Fido buyer's guide: Plans, perks, and more

We don’t just cover the best phone carriers for American readers here at Android Authority. Our Canadian neighbors have just as many carriers to choose from, and the choices are even tougher in some provinces. Fido is one of our personal favorites throughout Canada, and it’s one of the best bets if you’re hoping to skip the high prices of most Canadian plans. It’s the fourth-largest carrier in Canada, and there are plenty of reasons to sign yourself up.

See also: These are the best Canadian phone plans

We’ll break down everything there is to know about Fido throughout this page, with a particular focus on all of the available plans. After that, we’ll dip into some of the best devices on the network and even give you some comparisons to top competitors. There aren’t too many MVNOs in Canada, but it’s best to make an informed decision, so we’ll dive into a few of those too. Ready to check out the carrier that’s for the dogs? Let’s get into it!

Fido at a glance

Fido, or Fido Solutions as it’s formally known, started its journey in December of 1996. The network was initially funded by Voicestream, which is now T-Mobile US. The Fido name itself came out of a need to appeal to French and English customers. Rogers Communications acquired Fido back in 2004, changing the name to Fido Solutions shortly afterward. The MVNO now runs on Rogers’ nationwide network, which the carrier boasts can reach 97% of all Canadians.

Fido positions itself as the cool midrange alternative to Rogers’ full-service coverage as a wholly-owned subsidiary. Fido had a subscriber base of a little over three million users as of the last report. You’ll find Fido’s coverage throughout much of southern Canada, and the carrier relies on GSM and HSPA Plus service for most of its signal. Fido offers a handy interactive map so you can check for your local coverage. Take a peek in your backyard right here.

Post-paid Fido plans

Data, Talk, and Text

Fido keeps its plans reasonably simple, and the Data, Talk, and Text option is the most complete experience around. It offers everything you need, and you essentially pay based on your data cap. You can pick up a Starter plan from CA$38 per month for 2GB of data and boost your coverage up to 15GB for CA$70. It doesn’t appear like you can add extra data, but Fido’s five extra hours perk allows for unlimited data for five hours each month.

If you’re looking to take your talk abroad, you can add preferred international rates for just $5 per month. It gets even better if you plan to keep in touch with friends in America — unlimited US calling is $15 per month. Overall, the Data, Talk, and Text plan is the best overall value you can get from Fido if you want to use your device to its full potential.

Highlights:

• Unlimited talk and text
• Up to 15GB of data per month
• International calling options

Best for:

• Users who want to get the most for their money

Talk and Text

The name is relatively self-explanatory in this case. This plan gives you all of the talk and text you could ask for. For CA$30 per month, Fido will keep you connected to your family and friends, though you’ll have to have a reliable Wi-Fi source if you want data. You can also take advantage of the same international add-ons — preferred international rates for $5 and unlimited US calling for $15.

Highlights:

• Unlimited talk and text
• Low monthly rate of CA$30
• International add-ons available

Best for:

• Users who don’t need any data

Data and Talk

Just like the last plan, two out of three isn’t half bad. However, this option drops unlimited calling in favor of a data cap that you can choose for yourself. Options start at just 250MB for CA$15 per month and range as high as 3GB for CA$30 per month. No matter your data cap, neither basic plan makes mention of text messages.

Although there are no text options for the plan, it looks like you can still add voicemail options at no extra cost. It’s not immediately clear whether you can pay to expand your mailbox, but the 250MB plan charges as you go.

Highlights:

• Flexible data cap
• Low monthly cost

Best for:

• Users who spend little to no time texting

Tablet and connected device plans

As long as you’re already a Fido customer, adding a tablet or other connected device can take just minutes. It essentially works like a mobile hotspot plan, where you’ll pay for your data cap and let Fido do the rest. The most popular plan offers 4GB of data for just CA$15 per month. You can grab several brand-new tablets straight from Fido itself. You’ll have to make monthly payments on whichever device you choose.

Pre-paid Fido Plans

Talk, Text, and Data

Fido’s prepaid plans follow almost the same blueprint as its post-paid offerings. You won’t find quite as much data, however. Once again, the Talk, Text, and Data option is the most complete plan you can get, though it’s certainly not a cheap way to go. You won’t find unlimited minutes on the CA$55 per month base level, including just 750MB of data per month. In fact, you get more for less money with the post-paid version of the plan.

However, you’re not out to dry if you want to go prepaid — otherwise, Fido wouldn’t even offer the plan. You can bump up to 1GB or 2GB of monthly data, and you get unlimited texting to the US and international phone numbers on top of it all. If you splurge for the top level of service, you can expect to pay CA$70 per month.

Highlights:

• Choose your data cap along with talk and text
• Prices start at CA$55

Best for:

• Users who want the most coverage in a prepaid plan.

Talk and Text

If you want the most affordable plan Fido offers, the prepaid talk and text plan is it. However, your cheapest option won’t get you close to unlimited service. Prepaid Talk and Text starts at just 75 minutes of talk and 75 texts for CA$15 per month. You can jump to 250 minutes and texts for CA$25 per month or 1,000 minutes and unlimited texts for CA$35 per month.

Of course, as a talk and text plan, there’s no baked-in data, but you can always choose to add some later. Your options include 100MB, 500MB, or 1GB of extra data, and those will cost you CA$10, CA$20, or CA$30, depending on how high you go.

Highlights:

• The most affordable plan Fido has to offer
• Choose your talk and text levels

Best for:

• Users who want to save money and don’t use their phones much

Which Fido plan is right for you?

If you’re all set to join Fido, then you’re probably asking which plan is the best for you. The answer mainly comes down to your usage. It’s tough to top the Talk, Text, and Data plan for flexibility, though some users may not need all three parts. If that’s the case, you can always swap for one of the other plans and save a little cash.

Fido’s prepaid plans are a viable alternative, especially if you want to save even more. They offer a similar structure to the post-paid plans, though you have fewer options. You should have more than enough access thanks to the prepaid Talk, Text, and Data plans, but at that point, you may not be saving much money over the post-paid plans. All post-paid plans come with the same suite of Fido benefits, but you can always add extra data and talk to your prepaid option.

How does Fido fare against the competition?

If you’re ready to switch carriers, it’s best to make a fully informed decision. We’ll do some comparison shopping to see how Fido stacks up against two of its top competitors — Virgin Mobile and Koodo. All three are wholly owned subsidiaries of Canada’s largest carriers, making sense as midrange rivals. We’ll take the top plans from each carrier and compare them to see which is most worth your money.

Virgin Mobile Canada

Owned by Bell Mobility, Virgin Mobile takes a similar approach as Fido when it comes to plans. Everything is built for the millennial subscriber, right down to the MyBenefits and MyPeeps perks. MyBenefits allows you to rack up discounts and benefits on food, clothing, and more. MyPeeps, on the other hand, is all about you and your friends. You can set up multiple lines of service on the same bill, and you’ll get unlimited calling between them all.

Even Virgin’s plans are similar to Fido’s, right down to the data caps. You’ll pay a similar rate that tops out at around CA$75, and you can take full advantage of an extensive nationwide network.

Highlights:

• MyBenefits and MyPeeps perks
• Similar prices, slightly larger network

Koodo Mobile

Over in the Telus umbrella, Koodo Mobile operates as yet another Fido sibling. We call it a sibling since it follows the same midrange, millennial-focused structure as Fido and Virgin Mobile. You’ll find reliable customer service, and Telus and Bell utilize the same LTE network for coverage. Your best perk is shock-free data, which means that Koodo will send you helpful reminders as you get closer and closer to your data cap.

As for Koodo’s plans, there are two main ways to price out your service. You can save some money by bringing your own device, or you can pay into your Tab, which is essentially a piggy bank for buying new devices after a certain period. If you don’t upgrade often, then you can pay into a small Tab, or you can pour some funds in there to get ready for a flagship release.

Highlights:

• Same LTE network as Virgin Mobile
• Tab helps you save up for a new phone

Want the full-strength version of Fido’s service?

We’ve already compared Fido to its top MVNO competition, but what if you want a full-size network? If you like the sound of Fido or any of its competitors, it might be even easier to go for one of Canada’s largest providers. In this case, we’ve chosen Rogers, Bell, and Telus because each is the owner of one of our popular MVNO picks. Let’s tap into some top plans to see which carrier comes out on top.

Rogers Wireless

Up first for the big guns is Fido’s parent network, Rogers Wireless. You’ll get the same level of nationwide service as you would on Fido, but Rogers adds a few extra goodies to the mix. You can take advantage of Canada’s largest 5G network, and you can even get a free tablet over the course of a two-year agreement. Even better, Rogers Infinite offers a large pool of sharable data at reasonable prices. You can save an extra CA$15 per line every time you add a device.

Bell Mobility

If you’re looking at Bell, the first thing you might notice is that it offers a ton of plans. You can go Unlimited or choose Connect Everything, and then there are even promotional plans on top of that. Depending on what you choose, you’ll either get unlimited access to Canada’s fastest 5G network, or you’ll get a nice pool of data to share between your accounts. Bell also offers a long list of connected device plans so you can connect your whole house to the internet.

Telus Mobility

The last competitor to consider is Telus Mobility. Like we mentioned with Koodo, it shares the same nationwide LTE network as Bell, so you at least know that you’re getting excellent service. All plans also include unlimited talk and text, so it comes down to how much you want to share your data. If you go for either Peace of Mind or Peace of Mind Connect, you’re pretty much able to keep your data to yourself and your own devices. However, if you head for the Simple Share plan, you can split a pool between your family and friends.

What phones can I use?

Even though Fido Solutions positions itself as a midrange player in the Canadian phone game, it’s not short on the list of available devices. If it’s come out in the past year, there’s a pretty good chance that you can grab it from Fido. For example, the entire iPhone 13 family is up and ready, along with the Google Pixel 6 and Samsung Galaxy S21 devices. True to the budget-friendly goal, you can also grab the Moto G Power and scores of other devices for no money down.

See also: The best phone deals

Thanks to Fido’s status as a GSM carrier, it’s also pretty easy to bring your device along. It should offer you the most flexibility when it comes to phones. You’ll have to make sure that your phone is compatible with the right bands. Check the table below for more information: