The 8 Best Cell Phone Plans in Canada, 2022
As a new immigrant to Canada, setting up your cell phone and internet plan can be a real challenge when you have no guidance at all. Luckily, Study Work Visa is here to give you a quick look at some of the best cellular plans in Canada in 2022. It doesn’t matter if you’ve lived in Canada, are a landed immigrant, student or regular visitor to Canada.
The cheapest cell phone plans in Canada don’t claim to be quite as robust as their US counterparts. Not all of them can boast of reaching penthouses and remote areas, but Canada certainly has great and affordable cell phone plans and internet access.
Whatever it is, it doesn’t eliminate the need for data services even when people are in such areas. Communication and Internet access are basic social needs in Canada, no matter your city or province. No matter where you are, you still need a fast, affordable internet plan.
One thing Canadian residents are noticing is that Canada offers a wide range of cell phone plans that are cut-your-cloth. What is best for one person is not always what is best for another – but there is a middle ground.
The cellular carriers in Canada are telecommunications companies that each offer services that make them unique and would make you choose one of the others based on your needs. If you are looking for phone plans for the start of 2022, we come to the review and possible recommendation.
Cellular Providers in Canada
There are three major cell phone services in Canada; also known as “The Big Three”;
- Rogers
- Telus
- Bell
Most other companies fall under each of these 3 companies. The big three either own it or have strong stakes in it. They are;
- Public Cell Phone
- Chatr mobile
- Happy cell phone
- Fido
- Simply connect
- Freedom Mobile
- Virgin Mobile
- Koodo
As mentioned, each of these wireless carriers has a feature that sets them apart. Some of them are student phone plans, some are best as family phone plans, some are still best because they offer cheap phone plans. For home use, the best family plan in Canada would be the one that offers family units discounts and offers on calling, messaging/SMS and internet data packages.
Additionally, due to Canada’s vast geographic size, not all of these cell phone companies offer the best services at every point. There’s no harm in subscribing to an unlimited data plan in Canada, no matter where you live – or whether you’re using an iPhone, Android or tablet.
For example, the best cellular service in Toronto, Ontario may not be the best in the Sierra Nevada or British Columbia. Some of our readers asked about the best cell phone plans in Nova Scotia earlier this year there are many options to choose from!
The key puzzle here is figuring out what exactly you need in a cell phone plan and adopting it. Well enough, WhistleOut has broken down these various benefits into 8 mobile plans, and we want to help you understand what makes them the best in each case.
The 8 Best Cell Phone Plans in Canada
- Best smartphone plan in Canada
- Best Unlimited Data Plan in Canada
- Cheapest prepaid cell phone plan in Canada
- Best $0 iPhone Deal in Canada
- Best $0 Android Deal in Canada
- Cheapest calling and texting mobile plan in Canada
- Best data-only cellular plan in Canada
- Best Family Plan in Canada
#1. Best Smartphone Plan in Canada: Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile doesn’t claim to be as cheap as the other options available. However, there is no doubt about the quality of their services.
The Virgin cell phone provider offers some of the best cell phone plan coverage in Canada. At least what you can be sure of with Virgin is that you get great value for your money.
Recently, the Canadian government ordered a 25% reduction in the cost of cell phone plans. In response, Virgin created a budget of $41.25 for 4GB.
In addition to this unlimited 4G LTE data, customers in Ontario and Quebec have the option to combine this offer with their Virgin home internet plans.
Virgin budget plan subscription gives you an automatic $20 discount off private plans for a 12 month period.
Virgin Mobile offers you high quality Internet access in many different geographical locations in Canada. It’s especially good for those who use the internet a lot and don’t have access to Wi-Fi.
#2. Best Unlimited Data Plan in Canada: Telus
I think everyone can agree that Telus Mobility offers the best unlimited cell phone plans in Canada.
Other providers like Rogers and Bell also offer amazing plans, but when it comes to unlimited data, Telus is the undisputed champion. Pay as you go Telus plans are suitable for low volume callers who have low service needs.
Unlimited data can go either way to help you or hurt you. The big advantage here is that you don’t get a monthly cap and have to pay additional fees if you exceed it.
However, if you use an unlimited plan, you will get limited bandwidth for internet access. Therefore, to get the best results with unlimited data, premium plans are always best.
For $80/month, the Telus 20 plan gives you access to 20GB of full-speed internet per month; more than enough for the average internet user in Canada.
With Telus you can use an existing device without new contracts or get a new device from the huge range of Telus Mobility.
#3. Lowest prepaid mobile phone tariffs: Public Mobile
Prepaid cellular plans (also known as pay-as-you-go) are an inexpensive way to take control of your cellular data. That way, you don’t have to worry about getting shocking bills every month due to excessive data usage or exceeding your limit.
With pay-as-you-go, you pay for your data in advance and lose access to the internet once your subscribed data plan is used up. This is a good choice for most Canadians and Canadian residents.
Public cell phones offer the best low-budget deals in this case, but that doesn’t mean they lack service or coverage.
Under the Telus Mobile company, they have coverage for almost 4 out of 5 Canadian phone owners.
The most popular prepaid cellular plan is the 1GB + Canadian Talk + Text. This plan costs only $23/month.
Inexpensive prepaid mobile phone tariffs are not the only way to save money every month with Public Mobile. They offer several bonuses, including a $2 credit per statement if you set up auto-payment, $1 after a year, $10 for referring a friend, and up to $20 for community forum contributions.
#4. Best iPhone Deals for $0 in Canada: Koodo
Another Telus subsidiary, Koodo, has some very delicious plans for $0 iPhone deals. Their probably best deal right now is the iPhone 12 mini at $26/mo for 24 months.
Even with new phones on the market, it’s actually more cost-effective for you to get deals like this.
Koodo also offers a few other benefits. One can easily get data or unlimited minutes for domestic and international calls here for as little as $5 extra on select plans. That makes koodo one of the best Canada phone plans for new immigrants as well.
As a new immigrant looking to get an iPhone in Canada while paying in installments, this might be your best bet.
#5. Best $0 Android Deals in Canada: SimplyConnect
EasyConnect, a subsidiary of the Rogers network, offers cheap Samsung Galaxy A51 deals at a monthly installment of $45/month. They enhance this offer by offering a $150 credit when you sign up with them as a new customer.
#6. Cheap calling and texting plans in Canada: Chatr Mobile
Chatr Mobile has a $15/month for 100 minutes of talk time or $25/month for unlimited talk time. These are some of the best deals in the business, especially since there are unlimited minutes on the Roger network.
#7. The best data-only cellular plans in Canada: Freedom Mobile
Freedom Mobile offers a plan that gives users 17GB of full-speed data for just $50.
Nowadays, we don’t need airtime or text messages to keep in touch with our friends and family. We already have VoIP and chat applications like Facebook, Facetime, WhatsApp and the like.
This plan allows you to stay in your comfort zone (when you don’t want to call) and still keep in touch with your people while saving on costs.
The big idea here is to use your cell phone’s hotspot as a portable access point to connect to the internet through any of your devices.
Here you will also get unlimited texting while having a pay-per-use talktime of $0.05/minute. However, the downside here is that Freedom Mobile is only available in urban areas like South Ontario, British Columbia, Albert, etc.
For residents who live elsewhere, the $15 a month on Lucky-Mobile might be the next best thing.
#8th. The Best Family Sharing Cell Phone Plans in Canada: SimplyConnect
Probably the most practical way to save on cellular plans in Canada (or anywhere else) is to use bundled plans. SimplyConnect currently offers the best mobile family sharing service in Canada.
For just $59/month, two phone lines could share unlimited talk time and texts with a whopping 3GB of data. There are a few other plans on this network for both budget and heavy data users. You can count on their service and offer the best deals on family plans.
Read Also: Proof of Funding: Minimum Amount to Study in Canada, 2022-23
Read Also:Immigrate to Canada as a security officer
Conclusion
In summary, Canada has some of the most expensive data rates and costs are expected to increase somewhat in 2022-23. So even with their student-friendly cell phone plans and their new immigrant plans, you still need to figure out exactly what you need and how much data you’ll use before you can determine which plan is best for you.
Finding your average consumption will help you choose your plan. And as expected, the preferred Canadian cellular carrier is related to the plan you are interested in.
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It’s not uncommon for Canadians to compare one cell phone plan to another. However, what we recommend is to make sure you choose an affordable plan that suits your needs and budget.
