Bills

How to switch to a cheaper cell phone plan in the US or Canada

A single line on a big carrier runs about $76 a month in the US, and Canada's average 5 GB-plus plan is over $70. The same networks sell the same coverage for $15 to $35 through their budget brands. Switching takes an afternoon and keeps your number.

Updated October 29, 20268 min readData as of carrier prices October 2026; ISED 2025 study; StatCan SHS 2023

What you probably pay

A 2026 WhistleOut survey of 1,000 US adults put the average single-line plan at about $76 a month.¹ J.D. Power's 2026 billing study reports $141, but that includes device financing and insurance folded into the bill.¹ In Canada, the government's annual price study found the average 5 GB-plus plan at $71 a month, among the most expensive in the countries it tracks, while the cheapest plan in the same basket was $30, in line with the US.² Statistics Canada's spending survey puts the average household's cell phone service at $1,494 a year, or $125 a month.⁵

Step 1: find out what you actually use

Open your carrier's app or last three bills and look at data used per month. Most people with "unlimited" plans use under 10 GB, and streaming music or video over Wi-Fi at home counts for nothing. The number you find decides the plan. Under 5 GB, the cheapest tier is enough. Between 5 and 20 GB, a mid tier. Above that, or if you tether a laptop, unlimited is worth paying for.

Step 2: pick the budget brand on your network

Coverage is the network, not the brand. The budget brands are owned by or lease the same towers as the carriers they undercut.

• United States: Mint Mobile (T-Mobile network) from $15 a month for 5 GB when you prepay a year, $30 unlimited; Visible (Verizon) $25 unlimited, month to month, taxes included; US Mobile $25 unlimited with a choice of all three networks.³ Others worth a look: Cricket (AT&T), Metro (T-Mobile), and the carriers' own prepaid plans.
• Canada: Public Mobile (Telus) $35 for 50 GB; Fizz (Videotron, in Quebec, Ontario, BC and Manitoba) $24 for 5 GB; Freedom Mobile $29 for 5 GB with Canada-US-Mexico coverage. Chatr (Rogers), Lucky (Bell) and Koodo (Telus) are the other flanker brands, and yearly prepaid plans start around $100 for light users.⁴

What you give up: in-store support, sometimes slower speeds when a tower is busy, and bundled extras such as streaming subscriptions or international roaming. For most people under 35 none of those is worth $40 a month.

Step 3: check your phone

If the phone is paid off, it can move anywhere once unlocked; in Canada all phones have been sold unlocked since 2017, and US carriers unlock paid-off phones on request. If you still owe device payments, the balance comes due when you leave, so compare the plan saving with the remaining balance, or switch when the phone is paid off. Most budget brands support eSIM, which means the switch can happen the same day without a physical card.

Step 4: switch without cancelling

1. Get your account number and transfer PIN from the old carrier's app (US carriers call it a Number Transfer PIN; in Canada the new carrier handles the port with your account details).
2. Sign up with the new carrier and ask to bring your number. Do not cancel the old plan: a cancelled number cannot be transferred.
3. The number moves, usually within hours. The old plan closes on its own; check the final bill for prorated charges.

In Canada, the CRTC's Wireless Code lets you cancel a plan at any time, and from June 2026 the regulator barred providers from charging activation, cancellation and plan-change fees on postpaid plans.⁶

If you want to stay

Call and ask for the retentions or loyalty team, name the budget plan you are about to switch to, and ask what they can do. Big carriers routinely offer loyalty pricing or a free upgrade of data to keep a customer. If the answer is no, you have already picked your next plan.

What the saving is worth

Going from $76 to $25 a month keeps $612 a year. Moved into savings automatically, the way our guide on money habits suggests, that is the kind of line that funds an emergency cushion by itself. The same call usually works for home internet; see how to negotiate a lower internet bill.

This guide is general information, not financial, tax, or investment advice. Rules and limits change; check the sources for the current figures before acting.

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