Cheap Cell Phone Plans: Chatr, Lucky Mobile, Koodo Mobile, and more!

We compared all the cheap cell phone plans on the market and narrowed down our list to the best plans at the lowest cost. Our favorite cheap plans this month include Fido’s Basic Plan, which offers 100 Canada-wide minutes, unlimited text, and 250MB of data at 3G speeds for $15/month.

We also like Koodo Mobile’s BYO Plan and Lucky Mobile’s Unlimited Canada-wide Calling Plan, both of which are just $15/month.

While some of these plans allow you to pair a new phone, we don't recommend it if you can help it. If you bring your own phone, you can save more outright.

Read on to learn all about the best cheap cell phone plans in Canada available now.

Best Cheap
Cell Phone Plan

Fido | Basic Plan | $15/month

• Pros: Cheapest plan on the market, bring your own phone
• Cons: Limited data, 3G speeds

Fido is a flanker brand offering affordable plans on the reliable nationwide Rogers network. The carrier's $15 Basic Plan is not only the cheapest cell phone plan in Canada: it's also a great low-data plan in its own right. For $15/month, you pick up unlimited texting and 100 Canada-wide minutes along with 250MB of data.

Even though the data is on Rogers' 4G LTE network, Fido throttles the speed so it feels more like a 3G plan. That's bad news if you're interested in streaming on-the-go, but not a problem if you're looking to activate a phone for basic connectivity.

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Chatr Mobile | Nationwide Talk, Text & 3G Data | $25/month

• Pros: No overages, cheap smartphone options
• Cons: Throttled data is rather slow, limited phone options

Affordable plans are notoriously hard to find in Canada, but they do exist. If you're looking for a cheap plan to accompany a new phone deal, this offer from Chatr is perfect for you. The plan gives you 500MB of data at 3G speeds. When customers go over their data limit, they can make use of reduced speeds that are lower than Lucky Mobile’s at 64Kbps for no overage fees.

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Best Cheap Unlimited
Plan

Lucky Mobile | Unlimited Canada-wide Calling Plan | $25/month

• Pros: Unlimited data
• Cons: Throttled speeds after 1GB

Lucky Mobile’s $25/month prepaid plan (plus $5 upfront) rivals other major competitors because it doesn’t include any overages. Customers get unlimited nationwide long-distance calling and texting as well.

The plan comes with 1.5GB of 3G data. If you go over that cap, there won't be any overage charges: you'll have unlimited data, though it will be throttled significantly, but you’ll be able to keep scrolling Facebook or reading through a recipe on Pinterest at throttled speeds of 128Kbps once you go over that 1GB cap. 

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Best Cheap
data-only Plan

SaskTel | totalSHARE Data-Only Plan | $10/month

• Pros: Unlimited data after the 1GB cap for $10/month
• Cons: You have to live in Saskatchewan and be a SaskTel customer to get this deal

If you live in Saskatchewan, the cheapest data-only mobile plan, called totalSHARE Data Only, offers customers 1GB of shareable data at $45 upfront for activation and $10/month after that. However, you must already have a SaskTel plan (totalSHARE Nationwide, totalSHARE Canada and U.S., or VIP 35), and the new data-only plan has to be added to an existing shared data group. And since this plan is only available to customers in the Saskatchewan region too, access to it is limited.

You get unlimited data after the 1GB of shareable data at reduced speeds. However, this deal is only available when you bring your own device, and it doesn’t include calling or texting either.

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Best Cheap
Talk-and-Text Plan

Koodo Mobile | Prepaid Base Plan | $15/month

• Pros: Calling, texting, and data; extra add-ons
• Cons: Low data caps

Koodo Mobile offers a no-frills plan to keep you connected with 250MB of data at 3G speeds, and it comes with 100 Canada-wide minutes for calls and unlimited messaging. However, you must bring your phone to take advantage of this plan.

However, 100 minutes might not be enough for calls if you have family in other parts of the world. Add a $30 long-distance talk booster to your plan and get 300 extra minutes. You can add data boosters too, and we recommend the 1GB of data for $30, which never expires.

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Methodology: How WhistleOut rates cell phone plans

WhistleOut evaluates phone plans based on the following criteria:

• Price & value: Not all cheap plans are “bad,” and not all expensive plans are worth it. We look at everything a plan includes and compare it to other plans from the same carrier, as well as similar plans from competitors in the market, to determine whether the value is consistent with the price.
• High-speed data: Also called “premium” data, this is how much data you get at full 4G/5G speeds before they can or will slow down. The more guaranteed high-speed data the plan includes, the better experience you’ll generally have—but there’s also usually a limit to how much you actually need, and we ensure that you’re not overpaying for data that will go unused.
• Coverage & network reliability: The breadth of each carrier’s 4G LTE and 5G networks determines your reception and service. Particularly in the case of 5G, some carriers offer far more robust coverage than others, which affects how their phone plans perform in different parts of the country.
• Plan extras and perks: In addition to the basics—talk, text, and data—some plans throw in freebies like hotspot allowances, cloud storage, entertainment subscriptions, or service discounts.

Our mobile experts leveraged proprietary data and real-world customer feedback to evaluate the cell phone plans from 23 carriers. We compared the carriers' plans by analyzing their coverage, cost, and plan options. We considered plan-specific elements, including perks, premium data allowances, and mobile hotspot allocations. After performing hands-on testing and extensive research, including customer feedback, we picked the plans we feel meet the needs of most people. 

Visit our guide to choosing a phone plan to evaluate a cell phone carrier or plan and find the one that best meets your specific needs.