Best cellphone plans in Canada (Updated: April 2020)
Bell, Rogers and Telus might be the biggest mobile service providers in the country but they are by no means the only ones. There are multiple other providers, including their own flanker brands as well as “a fourth carrier” and its flankers, which operate in some provinces. Thus, Canadians have to consider multiple options before deciding on the best cellphone plans in Canada for them. We at Planhub try to make this process easy for you by comparing all available options in the market at any given time and presenting a selection of the best deals currently in the market. Read on…
Finding the best Cellphone plans in Canada depends upon:
1. The province you live in –
The Competition Bureau recently found that cellphone plans by the Big 3 (Bell, Rogers and Telus) were up to 35-40% lower in provinces with a fourth major provider. Thus, for example if you live in Quebec, thanks to the presence of Videotron, you are likely to have better deals on cellphone plans than elsewhere in the country. Thus, be sure to set your province in our tool below when you look for the best deals on your province.
2. Your needs and usage –
This is the most important criteria! PlanHub’s own statistics from its users show that users tend to overestimate their needs by as much as 100%!! Needless to say, if you are paying for what you don’t need then you are not going to get the best deal possible for you. Same would be true if you underestimate your needs and pay overage charges each month.
It is easy to find out what your actual needs are: Most providers mention your actual usage on your monthly bill. But if that’s too much hassle to look up, your smartphone can help you estimate your monthly usage each month too. Here’s how to do it:
How to verify your data usage on iOS
Go in Settings > Cellular > Scroll down to Cellular Data to see how much data each app is using
How to verify your data usage on Android
Go to Settings > Wireless & Networks > Data Usage > Mobile Data Usage > Scroll down to see the list of apps and their data usage
Taking these into consideration, here are a selection of the best cellphone plans in Canada in April, 2020
Best cellphone plans in Quebec in 2020:
| Category | Name of Provider and Plan | Call and text allowance | Data allowance | Monthly price | Cost over 2 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultra-low usage | Public (3G speeds only) | Unlimited calls and text | 1 GB | $25 | $600 |
| Low usage | Fizz | Unlimited calls and Text | 2 GB | $32 | $730 |
| Medium Usage | Public (3G Speeds only) | Unlimited calls and text | 5 GB | $40 | $960 |
| High usage | Fizz | Unlimited calls and text | 10 GB | $55 | $1282 |
| High Usage (honorable mention) | Videotron | Unlimited calls and text | 10 GB + 100GB bonus each year | $60 | $1465 |
An additional thing to keep in mind while choosing your plan, especially when considering ultra-low usage or high usage plans, are the perks that different providers offer. For example, when choosing between Fizz and Videotron for the 10GB plan, you might want to consider the fact that Fizz offers data rollover for any unused data each month whereas Videotron offers 100 GB of additional data for free each year. Depending upon how you anticipate your usage, one or the other perk might make more sense, even beyond the monthly price.
Best cellphone plans in Canada in 2020:
| Category | Name of Provider and Plan | Call and text allowance | Data allowance | Monthly price | Cost over 2 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultra-low usage | Public (3G speeds only) | Unlimited calls and text | 1 GB | $25 | $600 |
| Ultra Low usage (additional mention) | Koodo (LTE speeds) | Unlimited calls and Text | 1 GB | $45 | $1080 |
| Medium Usage | Koodo | Unlimited calls and text | 5 GB | $50 | $1200 |
| High usage | Public (3G speeds only) | Unlimited calls and text | 8.5 GB | $50 | $1200 |
| High Usage (honorable mention) | Koodo | Unlimited calls and text | 10 GB | $75 | $1800 |
Of course, you simply might not be looking for a BYOD plan. You might be looking for deals on the latest phones, or a data-only plan etc. All those deals and more can be found using our widget here:
There is so much useless chatter. Just give me 3GB per month at below $30. Has to be LTE. No minutes or SMS silliness needed. Not a rider on a plan.