If many years ago the only way to make mobile calls was to use a SIM and a phone number with an operator, today you just need an Internet connection and an application to make free calls on any phone, be it an iPhone or an Android smartphone. The free call becomes possible if the interlocutors use the same installed app and if both phones are connected to the Internet : for the call we can use both the Wi-Fi network and with LTE data connection or higher. In this guide we will then show you the best apps to make free calls from smartphones via the internet, with excellent quality and with an excellent chance of finding friends who already use these services.
READ ALSO: App for free video calling and video chat on Android and iPhone
Best apps to call for free
All the apps that we report below are free, but still 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 the friends they use the same service) and SMS (to automatically retrieve the security code used for the association). These are the only prerequisites that we must check before using most of the following apps (except some, which have normal access via username and password).
To make free calls, simply enter (at the 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 has been opened, we tap at the top 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 practically everyone without paying, even if at the moment it cannot be used to make calls to fixed numbers.
To deepen the discussion we can read our guide on how to use Whatsapp to make free calls .
Telegram
Another messaging service that includes free phone calls is Telegram, available for Android and iOS.
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 on the top right of the menu with the three dots and using the Call item.
The strengths of Telegram are the encryption of the 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 a PC, synchronizing practically any call on every device. The only shortcomings of Telegram are the absence of video calls and a lower diffusion compared to WhatsApp (but from this point of view it is catching up on the eye, you just need to make the app known to friends and relatives to help spread it ).
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 undoubtedly Skype, available for free on Android and iOS.
Despite fierce competition, it remains one of the best apps for calling and video calling a Skype registered contact. To use it, it is not necessary to provide the phone number, but we can use the access credentials of the Microsoft, Outlook and Office account, so that we can 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 phone book that 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 ability to make group calls and video calls and SkypeOut, which allows you to contact (upon payment of a credit) also telephone numbers outside Skype, including landline 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.
Since almost everyone owns a Facebook account, just use this app to call our friends and relatives for free! Once the app is installed, we insert the login credentials of our Facebok account (if the Facebook app is already present, our account will be displayed immediately), we insert the phone number to also associate users present in the address book and you're done: 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 Call or Video-call icon. The quality is very good (comparable to WhatsApp) and the diffusion equal to that of WhatsApp, if not higher.
In another article we talked in more detail about how to make free calls with Facebook Messenger.
Google Duo
Another very convenient and fast app for making video calls and simple calls for free is Google Duo, available on Android (where it is usually pre-installed) and iOS.
With this app, simply log in with your Google account or with your phone number (like other call services), then contact one of the friends included in the address book synchronized with your 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 flaws are the low diffusion (although being pre-installed on Android we can call any of our friends in the address book that 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 apps to call for free
The ones we have mentioned so far are the best apps that we can use on any smartphone to make free calls in any situation. However, other apps in the same category are also available, perhaps with a lesser distribution but with everything you need to call our friends for free (always if they use the same app on their phone).- Viber: has long been considered the antagonist of Skype for free calls, with applications for almost every platform, which also allows you to send text messages, multimedia messages, video messages. When using Viber to make calls, the phone rings as if using the normal cell line.
- Snapchat: the app for quick sharing of photos and self-destructing messages, allows you to phone contacts with voice calls.
- Line Chat and WeChat: Line and WeChat are among the main competitors of Whatsapp, especially in the Asian market. Both Line and WeChat are not widely used in Italy, so it is difficult to find registered friends who can receive calls. However, the possibility of making free calls between users has been present on both 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-standing reference app for calls and video calls on Android devices and Google+, 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 for calling fixed and mobile numbers at low 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 offer of the phone (in fact the traditional line is convenient only for calling fixed numbers, for moments when we do not have Internet coverage and to call untraceable friends via app).If we use an iPhone or an iPad we can also use the integrated Facetime app, useful for making free calls only to friends who also have an iPhone or iPad.
If, on the other hand, we wish to call fixed numbers from our smartphone for free, we recommend reading our article on How to call fixed numbers from your smartphone for free .
