Tourist SIM card for Canada
Order a prepaid tourist SIM or eSIM before you fly and land with a working Canadian number, a 30-day plan for $40, paid once, with no contract and no credit check. Nothing renews, nothing follows you home, and there is no kiosk to find at 11pm.
- Prepaid, nothing auto-renews
- Real Canadian number
- No credit check
- eSIM in minutes
Is this page for you?
- You are visiting Canada for somewhere between a few days and a month
- You fly soon, possibly this week, and want this settled without a lot of research
- You want to land able to open a map and call a ride, not hunt for a kiosk
- You do not want a contract, a credit check, or anything that auto-renews behind you
- You would rather pay once, up front, and know exactly what the trip costs
If this is not you: staying longer than three months, or moving to Canada? A monthly plan works out cheaper and does not expire, see SIM cards for newcomers. Only need maps and WhatsApp for a two-night stopover? A data-only travel eSIM will likely cost you less than anything on this page, and we would rather say so.
What going without actually looks like
Arriving without a working phone is not a disaster, it is a slow leak. It costs you the first evening, and it keeps costing small amounts of time for the rest of the trip.
The first two hours
You land, and the airport wifi wants a code sent by SMS to a number you cannot currently receive on. Booking a ride and finding your accommodation both stall.
The kiosk queue
Arrivals-hall SIM counters keep their own hours and their own prices. After a long-haul flight it is the worst possible time to compare plans in a second language.
Being uncontactable
A driver cannot find you. A tour needs to move the pickup. The people expecting you cannot check you landed. Data alone does not fix any of these, a phone number does.
Which prepaid plan is right for your trip
For almost every visitor, the answer is the 90 GB plan at $40. The only question worth thinking about is how long you are staying: the 90 GB plan runs for 30 days, so if your trip is longer than a month the 90-day plan is what keeps you connected without a gap. Both plans are for use in Canada only, neither roams into the United States or Mexico, so plan separately for any leg outside the country.
90GB · 4G LTE
Chatr · Prepaid
$40
30 days · Prepaid, $67 if purchased in Canada
- 90 GB, more than most trips use
- Unlimited Canada and US calling
- Unlimited Canada, US and international texts
- Canada only, does not roam abroad
- Prepaid, 30 days, nothing auto-renews
75GB · 4G LTE
Chatr · Prepaid
$75
90 days · Prepaid, Pre-arrival rate
- 75 GB across a full 90 days
- Unlimited Canada-wide calling
- Unlimited Canada, US and international texts
- Canada only, does not roam abroad
- Cheaper per day than buying three 30-day plans
Prepaid, and why it suits a trip
Every plan on this page is prepaid: you pay once, up front, for a fixed 30 or 90-day block. When the block ends, service simply stops. Nothing renews, no bill arrives after you get home, and there is nothing to remember to cancel, which is exactly what you want from a holiday purchase.
The trade-off is that prepaid does not stretch. If your trip runs long, the plan does not quietly continue, you have to contact support and move to a longer one. Postpaid monthly plans do continue, but they only make sense past about three months; for a holiday they are the wrong shape. No plan here needs a credit check or a Canadian address.
Every Get Canada Sim plan, side by side
Here is the full catalogue, including the monthly postpaid plans built for longer stays, so you can see what you are not choosing and why.
| Unlimited Data 120 GB (Rogers) | Unlimited Data (Rogers) | 75 GB (Fido) | 90 GB (chatr) | 50 GB (chatr) | 75 GB, 90 days (chatr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data | 120 GB up to 1 Gbps, then reduced speed | 100 GB at up to 1 Gbps, then reduced speed | 75 GB | 90 GB, then reduced speed | 50 GB, then reduced speed | 75 GB, then reduced speed |
| Network | Rogers 5G | Rogers 5G | Fido 5G | chatr 4G LTE | chatr 4G LTE | chatr 4G LTE |
| Calls | Unlimited USA & Canada-wide | Unlimited Canada-wide | Unlimited Canada-wide | Unlimited Canada and US | Unlimited Canada and US | Unlimited Canada-wide |
| Texts | Unlimited local and international SMS | Unlimited local and international SMS | Unlimited local and international SMS | Unlimited Canada, US and international | Unlimited Canada, US and international | Unlimited Canada, US and international |
| Works outside Canada | USA roaming included | No, Canada only | No, Canada only | No, Canada only | No, Canada only | No, Canada only |
| Canadian number | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hotspot | Included | Included | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Term | Monthly, no contract | Monthly, no contract | Monthly, no contract | 30 days | 30 days | 90 days |
| Billing | Postpaid | Postpaid | Postpaid | Prepaid, paid up front | Prepaid, paid up front | Prepaid, paid up front |
| Activation | Up to 24 h before you land | Up to 24 h before you land | Up to 24 h before you land | Up to 24 h before you land | Up to 24 h before you land | Up to 24 h before you land |
| Price | $50/mo | $40/mo | $35/mo | $40 per 30 days | $35 per 30 days | $75 per 90 days |
Note the Works outside Canada row: only the Rogers 120 GB plan roams into the US, every other plan including the 90 GB recommendation is Canada only. This is the detail visitors most often get wrong, and it is worth checking before you book a trip that dips into the US.
Why the 90 GB plan beats the rest for a typical visit:
- Vs. the three postpaid monthly plans: they bill every month until you cancel, which is the wrong shape for a fixed trip. Prepaid simply stops when the 30 days are up, nothing to remember to cancel once you are home.
- Vs. the 50 GB chatr plan ($35): cheaper, but only enough for a light, short stopover. Video calls and streaming push most visitors past 50 GB inside two weeks, and running out mid-trip costs more hassle than the $5 it saves.
- Vs. the 75 GB, 90-day plan ($75): only worth it if your trip actually runs past 30 days, otherwise you are paying for two months of data you will not be in the country to use.
Your four options, compared fairly
Pre-ordering from us
GoodLive when you land, with a Canadian number, at a fixed price you paid before the trip started.
CatchYou need a carrier-unlocked phone, and you have to sort it a few days before you fly rather than on the day.
Roaming on your home plan
GoodZero effort. Your own number, your own contacts, nothing to install.
CatchDaily roaming fees run for every day of the trip, and you have no Canadian number for local bookings. Check your carrier's exact Canada rate before assuming it is cheap.
Buying at the airport
GoodNo advance planning, and staff can put the SIM in for you.
CatchYou are queueing at the end of a long flight, at walk-up prices, and you are offline for the part of the trip where a map would have helped most.
A data-only travel eSIM
GoodOften the cheapest option, installs in minutes, and covers maps and messaging perfectly well.
CatchNo Canadian phone number, so no local calls and no SMS codes, which matters if a hotel, tour, or restaurant needs to reach you.
How it works
Pick a plan by trip length
Under 30 days, take a 30-day plan. Longer than that, the 90-day plan is the one that lasts. Use the trip-length table further down if you are unsure.
Order with your passport and arrival date
The arrival date is the important field, it drives when your line switches on. Give the date you actually land in Canada, in local time.
Choose eSIM or a posted SIM
For a short trip an eSIM is almost always the right call. It arrives by email as a QR code, so there is nothing to post and nothing to collect. A physical SIM has to go to a Canadian address, which most visitors do not have yet.
Install it at home, before you fly
Scan the QR code while you are still on your home wifi. The line stays dormant until activation, which happens up to 24 hours before your arrival date, so it is generally working the moment you land and turn airplane mode off.
The timing rule to remember: your line activates against the arrival date you enter at checkout, not the date you order. Order a month early if you like, the plan does not start counting down until activation, roughly 24 hours before you land.
Will my phone work?
Your phone needs to be carrier unlocked, free to accept a SIM from an operator other than the one you bought it from. Phones bought outright usually are. Phones still on a contract or an instalment plan often are not, and only your home carrier can release them. Sort this out before you travel; it is a phone call from home and a nightmare from abroad.
For an eSIM, your phone also has to support eSIM, most iPhones and Android flagships from the last few years do. On iPhone, check Settings → General → About for an EID entry. On Android, look under mobile network settings for an option to add or download a SIM. Our eSIM Canada guide has the step-by-step.
Most travellers use dual SIM: home number stays in the phone for anything urgent from home, Canadian eSIM handles data and local calls. Turn off data roaming on the home line so it does not run up charges alongside the plan you have already paid for.
Trip-length picker
Match your trip to a plan. Note that the 30-day plan runs for its full term regardless of how long you stay, a five-day trip does not cost less than a 25-day one, so the only question that changes the answer is whether your stay runs past a month.
| Trip length | Take this | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| 3–7 days, Canada only | 90 GB, $40 | You will not come close to the allowance. You are paying for the number and the convenience, not the data. |
| 8–14 days, Canada only | 90 GB, $40 | Comfortable even with daily video calls home and some streaming on trains. |
| 15–30 days, Canada only | 90 GB, $40 | Still the right plan. Watch streaming rather than data-per-day if you want it to last. |
| Longer than 30 days | 75 GB, $75 for 90 days | Cheaper per day than buying three 30-day plans, and no gap in service in the middle. |
What actually uses your data while travelling
Travel changes the mix. Some of what you assume is heavy is light, and one thing people forget dominates everything else.
Lighter than you think
Maps and turn-by-turn navigation, rideshare and transit apps, messaging, and translation. You can use these all day for a fortnight without troubling even a fraction of the allowance.
Heavier than you think
Video calls home, especially long daily ones across time zones , plus photo and video backup running automatically over mobile data rather than hotel wifi.
The real budget-killer
Streaming video on long train or coach journeys. If you plan to do that, take the 90 GB plan and do not think about it again.
On avoiding a roaming bill: the mistake is leaving your home SIM as the data line after landing. Once the Canadian line is active, turn data roaming off on the home SIM and set the Canadian line as your default for mobile data. Your home carrier can only bill you for roaming you actually use.
Help while you are travelling
Most problems on a short trip are one of two things: a phone that turned out to be locked, or a flight that moved. Both are quicker to fix before you leave than in an arrivals hall, so if anything looks wrong when you install the eSIM at home, message us then.
Canada office
+1 778-682-3771
Surrey, British Columbia
Email reaches the same team as either phone number. Include your order number and your arrival date, it saves a round trip and gets you an answer in one reply.
Tourist SIM questions
How much data do I need for a two-week trip to Canada?
For a normal trip, maps, messaging, social media, photos, some music, the 90 GB plan is far more than you will use, so there is no need to ration. The one thing that genuinely burns data is video: streaming shows on the road, or long video calls home, several times a day. Even then, two weeks of heavy use rarely comes close to 90 GB.
Do I need calls, or is data enough?
Data alone covers maps, messaging apps, and rideshare booking. You need real calls and a Canadian number for the things that phone you back: restaurant bookings, tour operators, a hotel confirming a late arrival, or a driver who cannot find you. All the plans here include a Canadian number and unlimited Canada-wide calling, so this is not a trade-off you have to make.
Will my maps and rideshare apps work?
Yes. They are ordinary data apps and work on any of these plans as soon as your line is active. Rideshare apps in particular are easier with a Canadian number, because drivers can call you when the pickup point is ambiguous, which happens constantly at airports.
What happens when my 30 days run out?
Service stops. These are prepaid plans, so nothing renews automatically and nothing gets charged to you afterwards, which is the point of prepaid. If your trip extends, contact support before the plan period ends and they can sort out a longer plan rather than leaving you cut off mid-trip.
Can I top up or extend mid-trip?
Because there is no contract, you can change plans by contacting our support team, for example moving to a longer plan if your trip is extended. There is no self-service top-up button on the site, so message support rather than waiting for the plan to lapse.
Do I need a Canadian number to book things in Canada?
Usually not to book, most hotels, tours, and restaurants accept an international number or an email. Where it matters is being reached: a local number is far more likely to actually connect when a business calls you back, and some Canadian booking systems will not send SMS confirmations to a foreign number. Treat it as removing friction, not as a requirement.
Is this cheaper than roaming on my own plan?
It depends entirely on your home carrier, so check your own Canada roaming rate before deciding. Roaming is generally billed per day for every day you are away, while these plans are a single fixed price for 30 days. The longer the trip, the more the fixed price tends to win, but for a two-night stopover, roaming may well be simpler and cheaper.
Can I use the plan in the United States too?
No. All three prepaid plans on this page are for use in Canada only, the data does not roam once you cross the border, though the 90 GB plan does include calling to US numbers from within Canada. If your trip combines Canada with a US or Mexico leg, plan on a separate local or travel eSIM for that portion, or check your home carrier's roaming rate for those days.
Can I keep my own number active at the same time?
On a dual-SIM phone, yes. Keep your home SIM in for calls and texts from home, and use the Canadian eSIM for data and local calls. Turn data roaming off on the home line so it does not quietly bill you in the background while the Canadian line does the work.
What if my flight is delayed or changes?
Contact support with the new arrival date before the original one passes. Activation is scheduled against the date you gave at checkout, so a changed flight is worth a message, it takes a minute and avoids a plan burning days while you are still at home.