How to Make Cheap Calls from iPhone

6 excellent  call, VOIP, and Video call iPhone apps reviewed.

The creation of VoIP – internet phone calls – has not only cut the cost of international calling, but added previously unheard of video services. With some services, you’ll even get free calls. But with so many providers, which is the best for your needs? We’ve found out.

Cheapest Calls: JaJah

Of all of the VoIP services, JaJah comes out with the lowest costs. Call UK and US landlines for two pence a minute. UK mobiles are only 16p/min. It’s flexible too – there’s no need to download any software, and you can access your minutes from any phone/internet browser.

Because it uses data to arrange a call to a local telephone number, before re-routing to your destination, if you’re travelling abroad you’ll only incur the data-loading cost for the call, the local cost and then the JaJah price. No roaming charges, no international charges. Awesome.

Free In-Community Calls: Skype

There are plenty of VoIP apps that let you call other users for free. The biggest, however, is undoubtedly Skype. With 600 million users, there’s no doubt that someone you know is on Skype – which means free Skype-to-Skype calls are only an app download away.

It works over wifi and 3G, and is cross-compatible with other Skype software – PC, Mac, other smartphones and even some TVs.

Free Video Calls: Fring

If you’re an iPhone or new-Mac user, you can use FaceTime for voice chat. If you’ve got plenty of friends on Android or Nokia phones, however, you’ll need another video-calling option. Enter Fring, which lets you free video-call other Fring’ers over wifi or 3G.

Cross-VOIP Calling: RF.com

If you know the best service, but your friends have set their allegiances elsewhere, the best option is RF.com. Supported in 35 countries, it lets you use your basic iPhone service to call Skype, GoogleTalk, MSN Messenger or Yahoo users, even without having an account on that service.

It also lets you use your chosen VOIP to make calls, letting you dial foreign countries for cheap.

Simple Savings: Viber

Viber connects with your existing contact and favorites list to give you the option of making Viber or standard voice calls. Anyone signed up with Viber has the service’s logo by their contact listing, making it simple to see who you can VoIP call for free. Call quality is said to be excellent over 3G and wifi.

Wifi Calls: iCall

iCall automatically swaps your phone call to wifi-VoIP mid-call, thus saving you money. It works best in the US, where wifi calls on the service cost nothing. UK landline calls will set you back just over a penny, while mobile calls come in at about 17p/min.

If there is a good app that we have missed out then please let our reader know by commenting below.

Happy calling!