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2.7

Overall Score

LAST UPDATED: May 27th, 2024

Swedish VOIP company, Rebtel, offers free and cheap international calls and text messaging. Focusing on personal rather than business calling technology, they offer international calling rates for 222 countries that are several cents cheaper than what most other VOIP providers offer.

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The Good

  • Versatile Options
  • International Calling
  • Rate Plans

Versatile Options

Rebtel uses several different technologies to offer calling features to your international contacts at low prices. First of all, app-to-app calls are free in 50+ countries. If you are calling a country outside of the 'free' list, or you are calling contacts who are not Rebtel app users, you will be charged international calling fees. The following call options can be used to give you the best and cheapest call experience:

  1. Phone Lines - Your call is placed through your cell phone provider. The Rebtel system keeps you connected through a local number. You will be charged for a standard local phone call through your cell phone plan and any international charges will be charged through your Rebtel account.
  2. Wifi - Calls are made over your wifi internet connection. You will only pay Rebtel for international rates.
  3. Mobile Data - Placing a phone call using mobile data will deduct data from your cell phone plan unless you have unlimited data. You will pay Rebtel for the international rates.
  4. Travel Mode - If you are roaming, turning this on will only connect with wifi. If you aren't concerned with roaming charges, then keeping this option turned off will allow you to use any of the above options to place your call.

International Calling

Rebtel focuses a lot of resources on its international call service. To ensure low rates, Rebtel generates a VoIP number within your phone's cell network that will connect you to whoever you're trying to call in any of the 222 Rebtel countries. In addition to their cheap international calling rates, Rebtel also has a system in place for users to make free app-to-app calls in 53 of those countries. Unlike other VoIP companies, Rebtel does not use internet connection but instead connects your international voice calls with the local phone lines to ensure your call does not drop.

Rate Plans

This is a prepaid calling system; however, each country offers different options. There are $5 and $10 increments or rolling monthly subscriptions. For example, a $10 per month Global subscription offers unlimited phone calls to 56 countries. For countries not on the Global list, there are other options. For example, Uruguay is not included in the Global subscription because it has different rates. For Uruguay, you are offered one-time payments of $5 for 33 minutes or $10 for 66 minutes, or you can enroll in the monthly subscription which gives 100 minutes to any phone number in Uruguay for $10 per month.

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The Bad

  • Charges for Certain Countries
  • Customer Service
  • Not Catered Toward Business

Hidden Fees for Certain Countries

Rebtel only offers free app-to-app calling between 53 countries - the other countries in its network will cost money. Because credit is purchased beforehand, calls may be cut short if enough time isn't available. You'll want to track how much Rebtel credit you have left so to avoid the inconvenience of hanging up, purchasing more credit and then calling back.

Customer Service

Rebtel's customer service is limited to the FAQ section of the website. Users can make comments on the page and receive help from Rebtel agents. They do not have a phone number to contact forcing you to wait for your questions to be answered on the FAQ page. Customers who don't have a lot of tech knowledge or who aren't familiar with VoIP apps may prefer a company like Skype, which offers more support. Rebtel's customer service options are the most limited of all the VoIP service providers we reviewed.

Not Catered Toward Business

This is not a business VoIP service meant to connect to a hard or specialized softphone. They don't offer unified communication add-ons or have multi-line rates. Rebtel is geared towards individuals calling friends or family in another country. To add to the ease of this, they provide free instant messaging with any other Rebtel users. However, if you are looking for a business solution, probably look elsewhere.

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The Bottom Line

As far as pricing and rate information, Rebtel is one of the most straightforward platforms for international VOIP calling. There isn't a lot of ambiguous wording to sift through. Fees are pretty straight forward just be aware of the international credits and how much each call will cost. For an individual user, it can be hassle free to use because of the free Rebtel calling app that can be downloaded straight to your cellular device.
 
In addition, Rebtel doesn't require contracts so you have the convenience of purchasing, switching or canceling whenever you choose.
 
Rebtel's lack of customer service and tech support is a concern, but its international calling prices are cheap and the apps are easy to use.

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Star Rating

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1.0

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29 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

3%

4 grade

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3 grade

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2 grade

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1 grade

97%

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Deborah Florence, KY

I am so surprised about these reviews because I have been in states for 6 years and Rebtel has never disappointed when I try to reach my family. I can make calls with no issues and send mobile credits as well with Mobile Top up.

1 year ago

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Yad singh

Banned for no reason. Please beware. Got this app and loved it used at college and was banned. Yup i was banned for using app. Created ticket and it takes them days before they reply. Then they will think about it and think if they can let me use app again. Do not waste your time energy and money. Please

4 months ago

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Ammy Brampton, ON

Dont trust Rebtel. I had $15-20 in my Rebtel account for occasional calling. Rebtel locked me out of account and restricted my account. I had follow them up through email. Its been 50 emails back and forth providing my id and transcation details. Still they asking me to contact other Rebtel user whom credit card i used ( which i never used and have no idea who that person is). This is totally fraud company and failing to even reset or unlock my account. I request all dont use this app or Just keep only $1-2 in account. They can lock your account anytime for any fake reason. They stole my $20 and failing to refund even.

9 months ago

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OR Delray Beach, FL

I have been a customer of Rebtel for years with minimal problems. For reasons unknown, they have restricted my number/account for 4 days without a resolution. This company has no customer service to speak of just robots that auto-respond to feedback or emails asking the same questions # Please type your reply above this line #. I have received a total of 21 emails without a resolution to the problem. I have tried the chat line to get the same reply "Please keep in mind that your case is still under investigation by our security team, and rest assured, we will let you know as soon as they've made progress" I am frustrate behond words!

10 months ago

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Michael Herrera Chicago, IL

I recently had a terrible experience with Rebtel, a company I previously used to send phone loads to my relatives in the Philippines and Mexico. Unfortunately, my identity was stolen and sold on the black web, which led me to cancel my cell phone number and switch to a new provider with a new number. One day, I needed to send a load to the Philippines and logged in to Rebtel to enter the code for recharging. However, the screen repeatedly indicated that the code was incorrect even after requesting a new one. In a panic, because my wife was on an emergency call in the Philippines and her phone was running out of load, I created a new account on Rebtel's website. Although the process appeared to be successful, the account was locked, and I was unable to send the emergency load. I tried to contact Rebtel via email, but it took days for them to respond, and their solution was unsatisfactory because they requested personal information that could compromise my identity. As a victim of identity theft, I was unwilling to disclose that type of sensitive information. Furthermore, Rebtel charged my credit card $1 US dollar, which I assumed was to confirm that the credit card was valid. Unfortunately, I was wrong, and my account was locked. I informed Rebtel that I was an existing customer and that I was recharging a phone registered in their system. I explained that I had created a new account with a different number and device because I could not log in to my original account. However, my new account was still locked, and Rebtel's support team was unhelpful. In my opinion, Rebtel needs to establish a foolproof system of checks and balances, such as two-step authentication, a code sent to the registered email, or Rebtel App approvals, to verify a person's identity. I don't think it's fair to treat customers like criminals just for doing business with them. Finally, I found another company in the Philippines that provided better prices than Rebtel. They charged only $8.70 US dollars for 1000 5G minutes, compared to Rebtel's $10.20 US dollars for 500 minutes. As a result, I decided to switch and say goodbye to Rebtel.

10 months ago

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Joe Martins

My Rebtel account stopped making international phone calls. It does not even try to make the call. I contacted their chat support, and found them totally insensitive, completely canned in their response, and did not provide any support but a lot of bad feedback. On the contrary my BossRevolution account made the same call effectively every time without hassle. Rebtel used to be the best, for me but that changed and they are now the worst.

10 months ago

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Jan Mississauga, ON

it was good service for some time but then... stopped. Now they want me to fix their problems. Sure I can help but not for a long time. Since I had issues I asked them to give me a break for interrupted calls etc. They never responded but were charging monthly fee! Their technical support is no good, every time you get a new person etc. They do not seem to care about the customer. So I will be cancelling their service. Be aware !

10 months ago

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Abhijjet_suryawnahi_who_will_remember_comany_like_€

I wish I could give rebtel zero, I will tell one thing about rebtel, it will work for most of their custome. But when it doesn’t you will end up pay bills like 116 for 2 calls by your network provider. I tried contacting rebtel, but they have this so called system where you will get assistance not call. This company is so fraud that they started with this principles only. Last month I used rebtel app to make calls and for that my company gave me bill of 116 euros. When I asked rebtel, they gave me bunch of questions, I answered all of them and shown them the bills, There reply was, We couldn’t find these transactions in our system. I asked them to send me whatever you have regarding me, send me that, Now I am waiting, but i promise They will have to go though a lot now, if they don’t answer me in 1 day.

5 years ago

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Abe Kissimmee, FL

Rebtel is one most scam people should … Rebtel is one most scam people should not be dealing with. a $10.00 refill supposed to give 36 minutes to Ethiopia, every time I refill the phone rings non stop, no voicemail, nobody answers, this means the phone is not connecting to the person I am calling I called the person on different line and checked Rebtel is not connecting me to the person, this happens after every refill when I hangup 3 minutes are gone, when I submit feedback this is what I get (( Hi Abdurahman Ibrahim, My name is Sophie and I work with customer satisfaction at Rebtel. I noticed that you just rated your last call with 1 out of 5 stars on its quality. Something didn't work for you and I want to understand why. Not only because I want to fix any technical issues straight away, but more importantly because offering you the best call quality is my number 1 priority. So, help me understand what went wrong: Were you calling from home or on the go? Does it only happen when you call that specific number? If this was the first time the problem happened, what was different this time? I really want to solve the problem so anything you can tell me is a HUGE help and I really appreciate it. Thank you for taking the time :) /Sophie, Sophie is a facking robot that auto respond to feedback these morons are stealing my money and the fakcking stupid robot answers. The only time these garbage respond to their customers is when they get bad review. I need refund the past 30 refills in amount of $300 or your way of doing business will be reported to FCC and I have the time and any needed resource to sue you, that will end your business chain in USA!

6 years ago

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Tahsin Khataei

10$ was left in my account and they took it from me just because I did not use it for 3 months!!!!!!! I talked to them and they are not giving it back to me.

4 months ago

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Roberto Reyes

This company charged my credit card without authorization. I used PayPal to make payments to Rebtel, and I always do it myself when the acxount needed to be replenished. Not trustable.

7 months ago

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Josael Saravia Indianapolis, IN

I have used this company for the first time and last time. They have used the card several times without my authorization. This is not what I was expecting and when I was trying to get my money back, they said they were not going to refund me due to some policy. But I didn’t set anything for recurring charges. This company is deceitful and not recommend anyone to use their cards or personal information because they do what they want with it.

8 months ago

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alex smith Ward, AR

Beware of Rebtel! We tried a test run with a small amount of money (less than $5.00) We received a confirmation of the credit, but the credit never shows up. We tried to use their chat feature, but it doesn't work. There is no phone number you can call, and when we tried to send them an email, it was undeliverable! Once you send this company your money (via debit/dredit card) you might as well say goodbye. It's gone!!

1 year ago

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Zola Nana New York, NY

I tried to make calls, after i put $10 on the account. It's rings and it's charging me, but the call is never connected. I try to get customer service to refund me my rest of the money, but the email always say: # Please type your reply above this line # And that i am doing since 10 emails. I am back at Jolla. Minimum i can call and the calls getting connected. Now i have to get my bank involved to get my money back😵‍💫😳🤔😡😠😒

2 years ago

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Emmanuel Scibilia Jamaica Plain, MA

They claim you can call unlimited and free to the US, but that's only the case if you're on WIFI only and the phone option turned off in the Rebtel settings so after making several calls from Europe, I got a large bill for roaming charges from my phone service provider. They should not claim that the calls are free, it is misleading and they lose customers who otherwise would have used some of their services.

3 years ago

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GH Worthington, MN

I added money to a new rebtel account in anticipation of a bunch of upcoming international calls. Before I could even use the service, I was told that my account was frozen and I would have to provide a copy of my bank statement and 2 forms of photo ID. When I requested a refund instead, they again said I had to give them my bank statement and 2 forms of ID. To me, this has scam written all over it. I lost over $50 to this company.

5 years ago

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Alexandra Grashkina Hingham, MA

I got a local call for a friend abroad. The first two times I was able to speak. After that I got a message that the call cannot be completed as dialed. Never got my money back and cannot use it

11 months ago

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samwel maina Great Malvern, WOR

Not the most transparent company I have ever dealt with, they charge even when the call is not connected and disregard any leftover seconds from the previous call. If you you speak for 10 seconds, rebtel charges you a full minute. Avoid!Avoid!avoid

1 year ago

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Yunior & Yenisbel Elias Hialeah, FL

I sent a recharge to Cuba because they have a special of 2500 CUP, but the recipient only received 500 CUP. I have tried to contact customer service nonstop without any answer or resolution. They are stealing money from clients basically. I have been a client for years but not anymore after this. I would not recommend them

1 year ago

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J. Alvarez Knoxville, TN

Do not use this company to send money to Cuba ,money get lost and they will never give you credits ,they pretend they will but at the end they say the problem is in Cuba . In Cuba the average person knows is a a waste of time to claim anything . I lost $30 . I work hard ,Use another company .

2 years ago Edited November 21, 2022

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Gabriela Grapevine, TX

BAD 1800-062-058(?) customer service number - MISLEADING CUSTOMERS Their system should not be advertised to USA consumers. Can't follow through their instructions -- so I've made no calls. Keep getting an automated message -- most recently with a Survey that, again, can't be filled from my laptop (I have an up to date new laptop)

4 years ago

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mitra black

I used Rebtel to make an international call that I had made 100s of time before over the past 10 years (using Rebtel's local number). But I am now facing £222 bill from my mobile provider for this call as Rebtel has failed to transfer it to a local number. I have made a complaint to Rebtel but still no joy. Any help?

5 years ago

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Eandrews Denver, CO

Rebtel use minutes up soon as it start ringing before your call is answered also I have lost 23 minutes from a in coming call that is not connected through rebtel but it used all the minutes I paid for. It say you can send a message but you can't and missed call dont show to let the one you call know they missed your call.

5 years ago

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Milad Mousavi Baltimore, MD

I paid $1 for a 20 minutes trial service but I did not get any credentials or whatever to login and use the service. No email, no confirmation, nothing. They just took my $1. This is a scam company. Be careful!

1 year ago

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Judy Seattle, WA

Rebtel is the worst scam I have ever come across. It disconnected my calls from other companies. It's the worst app to have ever used. Please, I warn everyone don't use it. It's a scam.

4 years ago

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Derick Lee North Las Vegas, NV

Minutes were lost in that I should have more but they disappeared. Email correspondence was very frustrating because they do not answer my questions and just sidestep them. This company cheats.

6 years ago

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Mustapha A Bellevue, WA

The Big Saver deal to Nigeria is a BIG SCAM from Rebtel. You purchase it but you can't use it. You keep hearing "you have 0 balance on your account" message even though you have 140 minutes in your account. That's Stupid!!!

9 years ago

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Ibrahim

They "blocked" a number as it was listed as "banned". Totally non sense. Their $1 for 20 minutes to Call an African nation was a total scam

5 years ago

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News Update Bishkek, GB

They give offer... If we take that offer they restricted our account

1 year ago