Google Voice call rates compared with Skype & others.The winner is??

by Muzzammil Waheed on August 29, 2010

Google has finally announced the Google Voice calling for Gmail inbox with which you can make VOIP calls to anywhere in the world on landline or mobile. With this announcement Google has officially stepped into the world of cheap VOIP calls. What does it mean for Skype ( the market leader ) and other VOIP call and services providers( Vopium, Vonage, Fring, Truphone and Nimbuzz ), well in my opinion Google is going to give them tough time.voip-google_skype_vopium_pr

Since Google is offering free calls to US and Candara on both landline and mobile from US and Canada till end of year 2010, that itself is a big deal and will certainly attract lot of people to use this service. But what about rest of the world ? It will depend on multiple factors as call rates, special call packages, voice quality, Add-on availability and International availability.

Below is a comparison I have performed between call rates of Google Voice, Skype and Vopium which is another VOIP call provider. I have highlighted the rates which are lowest or are distinct. See complete rate listing of Google Voice, Skype and Vopium A/S. Other serious competitors in VOIP arena are Vonage, Fring, Truphone and Nimbuzz which offer features like wifi calls, messenger, 3G mobile data support and mobile clients.

  Google Voice Skype Vopium
South America      
Argentina  0.02                 0.03 0.04
Argentina – Mobile  0.16                 0.20 0.15
Brazil 0.04                 5.40 0.05
Brazil – Mobile 0.15                 0.21 0.15
Mexico 0.10                 0.10 0.05
Mexico – Mobile 0.19                 0.33 0.2
       
  Google Voice Skype Vopium
North America      
Canada  2010 Free                 0.02 0.02
Canada – Mobile 2010 Free                 0.02 0.02
United States 2010 Free                 0.02 0.02
United States Alaska 2010 Free                 0.05 0.02
       
Column1 Google Voice Skype Vopium
Europe      
Belgium 0.03                 0.02 0.03
Belgium – Mobile 0.25                 0.26 0.25
Cyprus 0.04                 0.05 0.05
Cyprus – Mobile 0.05                 0.07 0.1
Denmark 0.02                 0.02 0.02
Denmark – Mobile 0.19                 0.24 0.17
Finland 0.05                 0.03 0.04
Findland Mobile 0.15                 0.20 0.17
France 0.02                 0.02 0.03
France – Mobile 0.15                 0.20 0.15
Germany 0.02                 0.02 0.03
Germany – Mobile 0.23                 0.24 0.17
Greece  0.02                 0.02 0.02
Greece – Mobile 0.17                 0.23 0.21
Ireland 0.02                 0.02 0.03
Ireland – Mobile 0.19                 0.19 0.2
Italy 0.02                 0.02 0.03
Italy – Mobile 0.2~0.3                 0.30 0.2
Luxembourg 0.02                 0.02 0.03
Luxembourg – Mobile 0.21                 0.24 0.23
Netherlands 0.02                 0.02 0.03
Netherlands – Mobile 0.23                 0.27 0.2
Norway 0.02                 0.02 0.03
Norway – Mobile 0.21                 0.21 0.15
Poland 0.02                 0.02 0.03
Poland – Mobile 0.17                 0.24 0.2
Portugal 0.02                 0.02 0.03
Portugal – Mobile 0.20                 0.26 0.25
Sweden 0.02                 0.02 0.02
Sweden – Mobile 0.29                 0.29 0.1
Turkey 0.03                 0.03 0.04
Turkey – Mobile 0.18                 0.18 0.1
United Kingdom 0.02                 0.02 0.03
United Kingdom – Mobile 0.18                 0.25 0.17
       
  Google Voice Skype Vopium
East Asia      
China  0.02                 0.02 0.02
China – Mobile 0.02                 0.02 0.02
Hong Kong 0.02                 0.02 0.03
Hong Kong – Mobile 0.02                 0.02 0.03
Indonesia 0.09                 0.09 0.1
Indonesia – Mobile 0.11                 0.15 0.1
Japan 0.02                 0.02 0.03
Japan – Mobile 0.11                 0.15 0.15
South Korea 0.02                 0.02 0.04
South Korea – Mobile 0.05                 0.07 0.06
Malaysia 0.02                 0.02 0.02
Malaysia – Mobile 0.04                 0.05 0.06
Phillipines 0.11                 0.19 0.15
Phillipines – Mobile 0.17                 0.24 0.19
Singapore 0.02                 0.02 0.03
Singapore – Mobile 0.02                 0.02 0.03
Taiwan 0.02                 0.02 0.03
Taiwan – Mobile 0.09                 0.10 0.1
Thailand 0.03  0.06~0.11  0.03
Thailand – Mobile 0.03                 0.11 0.03
       
Column1 Google Voice Skype Vopium
Middle East      
Egypt 0.13                 0.18 0.15
Egypt – Mobile 0.11                 0.15 0.14
Israel 0.02                 0.02 0.03
Israel – Mobile 0.10                 0.13 0.13
Kuwait 0.09 0.12 0.1
Kuwait – Mobile 0.12 0.12 0.15
Oman 0.15 0.18 0.19
Oman – Mobile 0.25 0.31 0.36
Qatar 0.26 0.37 0.36
Qatar – Mobile 0.27 0.37 0.36
Saudi Arabia 0.11 0.18 ~ 0.24 0.15
Saudi Arabia – Mobile 0.19 0.26 0.2
United Arab Emirates 0.19 0.26 0.22
Yemen 0.16 0.19 0.19
       
  Google Voice Skype Vopium
South Asia      
India 0.06 0.09 0.02~0.04
India – Mobile 0.06 0.09 0.02~0.04
Pakistan 0.11 0.13 0.05~0.1
Pakistan – Mobile 0.11 0.13 0.05~0.1
Sri Lanka 0.12 0.14 0.11
Sri Lanka – Mobile 0.12 0.14 0.11
       
  Google Voice Skype Vopium
Rest of the World    
Russia 0.04 0.04 0.05
Russia – Mobile 0.06 0.07 0.07
Russia – Moscow 0.02 0.02  
South Africa 0.05 0.06 0.06
South Africa – Mobile 0.17 0.23 0.19
Haiti 0.24 0.24 0.19
Haiti – Mobile 0.25 0.24 0.19
Australia 0.02                 0.02 0.03
Australia – Mobile 0.14                 0.20 0.14
New Zealand 0.02                 0.02 0.03
New Zealand – Mobile 0.22                 0.31 0.3

 

Well, as you can see above, the land line call rates are pretty much the same in Europe and selected places in the world, but Google has an definite edge in middle east and is offering cheaper rates for landline and mobiles. Similarly, Vopium has cheaper rates for Pakistan, India and few European countries making it also lucrative. It must be understood that both Skype and Vopium offer special calling packages which makes the call rates even cheaper to selected destinations.

In the end, the service with the best voice quality will be winner. We all know Skype for its excellent voice quality and it will be matter of time when we see how Google voice catches up in term of quality. Furthermore, Skype has clients available for majority of operating systems along with availability of mobile application clients which definitely gives it the edge. Meanwhile Vopium and other VOIP providers have their own markets.

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Tagged as: calls, Cheap calls bengladesh, Cheap calls India, Cheap Calls Pakistan, Cheap calls Saudi Arab, Comparison, Free calls, Free Canada Calls, Free mobile calls, free US calls, free VOIP calls, Gmail, gmail free calls, Google, inbox, talk, voice, VOIP, Voip calling

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Founder of BiGGTech.com, tech enthusiast, develops in Microsoft technologies with interests in technology, science and gadgets

  • ALIBARBA

    interesting comparison …

  • http://www.biggtech.com Muzzammil

    Google voice is not available in Pakistan. So by default Skype, Vopium and Truphone are favorites. I’ve got them installed on my HTC Desire, however, the newly available skype Android App sucks…

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