If you are based in the United Kingdom and need to find the cheapest way to call Nigeria then what options do you have? It’s a minefield out there with so many choices, from mobile phones and pre-paid cards to landlines and VoIP services.  Here we’ll have a look at a couple of the more pressing issues to take into account when assessing your options: Price and Convenience.

Price

Price is a massively important issue when making regular international calls. All too often in the past it’s been easy to run up large bills and UK-based customers are not alone in suffering here. Now though, there are many ways to call Nigeria cheaply from the UK via both landline and mobile phone. Let’s look at some of the different options using a variety of providers including VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services.

LANDLINE SERVICES TO NIGERIA FROM THE UK

MOBILE/ SIM CARD/ VOIP SERVICES TO NIGERIA FROM THE UK

*prices are based on an average over the last year

Convenience

While price is a key factor in our decision making, it’s not the sole requirement here.  After all, what would be the point of a cheap service that really doesn’t work how and when you need it to?  In the modern world, with an ever-increasing demand for ease of use and convenience, we really don’t have time to be replacing SIM cards every time we want to make a call overseas.

So an alternative here, and one which many people have used in the past, would be to have a second phone, used for that ‘other SIM card’ on long-distance calls.  But wait!... That’s not really all that convenient either when we think about the day-to-day practicalities of charging, carrying and using two phones (a recent survey showed that 81% of those who regular called Nigeria have a second phone purely for this reason!).

Is it also ‘easier’ to have to dial an entirely different phone number first (as you would with services like 0844calls) to gain access to your account before you then ring another number in Nigeria?

The alternative is to use a VoIP service like Skype or Rebtel, enabling cheaper rates and easy access to your friends and family back in Nigeria.  For example, Rebtel will set up a unique number for each of your contacts that you can use every time you call them.  This is a local phone number based on your location and therefore ensures you get a high quality service, at a low (local!) call rate. In terms of convenience, there is no need to change SIM or phone, no need to call a long number before you ring home, just immediate, low-cost access at the touch of a button, all available by simply downloading the app.

Furthermore, since you are given unique local phone numbers for each of your contacts, you can use them via your landline.  It couldn’t be easier!

The VoIP market has really improved options when calling long distance in terms of both price and convenience...  check out Rebtel’s low call rates to Nigeria to see for yourself and avoid paying the unnecessary high rates that you’ve become used to.