Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more.
10 best free calls apps for Android in 2024
In today’s digital age, staying connected with friends, family, and colleagues has never been easier, thanks to the great number of free calling apps available at our fingertips. These innovative applications have revolutionized the way we communicate, breaking down the barriers of distance and cost that were once associated with making phone calls. Whether you’re seeking a budget-friendly alternative to traditional phone services or simply looking for a more convenient way to keep in touch, free calling apps have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. In this guide, we’ll explore the world of free-calling apps, showcasing the best options available and demonstrating how they can enhance your communication experience.
We also have a list of the best free texting apps for Android. Many of those can also make phone calls.
The best free call apps for Android
Dingtone
Price: Free/In-app purchases ($0.99 – $79.99 per item)
Dingtone is one of many free call apps on Google Play. It gives you a dedicated phone number in your local area code if you want. Additionally, it can call phones in over 200 countries. You can make unlimited calls over data as long as your friends and family also use Dingtone. You can make calls to real phone numbers with a credit system, hence the in-app purchases. You can earn free credits through various promotions and advertisements. Thus, it’s not 100% free in terms of time, but at least you don’t have to spend money if you don’t want to.
Facebook Messenger
Price: Free
Facebook apps are generally pretty average. They’re clunky, slow, and eat up quite a bit of battery. However, virtually everybody uses Facebook. That makes Facebook Messenger a pretty decent option. It is Facebook’s standalone messaging app. It features free messaging, free calls, and free video chats. The app even has some games to play. The only thing you’ll need is to be friends on Facebook with somebody, and you’re good to go, although in some cases, even that’s not necessary. It’s a good app to try because it’s easier to convince people to use Facebook than it is to switch to something different.
Google Meet
Price: Free
Google Meet is a video call app. It used to be two separate products, Google Duo and Google Meet, but the two merged together in 2022. It works similarly to apps like FaceTime, where you can video call people. The calls are completely free, and they work pretty well as long as your Internet connection isn’t terrible. The app boasts video calls with up to 100 people simultaneously. You can also share documents and other stuff. Google is still working on making this a mix between a consumer product and a work product, but aside from some small bugs, it’s pretty good.
FreeTone Calls & Texting
Price: Free/In-app purchases ($0.99 – $79.99 per item)
Skype
Price: Free/In-app purchases ($2.99 – $96.79 per item)
Skype is one of the most popular free calling apps out there. Its hallmark feature is the ability to be used on mobile phones, computers, tablets, and most other computing devices. You can send text messages, voice calls, and video calls for free to other people who use Skype. You will have to pay for credits to use if you want to call actual phone numbers. However, we do appreciate the option to call actual phone numbers from the service. Of course, you can call other Skype members for free, and you can chat with multiple people in a single voice call.
Signal Private Messenger
Price: Free
Signal Private Messenger is an increasingly popular service that focuses on security. It’s open-source, and it encrypts everything it sends. That includes voice calls, text messages, and everything in between. It offers free calls and texts, although other people will have to be using Signal Private Messenger as well. Everything is completely free, at least for now. It’s definitely the go-to option for those who want free calls but are also concerned about security. Please note that it’s only fully secure if both parties are using Signal Private Messenger.
Text Free
Price: Free /In-app purchases ($1.99 – $99.99 per item)
Text Free is another option for a good free calling app. This one has an easy-to-use interface and a ton of features. You can choose your own personalized local phone number to talk and text with people on the same app. It lets you send pictures, videos, GIFs, audio messages, emojis, and even files such as PDFs. You can have individual chats or set up a group to share stuff. It even has the option to set up different ring tones for different numbers. There’s also custom wallpaper. This one does have ads, though. You can have these removed for $9.99 and get premium features such as reserving your phone number and using this number to validate online accounts and apps.
TextNow
Price: Free/In-app purchases ($0.99 – $99.99 per item)
TextNow is an app that offers free texting and free calls. You’ll get your own dedicated phone number that you can give to other people. You can call people in the US and Canada free of charge. However, you’ll have to pay in order to call international numbers. That’s not great if you live outside of the US, but this is exactly what you’re looking for if you do live there. The entire thing is funded by advertising. Signing up for a plan removes those. This is the best app to make free calls right now.
Viber
Price: Free/In-app purchases ($0.99 – $109.99 per item)
Viber started life as a basic VoIP service. It has since expanded into a full-blown service that offers text chats, voice chats, and even video chats. You can call anyone else who uses Viber free of charge. Like Skype, there’s a small fee if you want to call phone numbers for people who don’t use Viber. It also comes with a ton of other features. Some of them, like hidden messaging, can be useful. However, many of them are goofy little things like stickers that don’t really matter too much. Viber-to-Viber calls, texts, and video chats are completely free. You can also buy stickers and some customization options with in-app purchases, but those are entirely optional.
Price: Free
Last up is the venerable WhatsApp. It started out as a text-only platform but has slowly evolved to include free calls and free video chats. Like most, you can only use the free calls feature if you’re connecting with another person who uses WhatsApp. Since it’s one of the most popular chat apps in existence, it shouldn’t be too bad to get other people on it. It’s huge, powerful, and it works really well. It also has a variety of other features that help make the experience that much better.
If we missed any great free calls apps, tell us about them in the comments. You can also click here to check out our latest Android app and game lists.
Thank you for reading.