If the person you are calling has a smartphone, the same app as you and a good data connection, a WhatsApp, FaceTime or Messenger call costs nothing and is hard to beat. The trouble is how often one of those three things is missing. That is where a prepaid call to an ordinary phone number earns its keep: it works to any landline or mobile, needs no internet at either end and costs pennies a minute.
Most people who call family abroad end up using both. Here is how to decide which to reach for.
How app calls work
Apps such as WhatsApp, FaceTime, Messenger, Viber and Telegram carry your voice over the internet. There is no per-minute charge, but both of you must have the same app installed, both phones must be online, and the call is only as good as the weaker of the two connections. On mobile data it also uses your allowance.
Where apps fall short
- The other person does not use the app. Plenty of people you want to reach do not: an elderly parent on a landline, a relative with a basic phone, an office or a doctor’s surgery.
- Poor or expensive data. In rural areas, and in many countries where mobile data is costly, app calls drop, echo or never connect.
- The app is blocked. Some countries restrict internet calling. WhatsApp, for example, does not work in mainland China without workarounds.
- You need to call a number, not a person. Banks, hotels, airlines and government offices abroad do not answer on WhatsApp.
How prepaid calling works
With a Planet Numbers prepaid account you register the UK phone you call from and top up by PayPal, from £5. To call, you dial 0161 328 7777, wait for the tone, then dial the international number. We recognise your phone, so there is no PIN. The call goes over the ordinary phone network to any landline or mobile in the world, and comes off your credit from 1p a minute plus a 5p connection charge when the other person answers.
Nothing is added to your phone bill, there is no contract or monthly fee, and your credit never expires.
Side by side
- Cost: apps are free over wi-fi; prepaid costs pennies a minute.
- Who you can call: apps reach only people with the same app online; prepaid reaches any phone number.
- What you need: apps need a smartphone and data at both ends; prepaid works from any UK landline or mobile to any phone.
- Reliability: app quality depends on both internet connections; prepaid calls use the phone network, so quality is steady.
What about free calls without an app?
If your UK plan includes calls to 0845 numbers, you can call more than 100 countries at no extra cost by dialling 0845 222 6666 before the international number. It reaches ordinary phones, like a prepaid call, but costs nothing, like an app. See how free international calls work.
Our advice
Use an app when both of you have it and a good connection. Keep a prepaid account topped up for everything else: the landline, the patchy line, the call that has to get through. With credit that never expires, a £5 top-up can sit there for months until you need it.
Set up a prepaid account, or check the rate to any country on the A to Z rates list. Questions? Use the support form.