How to Make International Calls from Malaysia in 2026

Updated: January 2026 · Reading time: 10 minutes

Why are international calls from Malaysia so expensive?

Malaysian telcos—Maxis, Celcom, Digi, and U Mobile—charge steep rates for international calls. Depending on your plan and destination, you might pay anywhere from RM 0.50 to RM 3.00 per minute. A 20-minute call to the UK could cost more than your monthly Netflix subscription.

The good news: internet-based alternatives are much cheaper. The even better news: unlike some countries with heavy taxes on foreign purchases, Malaysians can access most international services without major additional costs. Your Visa or Mastercard works fine for USD purchases.

What are the free options for international calls from Malaysia?

WhatsApp, Telegram, WeChat

If the person you're calling has a smartphone and internet connection, WhatsApp or WeChat calls are free and work well. For most situations, this is the obvious answer.

WeChat is particularly relevant if you're calling family in China, where WhatsApp isn't widely used. For calls to Singapore, Indonesia, or within the region, WhatsApp dominates.

The problem appears when you need to call a landline or someone who doesn't use these apps. Your elderly parents in a kampung with only a house phone. A government office in Australia. A hospital in the UK. A business in Japan. In these cases, WhatsApp doesn't help.

Google Meet, Zoom, and video calls

These platforms allow free voice and video calls, but only between users on the same platform. They don't connect to traditional phone networks—same limitation as WhatsApp.

How do you call landlines and mobiles from Malaysia?

When you need to call an actual phone number—not an app—you need a VoIP (Voice over IP) service. These services convert your voice into internet data and connect it to the phone network in the destination country.

Skype (Microsoft)

Skype was the most popular service for years, but Microsoft is migrating everything to Teams. It still works for international calls with prepaid credit or monthly subscriptions.

Rates: from USD 0.02/min to US landlines, USD 0.01/min to Singapore. Minimum credit USD 5.

Payment from Malaysia: accepts Malaysian credit cards (Visa, Mastercard). No significant additional taxes.

Limitations: the app is increasingly business-focused, the interface is cluttered, and the future of the service is uncertain with the Teams transition.

Viber Out

Viber allows calls to traditional phones from within the app. Rates are competitive for some destinations.

Rates: from USD 0.019/min to some destinations. Minimum credit USD 4.99.

Payment from Malaysia: accepts international cards without issues.

Limitations: credits expire after 180 days without use. If you call infrequently, you may lose your balance. The app is designed primarily for messaging—the calling feature feels secondary.

Rebtel

Rebtel offers unlimited plans to specific countries. If you call one country frequently, it can be economical.

Rates: plans from USD 10/month for unlimited calls to certain countries.

Payment from Malaysia: accepts most international cards.

Limitations: the monthly subscription model doesn't make sense if you call infrequently. Paying USD 10/month (~RM 45/month) only makes sense if you use many minutes.

DialHard

DialHard is a smaller service focused on international calls directly from your browser. No app download required—works in Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.

Rates: from USD 0.03/min. Minimum credit USD 20.

Payment from Malaysia: accepts Visa and Mastercard. No option for local payment methods like FPX or Touch 'n Go yet.

Advantages: credit never expires, works directly from browser without installing anything, transparent rates with no hidden fees.

Limitations: minimum credit of USD 20 (~RM 90) may be high for someone just wanting to test the service. It's a newer, smaller service.

How much do international calls from Malaysia cost?

This table shows the approximate cost of a 10-minute call to a mobile phone (assuming USD 1 = RM 4.50):

Note: prices are approximate and vary with exchange rates. Telco rates vary significantly by plan. Always verify before calling.

Where do Malaysians call most often?

International calling patterns from Malaysia reflect the country's diverse population and diaspora:

Singapore: The most common destination by far. Hundreds of thousands of Malaysians work in Singapore and call family back home regularly—or the other way around. The JB-Singapore corridor alone generates massive call traffic.

Australia and UK: Large Malaysian student and professional communities. Parents calling children studying abroad, or Malaysians who've emigrated staying in touch with family.

China: Business connections and family ties for Malaysian Chinese. Note that WhatsApp doesn't work well in China—WeChat is the standard there, but it also can't call Chinese landlines.

India: Family connections for Malaysian Indians, plus significant business ties.

Indonesia: Geographic proximity, family ties across the Straits, and business relationships.

Middle East (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar): Malaysian workers abroad and religious travel. Calling family during Hajj or Umrah, or workers calling home.

How can people overseas call you in Malaysia?

If you have family overseas who need to call you in Malaysia, the situation reverses. They'll need a VoIP service to call Malaysian numbers affordably.

Rates to Malaysian mobiles are typically around USD 0.03-0.08/min from most VoIP services—much cheaper than their local telco would charge. You might want to share this information with family abroad so they know they don't have to pay RM 5/minute from their end either.

Some services also offer Malaysian virtual numbers—a number with a +60 code that rings on your phone even when you're overseas. This can be useful for Malaysians living abroad who want to maintain a local number for banks, government services, or elderly relatives who only know how to dial local numbers.

What tips help with international calling from Malaysia?

Test quality before committing. VoIP call quality depends heavily on your internet connection. If you're on unstable WiFi or congested mobile data, you'll experience delays and dropouts. Try a short call first.

Watch out for expiring credit. If you're not sure how much you'll use, choose services where credit doesn't expire. Losing USD 5 of credit is about RM 22 wasted.

Consider your calling pattern. If you call once a month, subscriptions don't make sense. If you call Singapore every day to check on your parents, an unlimited plan might save money.

Check the caller ID settings. If you're calling elderly relatives who don't answer unknown numbers, make sure the service lets you configure your number to show on their phone.

Mind the time zones. Before calling, check what time it is at the destination. The UK is 7-8 hours behind Malaysia. Australia's east coast is 2-3 hours ahead. Calling at 9am Malaysian time means calling London at 1-2am.

Use WiFi when possible. VoIP calls use data—about 1MB per minute for voice calls. On Malaysian mobile data this isn't expensive, but WiFi is more stable and won't eat into your data quota.

What should Malaysian businesses consider for international calls?

If you run a business that needs to make regular international calls—import/export, recruitment, consulting—the economics change:

Dedicated business VoIP services (not covered in detail here) offer features like call recording, multiple users, and local numbers in various countries. These typically cost more but may be worth it for professional use.

Caller ID matters more for business. Calling from an unfamiliar number reduces answer rates. Some services let you display a local number in the destination country, which improves pickup rates significantly.

Track your spending. International calls add up. Most VoIP services provide detailed call logs and spending reports—use them to understand your costs.

What's the best way to make international calls from Malaysia?

Making international calls from Malaysia in 2026 costs a fraction of telco rates if you use internet-based VoIP services.

If both people have apps: Use WhatsApp, WeChat, or similar. They're free and work well.

If you need to call landlines or people without smartphones: A VoIP service like Skype, Viber Out, or DialHard will cost a fraction of your telco's rates. A 10-minute call to Singapore costs ~RM 1 instead of ~RM 8.

If you call one country very frequently: An unlimited monthly plan from Rebtel might be worth it.

If you call occasionally to various countries: A prepaid service with non-expiring credit is the most practical choice.

Unlike some countries with heavy taxes on foreign purchases, Malaysians can access these international services without major additional costs—your regular credit card works fine.