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8 Cheap and Best Calling Cards, Options to Call India

We live in a world, where Internet is available all the time and there is no need to pay a dime to make a phone call to India. It was very different a decade ago, when the internet was not so common and affordable in India. Still, there are times, when we may need to go the traditional route and make a phone call, instead of an interent-based WhatsApp or FaceTime call. In such cases, we still rely on the traditional calling cards to call a landline or mobile phone in India. In this article we will explore the best options to call India and experience using them.

Reliable Calling Cards

Reliable calling has been in the industry of calling for over a decade now. I have used them consistently in the past for few years and prices varied according to competition. So, for the money we pay i.e 0.99 cents a minute, it is very good. Quality is very good.

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They also have a monthly plan that is about $9.99 per month. I have seen this price start as high as $24.99 per month and has finally come down to $9.99. If you call home often and do not want to worry about minutes and other things, you can go for the monthly plan. Overall, my experience has been positive. You can also setup and use speed dial, I enter only one digit to call home.

Keku

Keku used to be called as Stand Card in the past. I used them a lot in the past and they used to be expensive. Their calling rate of 2.5 cents per minute. They sell as packages of 200 minutes to landline, mobile and BSNL. Their best plan is to go for monthly unlimited plan, which is priced at $9.95. Though they are pricer, the service is very good.

It never says, the lines are busy. There is a cool feature, you can assign a US Phone number to every India number. So, if you want to call directly from your mobile without entering anything, it is the best choice. I love this feature, it is like calling local. No hassle of entering digits. But, a bit pricey.  You get what you pay for.

Vonage for Home

Vonage has been in the VoIP space for many years and they also have a unlimited calling around the world option. The good part is, it also includes free call to US, Canada and Mexico option. There is nothing specific for India as such, it is the general worldwide plan.

They have an initial sign-up option for $9.99 per month for 6 months and then it is $29.99. But, there is a one year contract. SO, BEWARE of this contract.  It is good for Families who call home and stay at home.

Reliance Global call

Reliance Global call is one of the oldest calling card as well. They were very expensive in the market back when they launched, but always had higher quality. Even now compared to other players, they are expensive. Currently their seperate plans range from about 1.72 cents per min to 1.35 per minute based on the plan you pick. They have Full on Plan, which can reduce the calling rate to 0.67 cents per minute. If you go for value pack, it can cost 0.83 cents per minute. Due to the high price, I have stopped using them few years ago. Overall Reliance is pricey. If you are new, you can try it.

Rebtel

Rebtel is one the better providers for calling India. They primarily operate on the concept of monthly. If you are someone who do not want to think about per cent calling, it is best to go for them. They charge $12 per month and they have 90 days and 180 days plans that are priced at $24 and $45. I have used the to call India and other countries. The service is great and their unlimited plan works great. If you go by pay as you go model, they are pricey and charge about 2.39 cents per minute.

Google Voice

Google Voice is also a big player in the calling space. They are slightly expensive then others, but there is no hidden charges with Google. You pay flat 2 cents per minute with Google. They do not give specialized plans like monthly or quarterly. I have used them and the quality is really good, just pricey.

If you are in front of computer and want to make a quick call, this is the best option. I have like $10 credit and use it now and then when I dont have phone handy or want to call from computer. If you are an occasional caller and do not mind paying a little more, Google voice is best for you. The credits also do not expires, so really good option.

Toolani

Toolani is also one of the newer players in the market. If you are looking for calling now and then, then you may consider it. They charge about 1.2 cents per minute for land line and 1.5 cents per mintue for mobile. There is alos a connection fee as well for the call. So, in reality it can cost you more. If you are looking to call very few times, you can consider them. I have not used them personally, so cannot say.

Dial91

Dial91 is one of the newer players in the market compare to all others in the market. They do not even list their price online properly. There are very bad reviews for them on TrustPilot. I have never used them. The issues shared by others are the plans expire and balance is stuck, no customer service. It may be risky to try it when there are so many negative reviews.

Please post your experiences in the comments section about any other calling cards you recommend or reject !

   

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17 Comments

  1. same as vishal. Have been using reliance for 10 years. reliable service. $20 charge every 2-3 months gives me more then a 1000 mts which don’t expire if not used by each month. I use a local USA number to connect instead of toll free number from my home/cell phone line.

    Reply
  2. Keku.com has current calling rate as 2.3 cents, but we can use this to make it half, so its kind of referal bonus.
    User referal code 1533287 and recharge for $5 which will give you extra $5
    so your effective rate will be 2.3/2 = 1.15
    Also they are allows you to create local US no for your international number so it is you can save them in your cell and can call anytime like calling in US.

    Reply
  3. I have been using Vonage Calling card. Its 2.1c/minute and has decent call quality. Looking for better ones, I tried sendglobal.com.
    NEVER TRY IT, THEY ARE BIG TIME CHEATERS
    They say it is only 1.3c/minute but have been charging 24.3c/minute!!! No customer service and horrible call quality.

    Reply
  4. The voip and calling cards is the same thing, it’s all voip calling, if you mean you can use it voip from your smartphone, look for mobile dialer on calling cards website, it’s easy and I find calling cards are cheap, EPINCALL has lots of phone cards with low rates, but always check for details so you know which phone card is best for you.

    Reply
  5. Nice article… Well written.

    I’ve been using Reliance India Call since almost 3 years now… While I’m not saying that their service is great, they still let old users access the 1 cent per minute call. Their customer service is 24/7 so that’s something I like.

    I still think VoIP calls are cheaper, but for I’ve kept Reliance active for India calling…

    Reply
  6. Never choose g3telecom.com . I tried this service to call India. Call quality is very poor, I will rate it 3 out of 10. They promise money back guarantee, when I was unsatisfied I called their CC and asked for my money back, they did not refund any, rep told to get money back I need to call CC every time a call is dropped. It was my last time with them.

    Reply
  7. Its much easier and way cheaper to use online phone cards from websites like bixdial phone cards or pingo, comfi, bixdial phone cards offer good rates too. When you buy online calling cards you get your card right away, i dont have to go to store.

    Reply
  8. Hi, you can buy epincall calling cards, low rates and pinless dialing and you receive your phone card instantly.

    Reply
  9. Very good suggestions given here!!! i was also using vonage from last one year…now i m moving to a place where internet is provided by society only(included in rent :-))
    so i m not sure in these scenario’s vonage is best option!!!!!!!!!! any one has used majic jack?? or any other suggestion for the same situation??

    Reply
  10. You could try Rebtel. I have been using this since 2007 and its the cheapest and the best Calling Card I have ever used.
    I had extensively used Reliance and Airtel and now shifted to Rebtel.

    rebtel.com

    Thanks,
    Siva

    Reply
  11. Hi Ady ! It is a relative call and depends. It completely depends on the area you are living in. For instance, if you are in Midwest, USCellular is good. If you are in South, AT&T is good. Also, another factor is if you buy AT&T and all your friends are on AT&T, then you can call all of them for free, so it is hard to suggest and also depends on How MUCH you want to use the phone. You can adopt pre-paid, if you just want to use it very little. But, I do not recommend prepaid in US.

    I have been using AT&T for more than 4 years and I moved places and I find it best. The deal is "Find a buddy with whom you can add line and it will be very cheap". It is called family plan.

    So, Sorry I cannot recommend without your requirements.

    Reply

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