Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) services allow businesses to make or receive domestic and international calls at substantial savings over landline-based systems. We looked at the best VoIP international call solutions and narrowed them down to the best six. We then picked the best overall service based on international calling features, pricing, and more.
Top 6 Services for International VoIP Calling 2019
VoIP Service | Best For |
|---|---|
(Best Overall) Businesses that want an affordable service with unlimited calls to 52 countries | |
Companies that want international calling and powerful contact center features like call monitoring | |
Teams looking for enterprise-level features like team collaboration modules and affordable international rates | |
Teams with low-volume calling requirements that need an international call-in number | |
Companies that want a free international video calling with an optional phone service | |
Solo entrepreneurs looking for a free service with international calling capabilities |
How We Evaluated International VoIP Calling Services
International VoIP calling services should allow users to make calls to many different countries all over the world. Additionally, they should offer either very reasonable per-minute rates for international dialing, or offer unlimited calling to countries at no additional charge. We also looked at each service’s basic telephony features like call management, texting, voicemail, and more. All systems we looked at also need to be easy enough to set up and use for all workers.
We evaluated international VoIP calling services based on the following:
- Pricing: Services should be priced affordably enough for small business owners and provide affordable international calling rates
- Ease of Use: We looked at how easy each service is to set up and use
- VoIP International Calls: Services should offer international calls to a wide range of countries around the world
- Call Management: Phone systems should make it easy to make, receive, route, and block call traffic
- Call Quality and Reliability: Audio quality should be clear and consistent during calls
- Software Integrations: The ability to connect phone data with outside business software can be helpful for teams
- Customer Support: We looked at the kind of customer support channels that each service offers
Based on the above, we find that Jive is the best system for VoIP international calls. The software is affordable, intuitive, and allows unlimited calls to 52 different countries. On top of that, it also offers a strong core feature set for making and managing all business calls.
Jive: Best Overall International VoIP Calling Service
Jive is a VoIP business service that offers standard features such as call management, a toll-free 1-800 number, and an automated attendant that can greet and route all incoming callers. However, what makes Jive stand out is that, with a starting price of $29.95 per user, per month, the service offers unlimited VoIP international calls to 52 countries around the world. It is a perfect choice for businesses with a multinational business presence.
Jive Pricing
Jive starts at $29.95 per user, per month for up to four people. Pricing goes down as you add more users. The fact that the service offers unlimited calling to so many countries and does not lock features behind pricing plans makes Jive one of the best values on the market today.
Jive’s pricing plans are as follows:
- 1-4 Users: $29.95 per user, per month
- 5-9 Users: $25.95 per user, per month
- 10-24 Users: $23.95 per user, per month
- 25-49 Users: $21.95 per user, per month
- 50+ Users: $19.95 per user, per month
Jive Features
Jive offers a wide range of telephony features such as call management, conference calling, voicemail, and call logging. All versions of the service also come with unlimited calling to 52 countries around the world regardless of what plan you choose. This is a stark contrast from competing services that lock calling to certain countries behind different packages.
Jive’s features include:
International Calling Features
Jive comes with unlimited international calling to 52 countries, including France, Israel, and China. In comparison, the priciest version of 8×8 is far more expensive than Jive and only offers unlimited calls to 47 countries. Jive is a great choice for any business that has many contacts all over the world.
Phone Numbers & Extensions
With every new Jive account, you get the choice of adopting either a local or toll-free number with a 1-800 prefix. This is helpful as it allows customers to reach out to your business at no cost to them. It also makes your organization look more established and respectable. Jive matches other leading competitors in this respect.
Call Management Features
Jive offers a strong set of call management features to handle all business phone traffic. The service includes call transfer, call waiting, caller ID, and automatic call queuing to help reduce caller wait times. It is evenly matched with other business phone systems when it comes to handling call traffic.
Automated Attendant
Jive comes with an automated attendant that can greet all incoming callers and route them to their desired extension without any of your human employees having to intervene. This is convenient for both your customers and your employees, as it allows them to focus on work rather than have to deal with every call. Automated attendants are also found in RingCentral, Phone.com, and other service providers.
What Jive Is Missing
Jive offers a handful of contact center-focused features such as call queuing and analytic reports. However, it lags behind 8×8 when it comes to operating a contact center. The X5 and X8 packages of 8×8’s software include a switchboard module that lets managers manage every single call from a centralized location.
What Users Think About Jive
Users generally find Jive to be powerful, easy to use, and affordably priced. Users enjoy being able to make calls to so many countries at no additional cost. However, there are some complaints about the company’s unresponsive customer support channels. For more reviews, check out the Jive Review page.
Where to Find Jive
Jive is an affordable business phone service with a strong core set of telephony features. Best of all, it allows you to make unlimited calls to 52 countries around the world as part of your service plan. Click the button below to learn more about Jive today.
8×8: Best International VoIP Service for Contact Centers
8×8, which starts at $25 per user, per month, is a business VoIP service that offers features like online faxing, mobile apps, and unlimited calling to up to 47 different countries with the top-tier X5 plan. 8×8 is a solid business phone system that is made better by the robust contact center features found in its premium packages. 8×8 is great for small businesses that want unlimited international calling and call center functionality at the same time.
8×8 Pricing
8×8 offers three different pricing packages. The X2 package costs $25 per user per month, while the X3 and X5 tiers cost $38 and $60 per user, per month respectively. This is one of the more moderately priced serviced available today.
8×8 Tiered Features
X2 | X3 | X5 | |
|---|---|---|---|
Pricing | $25 per user, per month | $35 per user, per month | $55 per user, per month |
Unlimited Calling Countries | 14 countries | 32 countries | 47 countries |
Contact Center Minutes | 0 | 0 | 2,000 per month |
Audio & Video Conferencing | 100 Participants | 100 Participants | 100 Participants |
Media Storage | 1 GB | 5 GB | 10 GB |
Auto Attendant | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Unlimited Fax | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Phone Number & Virtual Extension | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Mobile & Desktop Apps | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Call Recording | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Switchboard Pro | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Contact Center Interactive Voice Response | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
Call Monitoring | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
Contact Center & Supervisor Analytics | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
X2
8×8’s X2 comes with a local or toll-free number, 1GB of media storage, and access to a mobile app for $25 per user, per month. It comes with unlimited calling to 14 different countries, which is lacking when compared to the similarly-priced entry-level version of Jive. Available countries include Ireland, Spain, and New Zealand. The service also comes with video conferencing for up to 100 people, similar to the Basic version of Zoom.
It is unfortunate that 8×8 locks specific countries for unlimited calling behind more premium packages, as Jive does not place any such limits. This package is also missing the call recording and call center features found in more expensive tiers. Still, this is a good fit for businesses that want video calling and unlimited calls to places like Australia, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
X3
For $35 per user, per month, 8×8’s X3 plan adds unlimited calling to 32 countries. This includes locales such as Israel, Poland, and South Korea. However, this is also substantially more expensive than Jive, which offers a lot more in the way of international calling. It also comes with call recording and the switchboard pro option that can be used to manage all calls from a centralized location.
This version is missing the contact center features of the X5 package, so you will not be able to read monitor live calls or view reports on all call activity. However, it is still a solid business phone package for companies at a fair price. It could be a good fit for those who want to stay in touch with people in certain countries while also enjoying call recording functionality.
X5
The top-tier X5 package costs $55 per user, per month and offers an interactive voice response system (IVR) to help you build complex contact center voice menus for callers. You can also set specific routing rules based on time and location. This tier comes with 2,000 free minutes per month for all call center activity.
At this price, 8×8’s X5 plan is one of the more expensive VoIP packages on the market today. While it doesn’t offer unlimited calling to as many countries as Jive, it still offers one of the most generous international calling packages available today. This service could serve as a great value for multinational organizations that also want to use call center management functionality.
What 8×8 Is Missing
8×8 is a comprehensive international VoIP calling service that allows you to make calls to many different international numbers at no additional cost. However, the service is a bit lacking when it comes to the ability to connect phone data with other business services. If you want to integrate your phone logs and other information with other tools you use, we recommend looking at RingCentral, which offers connectors to dozens of outside software products.
What Users Think About 8×8
Our readers are generally happy with 8×8 and find it to be an intuitive phone system. Many users find the video conferencing features are also quite helpful. However, some customers have experienced service outages when using the software. For more information, go to our 8×8 User Reviews page.
Where to Find 8×8
If you need a phone service with both unlimited international calling to up to 47 countries and contact center features than 8×8 is a strong choice. The service is also easy to use and comes with video calling features so that your team can work collaboratively. Click the button below to get started today.
RingCentral: Most Feature-Rich International VoIP Calling Service
RingCentral is a business phone service that offers unlimited domestic calling as well as an automated attendant, video chatting, and internet faxing. The service starts at $29.99 per month and also comes with generous toll-free minutes. While it does not offer unlimited international calling to as many locales as other providers, it is a robust phone service that is great for small businesses looking for enterprise-level features.
RingCentral Pricing
Pricing for RingCentral ranges from $19.99 to $34.99 per user, per month on an annual basis. The entry-level version has an automated attendant and voicemail-to-text transcription, but is very basic when compared to the other packages. International calling is available for an additional price at all levels. RingCentral is a moderately priced solution.
RingCentral Tiered Features
Essentials | Standard | Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
Pricing | $19.99 per user, per month* | $24.99 per user, per month* | $34.99 per user, per month* |
Toll-free Minutes | 100 | 1,000 | 2,500 |
Auto Attendant | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Unlimited Calling | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Unlimited SMS | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Mobile Apps | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Voicemail-to-Text Transcription | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Multi-Level Auto Attendant | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Internet Fax | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Automatic Call Recording | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
* Pricing is on an annual basis
Essentials
RingCentral Essentials costs $19.99 per user, per month on an annual basis and comes with unlimited domestic calling and texting. It offers free unlimited calls to Canada, but you will have to pay an additional per-minute rate for calls to other countries. For example, calls to most numbers in the United Kingdom costs just over 3 cents per minute. Check out RingCentral’s international rates for more information.
The Essentials plan lacks the large bucket of toll-free minutes found in the higher-level packages. It also lacks the multi-level auto attendant, so you will only be able to offer a basic voice menu to incoming callers. It is also worth noting that, unlike Jive and 8×8, no versions of RingCentral offer unlimited calling to other countries. With that said, this is still a good entry-level package for any small businesses that only need to call US and Canadian numbers.
Standard
The Standard edition of RingCentral adds 1,000 toll-free minutes and also includes a multilevel auto attendant that can assist with advanced routing options. For example, you can direct incoming calls to multiple locations at once or to an external phone number if you wish. The package, which costs $24.99 per user, per month, also offers internet faxing functionality for businesses that still need that feature.
RingCentral Standard does not offer as many toll-free minutes as the Premium edition, and it also lacks automatic call recording. Therefore, you will have to manually record your important business conversations for later playback. With that in mind, this is a very generous amount of toll-free minutes for a small business VoIP service, so it is great for sales and support companies with high monthly call volumes.
Premium
RingCentral Premium is designed for teams with extraordinarily high incoming call volumes, as it comes with 2,500 toll-free minutes as well as video meetings for up to 100 people. The service, which costs $34.99 per user, per month also includes automatic recording of all call activity and multi-site support for organizations that have different physical branches.
RingCentral Premium offers an impressive set of business phone features. It is a shame, then, that they do not offer the generous worldwide unlimited calling of Jive and 8×8. If it did, it would be an incredibly compelling product for those with an overseas business presence. Still, it offers reasonable international rates to meet the needs of those who want a lot of features and low international call volumes.
What RingCentral Is Missing
With its generous bundles of toll-free minutes, RingCentral is a fantastic service for organizations with high domestic call volumes. However, it could be too expensive for teams that do not need unlimited calls. Phone.com is a less expensive alternative that offers pay-as-you-go calling plans with bundles of minutes. It also offers VoIP international calls to the UK, France, Germany, and other places at no extra cost.
What Users Think About RingCentral
RingCentral customers like the advanced features and usability of the service. They also mention that the mobile app is easy to make calls with. Criticisms from our readers involve the company’s customer support, which can be reportedly slow to solve problems. For more reviews, visit our RingCentral User Reviews page.
Where to Find RingCentral
RingCentral is one of the most feature-rich VoIP services available today. That, along with its reasonable international calling rates from 3 cents per minute, make it a compelling service for workers who need to occasionally make calls to other countries. Click the button below to start your 15-day free trial.
Phone.com: Best International VoIP Service for Low Call Volumes
Phone.com, which starts at $12.99 per month, is a VoIP service that offers standard features like an automated attendant and hold music. The service offers affordable rates on international calling, and unlimited calling to a handful of locations. However, what helps the service stand apart is that it offers affordable pricing packages with limited monthly minutes. As such, we find that it serves as a perfect choice for established businesses with low monthly call volumes.
Phone.com Pricing
Phone.com offers three different pay-per-minute plans starting at $12.99 per month, which makes it very affordable compared to other paid systems. The mid-level limited plan is $19.99 per month, while the premium edition is $39.99 per month. All plans include advanced features like text messaging and international calling at per-minute rates.
For unlimited calling, the prices are:
- Base: $29.99 with one local or toll-free number
- Plus: $37.99 with two local or toll-free numbers
- Pro: $59.99 with three local or toll-free numbers
Phone.com Features
Phone.com offers a comprehensive set of business phone features such as an automated attendant, call forwarding, and caller ID. It also offers some of the lowest international calling rates on the market. Phone.com includes the ability to adopt a customized vanity phone number as well.
Phone.com’s features include:
International Calling Features
With its unlimited plans, Phone.com includes calls to France, Germany, Israel, and other countries at no extra cost. Outside of that, pricing for international calls ranges anywhere from 3 cents per minute to places like Mexico and goes all the way up to 5 cents per minute to call numbers in the Dominican Republic. Phone.com’s international rates are reasonable, but it’s lacking compared to the unlimited calling options offered by Jive.
Phone Numbers & Extensions
Phone.com offers free local or toll-free numbers with every new account. This makes it similar to competing systems in this regard. However, one unique aspect of Phone.com is that it also offers customized vanity numbers (such as 1-800-FLOWERS) for an additional fee. These numbers can help your organization stand out from competitors and make you look like an established business. Check out our guide for business phone numbers for more information.
Call Management Features
Like competing systems, Phone.com comes with a complete set of controls for making, receiving, routing, and blocking call traffic. It also comes with a selection of hold music that your callers can hear while they wait to be connected. Available music channels include Orchestral, Soft Rock, and Piano Solos.
Automated Attendant
Phone.com comes with an auto-attendant feature just like RingCentral and other competitors. This saves your staff from having to answer calls manually. Not only that, but it helps your company sound more established to incoming callers. You can also set routing rules based on the time and day a call is received.
What Phone.com Is Missing
Phone.com offers affordable prices on international calling to numbers all over the world. However, it does not come bundled with video calling, as that is an extra add-on for $20 per user, per month. If you want to have video calls with international associates, then Zoom might be a better fit for you. That service is not a VoIP system, but it does offer free video calls for up to 100 people.
What Users Think About Phone.com
Phone.com’s users are generally happy with the service. Several customers have pointed out that the company’s customer service is very helpful in the event of a problem. However, there are several complaints from our readers regarding call quality and reliability. Go to our Phone.com User Reviews page for more impressions.
Where to Find Phone.com
Phone.com offers affordable rates for international calls. It is also a powerful phone service that offers a strong core set of features and affordable pricing plans with limited minutes. Click the button below for more information.
Zoom: Best International Video Calling Service
Zoom is a video conferencing service that offers web chat and HD video calling features. The service offers a free version as well as paid packages starting at $14.99 per month. It is not a business VoIP system, but the fact that it offers HD video calls to any other users in the world for free makes it worth considering for workers who want to hold conferences with international contacts.
Zoom Pricing
The free version of Zoom allows for video conferences of up to 100 people, but meetings are limited to just 40 minutes in length. There are also paid versions that cost anywhere from $14.99 to $19.99 per month, per host. This makes it an affordable alternative to traditional VoIP services.
Zoom Tiered Features
Basic | Pro | Business | |
|---|---|---|---|
Pricing | Free | $14.99/host per month | $19.99/host per month, 10 host minimum |
Minimum Number of Hosts | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Number of Participants | Up to 100 | 100, with the option to add more | 100, with the option to add more |
Time Limit on Meetings | 40 minutes on group meetings | None | None |
Unlimited Meetings | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Call Controls | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
User Management Tools | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Admin Feature Controls | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Reporting | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
1GB Cloud Storage | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Dedicated Phone Support | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
Cloud Recording Transcripts | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
Admin Dashboard | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
Vanity URL | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
Basic
The free Basic version of Zoom can accommodate up to 100 participants in a video meeting. If you and an associate both have the Zoom client installed, you can instantly hold a meeting with HD-quality video from anywhere in the world. This is a far more affordable option than paying a per-minute rate on top of a paid phone service. If you want traditional VoIP service as well, you can add Zoom Phone to your account for an additional $10 per user, per month.
Unlike other services with video conferencing, meetings with Zoom Basic are limited to just 40 minutes in length. It also lacks the user management tools of the paid versions of the service. And unlike a VoIP service, you cannot use Zoom to make calls to phone numbers unless you pay for the Zoom Phone add-on. Still, Zoom can easily meet the needs of workers that want to have conversations with clients and co-workers all over the world free of charge.
Pro
Zoom Plus costs $14.99 per host, per month and offers administrative controls that include options for disabling meeting recordings and chat. It also comes with a reporting feature that provides data on how many people are viewing your webinars and the overall length of your meeting. You can also have meetings of any length, as this edition eliminates the 40-minute meeting length of the Basic package.
This package lacks the transcriptions of cloud recordings found in the Business edition. It’s also missing the ability to offer guests a vanity URL, so your meeting links will always have a generic alphanumeric identifier. With that in mind, this is still more affordable than most paid services with international calling.
Business
For $19.99 per host, per month, Zoom’s Business version offers automatic transcriptions of your meeting recordings. It also comes with vanity URLs so that you can offer customized links for your important meetings. This is especially helpful for important conversations, as your attendees are more likely to remember a customized URL rather than a random mix of numbers and lettings.
Between the cost of the service and the option Zoom Phone add-on, you can enjoy both international video calling and traditional phone calls for a reasonable price. However, standard international calls still cost a per-minute rate, so it could end up being more expensive than services like 8×8 or Jive. However, Zoom Business offers a lot of features and makes it very easy to chat with international contacts via voice and video.
What Zoom Is Missing
Zoom helps workers have video calls with anyone in the world. However, it lacks the ability to make phone calls to telephone numbers unless you add the optional Zoom Phone service for an extra fee. If you are looking for a free standard phone service that also offers international calling, we recommend looking at Google Voice. The service is completely free to use and offers international calls starting at just $0.01 per minute.
What Users Think About Zoom
Zoom customers find the service to be useful and intuitive. Our readers are impressed with the video quality during meetings. With that said, some also say that the service is prone to glitches and bad audio quality during calls. For more information, go to our Zoom User Reviews page.
Where to Find Zoom
If you are looking to have conversations with overseas contacts then Zoom might fit your needs better than a traditional VoIP service because of its affordability and HD video features. Best of all, you can start using the service free of charge. Click the button below to get started.
Google Voice: Best Free International VoIP Calling Service
Google Voice is a free virtual phone service provider that offers call management features as well as a free local phone number. On top of that, it allows users to make international calls at a per-minute cost. The service is ideal for solo workers and freelancers that need a free basic business line that also lets them call overseas numbers.
Google Voice Pricing
Google Voice is a free solution that offers unlimited calling to almost all of the US and Canada. Calling select numbers in the US and international locations start at $0.01 per minute. You can find more international rates here. It is rare to see such international calling features in a free system.
Google Voice Features
As a free solution, Google Voice offers a basic set of features compared to paid products such as RingCentral or Jive. In basic terms, Google Voice forwards calls from your existing number to the Google Voice number, which is what callees will see on their caller ID. It does not serve as a standalone phone system like other services we looked at.
Google Voice’s features include:
International Calling Features
For an additional fee, Google Voice allows you to make calls to other countries. Rates start at $0.01 per minute to call numbers in the UK, but pricing can go all the way up to $1.80 per minute to call lesser-known places like Ascension Island. The fact that Google Voice is free makes it easier to forgive the fact that it does not offer unlimited international calling like Jive and 8×8.
Phone Numbers & Extensions
Google Voice offers a free local number with each new account. It does not provide the ability to adopt a toll-free number like with paid solutions. You cannot create a vanity number as you can with Phone.com, either. Therefore, the system is best for organizations that are fine with a local telephone presence.
Call Management Features
Google Voice makes it incredibly easy to make and receive calls. On iOS and Android devices, the app’s interface looks very similar to the default dial-pad found on most smartphones. It also comes with options for call blocking, muting, and voicemail that are common in business phone services.
Automated Attendant
Google Voice does not come with an automated attendant. While it does come with a module that greets callers and ask them to identify themselves, it cannot route callers to different extensions like other solutions we looked at. The system is best for smaller teams that have no use for such functionality.
What Google Voice Is Missing
While Google Voice is a free system, calling international numbers costs money. If you make a lot of calls to other countries, the system could quickly become very expensive. Companies with an international presence may find that Jive better suits their needs, as it offers a full range of telephony features, an automated attendant, and unlimited calling to 52 countries.
What Users Think About Google Voice
Google Voice’s customers are happy with the service, especially because it is free to use and offers a free local business number. Many of our readers find the service to suit their needs. With that said, some customers wish that it was easier to port existing numbers into the service. For more reviews, check out our Google Voice User Reviews page.
Where to Find Google Voice
Google Voice offers small business users a local number free of charge. If you need to make an international call, the service also provides reasonable rates to call numbers all over the world. All you need is a free Google account. Get started today.
How to Make an International VoIP Call
The process of making an international call on most VoIP systems will comprise of following a specific dialing format. In most cases, you will have to dial the international dialing prefix, which will be set by your provider. Then, you will want to dial the country code (which you can easily find at the top of any Google search result), followed by the callee’s local area code and phone number.
Not all phone numbers within a country are seen as equal to a VoIP provider. Some vendors might charge more to call phone numbers within certain regions, and they may also place extra fees on calling mobile numbers. We recommend checking all total costs with a provider before signing up.
Bottom Line – VoIP International Calls
VoIP services provide many features that landline-based systems do not. They offer bundled-in features mobile apps, software integrations, and video calls in addition to unlimited domestic calling. Another large benefit is that VoIP systems also offer a substantial cost-savings when it comes to placing international calls.
We recommend Jive for all business users who prioritize international calls. It is a solid VoIP system in its own right, but the fact that it offers unlimited calls to 52 countries around the world makes it a great value for those with an overseas business presence. Click the button below to learn more about Jive today.
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