Does my phone work in Canada? Most US plans include it — carrier by carrier
In short
Most US carriers include Canada: Verizon Unlimited at no extra cost, T-Mobile Experience Beyond 30GB and More 15GB, Mint 3GB a month, and AT&T’s eligible plans (checked on October 29, 2026). Each carrier sets its own Canada limit.
Information verified on October 29, 2026 at the official sources listed below. Carriers change prices and terms; your own plan decides what you pay.
On this page
eSIM for Canada from $6.99 — see plans
This site is not affiliated with any carrier named on this page; we sell eSIMs. How we compare
You may not need an eSIM. Check first whether Canada is included in your plan. If it is, you use your US phone in Canada on the same number, and a week in Banff costs nothing extra.
Mint customers should stay on Mint: its $20 for 10GB in Canada costs less than our 10GB plan (our arithmetic).
Three bill traps come first. Google Fi Essentials stops at the border: calls, texts and data do not work outside the US (Google Fi). On a Verizon plan without Canada, a call or text can start a $6 TravelPass day (Verizon TravelPass FAQs).
And on Spectrum without Unlimited Plus, Plus Premium or a pass, Canada data costs $0.03/MB (Spectrum). We compare public packages; check your own plan.
Does your US phone work in Canada? Carrier by carrier
Does my phone work in Canada? Yes on most plans, but each carrier sets its own Canada limit (checked on October 29, 2026). AT&T Prepaid caps Canada data at 25GB a month, Mint slows it after 3GB, and Verizon and Cricket apply 50% rules.
| Option | Price | What you need | Weak point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roaming with your US carrier | May be included on some postpaid or prepaid plans of 8 of 9 US carriers otherwise $5.00 to $75.00 a day or pass from about $1.00 per GB | Data roaming on; with some carriers a pass added before you fly | Limits and daily charges differ by carrier; check that your plan covers Canada |
| Pocket Wi-Fi router | Not verified | Collect it, keep it charged and return it | One connection for the group, only while you stay together |
| Local SIM bought on arrival | Not verified | A free SIM slot and a shop after landing | An iPhone 14 or later bought in the US works with eSIM only |
| Travel eSIM from this site | from $6.99 by card; from $1.78 per GB | An eSIM phone that is not locked to your carrier | Data only: no calls or texts on your US number |
Roaming prices as published by US carriers, before taxes and fees, checked on October 29, 2026; price per GB is our derivation (price ÷ GB). eSIM prices are in US dollars: your card is charged exactly that amount. This site is not affiliated with these carriers; we sell eSIMs.
Each row of this per-carrier table gives the Canada terms, the check date and the carrier’s page. Where we have a page on that carrier, the row links it too.
| Carrier and plan | Canada | Canada terms, check date, sources |
|---|---|---|
| AT&T eligible unlimited plans, postpaid | Included | Speeds there “may be at 2G”; no 50% rule on AT&T’s page (October 29, 2026, AT&T); AT&T in Canada |
| AT&T Prepaid | On two plans | Unlimited Enhanced Plus and Unlimited Ultra, capped at 25GB a month in Canada; the $20, $25 and Unlimited Saver $35 plans cover only calls from the US to Canada (October 29, 2026, AT&T Prepaid) |
| Verizon Unlimited plans, postpaid | Included | A 50% rule over 60 days, worded two ways on Verizon’s pages; plans without Canada pay TravelPass at $6 a day (October 29, 2026, Verizon); Verizon in Canada |
| Verizon Prepaid | $0 on three plans | 15 GB, Unlimited and Unlimited Plus plans: $0 a day; other voice plans: $6 a day (October 29, 2026, Verizon Prepaid) |
| T-Mobile, postpaid | Included | 30GB on Experience Beyond and 15GB on More, then up to 256kbps; 128kbps on Essentials; check your plan (October 29, 2026, T-Mobile); T-Mobile in Canada |
| T-Mobile Prepaid | $5 add-on | Up to 5GB of high-speed data in Canada, with calling and texting (October 29, 2026, T-Mobile Prepaid) |
| Google Fi | Standard, Premium, Flexible | Flexible: $10 per GB, up to $60 for data (Bill Protection, one person) and high speed up to 15 GB, then 256 kbps (checked on October 30, 2026, Fi plans); Premium: Canada data comes out of the same monthly high-speed allowance; Essentials: no service in Canada (October 29, 2026, Google Fi); Google Fi |
| US Mobile | Unlimited Premium | Light Speed, Warp and Dark Star alike: 20 GB, 200 minutes, 250 texts (October 29, 2026, US Mobile) |
| Mint Mobile | Every plan | 3GB a month, then 128 kbps, with Data Roaming on; past 80 %: 1GB $5, 3GB $10, 10GB $20, no rollover (October 29, 2026, Mint); Mint in Canada |
| Visible | Visible+ and Visible+ Pro | Base Visible: $5 a day; on the two higher plans, “After 2 GB/day of data, speeds reduced to 3G” (October 29, 2026, Visible); Visible in Canada |
| Cricket | Unlimited plans | Canada use must stay “under 50% of your total usage in a 3-month period” (October 29, 2026, Cricket); Cricket in Canada |
| Metro by T-Mobile | Add-on | $5 a month (up to 5 GB) or $10 a month (up to 10 GB) (October 29, 2026, Metro) |
| Boost Mobile | Add-on | $10 a month: 5GB of data in Canada plus talk and text in North America (October 29, 2026, Boost Mobile) |
| Xfinity Mobile | Unlimited bought and activated after March 22, 2024; Plus and Select | Unlimited: 5 GB a month at high speed, then up to 14 Mbps; Plus and Select: inside their 10 GB; By the Gig: $5 a month pass, 5 GB, then 3G (October 29, 2026, Xfinity); Xfinity in Canada |
| Spectrum Mobile | Unlimited Plus and Plus Premium | 10 GB or 20 GB a month at high speed, then reduced; other plans: Global Day Pass $5 for 24 hours, or $0.05/min and $0.03/MB (October 29, 2026, Spectrum, Day Pass); Spectrum in Canada |
| Total Wireless | MAX 5G, MAX 5G BYO, ALL ACCESS | 10 GB and 300 minutes a month (October 29, 2026, Total Wireless) |
| Straight Talk | No list published | 7-day perk with 5 GB and 300 minutes in 140+ destinations; ask Straight Talk about Canada (October 29, 2026, Straight Talk) |
| Tello | On Tello’s list | Billed from your Tello balance; we have no Canada rate: type Canada in “Traveling to” on Tello’s roaming page (October 29, 2026) |
Calls and texts home come with most included plans. AT&T’s eligible plans cover talk and text between the US, Canada and Mexico; Verizon Unlimited includes both in Canada at no extra cost.
T-Mobile says calls and texts between the three come with the benefit, with “No roaming charges”; on Essentials, check your plan for calls (checked on October 29, 2026, T-Mobile).
Six carriers in the table have no page of their own here: US Mobile, Metro, Boost, Total Wireless, Straight Talk and Tello. International roaming plans covers them.
Any second line in Canada needs an unlocked phone that supports eSIM. Run Is my phone unlocked? and Does my phone support eSIM? first.
Our eSIM for Canada at a glance
- Purchase QR code by email · after payment
- Installation profile on your phone · up to 365 days
- Activation first network on the trip · the clock starts
eSIM for Canada: selected plans
The entry plan, our pick and a bigger one. “Our pick” is a mid-size plan chosen by us, not a sales ranking.
You are charged exactly the price shown, in US dollars. The seller is a company registered in the United States, so this is a payment to a US business — how card payment works. It appears on your statement as JET SHARING. You pay on the secure Stripe checkout page, by card, or Apple Pay or Google Pay if Stripe shows them on your device.
What it costs per day
The plan price is what you pay for the trip; a day is that price over the plan’s own days, so a longer plan costs less a day only if you use those days. Pick by your trip length first.
Is a Canada eSIM worth it if your plan includes Canada?
Rarely for a week: an included plan costs $0 inside its limit (our arithmetic, checked on October 29, 2026). Lines paying $5 or $6 a day reach $35 to $42 in seven days, against $10.99 for our 3GB 7-day plan, data only.
On October 29, 2026, we set carrier plans, carrier add-ons and our plan side by side. The four points: price for the trip length, data, the network and what your phone needs.
If you searched “best eSIM for Canada”, we rank no sellers: the answer turns on what your plan already covers. For scale, we checked travel-eSIM sellers from a US IP that day. In Canada, their middle price was $9 for 3GB and $23 for 10GB over 30 days.
Our methodology explains the check date and the labels on our sums. One phone on a land trip in Canada, our arithmetic:
| One phone in Canada | 7 days | 30 days |
|---|---|---|
| Canada included in your plan | $0 inside the limit | $0 inside the limit |
| Mint, after the included 3GB | $10 for 3GB more | $20 for 10GB more |
| Base Visible, $5 a day | $35 | $150 |
| Spectrum Global Day Pass, $5 per 24 hours | $35 | $150 |
| Verizon Prepaid TravelPass, $6 a day | $42 | $180 |
| Metro add-on, $5 or $10 a month | $5 or $10 | $5 or $10 |
| Boost add-on, $10 a month | $10 | $10 |
| Our Canada plan, 3GB, 7 days, data only | $10.99 | — |
| Our Canada plan, 10GB, 30 days, data only | $25.99 | $25.99 |
Where an eSIM does not win: any plan whose Canada data covers your trip, and Mint’s 1GB and 10GB add-ons at $5 and $20. The $5 to $10 add-ons from T-Mobile Prepaid, Metro and Boost win too, and all of them keep your own number. At 3GB, Mint’s $10 add-on and our 3-day plan at $9.99 cost about the same.
Where it can win: base Visible, Spectrum and Verizon Prepaid lines that pay by the day. Google Fi Essentials has no Canada at all.
A long weekend follows the same math: three days at $5 or $6 a day come to $15 to $18 (our arithmetic). Our 1GB plan for 3 days is $6.99, data only, with less data than Spectrum’s or Verizon’s daily allowance.
Heavy use is the other case. Past 15GB on More, T-Mobile slows data to at most 256kbps; past 3GB, Mint slows it to 128 kbps. T-Mobile says you can add an international pass for more high-speed data there.
Our plan carries data only. The plan doesn’t state a hotspot rule — check the plan page.
To price your own dates, open Roaming or eSIM.
Canada SIM card or a travel eSIM?
A US iPhone 14 or later has no tray for a Canada SIM card. Apple says those models “purchased in the United States can only be activated with an eSIM” (checked on October 29, 2026, Apple).
On those phones, any new Canadian line has to be an eSIM. We have not checked Canadian carriers’ visitor terms, so we give no shop, price or ID advice for a local SIM.
An older iPhone or an Android phone with a tray can take a physical card if it is unlocked. We sell eSIMs only; Do iPhones have SIM cards? sorts the tray question by model.
Apple warns that with two lines on, “You might still incur roaming fees from your home eSIM” (Apple). If your US line pays by the day in Canada, turn its data roaming off (data roaming); Dual SIM sets which line carries data. The switch stops data only, so a call or text can still start that day’s charge.
On a cruise that calls at Vancouver or Halifax, an eSIM works in port, not at sea. Cruise phone plans explains the ship’s network.
What our Canada plan covers
Our Canada plan runs on one network, 
Bell 4G (plan details as of October 29, 2026). It is data only, your US number stays on your main line; keep your US number explains what still reaches it.
Its days start when the eSIM first connects in Canada, not at purchase. Our Canada plans list every size, from 1GB for 3 days to 50GB for 30 days.
Long stays in Canada
Past a month, each carrier counts differently: Verizon over 60 days, Cricket over 3 months, T-Mobile with no day count (checked on October 29, 2026).
About 5.4 million US residents flew to Canada in 2025 (NTTO, Survey of International Air Travelers, 2025). July to September was the peak, at about 1.94 million.
Verizon may remove or limit Canada use when it passes half of everything you use in 60 days (Verizon TravelPass FAQs). Thirty days of even use is exactly half, and a 31st day tips it over (our arithmetic). One Verizon page counts Canada and Mexico, another every country outside the US, so check your plan.
Cricket’s test covers 3 months instead, and past it “you risk service being suspended.” T-Mobile gives no day count. Its terms say: “Not for extended international use; you must reside in the U.S. and primary usage must occur on our U.S. network” (T-Mobile).
We found no stay limit on Mint’s Canada page. If you will spend more than a month in Canada, ask your carrier what your line allows before you go.
Spread over 30 days, Experience Beyond’s 30GB is about 1GB a day, More’s 15GB about 0.5GB, and Mint’s 3GB about 0.1GB (our arithmetic). Our 30-day plans run 10GB at $25.99 and 20GB at $39.99, data only.
How much data do I need? sizes your own week in Banff or Vancouver. The U.S. Department of State rates Canada Level 1: “Exercise Normal Precautions” (updated June 4, 2026, travel.state.gov).
Check before you fly
What if the eSIM doesn’t work when you land in Canada?
Check four settings, in this order, before you write to us.
The first is the line for cellular data. In the phone’s SIM settings, pick the travel line for cellular data; your US line stays on for calls and texts, with its cellular data off.
The second is data roaming, for the eSIM line only. The eSIM is a foreign profile, so the phone treats Canada as roaming for it.
The third is the APN. On this plan it sets itself, so leave it alone; you don’t need to type one.
The fourth is a restart. Restart the phone or switch Airplane Mode on and off, and let it find Bell; this can take a few minutes after you leave the plane.
Still no data? Write to us on WhatsApp or at support@esimworld.us with your order number, or go through the no-signal checklist. Do not delete the eSIM to “try again”: a deleted profile usually cannot be installed twice from the same code. If the eSIM doesn't work and it isn't your phone's fault, we refund the payment whether or not it was installed.
What I’d choose (and when NOT to buy the eSIM)
For a week of maps, rides and messaging I’d take 3 GB for 7 days, $10.99. For two weeks or more, with photos and social media, I’d go for 5 GB for 15 days, $17.99. If you video-call and stream every day, take the unlimited plan for 7 days, $34.99, with 3 GB a day at full speed, then reduced to 1 Mbps.
I would not recommend the eSIM in three cases. If your US plan already includes Canada and its limit is enough for you, roaming costs you nothing extra and keeps your number (compare the carriers). If your phone has no eSIM or is locked to your carrier, it cannot take the plan: check if your phone is unlocked. And if your group travels together all day and shares one connection, a pocket Wi-Fi can cover everyone.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use my US cell phone in Canada?
Yes, on most US plans, each with its own Canada limit. Verizon Unlimited, T-Mobile Experience Beyond and More, AT&T’s eligible plans, Mint and Google Fi Standard, Premium and Flexible include Canada. Google Fi Essentials works only in the US, so check your plan before you cross the border.
Which SIM card is best for tourists visiting Canada?
None that we rank: start with your own plan, since AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and most other US carriers already include Canada on their unlimited plans. On a US iPhone 14 or later, a new Canadian line has to be an eSIM. We have not checked Canadian carriers’ visitor SIM terms.
Do I need to tell my carrier I’m going to Canada?
Not on T-Mobile: its Mexico and Canada page says “No setup required.” Mint needs Data Roaming turned on in your phone. On AT&T plans without Canada, AT&T says you “may also be able to add the Roam North America feature.”
Sources checked: AT&T: Mexico and Canada · AT&T Prepaid: plans · Verizon: TravelPass FAQs · Verizon Prepaid: TravelPass · T-Mobile: Mexico and Canada · T-Mobile: Canada and Mexico included · Mint Mobile: free roaming in Canada · Google Fi: rates abroad · Google Fi: plans and Bill Protection · Google Fi: plans abroad · Spectrum Mobile: international · Cricket: Mexico and Canada · Apple: iPhones with eSIM only · Apple: two eSIMs on iPhone · NTTO: air travel survey · State Department: Canada advisory.
Sources are linked in the text. Carrier terms change: for the terms of your own plan, check with your carrier.
To buy data before you go, see our Canada plans.
Unfamiliar term? See the eSIM glossary.
Get an eSIM for Canada, from $6.99 Pay by card. The seller is a company registered in the United States, so this is a payment to a US business. Install the profile at home on Wi-Fi before you fly. The QR code arrives by email after payment. See plans