CallTuv vs. WhatsApp and Viber Calls
What CallTuv reaches that app-to-app calls cannot - landlines, offices, and anyone without the app - explained simply.
Updated
View as Markdown"Why not just use WhatsApp?" is a question we hear a lot, and the honest answer explains exactly what CallTuv does that an app-to-app call cannot.
Two different kinds of calls
WhatsApp and Viber calls are app-to-app. Your voice travels over the internet from your app... to the same app on the other person's smartphone. That is the whole trick, and also the whole limitation: the call only works when the other person has the same app, has internet, and is reachable on it at that moment. No app on their side, no call.
CallTuv calls are app-to-phone. Your voice starts on the internet, but then enters the regular phone network and rings an actual phone number. The other person needs nothing - no app, no smartphone, no internet. Their landline rings; they pick up. That final stretch through the phone network is what the small per-minute rate pays for, and you see the exact price in the dialer before you press call.
Are there any free calls?
Calls to real phone numbers are paid per minute - there are no free minutes and no free trial, because every connected call travels the phone network and that costs us money too. Everything up to the call is free, though: creating an account, checking the exact price to any number, and testing your microphone cost nothing. The smallest top-up is $5, it never expires, and no subscription is needed to call, so a few dollars can sit on your balance for months and be there the day you need to reach a landline.
Who only CallTuv can reach
- Landlines - a home phone or office line has no WhatsApp, so app calls cannot reach them at all. This is the big one.
- People without smartphones - older relatives with simple phones are unreachable by app, but perfectly reachable by a normal call.
- Businesses, banks, clinics, government offices abroad - you dial their published phone number; no app will reach it.
- People who are hard to reach on an app - their internet is down, their app is acting up, or they simply do not hear app notifications. A regular phone ring gets through.
- Anyone you want to reach like a normal call - with a verified caller ID, your call shows your own number, and they can call you back on their regular line.
The setup that covers everyone
Keep a few dollars of CallTuv credit on your balance and you can reach every phone number in your life - the landline at your parents' house, the clinic abroad, the relative whose app never seems to be on. Credit never expires, so it waits patiently between calls. New here? Start with What Is CallTuv? or jump straight to Getting Started.
Frequently asked questions
- If WhatsApp is free, why pay for CallTuv at all?
- Because WhatsApp only reaches other WhatsApp users who happen to be online on a smartphone. CallTuv reaches any real phone number - landlines, offices, clinics, banks, older relatives with simple phones - and the person you call needs nothing at all. The small per-minute rate is what gets your call onto the regular phone network, and you can see the exact price in the dialer before you press call.
- Are there any free calls on CallTuv?
- Calls to real phone numbers are paid per minute, and there are no free minutes or a free trial. Everything before the call is free, though - creating an account, checking the exact price to any number, and testing your microphone cost nothing. The smallest top-up is 5 dollars, and credit never expires, so it waits on your balance until you use it.
- What can CallTuv do that WhatsApp and Viber cannot?
- Ring a real phone. A home landline, an office switchboard, a government helpline, a relative with an old push-button phone - none of these have an app, so app-to-app calling cannot reach them at all. CallTuv dials the number like a normal phone call, and with a verified caller ID it shows your own number, so they can call you straight back on their regular line.
