Freedom Mobile Review: Why I Chose Freedom As My First Mobile Carrier
Estimated reading time: 12 minutes
I researched Freedom Mobile, the fourth-biggest carrier in Canada, and got my service as a first-time mobile user, and I’ll explain why.
Yes, I chose Freedom Mobile and will continue using this service in 2023, three years after writing this blog post.
Check out my full, unbiased review as a Freedom customer below.
Plus, if you sign up using my unique link for Freedom Mobile, you get a $25 Service Credit!
Now, I call that a customer service perk you don’t have to beg for.
2023 Update: I’m still with Freedom Mobile with no issues, so I’m staying put.
Canadian Wireless Prices Too High For Consumers
Canadian Mobile Pricing Vs. UK Mobile Pricing
As many of you know, I moved to Canada from the UK just over 12 years ago, and back home, I had a mobile phone but without data.
Data came after I left the UK; however, the costs to run my mobile phone were far cheaper than Mrs.CBB’s.
Back then, I was paying something silly, like 5 pounds a month, for my mobile flip phone. (I still have it too)
She has been with Rogers Mobile for twenty years; it was the first provider she bought a mobile flip phone.
Over the years, she’s continued to stay with Rogers as she’d call the retention department yearly to ask for a customer deal.
Related: How To Get A Deal With Rogers Communications
The need for mobile data has never warranted her spending money on a data plan, so her plan was all the bells and whistles minus data.
She currently pays a promo price of $20 monthly without data for one year, but it wasn’t always this cheap.
The most she’s ever paid was $50 a month for a basic Rogers phone plan in the early 2000s.
Rogers Basic vs. Freedom Pre-Paid Basic Yearly Plan
Even worse, Freedom Mobile offers a prepaid plan for only $99/year for the same services.
That means she pays $20 plus taxes = $23 a month with Rogers, $276 a year.
If she signs up with Freedom, she will pay $99 plus taxes of $111.87 for the year and the same services.
The only perk is that Roger’s coverage area is one of the best in Canada.
This is where she gets jealous of my new Freedom Mobile Pre-paid plan since it fits me perfectly.
I get 1.5GB of data and all the bells and whistles for only $19.99 monthly plus taxes for 12 months.
She’s considering moving from Rogers Wireless to Freedom Mobile to save money and get data.
Who Is Freedom Mobile?
In 2008, Freedom Mobile in Toronto was founded by Globaliv, Anthony Lacavera, and as of 2016, employed 1250 employees.
Freedom Mobile Inc. is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider owned by Shaw Communications.
With 1,767,155 active subscribers (as of the end of February 29, 2020) in urban areas of Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta, it is Canada’s fourth largest mobile network operator with 5% market share.
Freedom Mobile is a Canadian company that believes in giving its customers the best prices and Freedom of price gouging.
You’ll also find that Freedom Mobile stays ahead of or in line with the big mobile phone companies.
Offering Freedom 5G for their customers allows more network sensors, robust connectivity, and deeper communication.
Canadian Wireless Still Costs Far Too Much
That needs to change because talking and sharing shouldn’t break the bank.
With Freedom Mobile, you get four fixes to Canadians’ overwhelming mobile phone problems.
- Giving Canadians Freedom From Data Overages (Fees for this are huge with many big mobile carriers)
- Freedom From Price Gouging for Canadians– The main reason I did not get a mobile phone in Canada for 12 years is the pricing scams.
- Supporting Canadians with Flat Monthly Fees– I like the ability to pay one monthly fee for the entire year.
- Affordable Everything with Freedom Mobile– Many people researching may find some of the best mobile prices with Freedom.
With locations all over Canada, Freedom Mobile has you covered.
You’ll find that Freedom Data Plans are far superior to many other network providers in Canada.
For instance, Rogers has a 20GB phone plan with sharable data for sale for $80 monthly.
Rogers also offers 50GB with unlimited data, so when you reach 50GB, you still get data, but it’s slower and limited without overage fees.
With Freedom Mobile, you get 20GB for $65 a month with 1GB of data, free talk and text, plus incoming calls.
Freedom’s most extensive mobile plan is 35GB Freedom Nationwide with 5GB of data for $115 monthly.
Rogers offers Pay as You Go Plans with or without data, but the pricing is still far too expensive.
Mrs. CBB’s $20 monthly plan is a promo bundle plus her grandfathered pricing.
Freedom World Saver Add-On
The cost is an additional $20 a month with Rogers to get international text messages.
Freedom Mobile also has a Freedom Savers Program for $5 a month.
You can enter any destination into their search bar, and it will bring up the costs.
I plugged in the UK since my family lives there to see if adding the $5 was worth it.
United Kingdom & Northern Ireland Calling Rates
On Big Gig Data plans (where unlimited talk is not included in the plan), all international calls made are an additional $0.05/min
- Standard Rate $0.75/min
- World Saver Rate $0.06/min
Our World Saver add-on lets you stay connected with friends and family around the globe.
Get unlimited international texting and reduced international calling rates at 2¢/min to 200+ destinations.
Since I only talk to my parents on the phone once a month, I’ll stick with my $5 phone card and my siblings online.
This plan is excellent for those who talk to their family out of the country and text people.
Freedom Mobile Plan I Chose
I was fortunate to hop on with Freedom Mobile to get their current prepaid plan promotion.
The prepaid plan comes with no contract, and I’ve set it up to be paid automatically on our credit card.
By doing this, I also received a $ 5-a-month discount, which seemed like incredible savings, considering I only paid $19.99 monthly.
The regular price of my prepaid plan is $24/per month, but with a digital discount for 12 months, I’ll get it for $19.99 per month.
I get 1.5GB of Fast LTE data for this Freedom Mobile promo with unlimited Canada-wide calling and global text for 12 months.
After 12 months, the regular price of $24.99 kicks in minus the $5 pre-authorized discount of $5, making it $19.99 a month until I stop or change the plan.
The best part for those worried about other big cell phone carriers who may decline you based on your credit score is that this won’t happen with Freedom.
- No Credit Check
- No Contract
- Fast LTE Data (LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, which is a quicker transmission for downloading)
- No Overage Fees
I’m a massive fan of the no-contract since that allows me, as a customer, to make choices based on my budget needs.
Some mobile carriers offer a promo with a contract to pay a fee to get out early.
There is a one-time connection fee of $10 for prepaid Freedom Mobile plans, which I was okay with.
Why I Chose A Pre-Paid Freedom Mobile Plan
The reason was simple: I don’t use a mobile phone enough to justify a larger data plan.
However, the price points with Freedom are far better than any other I’ve researched.
I could have gone with the prepaid $ 99-a-year plan. However, I opted for the data for my business, this blog.
The network coverage wasn’t a bother as I don’t travel much outside the area.
I also liked that I didn’t have to worry about overage fees.
Mostly, I’ll use free Wi-Fi instead of my data while I’m at home and work.
If the data weren’t used as much as I thought, I’d probably swap over to the $ 99-a-year plan after one year.
Porting Your Mobile Number
Can you port your current mobile number when signing up with Freedom Mobile?
The answer is yes, provided your mobile number is current and in the Freedom Mobile coverage area.
I didn’t have a mobile phone number when I signed up, as it was my first Canadian mobile phone.
The customer service rep brought up a variety of Freedom Mobile phone number options I could choose from.
I picked the easiest one to remember since I’m horrible with phone numbers and still struggle to remember my social insurance number.
Choosing a phone number was an excellent option for me, although this may not be a perk for some of you.
Freedom Mobile Coverage Area
I was skeptical of Freedom Mobile at first because I was told that their mobile coverage wasn’t that great.
After researching the Freedom network, I was satisfied with the area coverage they offered and the price point I was given.
The Freedom Mobile coverage area is from Windsor to London to Ingersoll, Woodstock, Brantford, Kitchener, Cambridge, Guelph, Hamilton, Niagara, Welland, Toronto, Greater Toronto Area, Whitby, Barrie, Peterborough, Brockville, Cornwall, and Quebec, so it’s quite an extensive area around Ontario.
Freedom mobile has continuously extended its mobile network across Canada.
We’re continuing to grow, giving Canadians more choice for more affordable LTE data.
In fact, more than 1.3 million additional Canadians will get access to wireless from Freedom in 2019.
Other Areas That Freedom Mobile Is Available In Canada
There is also Freedom Mobile availability in;
- Cranbrook, British Columbia
- Kelowna, British Columbia
- Lethbridge, Alberta
- Nanaimo, British Columbia
- Medicine Hat, Alberta
- Prince George, British Columbia
- Prince Rupert, British Columbia
- Vernon, British Columbia
- Courtenay-Comox, British Columbia
- Kamloops, British Columbia
- Campbell River, British Columbia
- Penticton, British Columbia
There are far more in Ontario that I have not listed above, but to give you an idea of how widespread the Freedom Mobile coverage is for anyone interested in signing up with them.
The Freedom network provides access to the data, talk, text, and features included with the Freedom portion of your plan.
Your phone will display the network name ‘Freedom‘ in this area.
Depending on your location and device capabilities, you may be connected to 3G, LTE, or Extended Range LTE networks.
In other words, depending on whether you are in a covered Freedom area, your device will display the services you are using.
They partner with Bell, Rogers, and Telus outside the Freedom network to offer customers their services.
Group or Family Discounts With Freedom Mobile
Since Mrs. CBB has been with Rogers Mobile for twenty years and is excited about the Freedom Mobile plans, I asked if they had a family discount.
Unfortunately, Freedom does not have a family discount; however, you can see why if you look at all the Freedom plans they offer.
I found they had the best pricing from all the research I completed before deciding to go with Freedom Mobile as my carrier.
Mobile Plan Add-Ons At Freedom
Freedom Mobile also has an add-on program where you can have international calling added to your phone for a small monthly fee.
I get a mobile phone card for $5 to call my family back in the UK, which works perfectly fine.
If you’re not interested in getting a phone card, you can apply an add-on instantly from the app or website to your phone that fits your budget.
Tethering Your Mobile Phone
If you want to tether your mobile phone to your laptop, you can provide your computer and telephone to allow it.
This means you can use your laptop as your phone using the data plan that you pay for with your phone.
Most places I go to have free Wi-Fi, so I’m not too concerned about this as well we have unlimited internet access at home.
Freedom Mobile Support System
I love how Freedom Mobile’s customer support system uses What’s App, iMessage, or an online agent.
With the What’s App and iMessage, you scan the available QR code and disappear.
Their customer care centre is open Monday to Friday from 8 am until 1 am, which is pretty decent if you ask me.
The call to Freedom Mobile is free when dialed from your mobile phone.
- 611 on Freedom Phone
- 1-877-946-3184 (within North America)
- +1-647-700-2435 (outside North America)
Another cool feature is that you can message them via Facebook Messenger and Twitter direct media from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m., Monday to Friday.
I have not tried to contact support through social media; however, I have successfully done this with Rogers.
The only downfall is how long it takes for someone to respond to you, which could be instant or take 10 minutes.
It’s no different from waiting on the telephone talking to support for Rogers or Cogeco, both of which we’ve done.
If it’s taking too long, opt for their live message operator from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday to Friday.
Final Thoughts On Freedom Mobile
Having more market carriers in Canada for mobile will give the competition a run for their money.
The Freedom Big Gig plans to add value for their customers’ money compared to other phone companies.
We’ll start to see pricing differences once the big guys realize customers can’t afford their ridiculous pricing.
Going with Freedom Mobile was a smart financial move and an excellent choice for someone looking to save money on their mobile plan.
This review was my own opinion and not a paid review.
However, if you sign up with this Freedom Mobile affiliate link, you and I get a $25 Bonus Credit.
Discussion: What mobile provider do you use, and are you happy with your payment plan?
