The esims.AI Blog: Giving you the lowdown on all things Travel eSIM
What are Roaming Fees for Canadians in 2023?
Published on by Neil in Roaming Charges. Last updated on .
Roaming fees for those living in Canada are extremely high, with customers being charged up to $14/day to travel to the United States and $16/day to roam internationally. In this article we break down what those fees are, based on your current service provider.
Roaming Fees for Canadians
Before setting off on your journey, take some time to familiarize yourself with your mobile plan's roaming charges. Most Canadian carriers offer a "roam like home" feature, which allows Canadians to use their existing data plan abroad without incurring additional usage charges. Rogers calls this Roam Like Home, Telus refers to this as Easy Roam, and Bells dubs it Roam Better.
This appears to be the defacto roaming method now, with packages of roaming data having been mostly fazed out. Pay-per-use roaming fees are so absurdly expensive they would never make sense, pushing Canadians towards Roam Like Home plans.
Summary of Fees
The roaming fees that Canadians currently pay as of May 2023 can be found below:
| Provider | United States | International | Pay Per Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rogers (inc Chatr & Fido) | $12/day | $15/day | $15/10MB |
| Telus (inc. Koodo) | $14/day | $16/day | $5/MB |
| Bell (inc. Virgin Mobile) | $13/day | $16/day | $12/MB |
It is worth noting that all carriers will charge you for a maximum of 20 days per month, regardless of how long you are roaming. You can do the math, but at $15/day that is $300!
If you think these prices are eye-watering, then you would not be alone. According to CBC News, a recent report by CBC's consumer affairs program Marketplace found that, on average, Canadians pay seven times more for a gigabyte of data than people in Australia, 25 times more than people in Ireland and France, and 1,000 times more than people in Finland.
Alternatives to Data Roaming for Canadians
At esimsAI, we don't understand why Candians bother to pay these exorbitant fees at all, when there are many great eSIMs now available from numerous providers globally. These eSIMs provide an alternative to expensive Canadian roaming fees for anyone with an eSIM-capable phone, and some even cost less than 1 day of Canadian roaming fees.
Here are a few examples of eSIMs if you're travelling to the United States.
RedteaGO United States 5GB
5 GB
Valid for 60 days
Yesim United States 3GB
3 GB
Valid for 5 days
Maya Mobile USA 3GB 30 Days eSIM
3 GB
Valid for 30 days
As you can see, RedteaGO offers 60 days for just over the price (these prices are in USD) of 1 day of Canadian roaming from all Canadian providers (Rogers, Telus and Bell). Yesim offer an eSIM which is perfect if you are making a short trip, as it costs less than 1 day of roaming fees, while Maya Mobile also offers a 30 day validity for the equivalent of of 1 day of roaming fees.
If you're a Canadian travelling internationally, then there are also many options available, depending on the length of your trip.
eTravelSIM China, Hong Kong & Macau eSim 10 GB - 30 Days
10 GB
Valid for 30 days
You can travel to China for 30 days for only C$30 with eTravelSIM, which is less than the price of 2 days of Canadian roaming charges.
Airalo Latamlink - 1 GB
1 GB
Valid for 7 days
Or you can jet off to Latin America for a week and only pay C$20 with Airalo.
Bouygues Telecom - My European eSIM Travel Basic+
15 GB
Valid for 15 days
15GB in Europe for 2 weeks only costs you $27 for an eSIM from SimOptions, less than 2 days of Canadian roaming. 15 days of European roaming on Rogers would cost you C$225, whereas Bell and Telus would bill you C$240!
These prices are completely absurd, so to find the perfect travel eSIM for your next trip and say "no thanks" to being gouged by Candian telcos, simply visit esimsAI and choose your destination.