Make Cheap International Calls On A Mobile Phone

Making international calls from your cell phone can be an expensive endeavor. AT&T can charge $1.29 per minute if you don’t have an international calling plan, but even with the plan, you can end up paying $0.99 a minute, depending on the country you call. The good news is that the internet has made calling inexpensive. You can easily transform your cell phone to make cheap, or even free, international calls.

• Google Voice

Google voice is a free service with cheap international calling rates. Sign up for your free Google voice number, add your cell phone number to your account, and then add money to your Google voice account online. Calling rates vary by country, but start as low as $0.02 a minute for countries like India, Germany, Greece, and Hong Kong. Once your account is funded, simply call your Google voice number and then enter the phone number you want to call. Alternatively, get the Google Voice app and call overseas directly from the app.

• Skype

Skype offers two types of calling rates to overseas destinations. You can buy Skype credit and just pay by the minute, or you can subscribe for a particular country’s calling plan for a monthly fee. With the monthly subscription plan, you get a certain number of minutes of calls to that country or you can purchase an unlimited plan. You’ll have to gauge which plan saves you the most money. If you call frequently, the monthly calling plan might make sense. If you only make a couple of calls per month, it might be cheaper just to go with the regular calling rate. You can also make video calls with Skype, as long as the person you’re calling is also able to use Skype, either via computer or Smartphone app.

• Fring

Fring provides an app that you put on your cell phone. Fund your account, open the app and make your call from the app. Video calls are possible if the person you’re calling also has Fring, and you can have up to four people on one group video call. Rates vary by country. Calls to a landline in Germany cost $0.01/minute, while a call to a Hong Kong landline costs 1.7 cents a minute. It costs 19.4 cents to call India and 1.4 cents to call Greece.

• Truphone

Truphone is another service that allows you to make inexpensive overseas calls using an app on your Smartphone. Make sure your Smartphone will work with the app before you fund your account as some phones won’t work with it. The service relies on using Wi-Fi, but you can use your phone’s GSM service is Wi-Fi is not available. Calls start as low as 6 cents a minute for common countries and prices go up for more remote locations.

• Rebtel

Rebtel offers cheap international rates with no monthly fees. Rebtel is unqie in that it offers free international calls from more than 50 countries worldwide. After you create an account, you call the number you want to call. Rebtel then sends you a local number to call. To make your free call, dial the local number rebtel gives you then ask the person on the other end to hang up. Then they call you back on your local number while you wait on the line. This service is only available for certain areas, however. If it’s not available for your area, you can get the Rebtel app for your Smartphone. If the person you’re placing the call to also has the Rebtel app, the call is free. Rebtel also offers options for sending text messages internationally at cheap rates.

There are many more options available out there for making cheap international phone calls, but these are the cheapest ones that offer the best service, as well as additional services such as video calls or group video calls. There is no longer any need to avoid calling your faraway loved one because of exorbitant phone rates. Sign up for one of these services and get calling today.