WhatsApp or DanaTel: which to use to call family abroad
When WhatsApp is the better choice, when calling their ordinary phone number is, and what each one needs and costs.
Updated 8 October 2026
WhatsApp is free and works well when you both have it and a good internet connection. But it only reaches people who use WhatsApp and are online at that moment. DanaTel calls their ordinary mobile or landline instead, from your web browser. Here's how to choose.
The short answer
- Use WhatsApp when the person you're calling has WhatsApp on a smartphone and a good connection. It costs nothing beyond your data, and you can see each other on video.
- Use DanaTel when they don't: a landline, a basic phone, no mobile data, a weak signal, or a country where app calls are restricted. Their phone rings like any other call, and they don't need an app or the internet to answer.
Side by side
| DanaTel | ||
|---|---|---|
| The person you call needs | A smartphone with WhatsApp and an internet connection | Any phone, mobile or landline. No app or internet |
| You need | The WhatsApp app and an internet connection | A web browser on your phone or computer and an internet connection |
| Calls landlines | No | Yes |
| Cost | Free, using your data and theirs | A per-minute rate for each country, shown before you call, billed in 6-second steps |
| Video | Yes | No, voice calls only |
| They can call you back | Yes | No, DanaTel only makes outgoing calls |
When WhatsApp is the better choice
- You both use WhatsApp and have Wi-Fi or a strong mobile signal.
- You want to see each other on video.
- You want them to be able to call you back for free.
When calling their normal number works better
- Older relatives who keep a basic mobile or a landline, or who find apps hard to use.
- No data or patchy internet. If their mobile data has run out, or the call keeps freezing and dropping, a normal phone call doesn't depend on their internet at all.
- Landlines. Many homes, offices, shops and banks abroad can only be reached on a landline, and WhatsApp can't call one.
- Countries where app calls are restricted. Some countries limit calls over the internet. In the UAE, for example, WhatsApp voice and video calls have long been blocked, while ordinary phone calls work.
- People who aren't on WhatsApp. Not everyone uses it: some people use another app, or none.
Can WhatsApp call a landline?
No. WhatsApp calls only go to other WhatsApp accounts, over the internet. To ring an ordinary landline, or a mobile without WhatsApp, you need a service that connects to the phone network, such as your own phone plan or DanaTel.
Using both
Plenty of people do: WhatsApp for everyday video calls, and DanaTel when a WhatsApp call won't connect, keeps dropping, or the person only has a landline. There's no subscription or monthly fee, so DanaTel costs nothing in the months you don't use it.
Calling a normal phone number with DanaTel
- Open danatel.net on your phone or computer and create a free account.
- Add credit from £5 by card.
- Type their number with the country code, for example +92 for Pakistan. The dialer shows the rate before you call.
- Press Call and allow the microphone when your browser asks.
Unanswered calls are free, and so are calls of 10 seconds or less. See rates by country.
WhatsApp is a trademark of its owner. DanaTel isn't connected with or endorsed by WhatsApp.