If many years ago the only way to make mobile phone calls involved the use of a SIM and a telephone number from an operator, today all you need is an Internet connection and an application to call for free on any phone, be it an iPhone or an Android smartphone. The free phone call becomes possible if the interlocutors use the same app installed and if both phones are connected to the internet: for the phone call we can use both the Wi-Fi network and with LTE or higher data connection.In this guide we will therefore show you the best apps to make free calls from smartphones via the internet, with excellent quality and with a very good chance of finding friends who already use these services.
Best free calling apps
All the apps that we report below are free, but however, they require an inserted SIM and an active phone number for the initial association of our account, in addition to access permissions to the address book (to be able to immediately view friends who use the same service) and SMS (to automatically retrieve the security code used for the association). These are the only prerequisites we need to check before using most of the following apps (except a few, which have normal username and password access).
WhatsApp">To make free calls, simply enter (at first start) our phone number, copy the security code sent via SMS and, providing access to the address book, starting a chat with one of our contacts (all contacts will be displayed already present on WhatsApp). Once the chat with the contact is open, tap on the phone handset icon to start a simple call, or alternatively on the camera icon to start a video call. The audio quality is very good (especially in Wi-Fi and LTE) and we will be able to make calls without time limits; its widespread use will allow you to call virtually everyone without paying, even if at the moment it cannot be used to call landlines.
To learn more, we can read our guide on how Use Whatsapp to make free calls.
Telegram
Another messaging service that includes free phone calls is Telegram, available for Android and iOS.
Telegram calls">Once installed and configured with your phone number, you can start free calls simply by opening the chat with the contact we want to contact, by tapping the menu with the three dots at the top right and using the voice Call.
The strengths of Telegram are the encryption of phone calls (which make them practically impossible to intercept), the good quality of the connection on any type of network and the ability to call the same contact using the Telegram app on PC, synchronizing practically any call on each device. The only defects of Telegram are the absence of video calls and a lower diffusion compared to WhatsApp (but from this point of view it is recovering visibly, it is enough just to let friends and relatives know the app to help its spread ).
In this regard we can also read our guide on Calls with Telegram, safe and of superior quality.
Skype
The progenitor of free calls is without a doubt Skype, also available for free on Android and iOS.
Skype calls">Despite the fierce competition, it remains one of the best apps to be able to call and video-call a contact registered on Skype. To use it it is not necessary to provide the telephone number, but we can use the login credentials of the Microsoft account, Outlook and Office, so as to be able to immediately contact the contacts in the Microsoft service directories (this explains its great success in business). In addition to the contacts already present in the online address book, we can contact the contacts in our telephone address book who have Skype or search for a specific username, so as to add it to our active chats.
Among the advantages of Skype we remind you of high quality calls and video-calls, the possibility of making group calls and video-calls and SkypeOut, which allows you to contact (upon payment of a credit) also external telephone numbers to Skype, including landline telephone numbers.
Facebook Messenger
Another app with a large number of users that we can contact for free is Facebook Messenger, available for Android and iOS.
Facebook Messenger">Since almost everyone has a Facebook account, just use this app to call our friends and relatives for free! Once the app is installed, we enter the login credentials of our Facebok account (if the Facebook app is already present, our account for access will be displayed immediately), we enter the phone number to also associate the users present in the address book and that's it: we will now see the list of all our friends (online and offline); to start a call, simply open one of the visible chats and press the icon Call o Video-call. The quality is very good (comparable to WhatsApp) and the spread equal to that of WhatsApp, if not higher.
Google Duo
Another very convenient and fast app for making free video calls and simple calls is Google Duo, available on Android (where it is usually pre-installed) and iOS.
Google Duo">With this app it is sufficient to log in with the Google account or with the phone number (like other call services), then contact one of the friends included in the address book synchronized with the account.
The app stands out from the others for the high quality of the images during the video call, for the preview mode that allows you to see who is calling us even before answering and for the excellent audio quality obtainable for simple calls.
Currently the only defects are the low diffusion (even if being pre-installed on Android we can call any of our friends in the address book who uses an Android with a registered Google account) and the lack of a multi-conference mode (as the name suggests, we can only call a contact at a time).
Other free calling apps
The ones we have mentioned so far are the best apps that we can use on any smartphone to make free calls at any time. However, other apps in the same category are also available, perhaps with a smaller diffusion but with everything you need to call our friends for free (always if they use the same app on their phone).- Viber: it has long been considered the antagonist of Skype for free phone calls, with applications for almost every platform, which also allows you to send text messages, multimedia messages, video messages. When using Viber to make phone calls, the phone rings as if using the normal cell line.
- Snapchat: the app for quick sharing of self-destructing photos and messages, allows you to phone contacts with voice calls.
- Line Chat and WeChat: Line and WeChat are among the major competitors of Whatsapp, especially in the Asian market. Both Line and WeChat are not widely used in the city, so you will hardly find registered friends who can receive calls. However, the possibility of making free phone calls between users has been present on both of them for some time and works very well.
- Tango as well as Skype, is among the best apps for making video calls from your smartphone and also supports audio-only calls.
- Google Hangouts: A long-time benchmark app for calls and video calls on Android devices and Google+, it has slowly declined in favor of Google Duo.
- Signal: an app that makes security and anonymity one of its strengths, also for making free calls and video calls.
- Tox: another service designed to protect the privacy and security of communications, especially when we call.
- mTalk is among the best apps to call landlines and mobile phones at reduced and low cost rates .
Conclusions
Calling for free with your smartphone is possible, just use one of the apps that we have illustrated in this guide to reset the consumption of minutes included in the telephone offer (in fact, the traditional line is convenient only for calling landlines, for times when we do not have Internet coverage and to call friends who cannot be found via the app).If we use an iPhone or an iPad we can also use the integrated app FaceTime, useful for making free calls only to friends who also have an iPhone or iPad.
If, on the other hand, we want to call landline numbers from our smartphone for free, we recommend reading our article on How to call landline numbers from smartphones for free.
Best free calling apps (Android and iPhone)
