chatr plans: what the prepaid plans include, how to top up, and what happens abroad

What chatr plans were listed on 10 November 2026?

chatr is the prepaid brand of Rogers Communications; Rogers' 2024 annual information form lists Rogers and Fido as its postpaid brands and chatr as its prepaid one, and chatr's own site says it is powered by the Rogers network. Since 20 February 2025 Fido's prepaid customers have also been moved to chatr. Our Rogers guide covers the parent network.

These were the chatr plans with data shown for Ontario when we read the plans page. All include unlimited Canada-wide talk, unlimited Canada, US and international texts, and voicemail. The data figure is the total once the auto-pay bonus is counted.

chatr says prices are for new activations only. Its filter also counted two talk-and-text plans, but their prices did not show on the page when we read it.

This is desk research from chatr's own pages. We have not bought or tested a chatr plan.

What is the chatr yearly plan?

The yearly plan is $159 for 12 months with 40GB, unlimited Canada-wide talk and unlimited texts. chatr says that works out at less than $14 a month. Data is spread across the year rather than renewed monthly, so 40GB is about 3.3GB a month on average. It suits a light user who wants to pay once; a heavy user gets more from the $35 monthly plan.

How does chatr top up work?

chatr is prepaid, so you keep a balance on the account and the plan draws from it. chatr says you can top up automatically with pre-authorised payments (auto-pay), or manually with a credit card, Visa Debit, Debit Mastercard or a chatr top-up card. Top-up cards are sold at gas stations, grocery stores and other retailers, and chatr says it has over 3,000 stores across Canada. Signing up for auto-pay is what earns the bonus data in the table above.

Can I get a chatr SIM or eSIM as a tourist?

Yes, and chatr pitches directly at visitors. Its tourist page says the eSIM is free, can be activated in minutes from anywhere in the world, before or after you land, and that plans are month to month with no cancellation fees. chatr's eSIM help says it works on Apple devices on iOS 12.1 or later and Android 10 or later. A physical chatr SIM can be ordered online with free shipping or bought in store.

chatr also sells SIMs and eSIMs at two airports:

• Toronto Pearson: Terminal 1 arrivals level, next to the CIBC kiosk, open 6 a.m. to midnight; Terminal 3 arrivals level, beside Tim Hortons, open 9 a.m. to midnight.
• Montréal-Trudeau: chatr's tourist page says it sells SIMs and eSIMs there too.

At the airport, chatr says to bring a passport or government ID, which you may need for SIM or eSIM registration. Our Toronto Pearson airport SIM page covers the other options in the terminals.

Does chatr have roaming?

No. chatr's network and data support page says that starting 1 July 2022 US roaming is not available to chatr customers. We found no international roaming option either. A chatr phone works in Canada only, so a Canadian on chatr who travels needs a travel eSIM for the trip, or a different brand. Fido, chatr's postpaid sister, sells Fido Roam passes; see our Fido page.

International calling from Canada is separate: chatr sells long distance add-ons through My chatr and lists rates starting from 1 cent a minute under its International Talk Saver.

Is chatr cheaper than a travel eSIM for a visit to Canada?

For a week, not always; for a month, usually. Our verified Canada eSIM prices, read on each seller's own site in August 2026 and quoted in US dollars, were:

Nomad

10GB over 30 days for $17

Airalo

10GB over 7 days for $18

Saily

10GB over 30 days for $30.99

Holafly

unlimited data for 7 days at $32.90

chatr's $35 Canadian plan gives 30GB with auto-pay for a month, plus a Canadian number and unlimited Canada-wide calls, which a data-only eSIM does not. If you need to call Canadian businesses or receive texts from them, chatr is the better buy; if you only need maps and messaging for a few days, an eSIM is simpler and you do not need to register anything. Our cheap SIM card guide for Canada compares chatr with Lucky Mobile, Public Mobile and Koodo Prepaid.

What do you need to use chatr on your own phone?

Your phone must work on the bands chatr uses. chatr's network page lists the LTE bands it uses: 700MHz (B12), 850MHz (B5), 1900MHz (B2, B25), AWS 1700/2100MHz (B4, B66) and 2600MHz (B7). Most recent phones sold in Europe, the UK, Australia and India cover several of these, but check yours before you land. On iPhones running iOS 9 or later chatr data works straight away; on other phones you may need to set the APN to chatrweb.apn, which chatr gives on the same page.

If you plan to use the eSIM as your only line, chatr says to connect to Wi-Fi to finish activation, so do it at the hotel or the airport rather than at the roadside.

Which chatr plan would we pick?

For most visitors staying a few weeks, the $35 plan with 30GB is the sweet spot, if you can set up auto-pay. Without auto-pay you lose the 5GB bonus. For a Canadian resident who barely uses data, the $159 yearly plan is the cheapest way to keep a number live, but plan any trips abroad around an eSIM.