Rebtel has been in the international calling game since 2006. That's two decades. They're one of the original players in cheap international calls, and they've built a solid reputation over the years.
But their pricing has gotten complicated. Subscriptions, unlimited plans, pay-as-you-go rates, app-to-app calls, Rebtel-to-Rebtel calls — there are a lot of tiers and options to sort through. It's not always clear what you'll actually pay.
BubblyPhone takes a different approach: one rate per country, pay as you go, no subscriptions, works in your browser. Simple.
So which one is actually cheaper? It depends entirely on who you're calling and how often. Let's break it down with real numbers.
How Rebtel Works
Rebtel gives you three main ways to call:
Pay-as-you-go (PAYG): Buy credit, pay per minute. Rates vary by country.
Unlimited plans: Monthly subscription ($10-15/month) for unlimited calls to a specific country.
App-to-app: Free calls between Rebtel users (but both people need the app).
The unlimited plans are Rebtel's main selling point. If you call India every single day, paying $10/month for unlimited minutes is a no-brainer compared to paying per minute.
The catch: you need the Rebtel app installed. And the unlimited plans are per-country — if you call both India and the UK, that's two subscriptions.
One rate per country. What you see is what you pay.
Per-minute billing. No rounding up to the nearest 5 or 10 minutes.
No unlimited plans. No subscriptions to forget about and get charged for. No app cluttering your phone. Just call and pay for what you use.
Rate Comparison: Country by Country
Here's what actually matters — the per-minute rates for pay-as-you-go calls. All rates are for calls to mobile numbers unless noted otherwise.
India (Mobile)
Rebtel: ~$0.04/min (PAYG)
BubblyPhone: $0.10/min
Winner: Rebtel — and it's not close. Rebtel is significantly cheaper for India.
If India is your primary calling destination, Rebtel has a clear advantage. Their unlimited India plan at ~$10/month is even better for heavy callers.
Mexico
Rebtel: ~$0.02/min
BubblyPhone: $0.01/min
Winner: BubblyPhone — half the price.
United Kingdom
Rebtel: ~$0.02/min
BubblyPhone: $0.01/min (landline)
Winner: BubblyPhone — especially for landlines.
Philippines (Mobile)
Rebtel: ~$0.17/min
BubblyPhone: $0.22/min
Winner: Rebtel — saves about $0.05/min.
Philippines is expensive across the board. Neither service is cheap here, but Rebtel has the edge.
Pakistan
Rebtel: ~$0.08/min
BubblyPhone: $0.06/min
Winner: BubblyPhone — by a small margin.
Brazil
Rebtel: ~$0.05/min
BubblyPhone: $0.01/min
Winner: BubblyPhone — 5x cheaper.
Brazil is one of BubblyPhone's strongest markets rate-wise. If you're calling Brazil regularly, the savings add up fast.
The Scorecard
Out of 6 countries compared:
BubblyPhone wins on rates: Mexico, UK, Pakistan, Brazil (4 countries)
Rebtel wins on rates: India, Philippines (2 countries)
But rates aren't everything. Let's talk about the other differences.
Beyond Rates: Key Differences
App vs. Browser
Rebtel requires you to download their app. BubblyPhone works directly in your browser — Chrome, Safari, Firefox, whatever you already have.
This matters more than you'd think. Not everyone wants another app. And if you're calling from a laptop or a computer that isn't yours (like at a hotel business center), browser-based is way more convenient.
Subscription vs. Pay-As-You-Go
Rebtel's unlimited plans are genuinely great if you call one country very frequently. $10/month for unlimited calls to India is hard to argue with if you're calling daily.
But subscriptions have a dark side: you pay whether you use them or not. If you travel one month and forget to cancel, that's $10-15 down the drain. And if you call multiple countries, multiple subscriptions add up quickly — $10 for India + $10 for Philippines + $10 for UK = $30/month.
BubblyPhone's pay-as-you-go model means you only pay when you call. No recurring charges. No forgetting to cancel. Call one month, skip the next three, call again — you only pay for minutes used.
Call Quality
Both services route calls over the internet on your end and connect to the regular phone network on the other end. In practice, call quality is similar — it mainly depends on your internet connection.
Rebtel does have a feature called "local access numbers" that can route calls through the cellular network on your end too, which can improve quality in some situations. BubblyPhone is purely WebRTC (internet-based).
Ease of Use
Rebtel has been around for 20 years, and their app is mature and full-featured. It's also more complex — multiple calling modes, subscription management, credit top-ups, and various settings.
BubblyPhone is newer and more stripped-down. You go to the website, enter a number, and call. Less to learn, fewer options to configure, more straightforward overall. Whether that simplicity is a pro or con depends on what you want.
When Rebtel Makes More Sense
Go with Rebtel if:
You call one country very frequently (daily or near-daily) — the unlimited plan saves real money
Your primary destination is India or the Philippines, where Rebtel's PAYG rates are cheaper
You want features like local access numbers for potentially better call quality
You prefer using an app and don't mind the subscription model
For someone who calls their family in India for 30 minutes every day, Rebtel's $10/month unlimited plan is genuinely the best deal. That's $0.01/min effective rate. BubblyPhone can't compete with that for India specifically.
When BubblyPhone Makes More Sense
Go with BubblyPhone if:
You call multiple countries — no need for separate subscriptions per country
You're an occasional caller who doesn't want monthly subscriptions
Your destinations are Mexico, UK, Brazil, or Pakistan where BubblyPhone's rates are lower
You want to call from your laptop or any browser without installing an app
You want simple, predictable pricing with no recurring charges
You're traveling and need to make calls from a hotel WiFi without downloading anything
A Real-World Example
Let's say you're in the US and you make these calls in a typical month:
60 minutes to India (family)
20 minutes to UK (business)
15 minutes to Brazil (friend)
With Rebtel (PAYG):
India: 60 min x $0.04 = $2.40
UK: 20 min x $0.02 = $0.40
Brazil: 15 min x $0.05 = $0.75
Total: $3.55/month
With BubblyPhone:
India: 60 min x $0.10 = $6.00
UK: 20 min x $0.01 = $0.20
Brazil: 15 min x $0.01 = $0.15
Total: $6.35/month
In this scenario, Rebtel is cheaper because India dominates the calling volume and Rebtel's India rate is much lower.
But flip it — if you're mostly calling Brazil and UK with occasional India calls, BubblyPhone wins easily.
And if you're calling India daily? Rebtel's $10/month unlimited plan destroys everything else.
The Hidden Costs
A few things to watch for with both services:
Rebtel:
Subscription auto-renewal — make sure to cancel if you don't need it anymore
"Unlimited" plans sometimes have fair usage caps buried in the fine print
Connection fees on some routes (small, but they add up on short calls)
BubblyPhone:
No unlimited plans — heavy callers to one country will pay more per month than a subscription would cost
Newer service with fewer years of track record compared to Rebtel
The Verdict
There's no single winner here. It depends on your calling pattern:
Heavy caller to one country (especially India or Philippines)? Rebtel's unlimited plans are probably your best bet. The subscription pays for itself quickly if you're calling 30+ minutes per week to the same country.
Occasional caller to multiple countries? BubblyPhone's pay-as-you-go model is simpler and often cheaper. No subscriptions to manage, lower rates for many destinations, and the browser-based approach means zero setup.
Traveler who needs to make calls from different devices? BubblyPhone wins by default — it works in any browser on any device. No app installation required.
Both services are legitimate, both have competitive rates, and both are miles better than calling through your regular carrier. The right choice is the one that matches how you actually call, not which one has the flashiest marketing.
Check the rates for your specific countries on both services before you decide. And hey — you can always use both.
Subscription vs pay-as-you-go: which calling model fits your usage?
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