This is a common question, especially if you have relatives who live outside of Europe or someone you love has gone on a trip abroad and for some reason you need to make a call.
Given this situation we are wondering how much this call is going to cost us, will I end up paying more than necessary for these calling minutes to England?
The answer to this question is not unique as it will depend on many things. The main one will be related to the mobile company you have hired and, above all, the type of tariff you have.
The country you are calling will also be linked, it will not be the same to call Europe as to call another continent.
Below we show you the prices that the mobile companies in Europe set for their international calls.
How to call abroad for free
Before you continue, know that there is a totally free way to make calls abroad at no cost. Myself, living in England, this is the way I always use to communicate with my family in Europe.
Of course, you will need a stable internet connection, preferably Wi-Fi, as this method might cause you to spend too much data.
As you might have guessed, this is the WhatsApp calling option. If you use this social network and you are connected to a Wi-Fi network, calls by WhatsApp will be free. You will not have to pay anything to call abroad. Moreover, WhatsApp offers additional tools such as the ability to make a group video call with more people.
However, WhatsApp will not always be an option: you may be in a place without Wi-Fi or even the connection is not very good. If you’re in this situation, keep reading to find out what prices each cell phone company sets for international calls.
The price of mobile operators for international calls
Based on our article on the best mobile operators in Europe, we have selected the main ones to offer you in detail their prices and rates for international calls. This comparison will help you choose the best deal in case you need to make those international calls frequently.
Digi
Digi is the company that allows you to go it alone when it comes to mobile telephony, without CDIs that bind you (almost) indefinitely. In the case of international calls, Digi was not going to be different: you will be able to call freely, without a contract, but you will have to pay a specific price per minute.
The price, as always, will depend on the country you are calling. Digi offers a search engine on its website: you just have to select the country you want to call and you can see the price per minute that you will be charged. Also look at the cost of setting up a call, which is a fixed price that you will be charged as a basis in addition to the price per minute.
The truth is that, compared to other carriers, Digi offers lower per-minute prices for its international calls. What’s also true is that depending on the type of call you want to make (whether you want to be able to stretch out and talk for a long time), we don’t recommend calling as long as there is a cost per minute . It is recommended that you have the option of buying a package with certain m inutes at a single price so that you do not have any surprises later.
If it’s just a one-time, short call, Digi is a good option. You won’t have a big scare in the cost of this call (if you don’t abuse the minutes, of course).
For example, calling Ecuador from Europe will cost you $0.22 per minute with a call setup of $0.77. Companies like Movistar charge up to more than one euro per minute for these international calls.
Calling from Europe to other European countries like Germany will only cost you 0.06 cents per minute, with a call setup of 0.12$, which is even cheaper.
I also want to point out that Digi lets you see how much you’ll pay to call if you’re going on a trip. You will be able to see if the famous roaming works since now in countries like England with Brexit there is always the question of whether roaming works or not.
Movistar: Without a fixed rate, it will be very expensive
Movistar offers a very useful tool on its website. You just have to choose if your mobile is prepaid or contractual then write the country you want to call from Europe. It will be then that the price of the cost per minute of this call will appear, which, obviously, will vary depending on the country you are calling.
For example, calling Italy with a prepaid mobile will be quite expensive: setting up the call already costs 21.78, no matter how many minutes you spend on the phone. After that, the first minute will cost you 1.21 cents, but after that, the minute will be charged at 22.99 cents. The contract price in this case is exactly the same.
Calling Colombia or another Latin American country will cost you much more: $1.65 per minute and $0.77 to set up the call.
As you can see, making this type of call is not profitable. If you do not have the possibility to call by WhatsApp, it is recommended to contract a special rate for international calls.
You have contractual and prepaid options, such as the Speak World bonus which includes 300 minutes for calls to up to 30 different countries and which will cost you 5 dollars for four weeks.
There are also bonuses with other fees and more country choices, as well as tariffs that you will pay monthly with your contract. It is recommended that you subscribe to one of these rates if you want to call abroad because otherwise you risk paying much more than necessary.
Vodafone
Like the rest of the operators, Vodafone offers the possibility of knowing the price you will pay for international calls, the price of which will depend on the country you are calling from.
For example, a call from Europe to the Dominican Republic will cost you $1.50 per minute plus a call set-up charge of $0.73. It’s still priced a lot more than companies like Digo, but it’s also cheaper than Movistar.
However, like Movistar, Vodafone offers call bonuses with which you can be sure to pay a fixed price and not have any surprises on your bill.
A bonus of 80 minutes of international calls (including outside Europe) will cost you $6 per month with a package and without permanence, a bonus to take into account if you are used to calling abroad frequently.
Orange
To know the price of your rates if you call from Europe, use their search engine on their website to write the country you want to call.
Orange offers different rates depending on the time you call. If you call Colombia from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. it will cost you $1.38 per minute and if you call between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. you will pay $0.943 per minute. Call setup is cheaper in this case, $0.54.
However, it is always advisable to buy one of the bonds at a fixed price. In this case, Orange offers three different bonuses:
- international multi bonus
- World module
- International Calling Bonuses
Each of these bonuses offers different prices and conditions that will adapt to your needs. It is not the same to have to make international calls in Europe as outside of Europe.
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