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VoIP international calls: Top 10 providers in 2022

Compare your options for making VoIP international calls with our guide to the services that are best suited for businesses.

The post VoIP international calls: Top 10 providers in 2022 appeared first on OpenPhone Blog.

International calls can burn a giant hole in your pocket. An easy way to trim down your phone bill is using the right VoIP phone system. ✂

Almost all the major VoIP systems offer international calling, but not necessarily at affordable international calling rates.

In this guide, we’ll help you find a cost-effective service for VoIP international calls if you’re looking to switch to a new business phone provider.

Top 10 best VoIP providers for international calls

If you need to make VoIP international calls frequently, here are the top providers.

1. OpenPhone

VoIP International calls: OpenPhone

OpenPhone is the modern VoIP system that’s ideal for growing teams.

OpenPhone offers affordable international calling and texting rates (OpenPhone supports SMS and MMS). Once you enable international calling on OpenPhone, you can add credits to your account to make VoIP international calls and send text messages immediately. It’s as easy as this:

Making international VoIP calls using the OpenPhone web or desktop app

You can get a local US number, Canadian number, or North American toll-free number through OpenPhone. With any number, you get unlimited calling and texting to the US and Canada from anywhere.

Your clients are far more likely to pick up a call if you have a local number from an area code they recognize. Plus, you can call your clients in the US and Canada (via WiFi) without an extra fee even if you don’t live in either country. 

Likewise, your customers in other North American countries and regions can call you for free even when they’re not in the US via a toll-free number.

OpenPhone also offers other key business phone features to help you efficiently communicate with the rest of the world:

OpenPhone plans start at just $10 per user per month, and you can see international calling and rates upfront. What’s not to like?

Pricing: Starts at $10 per user per month

Test out calling anyone in the US or Canada from a local or toll-free number for free by signing up for a free, seven-day trial

2. Vonage

VoIP International calls: Vonage

Vonage is a popular VoIP calling system with over 20 years of experience providing VoIP solutions. 

The VoIP service offers free phone calls to the US (including Hawaii and Alaska), Canada, and Mexico. But if you want to call other countries, you pay by the minute.

But, there’s a catch.

Vonage’s international calling rates follow tiered pricing. The service categorizes countries as tier 1 and tier 2 countries, where each tier has a single per-minute rate for international calls. This pricing structure is frustrating because regardless of which tier 2 country you call, you pay the same price of roughly $0.11 per minute (based on how many minutes you buy). The high per-minute rate applies to countries like Switzerland, Germany, Costa Rica, and Portugal, where the per-minute costs are generally much lower with other providers.

If you use up a lot of minutes, especially for calling tier 2 countries, the difference in rates could turn into a significant amount.

Pricing: Starts at $19.99 per line per month (for teams of 4 or smaller)

3. Ooma

VoIP International calls: Ooma

Like Vonage, Ooma also offers unlimited calling to the US, Canada, and Mexico. But instead of a tiered pricing model, Ooma charges for VoIP international calls based on the country of the person you’re attempting to reach.

You can also make calls from any device. If you’re out of the office, you can use Ooma from your mobile phone to make long-distance calls to the other side of the world.

Ooma’s international calling rates are low, but it loses many points in terms of functionality — and you probably won’t invest in a VoIP calling service just to make calls, would you?

For example, Ooma offers no integrations on the Office Essentials plan and only integrates with Google and Office 365 if you pay for the more expensive Office Pro plan.

Pricing: Starts at $19.95 per user per month

4. RingCentral

VoIP International calls: RingCentral

RingCentral is one of the most popular VoIP phone services around. With RingCentral, you can make unlimited calls to the US and Canada, and calls to other countries cost extra.

Before making VoIP international calls on RingCentral, you need to sift through the rates that differ within the same country based on various parameters, including the type of call (mobile or landline), area codes, and more.

For example, if you look up international calling rates for Australia, you’ll find 10 different rates based on the area code. That’s a recipe for confusion. 

Other than international calling, RingCentral also offers a comprehensive feature set. 

If you’re an enterprise user, RingCentral’s most expensive plan offers many capabilities like multi-level IVR and call recording that will help you deliver an excellent customer experience.

On the other hand, if you’re a small team, you’ll pay far more for these must-have features than another provider.

Keep in mind also if you have a toll-free number with RingCentral you get a set number of minutes you can use before they charge you more. However, RingCentral doesn’t tell you the specific amount of minutes until you contact them.

Pricing: Starts at $19.99 per user per month

5. Phone.com

VoIP International calls: Phone.com

International calls to a few countries are included in your Phone.com plan. For example, all calls to the US, Canada, UK, Puerto Rico, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, and iNUM numbers are included in your Phone.com plan or billed at the local US rates. The latter applies if you’re calling a landline number.

You can also purchase global numbers for countries where you may have a lot of customers. This gives them a local number to call, saving the headache of dialing a long number and the cost of an international call.

There’s a catch though: Their Basic User plan (Phone.com’s lowest tier) offers 500 pooled minutes per user, unlike other services that offer unlimited minutes. If you need more, you’ll need to upgrade to the Plus User plan, which costs $15.99 per user per month.

Too expensive? We’re not done yet.

Key features like call recording and shared phone numbers cost extra.

While Phone.com is a good service provider, its less-than-transparent pricing takes away much of its appeal. You’ll need to spend on add-ons that other services offer on the standard plan, which means a bigger phone bill.

Pricing: Starts at $11.99 per user per month

6. 8×8

8x8

8×8 is a small business phone system that offers different international calling options across its pricing tiers.

The 8×8 Express plan ($15 per user per month) license allows unlimited calling in the US and Canada. Their higher tier-plan ($24 per user per month) X2 license offers unlimited international calling to 14 countries. The X4 license ($44 per user per month) offers unlimited calling to 48 countries (though mobile calling is excluded in many of these countries on both plans).

Calls to a country not included in your plan cost you a per-minute rate. So do calls to mobile phones in countries where mobile calling is excluded.

8×8 offers low-cost international calling but lacks standard features like group texting. Also, IVR is only available on higher-tier plans as an add-on.

Pricing: Starts at $15 per user per month

7. Nextiva

Nextiva

Nextiva is one of the largest VoIP service providers with a broad range of clients, including contact centers, SMBs, and enterprises.

With Nextiva, you always pay a per-minute rate for making international VoIP calls. International calling rates are on par with standard VoIP services, but Nextiva has its own share of problems.

For example, you need to activate SMS messaging on every new number you set up by calling Nextiva’s support team.

Nextiva’s pricing is also confusing, to say the least. You can select from three plans, but every plan’s pricing differs based on the number of users. The standard plan also lacks essential features like unlimited video conferencing and even basics like SMS and MMS.

Pricing: Starts at $23.95 per user per month (for teams of 4 or smaller)

8. Grasshopper

Grasshopper

Grasshopper is a unified communications platform that offers unlimited calls in the US and Canada. 

As a Grasshopper user, you can also receive incoming calls from outside the US and Canada for free. But outgoing international and offshore calls (offshore regions include Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) cost extra.

The international calling rate sheet is a long (like, really long) list with different rates for country codes and carrier services. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Need to schedule a few important international client calls over the next week? Tough luck! You can’t activate international calling on Grasshopper until you’ve had your account for 60 days (five days for accounts based in Alaska and Hawaii). Grasshopper also asks for a $500 deposit for activating international calling.

Unfortunately, you also don’t get essential features like call recording and shared phone numbers with Grasshopper.

Pricing: Starts at $26 per month (for one phone number and three extensions)

9. Dialpad

Dialpad

Dialpad is a cloud phone system that offers international calling billed by the minute. The calling rates aren’t too expensive, but there are a few caveats to keep in mind.

For starters, you can’t get an international number on the Standard plan. You’ll need to upgrade to the Pro plan and pay $15 per user per month to get an international number. You also can’t send international SMS messages on the Standard plan.

Dialpad also tries to push you into upgrading by not offering features like adding multiple local numbers in the Standard plan. 

Even when you upgrade, you pay an extra $15 per user per month for toll-free numbers. And you also pay extra for porting in more than one number to Dialpad.

Pricing: Starts at $15 per user per month

10. magicJack for Business

magicJack for Business

Just like any other service on the list, magicJack uses the internet connection via your WiFi or cellular data to make calls. 

You can make unlimited calls in the US and Canada (except Alaska or the Yukon and Northwest Territories). But that’s not all. You can also call other magicJack users for free anywhere in the world via a computer or an Android or iOS device (using magicApp, magicJack’s mobile app).

VoIP international calls to non-magicJack users cost extra. magicJack’s international calling rates aren’t expensive, but this cost-friendly service does mean you won’t have access to some basic features.

For example, magicJack doesn’t integrate with any other business apps — not even Gmail or Outlook. Other features like auto-attendant and virtual fax are only accessible as add-ons.

Pricing: Starts at $15.99 per line per month

Pricing Chart

VoIP Service Starting Price
OpenPhone $10 per user per month
Vonage $19.99 per line per month
Ooma $19.95 per user per month
RingCentral $19.99 per user per month
Phone.com $11.99 per user per month
8×8 $15 per user per month
Nextiva $23.95 per user per month
Grasshopper $26 per month
Dialpad $15 per user per month
magicJack for Business $15.99 per line per month 

Is it free to make VoIP international calls?

International VoIP calls to a phone number generally cost extra, but they’re not necessarily expensive. Usually, they cost a few cents per minute, depending on the country you’re calling. 

If you want to make free calls, you need to use a VoIP app like Skype, provided the person you’re calling also has Skype.

Some services do offer numbers in other countries, though. When you buy a number in a different country, you may be able to make VoIP international calls for free, provided the service offers free domestic calling in that country.

How much does it cost to make VoIP calls internationally?

International calling rates vary based on the country you’re calling and your VoIP service provider. Choosing a service with low international calling rates ensures you don’t incur a massive monthly expense.

You should factor in other relevant costs before you select a service. For instance, if you choose Nextiva and a user goes through all the 500 minutes available, you’ll have to upgrade to continue making calls.

How do you make a call internationally using VoIP?

The process of making VoIP international calls differs based on the country you’re calling from, the country you’re calling to, and the code for the generalized location you’re calling.

Here’s how you can place an international call via your VoIP phone system, assuming you’ve already enabled it:

  1. Dial the exit code for your country. If you’re in the US, dial + (or 011 if you are using a landline).
  2. Enter the country code for the country you’re calling. For instance, if you’re calling Spain from the US, the code is 34 (here’s a list of country codes and exit codes).
  3. Punch in the area code of your Spanish contact’s number. For instance, if you’re calling Madrid, dial 91.
  4. Dial the landline or cell phone number.

Trim your international calling bill with OpenPhone

Why spend time understanding complex phone plans and expensive VoIP phone systems when there’s OpenPhone? OpenPhone offers low international calling rates, transparent pricing, and a business phone solution you can easily scale as your team grows.

Ready to make international calls from your computer and mobile devices? Start your free, seven-day OpenPhone trial today.

The post VoIP international calls: Top 10 providers in 2022 appeared first on OpenPhone Blog.

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