3 Apps for Cheap International Phone Calls

 

Viber
One of the messaging apps that has been growing in popularity of late, Viber (Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and computers) lets you chat with your friends and make free voice calls to other Viber users. But more than that, it also lets you call up people on their landline number or mobile phone. To do this, you have to pay for Viber Out credit; once you do, you can call up someone in the United States for just Rs. 1.16 per minute, to call either a landline or a mobile phone. It's the same rate for calling Singapore as well.

Calling a mobile phone in the United Kingdom is a more expensive proposition, and will set you back by Rs. 3.60; landlines are the same Rs. 1.16 per minute. Calling someone in the UAE on the other hand will set you back by a whopping Rs. 15.85 per minute, on cellphones and landlines. You can see the rates here.

 

Line
The Line app (Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and computers) is, like Viber, a full fledged messaging platform. It has features such as private messages which self-destruct on a deadline, file sharing, stickers and video chats. Aside from all this, you can also use Line to call phones around the world.
The app works without any fixed monthly charge, but you can subscribe to a monthly plan for lower per-minute rates as well. The rates are highly competitive - calling a landline in the United States costs 1 credit (Rs. 0.60) per minute, and 2 credits (Rs. 1.20) for mobiles. Calling China costs 2 credits for both landlines and cellphones, while the United Kingdoms charges are 1 credit per minute for landlines, and 5 credits (Rs. 3) per minute for mobile phones. To pay, you have to buy credits, and you get 100 credits for Rs. 60. You can see country specific prices here. 

Nimbuzz
Nimbuzz Messenger is a fairly plain looking app, but once you've figured out the layout, it works as promised. It is also available for almost every device (iOS, Android, Window Phone, BlackBerry, Symbian, and computers) out there, which is always a plus.
You have the option of calling a landline or mobile phone. The layout of the app makes finding the call option pretty complicated - in the BlackBerry app we used, you have to go into two different menus before you can make a call.

The feature - NimbuzzOut - claims to be the cheapest international calling option. The rates we checked were actually rock bottom - you have to buy credits in advance as usual, which you can do from the Nimbuzz website - and a call to the USA, for example, costs $0.008, or approximately Rs. 0.48.