Written by Bella
Voice calls is generally better because the both ends mustn’t be online to make the call but online calls are usually the cheapest way to stay in touch, especially for long distance.
Why online calls cost less
- No call charges: Apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, Zoom, Google Meet use your internet/data instead of airtime. So a 30-min call to the US, UK, or anywhere costs the same as 30-min of data.
- Video + voice + chat in one: You don’t need separate SMS, voice, and video plans. One app does all of it.
- Group calls are free: You can put 5, 10, even 50 people on a call without extra fees. Try that with regular phone calls.
- Works across countries: No “international rates.” If both people have data/wifi, location doesn’t matter.
Data cost vs airtime example
A 10-min WhatsApp voice call uses about 3-5MB.
A 10-min WhatsApp video call uses about 30-50MB.
That’s often way cheaper than 10 minutes of international airtime.
Other perks
- Record, share screen, send files during the call
- Works on wifi so you can avoid data charges completely
- Always available — no network congestion like regular calls
Things to watch
You do need decent internet. If data is expensive or network is poor, quality drops. And both people need the same app + data.
For families, businesses, and students in Nigeria, WhatsApp calls and Zoom/Meet have basically replaced most long-distance voice calls because of this.
When it comes to online calls, I usually advice anyone to use GLO network because of their cheap data and yes they have a stable network. MTN and Airtel are nice as well but I personally subscribe them for voice offline calls. Though another thing to look at is the reach of these network and that’s where MTN seem to be more superior especially beyond the country.
To perfectly handle this, I advise you get different sims network and know which works better in your location
I hope you learn and unlearn from me reading this… See you on another article
