International Calls With Google Voice Calling

Skype competitor makes international calls affordable

By
Nadeem Unuth
Nadeem Unuth
Freelance Contributor
  • University of Mauritius
Nadeem Unuth is a former freelance contributor to Lifewire who specializes in information and communication technology with a focus on VoIP.
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Updated on June 20, 2021

Google Voice allows you to make and receive international calls for cheap or free, depending on who initiates the call. As a cheaper Skype competitor, Google Voice also lets people make free PC-to-PC calls and calls as low as one cent per minute for some international destinations.

To send and receive calls in Google Voice, you need a Google Voice number. It works like any other phone number, and you can give your Google Voice number to people to contact you.

Grandparents enjoying a family call with Google Voice

Using Google Voice for International Calls

In addition to making free calls between computers worldwide, Google Voice users can make calls to landlines and mobile phones, but not for free. Calls to phones within the U.S. and Canada remain free, though.

Google Voice calling rates are among the cheapest in the market, at two cents per minute for a call to a mobile number in France and one cent per minute to a landline. These rates are cheaper than Skype's rates, which include additional connection fees; however, Google Voice's rates are more expensive than Nymgo's, which offers calls for under one cent per minute.

If you are in the U.S. and call an international phone number using Google Voice on your computer or mobile device, you're charged international rates. Google Voice publishes the per minute rate for outgoing calls, and those rates vary widely depending on the country you call.

If a caller places a call from an international number to your Google Voice number, it is free in the sense that you aren't charged per-minute fees, but if the call is forwarded to a smartphone, your carrier might charge a fee. Check with your carrier.

How Google Voice Stacks Up to Skype

Google Voice is considered a threat to Skype. Although Google Voice has a smaller subscriber base than Skype, it can still challenge the number one VoIP provider. For one, Google Voice calls are cheaper than Skype calls. Google Voice also includes an arsenal of features such as call recording, voicemail transcription, and email incorporation, making it better as a unified communications tool.

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