The Best, Cheapest Canadian Cellphone Plans Compared [PIC]

Global News has taken the time to determine what they believe is the best, cheapest Canadian cellphone plan right now. They created a script which was read verbatim to all cell carriers in Canada and asked how much it would cost for a plan based on the following usage of 450 minutes per month, moderate data and some long distance minutes:

We used a price comparison study conducted for the CRTC in 2012 by Wall Communications Inc. to find the average use of phone minutes and texts per month, and created a script which was read verbatim to each of the nine companies listed above. When asked (only by Telus and Mobilicity) the user location was Toronto, Ont.:

“I’m looking for a new cellphone plan. I checked my last few bills, and I use about 450 minutes a month. I send about 200 texts a month, and I’d need enough data to check my email and Facebook throughout the day. I have some friends in the U.S. so I make long-distance calls a couple times a month, as well. And I’d need to buy a new phone. So what’s the best, cheapest plan you can offer?”

The infographic below summarizes the prices from each carrier in Canada, with plans from the ‘Big 3’ based on a subsidy with an iPhone 5 or Galaxy S4:

Cellphone infographic 2

If you are a light to average iPhone 5 user, a decent plan would be Fido or Virgin’s $39/month plan with 600MB of data, 6PM evenings/weekends and 450 Canada-wide minutes. These plans are only available on two year terms, which means the only way you can use it with an iPhone is if you have your own purchased outright.

Currently, we are on the $56/month Fido plan with 2GB of data. We signed a two year term, got a $0 Android phone which we sold for $250 on Craigslist. When we signed up for the plan Future Shop ended up giving us $150 in gift cards as part of a weekend promo. So that’s our own $400 subsidy towards an unlocked iPhone 5 (32GB for $799 from Apple – $400 = $399 for an unlocked iPhone 5 = deal), bypassing carriers.

Our bills have not gone over the monthly amount and for months where we need more data, it’s only $10/GB, essentially making it a flex data plan. What’s your current iPhone plan right now? Full details of the Global News report can be seen here.

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