Activation Fees & SIM Card Costs: All Phone Companies Compared

You’ve spent the time to crunch numbers, check prices and find the phone and plan that fits into your budget.

Everything is going great. No need to eat only rice and beans this month.

Then the first bill rolls in…

What are all these added activation and SIM fees?

Much like bag fees at the airport, activation and SIM fees are often part of the standard (yet unmentioned) cost of phone service.

To make matters worse, they don’t just pop up when you start service. If you upgrade phones or add a line to your plan, they’re likely to show up on your bill yet again.

While you can sometimes ask your service provide to waive these fees, most won’t… you’re simply stuck paying.

But what are these fees exactly? 

Activation Fees

Most service providers claim the activation fee covers creating an account, setting up the various features and configuring your phone for accessing their network.

They typically charge between $10 and $45 per device you add to your plan.

Yes… these fees often apply to data-enabled tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots and other “non-phone” devices on your account as well. 

Essentially, you have to pay to become a customer.

Which seems outrageous if you ask us.

Fortunately, costs vary between service providers. Some don’t charge at all. So you can possibly avoid this charge if you shop around.

And since they’re usually charged per device, avoiding activation fees can save a ton of money–especially if you’re on a family or multi-line plan.

SIM Card Costs
This charge is for providing and programming a SIM card to use in your phone.

As a SIM card is a key element of your mobile phone service, no SIM card often means no service.

These little plastic chips only cost a couple bucks each in bulk. It’s not like they’re expensive new technology.

So wouldn’t it make sense to just include them in the cost of service? 

We think so… But some carriers still find a way to charge for it.

To further complicate matters, some carriers charge both fees.

Others have made big announcements that they’re cancelling one type of fee only to raise the price of the other by the same amount… if not more.

The bottom line is, you need to keep these costs in mind when comparing cell phone companies.

To help keep track of the various SIM and Activation Fees, we’ve put together a chart that compares all the major carriers for you without having to jump between an endless list of sites!

Carrier	Activation Fees	SIM Card Prices
	Bell Mobility $80 for phones, tablets, turbo sticks and mobile Internet devices	No SIM charges	More info at Bell Mobility
	Chatr $10 connection fee	$10 for SIM kits	More info at Chatr
	Cityfone $25 activation fee	Free SIM kits with Bring Your Own Phone plan activation	More info at Cityfone
	Eastlink $70 activation fee	$10 SIM fee	More info at Eastlink
	Fido $80 fee for new activations and device upgrades Fee waived if completed online	Free SIM included with plan selection SIM kits are also available for $10 through their store	More info at Fido
	Freedom Mobile $45 for postpaid $10 for prepaid activations Fee waived if completed online	$10 SIM fee	More info at Freedom Mobile
	Good2Go Mobile Canada No activation fees	$10 for SIM kits	More info at Good2Go Mobile Canada
	Koodo Mobile $80 fee for new activations and device upgrades Fee waived if completed online	$15 for SIM kits	More info at Koodo Mobile
	PC Mobile No activation fees	$10 for SIM kits	More info at PC Mobile
	Primus $25 activation fee Fee waived for Bring Your Own Phone plans	Free SIM kits with Bring Your Own Phone Plans	More Info at Primus
	Public Mobile No activation fees	$5 for SIM kits	More info at Public Mobile
	Rogers $80 Setup Service fee	$10 SIM kits	More info at Rogers
	SaskTel $50 activation fee	$10 SIM kits	More info at SaskTel
	SpeakOut No activation fees	$10 SIM kits	More info at SpeakOut
	Telus $80 connection fee for new lines of services and contract renewals Discounts available for signing up for eBill and pre-authorized payments	Free monthly and prepaid SIMs	More info at Telus
	Videotron Up to $70 activation fee	$10 SIM kits available through customer support	More info at Videotron
	Virgin Plus $80 “Connection” charge for new devices and upgrades	Free monthly and prepaid SIM kits	More info at Virgin Plus

As the table shows, avoiding both fees is nearly impossible. But by choosing the right service provider, you can reduce your costs.

Many providers also waive or reduce fees if you complete your purchase and setup online. So be sure to check the carrier website before heading down to your local store.

We hope this chart helps save you money!

Note: We do our best to keep this page current, but fees are subject to change. We’d appreciate you letting us know if you spot any errors. Always confirm any addition fees with your carrier prior to starting a new line of service or making changes to an existing plan to avoid an unexpected expenses.