Do you need to make international calls and looking for cheaper than Skype alternatives. Today at Techovity we will be comparing different VoIP (Internet Based Calling) options and will try to find the cheapest VoIP option.

However we will not be considering many so called free USA calling providers here, which allows people to make Ad based US/Canada calls for few minutes. Because these free services are not so reliable and can not be used as primary calling option for long calls. Our target here is to check reliable VoIP calling options and find out cheaper than Skype alternatives.

Lets check call rates for USA and India offered by different service providers.

1) Skype –

skype Logo

Skype is the most famous VoIP calling option and supports making phone calls from PC and Mobile phone. Skype provides cheap call rates as compared to normal international phone calls, and its application is available for all major mobile platforms.

Skype offers two payment options – Subscription and Pay Per Minute.

Subscription allows you to buy package of 60, 120 and 400 minutes per month or Unlimited per month option. Skype Unlimited option gives you 10000 minutes every month according the fair usage policy.

  • Call Rate To USA Mobile No :

Unlimited United States Subscription : $6.99/month – 350Rs (Approx) for 10000 min

Pay as you Go :  2.3¢/min –  1.15Rs (Approx)

  • Call Rate To India Mobile No :

Unlimited India Subscription :  $19.99/month – 1000Rs (Approx) for 10000 min

Pay as you Go :  9.2¢/min –  4.6 Rs (Approx)

Pros: Reliable, Easy to use, Works From PC and Mobile, Call from any Landline or Mobile using Skype To Go.

Cons: Costly Pay Per Minute

READ MORE: Make cheap International VoIP calls from Mobile

2) Localphone –

‘Call global, pay local’ this is what Localphone promises, and to our surprise it also fulfills that.

Localphone not only offers much cheaper than skype call rates per minute, it also offers a wide options of making call.

You can make Internet based calls using your PC (Dialer software availble) or use any mobile (configure any mobile messenger such as Nimbuzz to use Localphone account, step-by-step tutorial is given for all mobile platforms), Localphone also provides ‘Dial Online’ which allows to make call using any landline or mobile phone like ‘Skype To Go’ service.

  • Call Rate To USA Mobile No : 0.5¢ per minute  -0.25Rs (Approx)
  • Call Rate To India Mobile No : 1.5¢ per minute – 0.75Rs (Approx)

Pros: Reliable, Call allowed from PC, Mobile and Landline, Low Call Rates

Cons: None

3) Google Voice –

One more cheaper than skype alternative is Google Voice. This is a great service provided by Google which allows you to choose and take an US mobile number for free.

Using this virtual mobile, we can call any US phone number for free or we can send SMS to any US mobile for free.

Only problem is that Google Voice is only available for USA and will not allow you to register if you open this site from any other country.

However this problem can be easily overcome by using any proxy software like Tunnel Bear or Tor Browser. Only thing you need to do is to change your system’s IP address to any US based IP Address by using Proxy Software.

Just search on Google for ‘how to create google voice account from outside the US’ and you will find step by step instructions.

After creating Google Voice account, choose Google Chat as call back number and now you can make free US calls from Gmail talk account. You can also directly open Google Chat in Gmail and call any number from there (Check the below image) .

To get this Call Phone option in you Gmail Chat, please make sure that you have changed you IP address to US based IP Address (Use Tunnel Bear Proxy).

Pros: Free US Call , Free US SMS

Cons: You can call only US phone numbers, Complex to setup from out of USA.

4) Nimbuzz Out –

Nimbuzz is a well known messenger for Mobile and now it is also available for PC. Nimbuzz allows to call any phone number in world using their Nimbuzz Out service which works on VoIP.

All you need is a Mobile phone or PC with Nibuzz software installed on it and Internet data plan.

  • Call Rate To USA Mobile No : $0.020 /Min – 1Rs (Approx)
  • Call Rate To India Mobile No : $0.030 / Min – 1.5Rs (Approx)

Call rates are cheaper than Skype, however its not cheaper than Localphone, therefore can not recommend it.

Final Words :

If you want maximum calling minutes then the best and most reliable option is Skype as its giving unlimited US calling for just 350Rs/- and Unlimited India calling for 1000Rs per month.

However if you want flexibility and want to pay per minute, then you should go for Localphone. As Localphone is providing cheapest international call charges and also so many calling options. However call quality of Localphone is not as good as Skype,  check out the comparison of VoIP providers on Techovity.

In case if you want a totally free US calling option, and have time to play with internet settings, you can start playing with Google Voice. Once you find the correct way of using Google Voice, you will start to love it.