Internet plans for Alberta and British Columbia from $50/month
- Affordable fibre internet plans
- Varied speeds for varied households
- New customer incentives
Shaw is a fibre and cable internet service provider in Canada, with service to Alberta and British Columbia. Plans start at $50/month, with options as fast as 1.5Gbps.
The best Shaw internet plan is the Fibre+250, which offers 250Mbps speeds and unlimited data for $84/month. The plan is an excellent choice for households looking to balance performance and affordability.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about Shaw internet, its competitors, and how to ensure you’re getting the most of out your internet plan in our Shaw internet review.
Shaw internet pros and cons
Shaw offers a range of fibre and cable internet plans to residents of Alberta and British Columbia, with several speed options and great perks for new customers. With that being said, we do think there are some ways Shaw internet can be even better, namely eliminating added modem fees and increasing the available data for lower-priced plans.
What we love
- Affordable fibre internet plans
- Varied speeds for varied households
- New customer incentives
What could be improved
- Additional fee for Wi-Fi modem
- Limited data for budget options
90/100
Shaw internet plans
Shaw offers internet options for just about every kind of household, with both bare-bones and premium plans. We like the affordability of their premium fibre plans and that they offer enticing perks for new customers.
What we like about Shaw internet
Affordable fibre internet plans
Shaw offers customers fibre internet at low prices, with plans starting at $50/month. While other providers have cheaper options available, few of them offer fibre internet. Shaw’s plans, on the other hand, like the Fibre+10 and the Fibre+75, include some of the cheapest fibre options in Alberta and British Columbia.
Varied speeds for varied households
Choosing the right internet speed for your home depends on the unique needs of your home. Shaw offers a variety of different speeds and price points, ensuring there’s a Shaw internet plan perfect for your situation, whatever it may be. The Fibre+250 plan is great for a typical household of web browsers and streamers, with 250Mbps speeds and unlimited data for $84/month. Families with hardcore gamers or work-from-home professionals will want the Fibre+GIG or the Fibre+GIG 1.5, which will make latency issues a thing of the past.
Great perks for new customers
All new Shaw internet customers can earn $50 in bill credits when you activate a plan with the Cheque Free Payment Plan, Shaw’s autopayment program. In addition, every Shaw internet plan comes with a complimentary six-month subscription to Disney+. Activating the Fibre+GIG 1.5 will give you even more, offering 12 months of the streamer.
What we don't like about Shaw internet
Additional fee for Wi-Fi modem
We love that Shaw allows you to bring your own modem, which means you’re able to use the kind of hardware you prefer. But we know not every owns a modem and we don’t love that Shaw charges a $10/month rental fee for any customer who doesn’t BYO. Plenty of other internet providers offer free modems and we think Shaw should follow their lead: an additional $120 per year is a significant fee, especially for more budget-conscious Canadians.
Limited data for budget options
Unlimited data is a given with most internet plans, no matter the speed or price. That’s unfortunately not the case with Shaw, whose slower plans, like the Fibre+10 and the Fibre+75 offer 150GB and 500GB of data, respectively. If you’re looking for a cheaper plan, then unlimited data might not be your top priority, but we think a larger carrier like Shaw should offer their customers the feature with every plan.
What is a good Shaw internet speed?
"Good internet speed" depends on what you do with the internet. If you're looking for basic connectivity, including web browsing and music streaming, you should purchase a plan with at least 15Mbps speeds. If you're interested in streaming video from Netflix, YouTube, or Hulu, you should find a plan with at least 50Mbps. If you're a hardcore gamer, a work-from-home professional, or live in a crowded household, you should look for a plan with at least 150Mbps to ensure you won't be dealing with dropped connections or latency issues.
Shaw internet vs. competitors
We like Shaw’s plans and price points, but they’re not the only option for high-speed internet in Alberta and British Columbia. Let’s take a look at Shaw’s competition to see how they stack up.
| Shaw | Telus | TekSavvy | VMedia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fibre-optic options | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Max download speed | 1.5Gbps | 3Gbps | 3Gbps | 1024Mbps |
| Availability | Alberta and British Columbia | Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec | Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario | Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan |
| From $50/month | From $70/month | From $14.95/month | From $29.95/month |
Shaw internet vs. Telus
Telus is one of the most well-regarded telecom companies in Canada, with nationwide wireless and fibre internet for Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec. In our Telus internet review, we were impressed with the provider’s affordable plans and its options for bundling internet with Optik TV.
Telus’ more basic options are more expensive than Shaw’s, with not much more to show: the Smart Hub 25 plan offers 25Mbps speeds and 100GB of data for $70/month, plus fees for activation and modem rental. Telus’ premium options, though, are significantly better, offering fibre internet, faster speeds, and cheaper payments. The PureFibre X Internet 3G plan is twice as fast as Shaw’s Fibre+GIG 1.5, yet costs $15 less per month.
If you’re looking for just the basics or a widely-available cable plan, Shaw is the answer. If you’re shopping for speed or fibre, then the obvious choice is Telus.
- Affordable fibre internet plans
- Varied speeds for varied households
- Great perks for new customers
- Additional fee for Wi-Fi modem
- Limited data for budget options
- Affordable fibre internet at various speeds
- Fixed wireless internet for rural areas
- Bundles for internet, TV, and home phone
- Expensive basic plans
Shaw internet vs. TekSavvy
TekSavvy provides cable and DSL internet plans to Alberta and British Columbia, along with offering fibre plans to Ontario. TekSavvy’s basic plans offer great value, especially the Cable 30 Unlimited, which provides 30MBps speeds and unlimited data for $27.95/month, and the Cable 60 Unlimited, which offers 60MBps speeds and unlimited data for $37.95/month.
If you’re looking for something faster, TekSavvy’s fastest plan for Alberta and British Columbia is the Cable 1000 Unlimited, which offers 1000Mbps speeds and unlimited data for $94.95/month, beating out Shaw’s Fibre+GIG by a few bucks every month. (That’s nothing to sneeze at: over the course of a year, it’s $60 in savings!) Unfortunately, that’s the fastest plan the provider offers, meaning their speeds are woefully short of Shaw’s Fibre+GIG 1.5.
TekSavvy has the cheaper plans, but Shaw offers more in terms of performance. If you’re choosing between the two, it’s a toss-up.
- Affordable fibre internet plans
- Varied speeds for varied households
- Great perks for new customers
- Additional fee for Wi-Fi modem
- Limited data for budget options
- Fast cable internet plans
- BYO Modem
- Fibre plans limited to Ontario
- Activation fee
Shaw internet vs. VMedia
VMedia provides internet service to 10 provinces, though their plans for Alberta and British Columbia are limited to cable and DSL internet. VMedia offers cheap basic plans, like the Internet 25 and the Internet 50, but their best options are faster. We especially like the Internet 250 plan, which offers 250Mbps speeds and unlimited data for $69.95/month, and the Internet 750, which offers 750Mbps speeds and unlimited data for $84.95/month.
Compared with Shaw, VMedia’s mid-range plans offer more speed for less money. We also like that customers can bring their own modem or buy one outright from VMedia, allowing them to hang on to the device even if they decide to cancel their plan. The clear choice here is VMedia.
- Affordable fibre internet plans
- Varied speeds for varied households
- Great perks for new customers
- Additional fee for Wi-Fi modem
- Limited data for budget options
- High-speed cable internet plans
- Affordable monthly payments
- BYO Modem
- Activation fee
- No fibre options
Recap: Is Shaw internet right for you?
Shaw is a strong choice for fibre internet plans in Alberta and British Columbia, with options for every kind of household. We like their plans’ combination of performance and affordability, as well as their incentives for new customers, and think their internet service is right for families in Alberta and British Columbia.
There are strong alternatives to Shaw, especially if you’re looking for the lowest price possible. Before activating a new plan, we recommend browsing the best internet plans in Canada and using our internet plan search engine to compare plans available in your area.
Methodology
We used data from proprietary research and user feedback to evaluate Shaw internet according to price, plan features, perks, coverage, and speeds. We compared Shaw to the other internet providers in Canada, focusing in particular on those available in Alberta and British Columbia.
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