By Lisa Salter
Montreal travel advisor · Updated August 4, 2026
aloSIM is the rare travel eSIM run from Canada rather than sold into it — and one of the very few that gives you a working phone number rather than data alone. Here is an honest look for Canadian travellers.
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See eSIM plansWhat is aloSIM?
aloSIM launched in 2022 from AffinityClick, a Canadian company also behind the Hushed second-number app. That heritage explains its most unusual feature: where nearly every travel eSIM sells data and nothing else, aloSIM bundles an actual phone number you can call and text from.
Coverage runs to 200+ destinations. Inside Canada it uses the Rogers, Telus and Bell networks, and abroad it rides on the usual global partners — Vodafone, Orange, Telefónica, KDDI and others.
What aloSIM does well
An actual phone number
Calls and texts, not just data. Genuinely useful for ringing a hotel, confirming a tour or booking a taxi somewhere that expects a phone call rather than an app.
Thirty-day refunds
Including accidental purchases — most providers refuse any refund once a plan is activated. For a first-time eSIM buyer that removes most of the risk of getting it wrong.
200+ destinations
Matching Airalo's breadth, with regional bundles and a global plan covering 147 countries if your trip crosses several.
From about $4.50
1 GB country plans start around US$4.50, with unlimited options from roughly US$11.50 for three days.
Where aloSIM falls short
Not the cheapest per GB
Saily and Nomad frequently undercut it on larger plans. If cost per gigabyte is your only measure, aloSIM is mid-pack.
A smaller operation
Less accumulated real-world reporting than Airalo has after far longer, which matters most in unusual destinations.
Still US dollars
Despite the Canadian ownership, plans are priced in USD — so a Canadian card adds conversion and usually a foreign-transaction fee.
Does being Canadian actually matter?
Less than the marketing suggests, and more than nothing. It does not make the network faster — abroad you are roaming onto the same global partners everyone else uses. What it changes is support hours that overlap with yours, billing that is not a mystery, and a company operating under Canadian consumer rules.
If you have ever tried to resolve an eSIM problem with a company nine time zones away through a chatbot, that is worth something. It is not worth paying a large premium for.
Who should buy it
Travellers who want a phone number as well as data — which is a smaller group than it should be, because most people do not realise the alternative is data-only. First-time eSIM buyers who want the safety net of a refund. And anyone who would rather deal with a Canadian company.
If you are optimising purely on cost per gigabyte for a long trip, look at Saily or Nomad first.
Frequently asked questions
Is aloSIM Canadian?
Yes. It launched in 2022 from AffinityClick, a Canadian company that also makes the Hushed second-number app. Plans are still priced in US dollars, though.
Does aloSIM include a phone number?
Yes, and this is its most distinctive feature. Most travel eSIMs sell data only, so you can use WhatsApp but cannot ring a hotel. aloSIM bundles a number for calls and texts.
Can I get a refund from aloSIM?
Within thirty days, including accidental purchases — unusually generous for the category, where most providers refuse refunds once a plan has been activated.
Is aloSIM cheaper than Airalo?
At entry level they are close. On larger plans aloSIM is mid-pack — Saily and Nomad often come in lower per gigabyte, while aloSIM's case rests on the bundled number and the refund policy.
Not sure which one fits your trip? Lisa Salter, a Montréal travel advisor, matches the right eSIM to how you actually travel and sets it up before you fly — in French or English. Ask Lisa →
