Free mobile text and calling platform Viber is branching out to take on Skype with a new feature called Viber Out, which lets you call almost any phone around the world from within the app. Previously, Viber only allowed you to call or message other Viber users, similar to messaging platforms such as Whatsapp. With Viber Out, however, you can call any phone—as long as you are willing to pay for it. Watch out, Skype.
The new service first surfaced in the Philippines in November to help residents of the island nation communicate with emergency services and loved ones following Typhoon Haiyan.
Now, however, Viber Out is going global and a few of its long distance rates are even looking better than Skype's. Viber has different rates for calls to landlines versus calls to mobile phones, unlike Skype, which allows for a slightly better or worse pricing depending on the country.
Viber Out calls to U.S. landlines, for example, are free, while calls to a mobile device cost 1.9 cents per minute. Pricing for Skype pay-as-you-go credit is 2.3 cents per minute—a common pricing structure for international Skype calling—to the U.S. for any phone number. You can get a cheaper rate from Skype with a monthly subscription starting at $1.09 for 60 minutes, which works out to 1.8 cents per minute.
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