eSIM or local (2nd) SIM for Canada?

sausage_time

Any recommendations for the following (2 separate family members):

• 2 Week stay
• 7 month extended stay

Currently on O2/Three.

sausage_time

Updating my own thread.  Seems I'm sorted on O2 - I have Volt as a a Virgin customer, and that includes Canada.

Other family members are with Three and now Vodafone which do not appear to be cost friendly for Canada.  So still looking at options/experience for short term and extended stays.

jbrassy

Sim cards are very expensive in Canada - in fact I was shocked when I visited and saw how much they cost. For a short term stay, it's probably best to get an esim: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mobiles/what-is-an-esim/

The best deals I could find for Canada are here: https://uswitch.breezesim.com/products/esimg_ca_v2?variant=45381148770471

If you're staying there longer term, i.e. more than a month, it's probably best to get a local SIM card. Can't advise on that, but they are expensive.

Murmansk

A relative of mine got a Holafly ESIM for his holiday to Canada recently and seemed to think it was OK but commented that you can't use your phone for calls unless you make them via WhatsApp - so only to other WhatsApp users 

sausage_time

Understand on call situation, the eSIM would be for data only (so WhatsApp calls should be ok over that).  

jbrassy

If you need to make an actual call (ie not use WhatsApp), you could use an app like Rebtel which offers cheap international calls over Wifi or 4g/5g

DullGreyGuy

Local sims tend to be cheaper than travel esims however not always by a massive amount and it obviously takes time to find somewhere to buy one/how they work etc and so for short stays travel e-sims can be a good option and for multi-month stays then local sims... where the exact crossover point is is debatable. Like any rule there will be exceptions to double check before travelling. 

If you need to make international calls (which it will still be considered if you are using a travel esim which is data only) then there are various VOIP options 

jbrassy

DullGreyGuy said:

Local sims tend to be cheaper than travel esims however not always by a massive amount and it obviously takes time to find somewhere to buy one/how they work etc and so for short stays travel e-sims can be a good option and for multi-month stays then local sims... where the exact crossover point is is debatable. Like any rule there will be exceptions to double check before travelling. 

If you need to make international calls (which it will still be considered if you are using a travel esim which is data only) then there are various VOIP options 

Normally I would say this is true, but sim cards in Canada are extortionate. I think I paid over 60 CAD for a sim card which had around 10gb of data and only ran on 3G speeds. This was about three years ago, but I thought it was crazy.

sausage_time

jbrassy said:

If you need to make an actual call (ie not use WhatsApp), you could use an app like Rebtel which offers cheap international calls over Wifi or 4g/5g

Actual voice calls are unlikely, but Rebtel looks interesting if needed - thanks!

IbtisamAbuhelou

eSIMs have become more budget-friendly and offer a seamless travel experience, especially for Canada. Leading providers like Numero eSIM offer a variety of plans to suit different needs. Plus, even better deals and discounts are often available during festive seasons! 

sausage_time

Went with the recommendation above for both of our use cases (2 weeks, 7 months).

https://uswitch.breezesim.com/products/esimg_ca_v2?variant=45381148770471

Easy to set up and top up.