Skype Subscriptions

[shikarnov 7]

Hi All,

Since we're all looking for cheap overseas calling, I thought I'd pass this along.

Skype Subscriptions to Russia:

Landlines Only:

60 Minutes for $1.79/month

120 Minutes for $3.39/month

400 Minutes for $6.99/month

Unlimited to Moscow and StP for $6.99/month

Landlines and Mobile:

60 Minutes for $2.79/month

120 Minutes for $5.49/month

400 Minutes for $13.99/month

520 Minutes for $13.99/month if you pay for the whole year upfront.

There are also subscription offerings to Ukraine and Belarus, but they're substantially more expensive, and I'm not sure if they're a good deal or not.

The subscriptions page is here: http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/prices/pay-monthly/

This is the cheapest I've found in a long time. We'd been using Google Voice up until now, and my wife had been averaging $20 per month for less than 300 minutes.

I hope this is useful for somebody.

Z

Edited January 18, 2011 by shikarnov

[Barbara J 115]

Hi All,

Since we're all looking for cheap overseas calling, I thought I'd pass this along.

Skype Subscriptions to Russia:

Landlines Only:

60 Minutes for $1.79/month

120 Minutes for $3.39/month

400 Minutes for $6.99/month

Unlimited to Moscow and StP for $6.99/month

Landlines and Mobile:

60 Minutes for $2.79/month

120 Minutes for $5.49/month

400 Minutes for $13.99/month

520 Minutes for $13.99/month if you pay for the whole year upfront.

There are also subscription offerings to Ukraine and Belarus, but they're substantially more expensive, and I'm not sure if they're a good deal or not.

The subscriptions page is here: http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/prices/pay-monthly/

This is the cheapest I've found in a long time. We'd been using Google Voice up until now, and my wife had been averaging $20 per month for less than 300 minutes.

I hope this is useful for somebody.

Z

From US to Australia I am now using Vonage for #35,90 a month for unlimited calls to back home. So i can call every day if I wanted for unlimited time. Was on the phone for 2 hours last night to my daughter. I have also heard that magic Jack is really good $20 for a year My hubbie and I always used yahoo chat which was great but am loving Vonage so clear and can call whenever and for how ever long I want.

[shikarnov 7]

From US to Australia I am now using Vonage for #35,90 a month for unlimited calls to back home. So i can call every day if I wanted for unlimited time. Was on the phone for 2 hours last night to my daughter. I have also heard that magic Jack is really good $20 for a year My hubbie and I always used yahoo chat which was great but am loving Vonage so clear and can call whenever and for how ever long I want.

Using a Magic Jack to call to Russia is not $20 per year. It has per minute rates ranging from $0.02 to $0.07 depending on location and whether the recipient is using a mobile phone or landline. Comparatively, the best new Skype Subscription is $0.025 per minute (up to 520) to anywhere in Russia regardless of whether they use a landline or not. And sending a MagicJack to Russia would work only if there's an [affordable] Internet Connection on the other side - which isn't always the case (it's not in my family).

Vonage won't work for us either. Nobody in our family or circle of friends has a landline, and calling mobile phones would cost $0.08 per minute -- on top of the usual Vonage plan. Besides, in my case, while I don't put restrictions on my wife's ability to call home, she still averages far less than Skype's 6.6 hours, even though she's been paying 30% more.

Edited January 18, 2011 by shikarnov

[James And Oksana 19]

Using a Magic Jack to call to Russia is not $20 per year. It has per minute rates ranging from $0.02 to $0.07 depending on location and whether the recipient is using a mobile phone or landline. Comparatively, the best new Skype Subscription is $0.025 per minute (up to 520) to anywhere in Russia regardless of whether they use a landline or not. And sending a MagicJack to Russia would work only if there's an [affordable] Internet Connection on the other side - which isn't always the case (it's not in my family).

Vonage won't work for us either. Nobody in our family or circle of friends has a landline, and calling mobile phones would cost $0.08 per minute -- on top of the usual Vonage plan. Besides, in my case, while I don't put restrictions on my wife's ability to call home, she still averages far less than Skype's 6.6 hours, even though she's been paying 30% more.

I would be cautious about saying anywhere in Russia. My fiancée is in Novosibirsk and a Skype subscription does nothing for us as is noted on Skype that it is for Moscow and St. Petersburg only. We for right now do computer to computer on Skype, or in my case I can run Skype on my phone and do phone to computer on her end.

[shikarnov 7]

And FWIW, Skype offers unlimited Australia calls for $6.99 per month for Landlines -- which makes Vonage's $40 seem a lot more outrageous (especially given that Vonage's plan doesn't include cell phones either [according to their rate chart, it's $0.22 per minute to call Australian cell phones])

[shikarnov 7]

I would be cautious about saying anywhere in Russia. My fiancée is in Novosibirsk and a Skype subscription does nothing for us as is noted on Skype that it is for Moscow and St. Petersburg only. We for right now do computer to computer on Skype, or in my case I can run Skype on my phone and do phone to computer on her end.

I think you might have misread the offering. There is an unlimited landline plan that covers only Moscow and StP, but there are others plans as well for Russia. My wife's family, for example, are villagers that live more than 6 hours from Moscow, and the subscription service works beautifully.

[sea-monkey 13]

I've been using the landline/mobile 400 Minutes for $13.99/month since it started a handful of months ago. Calls are to a Moscow cell number. I was paying 7 cents a minute before with skype and it was expensive. I used to spend about $70/month. Now I have 2 skype 400 minute accounts.

I wish there was a way to get a Russian telephone number for myself like skype has for other countries.

Also, anyone familiar with how the RU mobile carriers operate? Are they charged for incoming calls? My girl says the calls are not charge but not really sure since the mobile is paid for by her company. I also send SMS from skype to her mobile in Moscow. Are they charged any different from that?

[shikarnov 7]

^ I don't know how it works with other providers, but my wife's family all use Megafon and none of them pay for incoming calls, regardless of the source. They do pay for SMSes (incoming and outgoing) at a rate of something like 1 rouble per.

Edited January 18, 2011 by shikarnov

[james&olya 1,121]

I would be cautious about saying anywhere in Russia. My fiancée is in Novosibirsk and a Skype subscription does nothing for us as is noted on Skype that it is for Moscow and St. Petersburg only. We for right now do computer to computer on Skype, or in my case I can run Skype on my phone and do phone to computer on her end.

I do skype from my iphone to her mobile phone in Kazan. Toktumi line 2 is cheaper though.

[shikarnov 7]

I do skype from my iphone to her mobile phone in Kazan. Toktumi line 2 is cheaper though.

I was really hoping you were right about it being cheaper, because I never heard of Toktumi and I'm always looking for a deal, but $0.13 per minute doesn't seem very good to me. Am I missing something? And is that on top of a base plan?

[Barbara J 115]

And FWIW, Skype offers unlimited Australia calls for $6.99 per month for Landlines -- which makes Vonage's $40 seem a lot more outrageous (especially given that Vonage's plan doesn't include cell phones either [according to their rate chart, it's $0.22 per minute to call Australian cell phones])

Wow I had no idea that skype was that good I am certainly going to have to look into this further when we move.

[shikarnov 7]

Wow I had no idea that skype was that good I am certainly going to have to look into this further when we move.

Balls - I just sent you a PM, like this minute, in case you didn't come back to the thread.

Edited January 18, 2011 by shikarnov

[visaveteran 1]

For my money you can't beat Vonage. I got it for $24.95 a month with free international land line calls, plus calls to mobile phones are .06 per minute which seems reasonable to me in looking at my total monthly bill. Since I ditched my Verizon land line and the different long-distance service I was using, I'm saying a lot of money.

BTW, I now see Vonage offered for only $14.95 a month.

[slim 1,523]

These topics make me miss the good ol' days when calling was around .20/minute.

[Marilyn. 340]

For my money you can't beat Vonage. I got it for $24.95 a month with free international land line calls, plus calls to mobile phones are .06 per minute which seems reasonable to me in looking at my total monthly bill. Since I ditched my Verizon land line and the different long-distance service I was using, I'm saying a lot of money.

BTW, I now see Vonage offered for only $14.95 a month.

yeah with that option you get a limited amount of minutes a month though...I think I am thinking about the 10 dollar a month plan.... We used to have Vonage but then I got my Blackberry so we canceled it.. we hardly get any calls anyways

i set up a Google voice number.. now if i use it to call out it is free... there are charges if you call certain countries though but for me to call Canada is free and if my family in Canada calls me using the google number I don't get charged for incoming minutes, they will get charged though unless they have a long distance plan...

they have the google rates here.. not sure if it is any cheaper to call Russia or not..

https://www.google.com/voice/rates#A

Edited January 19, 2011 by Marilyn.