Canada is the second-largest country in the world.
While it does not have the best weather throughout the years, although it had insane wildfires in 2023, it is a stunning country.
You can do a lot in the country, from Banff Park to Niagara Falls, or skiing to camping.
Unlike the United States, Canada's large cities are far away from each other, resulting in long commutes.
As a result, it is essential to stay connected while on the road – especially in deserted areas.
That is why I tested seven travel eSIMs from various eSIM providers, such as Airalo's Tuque Mobile (Canada) eSIM, and three Canadian SIM cards to find out which one is the best.
As a result, I spent over 250 USD on my Canada SIM card and travel eSIM review series.
But I do not say that as a flex… Canadian SIM cards and plans are costly.
I paid 119 CAD (about 89 USD) for one SIM card because I was charged 50 CAD in activation/service fees 😒.
I highly recommend that those visiting Canada use a travel eSIM because they are significantly cheaper.
Some even perform better than prepaid users on the same network because they are not restricted 🗿.
So, let's see if the Airalo Tuque Mobile eSIM is worth your money.
Original publication: 31st of January 2024. Last updated: 7th of March 2024.
Table of Contents
Airalo's List of Compatible eSIM-Supported Phones
Before I even focus on Airalo's Tuque Mobile (Canada) eSIM, does your phone support Airalo eSIMs?
If you have an eSIM-compatible smartphone, it is almost guaranteed that you can use an Airalo eSIM.
While Airalo had to certify phones in the past, almost all are supported nowadays.
As of December 2023, the phones shown in the infographic below are compatible with Airalo eSIMs:
Now we can actually focus on the Tuque Mobile eSIM.
Airalo Tuque Mobile (Canada) eSIM Prices
You can get the Airalo Tuque Mobile (Canada) eSIM for between 6 USD (1 GB for 7 days) and 49 25 USD (20 GB for 30 days).
Below is an overview of how much each Airalo Tuque Mobile eSIM costs:
- Canada/Tuque Mobile 1 GB eSIM for 7 days, costing 6 USD – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
- Canada/Tuque Mobile 2 GB eSIM for 15 days, costing 11 USD
- Canada/Tuque Mobile 3 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 15 USD
- Canada/Tuque Mobile 5 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 18 USD – most popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
- Canada/Tuque Mobile 10 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing
3518 USD (on sale) – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers - Canada/Tuque Mobile 20 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing
4925 USD (on sale)
Note: Phone Travel Wiz reader popularity ranking was updated in December based on data up to the 30th of December (2023 data only). The (promotional) prices were updated on the 31st of January.
The links above will bring you to the product page of the Tuque Mobile eSIM.
And if you already have the Airalo app installed on your phone, the links will open the respective app (Android or iOS).
Regardless of the currency used in your country, Airalo will always charge you in USD (US Dollar).
If your credit/debit card charges you foreign exchange fees, get yourself a Wise Borderless Account and Debit Card.
Their fees are MUCH lower than banks and credit card companies charge you (and Wise is transparent about their fees, unlike banks).
I have saved THOUSANDS of Australian Dollars and Euros, my main currencies, when using Wise abroad when traveling compared to my debit and credit cards.
What if you buy the 10 GB Tuque Mobile eSIM, as I did, and realize you need another 3 GB of data close to exhausting your data allowance?
Would you need to purchase a new eSIM? Not at all.
You can top up your Airalo Tuque Mobile eSIM for the same amount of data and prices as listed earlier.
The 3 GB top-up would still cost 15 USD as if you bought the 3 GB eSIM from the start.
That way, you will never run out of data.
A handful of Airalo eSIMs do not allow for top-ups. But that does not apply to the Tuque Mobile eSIM – so worry not.
You can top-up on the Airalo website or its apps.
And if you buy a top-up before you have fully exhausted your data allowance, Airalo will not use your top-up yet.
As a result, the validity of the top-up will not start until you start using the top-up data (which is not the case with all travel eSIMs).
>>> Get your Airalo Tuque Mobile eSIM now! <<<
My Airalo Tuque Mobile eSIM in Canada Experience
I used my Airalo Tuque Mobile (Canada) eSIM only in Toronto (and Niagara Falls).
Travel eSIMs, including the Canada eSIM, roam on the networks of local mobile operators.
Airalo is not a mobile (network) operator (MNO), so it partners with various MNOs, which roam on local MNOs' networks.
Okay, that may sound a bit confusing – all you need to know is that you will be treated as a guest on one of the Canadian mobile networks while using another network to make this system work.
Airalo's Canada eSIM uses Rogers Wireless, Telus (with 5G NR) & Bell Mobility (with 5G NR) networks while being powered by Webbing/Orange France (so your phone, some apps, or sites you visit may claim you are on Webbing instead of Airalo – that is correct).
If I recall correctly, I chose Bell because its 5G NR performance was better than Telus'.
Or the other way around… I forgot – it has been a while 😅.
Anyway, how do these Canadian mobile operators perform? Which one is the best?
The Big Three (Rogers, Telus & Bell) cover practically all populated areas of Canada, with an availability of 99% or more.
5G NR availability is not as extensive, ranging between 11% (Telus) and 12.1% (Rogers).
But you should be aware that Rogers did not allow any eSIM to use its 5G NR network.
Heck, even my prepaid Rogers SIM card could not use 5G NR 🥲.
Let's talk about speeds – they are surprisingly fast in Canada.
That is… if your flanker brand or Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) does not throttle your speed (common in Canada).
Bell Mobility was the fastest mobile operator in Q4 of 2023, with a median download speed of 121.33 Mbps, according to Speedtest/Ookla.
It was followed by Telus (115.02 Mbps) and Rogers (105.87 Mbps).
The ranking does not change when we focus on 5G NR: 194.23 Mbps, 174.45 Mbps & 136.39 Mbps, respectively.
Let's focus on upload speeds – they are not that impressive but still okay.
Median upload speeds range from 11.80 Mbps (Bell) to 15.10 Mbps (Rogers).
In short, you do not have to worry about slow speeds in Canada (in cities).
I did speed tests with the Speedtest app throughout Toronto (and Niagara Falls).
For reference, I consider an average download speed of 25 Mbps and an average upload speed of 10 Mbps fast enough.
Why is that? A more than 25 Mbps download speed is enough to video stream content @ 4k resolution.
Social media sites that do live streaming, like Facebook Live, recommend an upload speed of at least 10 Mbps.
I have way higher standards, but not everyone demands a download speed of 500 Mbps 🤪.
In the section below, you will find various colors and formatting.
Results in dark green mean that the result was the fastest download or upload among all SIM cards and travel eSIMs I tested at that location.
Whereas results in light green were the fastest download or upload within the category (among all SIM cards OR all travel eSIMs) but not the fastest when considering the other category.
The same applies to dark red and light orange results – the slowest download or upload among all (dark red) or the slowest within a category (light orange).
All underlined results are on 5G NR, while results in italics are on 3G – results without additional formatting are on 4G/LTE.
That should clear up the colorful speed test results in the next section.
For now, let's see how the Airalo Tuque Mobile eSIM performed in Toronto (and Niagara Falls).
>>> Get your Airalo Tuque Mobile eSIM now! <<<
Airalo Tuque Mobile (Canada) eSIM in Niagara Falls & Toronto Speed Test Results
I used my Airalo Tuque Mobile (Canada) eSIM only in Toronto (and a bit in Niagara Falls).
The eSIM could use the networks of the Big Three (Rogers Wireless, Telus & Bell Mobility), with 5G NR access with the latter two.
Both the Airalo Canada and Airalo North America (Americanmex) eSIMs were powered by the same provider (Webbing/Orange France).
However, although Airalo claimed the Americanmex eSIM also had 5G NR access on Telus and Bell, it would not work for me.
The same happened in the United States…
So either it still had to be enabled (the eSIM was released in the month of me visiting North America (July 2023)), or it was an incorrect claim.
Although my contact at Airalo informed me they would investigate the issue, no follow-up was ever given 😔.
If I recall correctly, I chose Bell with the Tuque Mobile eSIM because 5G NR performance was better than Telus.
And I chose Telus for the Americanmex eSIM for comparison purposes.
Well… somewhat… it had no 5G, while 5G NR was semi-consistent with the Tuque Mobile eSIM.
Anyway, the next section will compare the Airalo Canada eSIM results with Bell, Americanmex, Alosim (on Telus) & two Nomad eSIMs (Canada-only one on Telus and North America on Rogers).
Below are the results:
Super-fast speeds with the Airalo Tuque Mobile eSIM.
Interestingly, Bell did not allow prepaid customers to use its 5G NR network.
While some travel eSIMs could use it 🗿.
Anyway, the Tuque Mobile eSIM had its best performance at Starbucks @ One Bedford Condominium (613.14 Mbps (5G)).
That is one of the fastest results I have gotten with an Airalo eSIM – and I have Airalo eSIMs in more than 30 countries at the time of writing.
No eSIM came close to that result. The second-fastest was Bell (255.09 Mbps).
Although I wonder what speed it would get if the SIM card did have 5G NR access too.
Anyway, other locations where the eSIM outdid eSIMs and SIM cards were at CN Tower (528.45 Mbps) and St. Lawrence Market (277.85 Mbps) – both on 5G NR.
Also at the Africa and Canada areas in Toronto Zoo (65.72 Mbps and 219.12 Mbps – both on 4G/LTE).
And finally, at Victoria Avenue at Niagara Falls (269.30 Mbps (5G)).
The locations where the Canada eSIM was faster than the other eSIMs were at CF Toronto Eaton Centre (303.25 Mbps), Siempre Breakfast & Lunch (181.87 Mbps) & the A Gates in Terminal 3 at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) – all on 5G NR.
We have five more locations where the eSIM had download speeds over 100 Mbps.
Alobar Restaurant (113.50 Mbps (4G)), Five Guys @ Yonge Street (105.41 Mbps (4G)) & Steam Whistle @ Toronto Railway Museum (121.54 Mbps (5G)).
Followed by Toronto Railway Museum (132.65 Mbps (5G)) and Walmart Supercentre in Niagara Falls (174.13 Mbps (5G)).
By the way, the railway museum was… disappointing. Please do not waste your time and money visiting it 🗿.
The only location where the eSIM was slower than other eSIMs and the Canadian SIM cards I tested was at Nathan Phillips Square, with a download speed of 8.27 Mbps (5G)).
Surprisingly, all eSIMs, except for Holafly Canada, had download speeds of over 100 Mbps there 😳.
Regarding upload speeds, there is not that much to say.
Most are beyond acceptable (over 10 Mbps) or fast (over 25 Mbps).
While some were suspiciously slow (1 Mbps – 3 Mbps).
But with an average download speed of 129.36 Mbps, the Airalo Tuque Mobile eSIM had the fastest average (even faster than Rogers and Telus).
Things were looking great in terms of upload speeds too – an average of 19.45 Mbps, making it slower than Nomad Canada (23.51 Mbps) and Nomad North America (22.02 Mbps).
Overall, the Airalo Canada eSIM had a stellar performance in the country.
>>> Get your Airalo Tuque Mobile eSIM now! <<<
My Overall Experience with the Airalo Tuque Mobile eSIM in Canada – Is It Worth Your Money?
I would recommend the Airalo Tuque Mobile (Canada), and it would be one of my top eSIM recommendations for anyone wanting to buy an eSIM for Canada.
Getting the Airalo Tuque Mobile eSIM or any other Airalo eSIM is extremely easy.
Airalo is one of the few eSIM providers that allow you to install an eSIM directly to your phone (without the need to scan a QR code), which makes the installation process a piece of cake (hence, I did not spend any time on how to install in this review – it is easy!).
Moreover, you do not have to adjust the APN settings with the Airalo Tuque Mobile eSIM, making it more manageable.
In other news, Airalo's Tuque Mobile eSIMs were one of the more affordable eSIMs I tested on this trip while having one of the most options to choose from (1 GB, 2 GB, 3 GB, 5 GB, 10 GB & 20 GB).
You can access the three biggest Canadian networks: Rogers Wireless, Telus & Bell Mobility.
The latter two even give you 5G NR access.
However, from what I remember, I specifically selected Bell with my Tuque Mobile eSIM because its 5G NR performance was better.
But that does not mean you should not consider selecting Telus.
With the Nomad North America eSIM, I chose Telus over Rogers (the latter did not give 5G NR access), and speeds were rather consistent (just not blazing-fast).
Speaking of blazing-fast, the Airalo Canada eSIM achieved the fastest speeds.
So much so that one test result, the one at Starbucks @ One Bedford Condominium was one of, if not, the fastest download speed I have gotten with an Airalo eSIM – 613.14 Mbps (5G).
From what I remember, that test used about 700 MB of the 10 GB I had 🗿.
Anyway, I got an average download speed of 129.36 Mbps with the eSIM – one of the highest I have gotten with an Airalo eSIM.
And upload speeds were fast too – an average of 19.45 Mbps.
In short, it is an excellent eSIM.
If you plan on visiting the United States after Canada or even Mexico, consider the relatively new Americanmex eSIM (review).
It is powered by the same provider that powers the Tuque Mobile eSIM, but it can be used in Canada, Mexico & the United States.
Just note that while it should have 5G NR access in Canada and the United States, I could not use it.
That was the case in July 2023 – the same month the eSIM was introduced.
Perhaps the issue has been fixed by now.
You can also consider the Nomad North America eSIM (review).
It is cheaper than the Americanmex eSIM (except for the 1 GB plan) while offering comparable performance.
And 5G NR access was not broken with that eSIM 😜.
But if you are looking for a Canada-only eSIM, you cannot go wrong with the Airalo Tuque Mobile eSIM.
>>> Get your Airalo Tuque Mobile eSIM now! <<<