Best apps for making free international calls
LOS ANGELES — A common question we hear all the time is, how can you make international calls for free?
There are so many viable options to do it now, and you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg anymore to the wireless carriers. It's another case of free apps to the rescue!
The programs that began on the computer as a low-cost alternative to making expensive phone calls now have apps, and you can use them much in the same way.
The old way: two people connect via computer and talk via webcam. The new way: make a phone call just like you did in the landline era, and catch up with family and friends anywhere in the world, for free.
Charges may occur if you try to call someone's landline or cell phone from the app, but if you call app to app, it's most often free. And now you have the option of either making a voice or video call, along with various features from the apps, like chat and group calls.
Which app to use? A good basic rule of thumb: use the app where your friends or family are. If they like to connect there, it will be the easiest place to find them. Each app works differently, but in a nutshell, look for the phone or video camera icon for guidance to where to make your free calls.
App comparison
--Skype has been the pioneer of free calls since it started in 2003. As it always has, calling "Skype to Skype," is free, but making a call from your smartphone to someone's landline or cell phones will cost you. Rates vary depending upon which country you call. Skype starts at 10 cents a minute to call mobile phones in the United Kingdom, for instance, or 2.3 cents per minute to call landlines. It also offers a monthly $6.99 subscription. Calls are easy to make, but the invite process is clunky. You can’t make calls until you both accept the request.
--WhatsApp is probably the most popular app right now among people in Europe for free calls, with over 1 billion global users on the service. Like Skype, the app works when your friends are there. Recently WhatsApp expanded beyond basic free calls and messages to copy communications app Snapchat with a similar "Story" feature that lets members show off collections of photos and videos.
--Apple’s Facetime couldn’t be any simpler to operate, and should be your first choice if you have an iPhone, iPad or Apple Macintosh computer. All you need is a phone number or Apple ID to begin making free calls. But if your mom is on Android and you're on Apple, you're out of luck. You'll want to consider one of the other options. Unlike the other apps, FaceTime isn't a download. It comes installed on all new iPhones, iPads and Macs. Look for the green camera icon on your mobile screen or in the menu of your desktop.
--The Line app dominates in Asia, but it's starting to make inroads here in the U.S. with a delicious offer: free international calls to land lines as long as you watch a 15 second ad first. App to app calls don’t require the ads. Give it a try: it's the most colorful and fun of the free phone apps, best known for introducing "stickers," to instant messages to pretty up your texts, from the likes of Pokemon and Mickey Mouse, to Dragon Ball and Star Wars. Most are available for sale starting at 99 cents.
--Facebook Messenger. With nearly 1 billion users, the odds are your friends or loved ones are already there, which is why I'd recommend starting here first. Plus the audio quality is generally excellent. To make the call, remember to use the Messenger app for your smartphone, or regular desktop Facebook. Look for the video camera and phone icons at the top of the screen, next to the name of your friend.
Remember that with the apps, you don’t have to make video calls. They're great, but we have to be well-dressed and we can’t do other things while we talk. That’s why I usually opt for the voice call.
What’s your choice?
Have questions about how to navigate the mobile world, let’s talk about it on Twitter, where I’m @jeffersongraham