Phone Providers in Canada: How to Choose The Best Phone Plan

The days start getting longer, the sun feels warmer, and you’re feeling confident the cold season is behind you, then — BAM! — an unexpected snowstorm hits. When you’re researching Canadian phone companies, you might feel like you’ve found the best offer, then — CLICK! — you’ve discovered yet another phone provider!?

Hold up — don’t stress! We’ve put together this guide to empower you to find the best phone plan and phone provider for your needs — updated for 2024.

Key Takeaway

• There is no single Canadian phone provider, or phone plan, that is the best for everyone. You have to do some research to figure out the options and figure out which phone plan fits your needs as a new arrival in Canada.

Learn About The Different Types of Cell Phone Plans in Canada

If you’re completely new to the market in Canada, there are a few things you need to know before comparing cell phone (mobile phones) companies. 

Do you know the difference between a Bring Your Own device (BYO) plan vs. purchasing through your provider? 

What about the benefits of a prepaid phone plan vs. a monthly contract? 

If not, check out these articles before reading any further:

• Getting a Canadian phone: A newcomer’s guide to understanding Canadian cell phones
• Prepaid or Contract: What is the best type of phone plan for newcomers to Canada?

Who are the major cell phone companies in Canada, and who’s the best?

Canada is known for having very expensive phone plans, especially when it comes to data. One of the reasons Canadian phone service plans are so expensive is that there is not much competition between cell phone companies on the market.

The Three Major Cell Phone Providers In Canada

In Canada, there are only three big players on the market: Rogers Wireless, Telus Mobility, and Bell Mobility. These companies are known as the Big Three in Canadian telecom services.

But, if you’ve done your research, you’re thinking, “Wait a minute! I’ve definitely heard of other mobile service provider. What about Fido, Virgin mobile, Koodo, Public Mobile, Xfinity Mobile, Mint Mobile?”

Well, as it turns out, most of the smaller, younger cell phone companies are actually owned by the Big Three. They are what are referred to as “flanker brands,” usually branded and marketed to appeal to a younger demographic than their parent brands.

Canadian cell phone plans are expensive because these three phone carriers own the market, more or less, and while they do provide competition to one another, it is not at the level needed to drive the prices down to those seen in other countries. Canada also has strict laws preventing foreign companies from entering the market, further entrenching the hold of the Big Three over mobile prices.

The easiest way to understand Canada’s phone provider options is to understand them in three groupings:

Differences In Coverage

Generally, the phone carriers in each of these groupings provides almost identical services for almost identical prices. If one provider in one grouping changes their options, there’s a good chance that the other two will follow suit.

Each grouping is aimed at a different type of customer. We’ve taken the time to compare each grouping based on the factors that are important to you: coverage area, BYO options, phone purchasing options, family options, prepaid vs. postpaid options, and affordability of data.

• A note on network coverage area: As Canada’s three telecom giants, Rogers, Telus, and Bell operate on the most wide-reaching networks the country has to offer. If you live in an urban area in Canada, you’ll be within the coverage area for these companies. This also includes the flanker brands. Since the coverage area is so similar among all nine of these companies, we won’t include that in our comparison. That said, Canada is a massive country and so if you’ll be living in a rural area or smaller town, away from a city, you’ll want to check the networks before buying a phone plan. Telus and Bell actually share the same mobile network and, as such, are able to provide coverage to more rural areas than Rogers. But, again, if you’ll be living in a rural area, ask about coverage before you buy.

In a select few Canadian provinces, other provincial telecom and phone carriers are on the market, providing residents with extra options. Be sure to check out the province-specific options if your plans involve Saskatchewan, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, or British Columbia.

Now, are you ready to learn the details of the Big Three and their flankers?

The “Big Three”: Rogers, Telus, and Bell

In addition to being the companies that own the flanker brands, Rogers, Telus, and Bell also offer their own distinct telecom services. In each province, the Big Three offer a different range of telecom services, including phone services, internet, and television. The flanker brands are phone carriers exclusively and do not offer home internet or cable services. In this article, we are only focusing on mobile phone services.

Remember these three companies offer nearly identical services for nearly identical prices.

Winning Points

Big (and unlimited) data: The Big Three phone providers are the only ones to offer mobile plans with unlimited data in Canada. These plans give customers a limit of high speed data per month: usually somewhere between 20GB and 100GB, and once that limit has been reached, the customer can still use data, but the speed is throttled to a much slower rate.

These plans are on the pricier end. All three companies are offering promotions on large data bundles for BYO device, plus an additional cost distributed monthly if you choose to purchase a phone (please note that exact pricing may vary from province to province). For plans with higher amounts of unlimited data, you can expect to pay more. If you’ll be blasting through 30+GB of data per month, these plans might make sense — otherwise, the flanker brands might offer better deals for your needs.

Family options: All Big Three companies offer options for purchasing multiple phone lines and sharing data across multiple lines, so if you’re buying phone plans for your whole family, you’ll want to consider these companies. The discounts vary from company to company, but the flanker brands don’t offer many family plan options.

In Canada, these family plans often use “shared data,” which isn’t an option in all countries. Data-sharing allows multiple phone lines to be connected to the same shared pool of available monthly data.

Bundled Savings: If you want to add cable, home security, or home internet, you may receive better pricing for bundling your services.

However, even if you are purchasing phone plans for yourself and your family, you may be able to find cheaper options for talking, texting, and data. But, if you’re a family with big data needs, there’s a good chance that these are the phone carriers to shop with.

Losing Points

Bringing Your Own device: All three of these companies offer BYO options. But, unless you’re looking for an unlimited data plan, the best BYO options lie with the flanker brands.

Prepaid plans: Rogers, Telus, and Bell each offer prepaid plans, but the best prepaid plans are with the 2nd Level Flanker Brands. With the Big Three, you’ll pay more and get less if you decide to go the prepaid route.

1st Level Flanker Brands: Koodo, Virgin Mobile, and Fido

The 1st Level flanker brands are Koodo, Virgin Mobile, and Fido. A quick glance at the websites of each of these companies will show you a young, sleek design: marketing designed to appeal to younger buyers in the market (maybe that’s you!).

These three companies are owned by the Big Three:

• Koodo is owned by Telus
• Virgin is owned by Bell
• Fido is owned by Rogers Communications.

Again, the services provided by each of these phone carriers are very similar and are priced at nearly identical levels. Let’s look at how the 1st level flankers compare to the Big Three and the 2nd level flankers:

Winning Points

Mid-size Data: All three of these phone providers offer competitive plans when it comes to mid-size amounts of monthly data. From 2GB-20GB, it’s worth checking out the offers available in your province. s of July 2024, our research showed mid-size data plans available at as little as $40/month and 15GB for as little as $65/month — but pricing may change with time and could differ from province to province. As the Big Three don’t cater to these mid-size amounts of data, the flankers are the place to look.

Customer Service & Rewards: Koodo, Virgin, and Fido are known for their high levels of customer service, allowing you to communicate with a representative in-person, by phone, email, and livechat. In addition, they offer perks and rewards to their customers. Offers on exclusive plans, device upgrades, bonus data, and deals with other businesses in Canada are common examples of their perks, but you’ll have to check with each provider to see what options they have running now.

Neutral points

Purchasing a phone through your phone carrier provider? We used to rank these 1st level flankers as the best option if you wanted to purchase a phone through your phone provider. But, if you want to purchase a new phone through your provider, you’ll pay for that phone with a monthly fee through a financing plan. The financing plans are similarly priced across the brands who offer them (notably, you can’t purchase a new phone through the 2nd level brands).

Losing Points

No Unlimited Data: None of the 1st level flanker brands offer unlimited data plans. If you’re an internet addict with a need for infinite data, your only options are to head to the top and sign up with Rogers, Bell, or Telus, or spend your life jumping from place to place looking for decent WiFi.

No Family Plans: Koodo, Virgin, and Fido are branded for younger, more independent customers, not so much for families. As such, none of these providers offer dedicated options for families. That said, depending on your needs, it may be more affordable to purchase your family individual lines through one of the 1st level flankers, as the majority of family plans offered by Rogers, Bell, and Telus, are expensive plans with lots of features, and maybe everyone in your family doesn’t need a plan that large.

BYO device & Prepaid Plans with 8GB of data or less per month: These phone providers offer BYO options and prepaid plans. However, the BYO and prepaid options for plans with 8GB or fewer of data per month offered by the 2nd level flankers are a little bit cheaper. That said, if you’re a fan of extra perks or you want to be sure about your customer service experience, Fido, Virgin, and Koodo are worth considering.

2nd Level Flanker Brands: Public Mobile, Lucky Mobile, and Chatr Mobile

The last grouping, and the youngest to hit the market, are the 2nd level flanker brands.

Again, each of these brands is owned by one of the Big Three:

• Public Mobile is owned by Telus
• Lucky Mobile is owned by Bell
• Chatr Mobile is owned by Rogers.

As with the other two groupings, services provided by the 2nd level flanker brands are nearly identical and are priced at similar levels. Here’s how the 2nd level flanker brands compare to the others:

Winning Points

Cheapest Bring Your Own (BYO) device options : If you are considering a BYO device option for your phone plan, you should strongly consider these three phone providers. Public, Lucky, and Chatr provide the most affordable BYO options on the market. You can expect to pay around: 

• $29/month for 30GB data, plus unlimited texting/national calling
• $34/month for 50GB data, plus unlimited texting/national calling
• $50/month for 100GB data, plus data, plus unlimited texting/Canada and US calling.

(exact prices may vary based on province or promos available).

Cheapest prepaid phone plan options: Public, Lucky, and Chatr offer the cheapest options for prepaid phone plans (in fact, they only offer prepaid phone plans!). If you’re looking into prepaid options, either because you prefer the control or because you aren’t prepared for a credit check, you’ll find the most affordable options with Public, Lucky, and Chatr.

Losing Points

Limited options for purchasing a new phone: When we say limited, we mean it. If you want to purchase a phone through any of these phone providers, we’re talking about the most basic models on the market. You have to pay the full price upfront, and don’t expect any fancy features or new technology.

Really, if you want to purchase a new phone, either do it directly from the manufacturer and then bring it to one of these companies, or do it through one of the 1st level flanker brands, and pay it off through a long-term contract.

No unlimited data: If you want a plan without a cap on data, your only options are the Big Three.

No family plans: These phone providers offer the bare bones only. There are no options for family plans, but if you plan right, you can purchase separate plans for each of your family members and still keep it in the affordable range.

Limited customer support: These companies skimp on customer service to bring you these low prices. This can pose challenges if there are issues with your bill or service. 

No contract phone plans: Some people prefer the monthly contract for their phone plan. There’s no need to worry about topping up your plan if you hit your limit (though watch out for those overage charges!), plus with postpaid plans you often get access to bonus perks and rewards. If that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll have to look elsewhere. 

Provincial considerations

If you live in one of these provinces, you should check out the province-specific competitor who’s on the market.

Saskatchewan: Home of the SaskTel network. SaskTel is government-owned and helps keep the market more competitive with some of the best prices in the country.

Quebec: Home of Videotron, a privately owned telecoms carrier. Though Videotron has limited wireless coverage, mostly in southern Quebec and neighbouring provinces, it does provide some additional options worth pursuing if you’re in the French-speaking province.

Ontario, Alberta, & British Columbia (cities only): Freedom Mobile offers cell phone plans with coverage mostly limited to major cities. West of Ontario, Freedom only has coverage in Edmonton, Calgary, and the Greater Vancouver Area. Freedom Mobile has competitive rates, for those who spend most of their lives in the major cities covered. Freedom also has exclusive deals with public transportation companies in Toronto and Vancouver, allowing users to access data while underground on the subway.

What is the best cell phone provider in Canada?

As we have shown above, which company is the best cell phone provider in Canada depends on your specific needs and location in Canada. Here are some questions you should ask your phone provider before settling:

Questions to ask your potential phone provider in Canada

It is crucial you ask lots of questions when you’re buying a cell phone plan in Canada.

• Where can I call as part of my mobile phone plan? Will I incur extra charges if I make long distance calls outside of my local area, or use my phone in another city? What about if I call the United States or my home country?
• How much will it cost if I exceed my data for a month? Will I be notified by text before I exceed my data limit?
• Will my phone be on the 5G network?
• If living in a rural area: Is my area covered by your network coverage?
• Do I have a contract? What will it cost to exit my contract? (Please note that phone carriers cannot charge to terminate a contract, but if you received a discount on your phone when you signed up for your mobile phone plan, you may have to pay back the remainder.)
• Is caller ID and voicemail included?
• Are there roaming fees as a part of my plan?
• Do they offer unlimited calling both Canada wide calling and international callings, unlimited text and unlimited data plans?
• What happens in the event of damage? Who pays? And what damage is covered under the contract?

With this information you’re ready to pick out your new phone provider and get yourself plugged into to life in Canada!

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