public Mobile Unlimited Nation Wide Talk and Text with 500 MB of Data + 500 MB as Bonus
Public Mobile is owned and operated by Telus, which is one of the big 3 telecom networks and companies in Canada. Its an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator). Simply put, Public mobile operates over the Telus network.
However, Public Mobile Plans are a lot cheaper than Telus.
Carrier: Public Mobile
Data: 500 MB, with 500 MB Bonus upon activating AutoPay – 3G Speed
Type: No Contract
The Deal You Get: This is a limited time offer. After you activate the plan or its $15 variation, you’ll be eligible for a $5 per month discount for the first 8 months of using your line. The discount expires after you change the plan or if your account becomes dormant.
Price: $25 per month
Website: https://www.virginmedia.com/mobile
Contract Plans
Looking to buy a new phone and a plan altogether? Well, we did some little digging to come up with the cheapest options you can find on this.
4. Rogers iPhone X Plan
Rogers has the best network coverage In Canada, whether you plan to live in the east or west coast of the country. Here’s one great deal that Rogers is offering right now.
This plan allows you to own an iPhone X, but you have to be prepared to part away with $120 or $135 every month for the next two years. During this time, you’ll also get to enjoy unlimited calls and texts Canada-wide and a series of other features as listed below.
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Unlimited Canada-wide calls for those who pay $120/month. To extend the offer and enjoy unlimited calls to the US, you have to pay an extra $15 per month ($135 per month).
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It’s a 2-year plan
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Phone price $0
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Storage 64 GB
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Data 1GB with 3GB bonus
5. Telus Samsung S9 Plan
Telus is one of the premium cell phone networks and is considered one of the three biggest cell phone network companies In Canada along with Rogers and Bell Canada.
In the plan I’m about to discuss here, Telus gives you the option to combine your purchase of call, text, data, and a Samsung S9. This plan goes for a cool $110 a month for a period spanning two years.
Again, to make unlimited calls to the US, you have to pay an extra $15.
Here are the cell phone plan details from Telus –
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$100 per month
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For two years
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4 GB of data
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Phone price $0
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Storage 64 GB
Conclusion
There you go, that was the list of the 5 best cell phone plans in Canada for newcomers or new to the city. Please note that there are a dozen more plans that you might like depending on the BYOP (Bring your own device plans) or want to get a new cell phone.
Please shop around for deals before you head to the store and actually make the purchase. I would always recommend you to ask for deals at the store if you get it great if not never mind.
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