I use Skype on my laptop and WiFi (either free-ranging hotspots, with a rented MiFi, or at my hotels) to make free video calls back home. Your intrepid reporter Skypes home using his laptop and a stray WiFi signal by a canal in Venice. Now I make video calls home as often as I want-and it doesn't cost me a single penny. I used to spend hundreds of dollars a year on international calling plans and phone cards, which, for a monthly fee of around $10, would allow me to call home for 5¢ per minute (plus a $5 connection fee on each call). Use Skype to call home for free (if 'home' has a computer otherwise, again: only 2.3¢ per minute to call a landline) (I find I have to top it off with $10 only every 6–8 months or so-and I call abroad a lot for my work.)Īnother idea: get a local cellphone and have your friends and family back home use Skype to call you (though that will bump you up to the fees for calling a mobile phone, which range from 8¢ to 27¢ per minute, plus a 8.9¢ connection fee). You just download the software, install it, open an account and put a little bit of money into it via PayPal or a credit card, and you're off. This varies by country for example, for Italy it's $1.19/month for 120 min., $3.99 for 400 min. Incremental plans: cheapskates can also buy monthly minutes to a single country.$13.99/month unlimited plan to up to 60 countries.$4.99–$6.99/month unlimited plan to a single country.and Canada obviously won't work for travel abroad, but you could get: If you plan to be a heavy user-for a longer trip or semester abroad-and don't want to pay 2.3¢ per minute for PAYG, you can also sign up for a unlimited monthly plan. It costs exactly $0.00 to make a Skype-to-Skype call. Add to that a 4.9¢ connection fee per call.Įven better, all calls to other Skype users are free. That's the cost to dial a landline in most of Europe (some parts of southeastern Europe cost 5¢–6¢, and for some reason Italy is 7¢) and parts of Asia (they call it Pay As You Go, or PAYG-used to be 'Skype Out'). I suggest using a service like Skype to call anywhere in the world from your computer for as little as 2.3¢ per minute.

Skype: Call for free Using Skype to make free (or cheap) phone calls on vacation

How to use skype on laptop for free