The price for calling internationally with voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) business phone systems varies based on the country you are calling. On average, VoIP international calling rates are much cheaper than public switched telephone networks (PSTN), which you may know as landline analog phones. VoIP calling to international territories starts at about 1 cent per minute, but could be as much as $1 per minute, depending on where you’re calling.
For example, a VoIP call to China will range from three to 16 cents per minute, but if you make the same call on a landline, the rate could be as much as $5. If you make frequent calls overseas, consider the VoIP providers below to see which offers the best international calling rates and plans for your business needs. You can also visit our article on what is VoIP to learn more about the technology’s other benefits.
It’s worth noting that if you’re looking for a solution that’s not necessarily business-grade, an alternative to consider is WhatsApp. This is not a replacement for a full-featured business phone system, and does require both parties to have the app installed, but does support unlimited calling to international territories by using your internet connection to make calls. This means calls are usually free unless you’re using your cellular plan minutes or run out of data.
International Calling Rates for VoIP Providers
Calling rates to various countries vary from provider to provider, but here is a chart to help you understand what type of prices* to expect when you dial landlines in commonly called territories:
United Kingdom | $0.039 | $0.03 | $0.03 | $0.01 | Included | $0.03 | $0.01 |
Canada | Included | $0.03 | $0.03 | Included | Included | $0.02 | Included |
Sweden | $0.04 | $0.03 | $0.20 | $0.01 | $0.04 | $0.03 | $0.03 |
New Zealand | $0.04 | $0.03 | $0.07 | $0.02 | $0.04 | $0.04 | $0.05 |
Australia | $0.04 | $0.03 | $0.07 | $0.02 | $0.04 | $0.04 | $0.03 |
Norway | $0.04 | $0.03 | $0.06 | $0.04 | $0.04 | $0.06 | $0.04 |
Ireland | $0.04 | $0.03 | $0.04 | $0.01 | $0.04 | $0.02 | $0.02 |
Israel | $0.11 | $0.03 | $0.07 | $0.01 | Included | $0.03 | $0.02 |
France | $0.04 | $0.03 | $0.05 | $0.01 | Included | $0.02 | $0.02 |
Germany | $0.04 | $0.03 | $0.03 | $0.01 | Included | $0.02 | $0.02 |
Japan | $0.04 | $0.03 | $0.40 | $0.03 | $0.04 | $0.04 | $0.05 |
Mexico | $0.01 | $0.03 | $0.11 | $0.01 | $0.04 | $0.03 | $0.16 |
China | $0.04 | $0.03 | $0.25 | $0.02 | $0.04 | $0.03 | $0.06 |
*All prices are per minute in U.S. dollars
Types of International Calling Plans
Different calling solutions will work for different companies. If your business calls one specific international location every day, finding a plan that includes free calling to that location would be beneficial. If you only make international calls on occasion, then a pay-as-you-go plan with lower costs may be more in line with what you need.
Here’s how each type of plan works:
- Pay-as-you-go structure: Not every business needs to make frequent overseas calls. For occasional calling, a pay-as-you-go plan is useful. With these plans, you pay a preset rate to call specific countries. The rate will depend on the country, and you will see the call detail and charges applied to your next bill. Nextiva is a good example of a provider that doesn’t offer unlimited calling but does have international rates. Read our full review of Nextiva to find out if it is a good option for your business.
- Included in the plan: Some providers are designed for businesses that make international calls on a regular basis. Rather than paying for calls individually, your plan provides unlimited calling to the countries you need. All of the providers in this guide have plans that include some form of unlimited calling to specific countries.
- Preset minutes and calling credit bundles: These plans have a preset number of minutes you can use for international calling. This serves as a good in-between option. If you run out of minutes, additional time can be purchased from the provider. The Basic plan for Phone.com is an example of this.
Did you know? Calls over Wi-Fi using WhatsApp use VoIP technology, but function like a voice chat instead of a traditional call. This makes it possible to change the type of a call to a video chat at will, but it’s important for you to know that WhatsApp can’t call a mobile phone that isn’t in your WhatsApp contacts or a customer on a landline connection. This means that to call internationally using the app, both parties need to have a WhatsApp account, which can limit the use of this service for some businesses.
VoIP Providers With International Calling Comparison
Providers | Free International Calls | International Numbers |
|---|---|---|
RingCentral | 100+ countries | 100+ countries |
GoToConnect | 52 countries | N/A |
8x8 | 47 countries | 120+ countries |
Broadvoice | 87 countries | 49 countries |
Phone.com | 7 countries | 40+ countries |
Ooma | 70 countries | N/A |
Nextiva | N/A | N/A |
RingCentral
RingCentral has a very extensive set of features, and as you may have noticed from our RingCentral review, they are one of the best on the market. Features like a great app experience on both softphones and smart devices and multiple plan options make it a great choice for small businesses that will need more features as they grow.
With RingCentral’s basic plan, Essentials, you’ll be able to make unlimited calls within the U.S. and Canada. If you want to call outside of these countries, you’ll also have options. You’ll need to purchase a calling credits package to place most international calls, and calls will be billed at the current rates that RingCentral regularly publishes.
When it comes to international rates, RingCentral doesn’t always win out, but for those with more extensive calling requirements, there’s also the RingCentral Global Office Unlimited plan. This plan grants access to more than 100 countries, and you’ll only pay a preset price each month.
While this may be a bit prohibitive for companies that don’t make many calls overseas, it’s a significant savings for larger companies in need of frequent international calling. For this plan, a minimum of 250 users is a requirement. RingCentral also makes this plan available in 16 languages.
Looking for a more local presence in the countries where you do business? RingCentral also offers local and toll-free business numbers in more than 100 countries. These are very useful for a few reasons:
- Phone numbers in smaller jurisdictions will make your business appear more local
- Phone numbers with toll-free prefixes make your business appear more national and, thus, bigger
GoToConnect
With access to free calling in 52 countries, GoToConnect is a good option if you’re looking for a competitively priced VoIP international call provider. One of the standout aspects of this product offered by LogMeIn is its feature set. With GoToConnect, even the most basic plans have features like local, toll-free, and vanity numbers, as well as unlimited extensions. The basic plan also includes an auto-attendant and a call queue, as well as the service’s easy-to-use Visual Dial Plan Editor.
There are three plans available with GoToConnect: Basic, Standard, and Premium. For international calling, the Basic plan charges per minute, but with both Standard and Premium, you’ll have unlimited access to the full list of 52 countries. If you’re dialing outside of these countries, you will be charged per minute based on the territory you’re calling.
8×8
If you’ve read our 8×8 review, you know it’s the VoIP system we recommend for smaller businesses that need contact center features. The provider has a strong unified communications profile that has also earned it a space on the Gartner Magic Quadrant. As a provider, 8×8 also has a stellar auto-attendant that’s particularly suited for businesses with international offices.
8×8 has unmetered calling to 47 countries, which includes territories like Belgium, Australia, the United Kingdom, and China. In addition to these, you can call more than 200 other destinations subject to their international calling rates. This is a huge amount of countries—you can even dial Antarctica if needed.
Per-minute pricing varies significantly, with cheaper options like Andorra costing around 13 cents and more expensive zones like Algeria costing almost a dollar per minute. This provider also offers international business numbers. In fact, they provide international inbound numbers in 121 countries.
Broadvoice
Broadvoice is known for its b-hive cloud communications system that provides all the classics of unified communications as a service (UCaaS), including VoIP phone with short message service (SMS) texting, video conferencing, and chat. They also offer virtual contact centers.
Broadvoice is a good option for international calling because it grants unlimited usage to 60 countries via landline and 29 mobile destinations. For those countries not covered through Broadvoice’s plans, there are also international rates to reach just about every global destination. Broadvoice doesn’t offer international virtual numbers for businesses.
Phone.com
Phone.com is a VoIP provider that provides businesses with low-cost options when they need to make international calls. They provide unlimited calling to Germany, France, Italy, Israel, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom. If your business makes calls to one (or more) of those seven countries, this is a great option for your business.
The Basic plan includes 300 pooled minutes, which can be ideal for a company that needs to make international calls only on occasion. If you exceed the amount of pooled minutes for the month, a fee will be added. So if 300 minutes would be cutting it close, opt for the Plus or Pro plans, which include unlimited minutes. These plans also provide unlimited text messaging and allow more participants in video conferencing, making it easier and less expensive for larger companies to communicate with one another.
Ooma
Ooma has three plans you can choose from that have free international calling options, but there is also a Basic plan with low rates for all international calls. The Basic plan is ideal for companies that only call internationally occasionally.
For companies that make North American calls frequently, the Ooma Premier plan includes free calling to Canada and Mexico. The Ooma World and World Plus plans give you more options for calling other countries. If you opt to get one of the World plans, instead of paying the per-minute rates Ooma charges for international calls, you will pay a set rate for unlimited minutes to specific countries.
The Ooma World Plans are:
- World Plan: Unlimited minutes to landlines in more than 60 countries and mobile phones in more than 10 countries
- World Plus Plan: Unlimited calling to landlines in more than 70 countries and mobile phones in more than 40 countries
If you call a territory or country that is not included in your plan, Ooma charges a low-cost rate per minute. The international calls businesses typically make start at about 1.4 cents per minute. Ooma also has some overall competitive features for VoIP. For more information, take a second to check our Ooma review.
Nextiva
Nextiva is a four-tiered VoIP provider that also has some extensive unified communications features for businesses. The service includes support for desk phones, softphones, and both iOS and Android apps. Pricing is also very competitive, and having four tiers grants scalability options.
Unlike the other providers, Nextiva doesn’t have an unlimited plan with a preset number of countries you can call. Instead, for international calling, you’ll be charged per minute—fortunately, Nextiva’s rates are fairly competitive. For example, to call the United Kingdom or even South Korea using Nextiva, you’ll only pay about 1 cent and 2 cents per minute, respectively. Nextiva may not be the best choice if you’re going to be making frequent global calls, but useful for a business that calls less frequently to international territories.
Bottom Line
There’s simply no comparison between calling internationally using VoIP and a landline service. VoIP is the far less expensive option, and doesn’t depend on an aging copper wire system to make overseas calls.
When selecting an international VoIP plan, know your global calling needs so that you can pick the most budget-friendly option. While some companies may not need to call international locations consistently and will only need a plan that offers metered minutes, other companies will call too frequently for this to be financially practical. Determine your business needs and contact one of these providers to find the best fit for your business.
