Users across platforms, including Android and iOS can make free calls by installing apps like Viber and Skype on their devices.
With better internet connectivity worldwide and with the penetration of smartphones across all geographies, many apps have come up which provide for free voice and video calls. These apps make use of the internet for transmission of data and are completely free of charge. Users are only required to have the app downloaded and installed on their devices and must provide for an active internet connection to use the services.
Skype has been around for a longer time than Viber. Skype has traditionally been used for video calling over the Internet. With smartphone penetration on the rise, Viber has come up with a strong user base of its own. The developers behind both these apps work really hard and amongst many scores of other apps, they still prove to be the most preferred by users worldwide. These apps have great features of their own and many users resort to using both these apps.
Both these applications are very user friendly and intuitive to use. However, they do have some differences when it comes to installation and operation. Skype requires the creation of a Skype account with a unique username. This account is then used to make free calls to contacts. Contacts can also be added manually. In the case of Viber, the user need not create any account and only needs to provide for a valid phone number in order to make free calls. This is probably due to the fact that Skype was initaially launched for desktop platforms and later ventured into mobile platforms. Viber, on the other hand, was launched only for smartphones and has only recently forayed into the desktop segment.
Thus users tend to prefer Viber, when it comes to making calls on the go. For others, who remain glued to their desks more often than not, Skype proves to be the platform of choice. That being said, more calls are made out of smartphones and Viber ranks ahead of Skype here.
Both these applications are completely free of charge and calls can be made out to any other contact also using the app. Other than calling features, both include instant messaging and allow for file sharing as well. Both these applications also provide for a paid feature. Skype provides users with the option of making calls to any phone number and requires the purchase of some credit. Viber has a similar service called ViberOut. Credit can be purchased for both these services using traditional online payment options.
It totally depends on the specific use case as to which application proves to be better. While Skype features high definition voice codecs and provides unparalleled quality of audio and video calls, it also uses up more data for transmission. Viber is more smartphone centric and data consumption is lower. However, a good data plan will be needed to get the best out of Viber. It is a tough contest between these two and the only ones to lose out because of this are the telecom operators.