Lower Your AT&T Cell Phone Bill with VoIP iPhone Apps

February 11, 2010 By Nick Mokey

Cut your cell phone bill down to size with these free and cheap-to-use applications for your iPhone.

In the complex kitchen sink of fees AT&T has built up around the iPhone, with separate billing for phone minutes, text messages, and even AT&T Navigator, the obligatory unlimited data plan has been like a Swiss Army knife taped shut: Technically, it can replace many paid features – including voice functionality – but Apple’s strict rules for apps have prevented it from doing so.

Slice that red tape and get ready to pop open the corkscrew, because those days are over.

In late January, Apple has lifted its ban on voice-over-IP (VoIP) apps using AT&T’s cellular data network. In other words, the tunnel out of AT&T’s fee structure has been opened: You can now place calls through the Web without paying the company another dime for minutes. Wondering how to get started? Here are a few of the best VoIP apps for the iPhone, along with rates.

SkypeFree

The same great app you know from the desktop has landed on the iPhone, and very soon, will allow you place calls over AT&T’s 3G network when you don’t have Wi-Fi. Unlike Google Voice, Skype actually charges a small monthly fee to place outgoing calls from the app, but in return, it won’t bite into your monthly minutes. You can get unlimited calls to the U.S. and Canada for $2.95 a month, to one country for $5.95, and to the world for $12.95. Like Google Voice, you can also place long-distance calls for bargain basement prices. Calls to Spain, for instance, will run you 2.4 cents per minute. You can also buy a Skype In number (a phone number others can dial into to reach you on Skype) for as low as $30 a year, with the purchase of a monthly outgoing subscription.

FringFree

This all-in-one instant messaging client goes beyond simple text to offer two voice options: Skype and SIP. Skype will allow you to log in to your account and use the same options outlined above, but SIP (which is a protocol, not a service) represents a whole other can of worms. In order to use it, you’ll need to sign up with one of dozens of VoIP providers that support that SIP protocol and Fring, which you can find on Fring’s partners page. Get an account with one, like VoIPCheap, sign in with your details through Fring, then dial away at rates that make AT&T look like thieves.

Google VoiceFree

Google managed to burrow out from under Apple’s rejection of this Google Voice by putting it on the Web rather than in the App Store, which means that technically, this isn’t an app. But it works the same way. After signing up for a Google Voice account, you’ll receive a personal number allowing you to both send and receive calls through Google Voice. Unfortunately, numbers placed through the “app” actually have to be handed to the iPhone’s dialer, which quickly dials a local access number and puts you through to your intended contact, meaning it will deduct minutes. That said the access number is always local, so for international calling, Google Voice rates absolutely flog AT&T. Call to Spain on AT&T: $1.49 a minute. Call to Spain on Google Voice: 2 cents a minute. You can also send and receive text messages for free, and try cool features like voicemail transcription.

Page 1 of 2

12 >

Showing 31 comments

Shannon at 7:09am 15th December 2010 Check out HeyWire for free unlimited texting and check out NetTalk smartphone apps. Two amazing apps.
1. Ray at 6:45pm 19th January 2011 I travel overseas and i only need to call back to the Us and people can call me . Mostly at night when I'm in my hotel room and I have descent Internet service. What would be my rate calling back to the US from a South American country per say?
lina11123 at 5:44am 13th October 2010 925 sterling silver Great post and very cool logo :) Thanks for giving us tip related to VoIP
StanGibbs at 1:01am 13th October 2010 VOIP is great, low rates and good connectivity. Previously the call quality was an issue but not anymore if you have a good connection. This is really nice way to connect and communicate with your friends as the rates are almost equal to none and very good service. make money online
shaun1123 at 3:54am 12th October 2010 Great listing dude. These are really considerable options for making voice calls. Thank you sharing with us!urldreamer
stefy9123 at 3:25am 11th October 2010 I never thought to use a VoIP service for calls. I guess skype and firing are the best. Very nicely arranged list, thank you.online bingo
bret123 at 4:09am 8th October 2010 I did not understand the thing about about google voice where you say that the numbers have to handed to the iphone's dialer. I don't have to do this, it does it for me and I simple hit # and it dials. Anyways, fring is nice. I like it more. ecommerce
Iphone Jailbreak at 3:05pm 18th May 2010 is it true that iphone 4G will be release on july ?
Parking Games at 4:23pm 16th May 2010 very nice, I could use it to save some buck.
international call at 12:37am 1st May 2010 This is good for those iPhone users but how about those who doesn't have iPhone? We can't still prevent using prepaid. Good thing that there are company which offers cheap international calls.
Free International Calls at 11:07pm 27th April 2010 You can use this link for Free International Calls
Sharu at 12:23pm 10th April 2010 Please let me know some Voip service where i can link my mobilephone number and make internatianl calls so that my customers can see my phone number when i call them
jess101 at 9:01am 6th March 2010 If you'd really like to cut your AT&T bill down, consider combining a home voip service with that of your iPhone. Of course, you will need some type of voip service provider, but there are some that let you register you home analog telephone adapter and another device (iPhone) at the same time. These type of providers are few and far between, but it can be done. We have a plan that can set you up for this with a quality voip provider and shares minutes with your iPhone, or even an iPod Touch. http://austexvoip.com
voipproviders at 3:16am 26th February 2010 There are two ways to phone through IP-phone. You can phone from the web-site with the help of your personal account and with using special program installed on your PC. http://www.voip-catalog.com/ Voip providers. Also, during IP call you may use any additional headsets if you do not have built-in loudspeaker. So, with using headset and microphone you will hear your interlocutor.
nik at 11:48am 19th February 2010 I wanted to confirm if voip calls still cut your minutes on att. I have read for sure that vonage on iphone just sucks cos even if you are using it on a data line, att still cuts the minutes for the amount of time you use the voip call. if that is the case with all voip solutions, then there is no point enabling voip calls. Its just another means of making more money as you have to go for unlimited plan!!
Toktumi Line2 at 12:01pm 18th February 2010 Nice list of apps. You might want to check out the new Line2, http://www.line2.com/ It's the first and only true dual mode WiFI VoIP / Cell app in the market. It let's you place and receive calls from the same number over both VoIP and cell networks, no other app let's you do that. It also has PBX features - auto attendant, call handling rules, and 20 person conference calling built in.
dbb10001 at 2:39pm 14th February 2010 The Voip apps will doubtlessly seriously cut costs for many iPhone subscribers. There is no reason to stop there, however, because various other complementing technologies exist that allow us to be proactive about reducing our wireless spending. At the risk of sounding like I'm blatantly plugging, check out the Houston-based company Validas, where I (admittedly) work in consumer advocacy. Looks like an ulterior motive here, I know, but I believe this is relevant. At Validas, we electronically audit and subsequently reduce the average cell bill by about 22 percent through our website, http://www.fixmycellbill.com . From regular people to top corporations to huge entities like the State of California, an incredibly varied group of wireless customers uses Validas to slash their wireless bills. In other words, Validas works, and it can probably work for you too.

Check out Validas in the media, recently on Fox News at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1uTCO16_ao .

Good luck to everyone reading at retaking control over your wireless expenses through apps like Google Voice and technology like Validas.

Dylan
Consumer Advocacy, FixMyCellBill.com
Joe at 12:01pm 12th February 2010 Thanks Nick! You're one the rare bloggers who appreciates commenter's feedback and updates their article. Refreshing!
ntmokey at 8:54am 11th February 2010 Joe, thanks for the feedback, we went ahead and added both Truphone and Vonage Mobile, which didn't make it into the original article (though not intentionally as you suggest, there are just a lot of VoIP options out there and opinions on them differ widely).
Ria at 11:51pm 10th February 2010 integrated VoIP performance monitoring capability with Traverse which rapidly identifies the cause of the problem using its built-in topology-aware root-cause engine and supports VoIP equipment from several vendors including: Avaya, Broadsoft, Cisco etc.
http://zyrion.com/download/
Greg at 8:39am 10th February 2010 The article is mentioning FREE to download apps. Is the Vonage Mobile or Truphone app free? Just curious. Also how much does Vonage or Truphone charge per minute? Is it a good deal?
Matt McLernon at 8:17am 10th February 2010 @Joe - thanks for the Vonage Mobile mention.

I work with the PR team at Vonage, where we see the benefits of our flat-rate app competing with the apps listed above. Especially when considering international calling plans - where mobile carriers have lots of varying rates, peak/off peak times, and selective country plans, the Vonage World Mobile flat rate calling plan can save you bundles. www.vonagemobile.com
Joe at 4:37pm 9th February 2010 Frank, you're correct, this author didn't research or wrote a biased article. He intentionally forgot to mention the more popular and better quality VoIP apps - Vonage Mobile and Truphone. These two iPhone apps provide much higher voice quality, consistency and great rates overall. Skype drops the calls often and makes you redial, because they charge (the small charge author mentions) everytime you dial a call and their voice quality is lower than others.
Frank at 5:06am 7th February 2010 It's actually from a company called PINGER and the App is TextFree Lite. you only get 15 free texts per day (al least that's what I am limited to). Unless you buy the App and I believe you get unlimited for one year (please verify with Pinger). If you were one of the luck ones who purchased the App prior to a policy change Pinger made, you would have paid just for the App once and had free texts without the yearly fee. They may have changed the policy again, but I have not used this App for a while. There is also Text+, which is a free App, just verify if you are limited to a maximum amount of texts per day.
Frank at 4:58am 7th February 2010 Let's not get giddy over these prices from the Apps, including Google. The pennies being quoted above may represent landline numbers. For example, Google charges (UK for example) 2 cents per minute for a landline and 18 cents per minute to call a mobile number. The same is true for CallGlobal and most of the other Apps. Also, AT&T has a charge for international calling for $3.99 per month; this allows the caller to get better rates than the $1.49 quoted in the Blog. The cost to call a landline in the UK is about 4 cents per minute and a mobile number is 23 cents per minute. Still higher, but not near the $1.49 mentioned. Also, with AT&T, you get taxes and other fees attached to the international plans, whereas with the Apps, most just charge the flat rate of the cost per minute. CallGlobal just charges the per minute rate, no other fees. So, do your research and don't believe Blogs like these. These blogs make their money on the ads displayed and do not fully research the content of the information placed in them. I wish we all could hold the writer of Blogs accountable for their poor research.
dang at 6:40pm 6th February 2010 There is one called Ping
Declan at 2:00pm 6th February 2010 What's the free, unlimited texting app?
Greg at 10:16am 6th February 2010 Again, there are free apps that bypass the dialer and let you talk for free or at a discount. How are you missing this?
Greg at 10:15am 6th February 2010 It's complex because there is not a single plan for people to use. There are a bunch of add-ons etc. Susan, what you are using for a free app, most people likely do not even know about.
susan at 9:31am 6th February 2010 > Goggle: Unfortunately, numbers placed through the “app” actually have to
> be handed to the iPhone’s dialer

Huh?

You just click on any phone # in your phonebook and it dials it.
susan at 9:29am 6th February 2010 > In the complex kitchen sink of fees AT&T has built up around the iPhone

Complex?

I pay a flat $40/month for more minutes than I could EVER use.
(With roll-over... I couldn't possibly ever use up the 2 THOUSAND minutes.)

I pay a flat $30/month for unlimited data.

I pay $0 for unlimited text-messaging. (I use a small, free app.)

That's far too complex to understand?