OrangeMango

Upon arrival in Canada I am keen on getting a Canadian phone number / SIM card. Ideally this should be a pre-paid card, not a contract.

What I am interested in, is just the sim card, not the phone. I'd be a "bring your own device" customer.

Is there a good comparison site in Canada for that?

What I came up with is this one:

https://www.whistleout.ca/CellPhones...al&tab=prepaid

CanadaJimmy

I don't know any comparison sites, but I think it's because so few people go for "pay as you go" SIM cards here. Most carriers have credit that expires very quickly (usually within a month) which is a big part of the reason why.

The exception is 7/11's SIM cards, credit on them lasts a whole year. So this might work for you. https://www.speakout7eleven.ca/

Siouxie

Many of the prepaid $100 payments will last 12 months before expiring - with any remaining value 're done' if you put another $10 to $100 on it... look for annual plans / pay by the year.. such as this https://www.freedommobile.ca/en-CA/prepaid-plans

There are a few comparison sites

https://www.cellphones.ca/cell-plans/prepaid/
https://www.offerhub.ca/cell-phone/b...ans-in-canada/
https://www.comparecellular.ca/compa...and-sim-cards/
https://www.ratehub.planhub.ca/?utm_source=ratehub#/
https://mobility.costco.ca/en/rate-p...ompare/?pid=21


If you want a more in depth look a the deals on the company websites https://www.google.ca/search?q=prepaid+plans+canada

OrangeMango

It's say then a contract with bring you own device might be the better option. The I get a sim card and the number.

CanadaJimmy

Well even with a non-contract SIM you can transfer the number to a contract with another carrier at a later time if you want. This is standard industry practice mandated by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association https://www.cwta.ca/for-consumers/wi...r-portability/

Really depends how much you plan to use the phone whether you should go contract or not.

jackinthetree

If you have a debit or credit card you can sign up with something like Public Mobile or Lucky. They are PAYG.

If you want pre-paid, 7 eleven sometimes have a sale where you get the year one for a lot less.

OrangeMango

Thanks for all the information.

Atlantic Xpat

Public Mobile is good - prepaid but can be set up to autornew monthly. Data is limited to 3G speeds though so that's something to be cognisant of. I use it for my eldest daughters cell & its fine for that. If she wants to watch videos then she can wait until shes connected to Wifi!

btar

I second Atlantic XPat's comment regarding Public Mobile. I signed up about a month ago, no trouble, SIM arrived about a week later (so you need an address) and $15 bought me 100 minutes talk time (Canada wide) plus unlimited international texts and pictures in or out. Once activated, I signed up for auto-renew which gave me a discount of $2 per month. They are part of the Telus network and claim to have the best coverage.
$15 for 100 minutes & unlimited International Text (publicmobile.ca)

TheAwesomeMatt

Yea, I've used Public for years, I'm on the unlimited minutes/texts and 5gb data for $40. It's an alright deal considering Canadian phone plans.

Allie73

I've used Koodo prepay for years. You can buy a SIM card on Amazon, or in one of their mall kiosks. $15/month for unlimited texts and then you buy boosters for data and minutes.If you're making or receiving international calls, you'll need a seperate booster. The boosters don't expire. No issues with service.