VoIP provider comparison… Part 1 – The costs
July 17, 2007 by Carlos Eduardo · 8 Comments
Being that I habitually like to try out many different types of VoIP providers… I wanted to see which ones truly saved me money (in this part of the study), being that most people use them just for this reason alone.
I do realize that because different people have different calling needs, that the conclusions that you can derive from my study may not apply to you, however, here is what I found in an example scenario I use often (calling from the UK to a Mexican Mobile):
Skype (on a PC) – $ 0.336
Truphone (on a WiFi enabled phone) – $0.611 (They offer free calls to landlines though)
Gizmo Project (on a PC & on a Wifi enabled phone) – $0.319
JaJah (on a regular phone via a PC launch) – $0.206
Rebtel (on a regular phone)- $0.22 (but uses local airtime as well)
So in this case, it seems that using Jajah may be the cheapest.. and Truphone the most expensive because they may be offsetting their ‘free to landlines’ with their ‘to mobile’ rates.
However, Calling the States from the UK (this is where it gets interesting) ?
Skype (on a PC) – $ 0.021
Truphone (on a WiFi enabled phone) – Free (for a limited time that keeps on getting extended)
Gizmo Project (on a PC & on a Wifi enabled phone) – $0.019
JaJah (on a regular phone via a PC launch) – $0.181 (if you’re calling from a mobile phone in the UK, and $0.03 if you’re calling from a landline)
Rebtel (on a regular phone)- $0.018 (but uses local airtime as well)
Truphone wins (can’t beat free), but Jajah got very expensive all of a sudden if you’re calling from a mobile phone (which I always do), it seems Gizmo and Rebtel stay constant in their competitive rates, and Skype is not far behind.
In conclusion, rates can vary wildly with different incentives depending on where you call most. So perhaps cost alone can’t determine an overall winner (unless you only call one country).
Stay tuned for Part 2 where I’ll compare other features of these providers.
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Boss, thanks for pointing out that truphone truly bites the big fat bone with calls to mobiles. Much rather go with an option that is cheap everywhere rather than something which may end up costing a pretty penny for all one’s voip needs. Plus, that darned truphone has started to munch away at my data plan and ended up costing me double the advertised rates. Those bastardos.
Jajah bites the big one too. My benevolent God, at .18 pence per minute I should be able to call the Lord himself. Again, not a really consistently cheap – always trying to milk those little children. Plus, whats this about needing my computer and my phone. Pick one or the other for Allah’s sake.
Rebtel, thanks for using my local airtime theifs. Thats the whole reason i’m going voip in the first place. I want a phone replacement. I want to call BT and tell them to stuff it up their rear orifice. Will little old Rebtel wake up and smell the coffee please.
Sounds to me like it’s down to Skype and Gizmo to sort out the world’s problems and take out those monster inflated bloated pigs that are telecoms.
Using Rebtel, there is also the free alternative of a Smart call. It’s where you ask the person who receives the call to hang up and immediately call back on the number shown on their display, while you stay on the line. For this call, Rebtel charges nothing, the two participants paying only for their local calls, which is free if they have inclusive minutes with their calling plans.
Maja,
Although true, a smart call is only possible if you’ve configured and given the other person a Rebtel number. Although not ‘hard to do’ so to speak, sometimes you just forget to tell them to call you back. Or alternatively, I have some friends that habitually call me and one out of every 4 times they do, I forget to call them back to activate the smart call feature. Since Skype calls between users is free, I essentially just wanted to compare rates when rates are applicable.
Skype may be free, but you need a computer, unless you use iSkoot and I’ve done that, but uninstalled it. I use my mobile primarily, so for me rebtel was the way to go, as it doesn’t require a computer or a mobile webpage to set up calls. For me it is the convenience that matters, and asking my friends to call me back is really not hard to do if I review my phone bill the next month…
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