International calls - to Canada from UK - cheapest options? 23 May 2022 at 7:47PM in Mobiles 16 replies 989 views

Manchesterlodger

I live in the UK, have a SIM only mobile phone plan with Vodafone (which is out of contract and costs me 11.25 a month) and usually phone a friend who lives in Alberta, Canada at least once a month (ideally I would like to call her more often). My friend is elderly and has early stage dementia. She has a Canadian landline phone which is all she can currently use (so no access to cheap mobile phone calling apps such as WhatsApp or Skype).

I have been paying Vodafone an extra charge on my SIM plan to make an international call to Canada for a set number of minutes, and then remove the extra charge for this service once the call had been made . However my friend has become very forgetful due to her illness and so sometimes when I've arrange to call her, she's not answered and I've ended up paying Vodafone extra charges and not been able to connect with my friend.

I am wondering whether there is a better cheaper option for calling abroad, specifically Canada? Some years ago I used to buy international calling cards and I noticed there are some services like that online now - but I have no idea how good they are as an option or which to choose? If anyone has advice on this, I would really appreciate it.

Last month I ended up paying Vodafone an extra 10 pounds charge which was expensive for me on top of the 11.25 sim plan and the 22.24 I pay for my broadband. I am open to switching to another SIM provider but have held off as my broadband contract (which is also with Vodafone) expires in September this year. However, I really miss speaking to my friend and would like to sort out a reliable way of calling her cheaply more often. 

victor2

I used to use RebTel for calling overseas quite a few years ago, before using WhatsApp and the like.

It is still available and calls to Canada cost 1.2p per minute, or you can pay £4/month for unlimited calls.

Might be worth looking into, as they don't have to change anything at the other end, you just have a UK number you call to connect to the number in Canada. You do pay for the UK call as well, but if you've got bundled minutes on your SIM, that should be OK so long as you don't exceed them.

Ms_Chocaholic

I use Vyke, it costs 0.7p a minute to call. You download an app on your phone and then would use the app to call your friend's landline, I've used it successfully this way.

https://www.vyke.com/rates/

ballyblack

I use Yolla to call Canadian landline  .005 cents a minute

download the app

https://yollacalls.com/

flaneurs_lobster

ballyblack said:

I use Yolla to call Canadian landline  .005 cents a minute

download the app

https://yollacalls.com/

Norton flags that site as hooky. 10 (!) reviews on Trustpilot, 7 are 1*. Just saying.

ballyblack

flaneurs_lobster said:

ballyblack said:

I use Yolla to call Canadian landline  .005 cents a minute

download the app

https://yollacalls.com/

Norton flags that site as hooky. 10 (!) reviews on Trustpilot, 7 are 1*. Just saying.

I have been using it for 2 years with no major complaints. Occasionally a call drops but i dial again in a few minutes and it works just fine. You need a good internet connection for it to work properly.

Its very cheap

J_B

We use Localphone - price dependent on area it seems

https://www.localphone.com/call/canada

k_man

ballyblack said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

ballyblack said:

I use Yolla to call Canadian landline  .005 cents a minute

download the app

https://yollacalls.com/

Norton flags that site as hooky. 10 (!) reviews on Trustpilot, 7 are 1*. Just saying.

I have been using it for 2 years with no major complaints. Occasionally a call drops but i dial again in a few minutes and it works just fine. You need a good internet connection for it to work properly.

Its very cheap

That certainly is cheap!

ballyblack said:

I use Yolla to call Canadian landline  .005 cents a minute

download the app

https://yollacalls.com/

Are you sure it is 0.005 cents a minute? (200 minutes for 1 cent)?

ballyblack

Yolla Canada calling rates

• Rate

  from $0.005/min

mgfvvc

If you switch to Lebara you get 100 inclusive minutes to international destinations, including Canada. I think they are on the Vodafone network so coverage is the same, except that they don't (as far as I know) support Wifi calling.

Manchesterlodger

Many thanks to everyone for all these replies - I had no idea these services were available. I'm going to give the RebTel service a go because they have a set charge for unlimited calls which means that I can call my friend more frequently and have a better chance of catching her at home if she forgets the time that I have arranged to call her. RebTel also offer my first week free and seem to have the best reviews on Trust Pilot. But it's nice to hear of the other options because I will try them if I find I run into issues with RebTel. Once again many thanks - I really appreciate the information.