If you’re living in a different country or speak a second language fluently, it’s likely that you stay in contact with friends and family back home through texting apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or Google Hangouts. If you use your phone to keep in contact with people internationally, it can get expensive. Texting someone internationally can cost as much as 20 cents per message. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to avoid blowing through international calling and texting limits. Here are some tips on how you can text internationally without breaking the bank.
Does texting internationally cost money?
Yes, if you have a data plan on your phone. If you don’t have a data plan, the only way to text internationally is to pay for the occasional call.
Ways To Avoid Blowing Through International Calling And Texting Limits
1) Use WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger
These programs allow you to send free messages between users who have the same program downloaded on their phones. You can also send free messages to people who don’t have the same app downloaded on their phones.
2) Call a person’s landline instead of texting them
Most countries charge for incoming calls to their local landlines. However, if your friend lives in an area where there is no cellphone coverage (like rural areas) or has poor cell reception (like inside buildings), he or she may be able to make outgoing calls for free using a VoIP service like Skype. To find out if your friend has coverage at his or her house, ask him/her to call from another phone that does have coverage and see if he/she gets through. If he/she doesn’t get through, then he/she probably doesn’t have cell service at his/her house. If your friend doesn’t have a landline at his/her house, he/she can use a free service like Google Voice to give you a call or text message for free.
3) Use Skype or Viber to make and receive calls from your computer
If you have a computer and Internet access, you can use Skype or Viber to call people who don’t have cell phones. You can also use these programs to send free messages to people who don’t have the same program downloaded on their phones.
4) Use WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger as your primary messaging program
If you use WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger as your primary messaging program, there’s no way for people in other countries to contact you unless they download the app on their phone. If they do download the app, then it’s easy for them to text you without paying anything because they don’t need data plans or credit cards.
5) Call someone using Skype instead of texting them
Skype allows you to call people who don’t have cell phones for free if they’re in an area where there is no cellphone coverage (like rural areas). To find out if that person has coverage at his or her house, ask him/her to call from another phone that does have coverage and see if he/she gets through. If he/she doesn’t get through, then he/she probably doesn’t have cell service at his/her house. If the person doesn’t have a landline at his/her house, he/she can use a free service like Google Voice to give you a call or text message for free.
6) Use Viber or WhatsApp to make and receive calls from your computer
If you have a computer and Internet access, you can use Viber or WhatsApp to call people who don’t have cell phones for free if they’re in an area where there is no cellphone coverage (like rural areas). To find out if that person has coverage at his or her house, ask him/her to call from another phone that does have coverage and see if he/she gets through. If he/she doesn’t get through, then he/she probably doesn’t have cell service at his/her house. If the person doesn’t have a landline at his/her house, he can use a free service like Google Voice to give you a call or text message for free.
7) Use Facebook Messenger instead of texting people
Instead of texting people on Facebook Messenger, you can simply send them messages using the “Message” button on their profile page. This is especially useful when they don’t have data plans or credit cards and don’t want to pay SMS fees (which are usually around 10 cents per message). Another advantage of using Facebook Messenger is that it’s easy for them to receive messages without downloading any apps on their phone. They just need access to the Internet via WiFi so they can see what other people are saying on Facebook Messenger. You can also use Facebook Messenger to send messages to people who don’t have cell phones for free if they’re in an area where there is no cellphone coverage (like rural areas). To find out if that person has coverage at his or her house, ask him/her to call from another phone that does have coverage and see if he/she gets through. If he/she doesn’t get through, then he/she probably doesn’t have cell service at his/her house. If the person doesn’t have a landline at his/her house, he can use a free service like Google Voice to give you a call or text message for free.
8) Use Google Hangouts (for Android users) instead of texting people
Instead of texting people on Google Hangouts, you can simply send them messages using the “Message” button on their profile page. This is especially useful when they don’t have data plans or credit cards and don’t want to pay SMS fees (which are usually around 10 cents per message). Another advantage of using Google Hangouts is that it’s easy for them to receive messages without downloading any apps on their phone. They just need access to the Internet via WiFi so they can see what other people are saying in Google Hangouts. You can also use Google Hangouts to send messages to people who don’t have cell phones for free if they’re in an area where there is no cellphone coverage (like rural areas). To find out if that person has coverage at his or her house, ask him/her to call from another phone that does have coverage and see if he/she gets through. If he/she doesn’t get through, then he/she probably doesn’t have cell service at his/her house. If the person doesn’t have a landline at his/her house, he can use a free service like Google Voice to give you a call or text message for free.
9) Use Google Voice instead of texting people
Instead of texting people on Google Voice, you can simply send them messages using the “Message” button on their profile page. This is especially useful when they don’t have data plans or credit cards and don’t want to pay SMS fees (which are usually around 10 cents per message). Another advantage of using Google Voice is that it’s easy for them to receive messages without downloading any apps on their phone. They just need access to the Internet via WiFi so they can see what other people are saying in Google Hangouts. You can also use Google Hangouts to send messages to people who don’t have cell phones for free if they’re in an area where there is no cellphone coverage (like rural areas). To find out if that person has coverage at his or her house, ask him/her to call from another phone that does have coverage and see if he/she gets through. If he doesn’t get through, then he probably doesn’t have cell service at his house. If the person doesn’t have a landline at his house, he can use a free service like Google Voice to give you a call or text message for free.
10) Use Google Voice when you’re in an area where there is no cellphone coverage
If you’re in an area where there is no cellphone coverage, then you can still use your phone to send messages to people on Google Voice by sending them messages using the “Message” button on their profile page. This is especially useful when they don’t have data plans or credit cards and don’t want to pay SMS fees (which are usually around 10 cents per message). Another advantage of using Google Voice is that it’s easy for them to receive messages without downloading any apps on their phone. They just need access to the Internet via WiFi so they can see what other people are saying in Google Hangouts. You can also use Google Hangouts to send messages to people who don’t have cell phones for free if they’re in an area where there is no cellphone coverage (like rural areas).
How Does Texting Internationally At Low Cost?
Change your phone’s region settings
If you travel a lot, you might want to change your phone’s region settings to “other” or “roaming” and then change it back when you’re done. This is particularly useful if you’re only in another country for a short period of time and don’t have time to set up a long-term international calling plan. Changing your region settings will not only reduce your phone’s data usage for apps, but it will change your phone’s settings for things like the language, date and time, the format of numbers, apps, and more. If you do this, you’ll want to change your phone’s region settings back to your home country/area when you get back so that important things like apps, texts, and emails work properly again. Be aware that doing this may affect your phone’s coverage and reception, as well as your battery life.
Use text-only apps internationally
If you’re looking to reduce the cost of communicating with friends and family, try using a text-only app to message people with who you don’t talk regularly. With apps like WhatsApp, Viber, and Google’s Allo, you can send messages and make calls for free, provided that you and the person you’re contacting are both using the same app. This is one of the best ways to reduce the cost of communicating internationally, as long as you’re only communicating with others who also use these apps. If you only use one of these apps and you’re in different countries, it’s possible to make free calls. If you and the person you’re calling are both using Viber and are both in “roaming” mode, you can make both calls and video calls for free.
Try out international SMS-only plans
If you’re only sending a few texts internationally, you can look into an international SMS-only plan. These plans are particularly useful if you’re only in another country for a short period of time. There are a few different providers, and many of them offer unlimited texting while you’re in other countries. Be aware that while these plans may be cheap, they’re often billed per message rather than per minute. If you don’t have an unlimited plan, you can find yourself paying a lot for these services if you’re texting friends or family who send long, detailed messages. If you’re on a budget and only need to send a few texts while you’re visiting another country, you can also try sending text messages over WiFi. Apps like WhatsApp, iMessage and Facebook Messenger allow you to send texts over WiFi rather than your cell connection, which can drastically reduce the cost of sending a text while you’re in another country.
Summing Up
Texting internationally can be really expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. You can reduce the cost of texting and communicate with friends and family abroad by changing your phone’s region settings, using text-only apps, trying out international SMS-only plans, using Google Voice and Hangouts together, or using a virtual travel SIM card.
