Are you looking to make an international FaceTime call, and you’re wondering whether or not will be charged for it?
If you’re contacting someone outside of the country or you’re currently traveling internationally, this is a completely normal concern.
So, in this article I’ll explain how you can avoid extra charges, and be able to place video and audio FaceTime calls without needing to spend any additional money.
Let’s get into it!
Is FaceTime Free To Use Internationally?
Yes. As long as you have a connection to the internet, FaceTime is completely free to use, even if you’re placing an international call.
This is because unlike regular phone calls, FaceTime operates entirely over the internet. And thankfully, most internet-based services do not charge anything extra for placing calls to other countries.
Therefore, you are free to place as many calls as you want – for as long as you want, to anybody that you want to talk to.
There is one thing you have to pay attention to though, so let’s look over that now!
Beware Of Roaming Charges While Traveling, Though
While FaceTime is completely free to use internationally, you still need to be aware of how you’re connecting to the internet.
For example, if you’re traveling internationally, you may incur extra roaming charges while using cellular data to connect to the internet.
These charges can end up being quite substantial, especially since video calls use a lot of data.
For example, Verizon charges around $25 per 100 megabytes of data. Exact measurements can vary, but you can expect to use roughly 2-3 megabytes of data per minute while video calling – or 120-180 megabytes per hour.
In other words, you could be spending nearly $50 an hour on roaming charges while on your call!
Again, this only applies when you are the one that’s traveling internationally, and your iPhone or iPad is roaming.
Thankfully, there is a solution for this!
Info: Should you leave data roaming on or off? Click here to find out!
Solution While Traveling – Use Wi-Fi!
If you know that you’ll be incurring roaming charges while traveling, it’s a good idea to plan your FaceTime calls in advance.
If you are able to get a free Wi-Fi connection, you will no longer be using roaming data. This means that your calls will go back to being completely free again!
Many countries have shops or cafes where you’ll be able to utilize their free Wi-Fi, as long as you’re a paying customer.
If you can plan your video calls around these times, you’re sure to save a lot of money on roaming charges, while still remaining in contact with the people that you care about.’
Keep in mind that texts usually have much cheaper roaming costs (around 10 cents), so this can be used to relay important information until you can do a full phone call later.
Being mindful of this can save you from an expensive cell phone bill later!
Other Free Video Chatting Services Worth Considering
We now know that FaceTime is completely free to use, as long as you have an internet connection that you’re not being charged for.
But what if you need to do a video call with someone that doesn’t have FaceTime – such as Android users?
Thankfully, there are other alternatives that are just as worthy!
In fact, most internet-based services are completely free to use as well, though both people will need to have an account.
Some examples include:
- Facebook Messenger
- Zoom
- Skype
- Discord
- WhatsApp (see 8 reasons WhatsApp is so great to use by clicking here!)
Any of these tools should be perfectly fine, and offer most of the same features that FaceTime does.
So, consider trying one or more of them out!
Conclusion
Fortunately, FaceTime is completely free to use – even internationally.
However, you’ll want to make sure that you’re avoiding any roaming charges imposed by your carrier if you’re out of the country, as FaceTime uses a lot of data very quickly.
I hope that you’ve found this article helpful, and you now feel more comfortable using FaceTime for international calls.
If you have any other questions about FaceTime, ask them below and I’ll be happy to help!
Wishing you the best,
– James McAllister