We’ve done a couple of articles on this already. However, we’ve sort of missed creating an updated guide that pretty much anyone can use. Most people use data and text locally without real care. Naturally, those people are on an unlimited plan. Even if you’re on an unlimited plan locally though that doesn’t mean that you’ll have unlimited international texting. Even if you’re texting locally to an international number. Just for context when we are referring to texting we are referring to the typical SMS texts. Even iMessage and other options could apply here. It’s because all of the texts that are not being sent through apps like WhatsApp or Telegram. Texting through social media apps would also be included in the list with those two apps.
For years when people traveled abroad they would genuinely fear roaming fees on calls. Now, you should be on the lookout for roaming fees on calls, the use of data and texting! Although, your regular network could get you pretty decent coverage in neighboring countries if you’re traveling across the pond you’ll find a different story. In this article what we want to cover are all of the different things that you probably want to look into before you take your phone abroad and do some international texting. A quick disclaimer here, some of the things that we are going to be talking about here may not apply to you directly. For instance, potentially being hit with roaming fees with texting. It should be something though you would do well to look into before you travel!
Texting Is More Expensive When You Travel
Again, as we just mentioned this is something that may or may not apply to you. The reality of the situation though is that most phone companies will give you a limited number of texts that you’re going to be able to send “for free”. There are a lot of things to take into account here though. Where you’re traveling may just be the most important thing to keep in mind. For example, you can pretty much keep your coverage in Mexico and Canada with different companies. You may not have your unlimited plan, but you’ll be able to use your phone pretty seamlessly. If you travel to other countries besides that your texts are most likely going to be on a pitch count.
Texting Has Roaming & You Need To Beware Of It
Roaming fees can and do apply to texts. Again, this is usually going to be the case for American travelers that go abroad to another country other than Mexico or Canada. With roaming fees on most providers you can expect to pay around .20 to .25 cents per text that you send. Sometimes the ones that you receive are free. If not, the roaming fee can be around 10 cents for received messages. We’re giving out these generalized rates because they vary from company to company. We have specific articles on texting abroad with different companies that you can check out.
Another thing that you have to worry about with roaming is sending texts with some type of picture, video, or gif. When you’re roaming those texts can cost you up to a dollar to send. If you ever have to send a text with a roaming fee slapped on it, the best thing to do is to make sure that you keep everything all text. Sending a picture or whatever it is that you want to send could potentially see you get hit with a large fee per text. We’re throwing out some of the negatives right off the bat. To make sure that you get a good idea of what the worst case scenario looks like! Then we’ll give you a few tips on how to avoid these scenarios.
The Hidden Costs of International Texting
When you’re using your phone abroad you have to be real careful with what we call the hidden costs. A lot of times these hidden costs come out of data usage while roaming. Before phones were all connected to the internet you didn’t have to worry too much about keeping your phone on even when you weren’t making a call. The problem these days is that just having your phone on with an active connection can see you spend data without even realizing it. It’s hard to really determine how much data you’re using, and more often than not you’re really just at the mercy of your service provider.
To be able to send texts or receive texts while you’re abroad or not you need to have at least your mobile data active. One of the problems with most SMS texts is the fact that they only run on mobile data. So you’re not going to be able to send or receive texts only through a wifi connection. iMessage could be the only messaging app that allows you to send what we would consider SMS texts potentially through a wifi connection. For the most part though, to be able to send texts abroad you’re going to need to activate your mobile data. That means that to send a text on roaming you may not only need to pay the fee per text, but also for the data that you’re using.
You Can Look For Other Ways To Text
If you want to avoid the added costs that you could be looking at if you text regularly while abroad there are a couple of things you can do to avoid these costs. The number one thing that you can do is to just pay the international day pass or other extra travel packages with your regular phone company. For example, on the travel pass you could be looking at a fee of about 10 dollars a day. Once you pay that fee though you’re going to be able to use your phone pretty much the same way that you do locally. If you’re going on a short trip this could be the best option. You’d be paying 30 extra dollars, yes that can soundlike a lot. It’s potentially the cheapest way to use your phone abroad the same way that you would locally.
The other thing that you can do is move your texting through different apps. We have different articles on this topic throughout the site. You can see more here, but we are going to talk about this quickly. Essentially these apps are going to allow you to text through a wifi network. That’s not a possibility that you’re going to have with your regular SMS texts. To do this you can use apps like WhatsApp or Telegram. The biggest problem with this type of texting is that you have to make sure that the person you’re trying to reach also has an account on the app. If they don’t you’re not going to be able to reach them!
If you want to look for even another option to be able to text when you’re abroad you can text through social media. Although, you’ll have the same problem that you have with these other apps it’s more likely that you have your friends and family on social media already. Therefore, you’re going to be able to contact them directly through DMs. You just need to make sure that you’re on a wifi network. You can even turn your mobile data off to make sure that you don’t get hit with roaming fees.
Best Apps For International Texting
We’ve mentioned a couple of apps for international texting already. This is a topic that we’ve also covered on this site a couple of times before. We’ll link to an article where you can see more info. In reality WhatsApp and Telegram are pretty much head and shoulders above all of the rest. The difference between what they bring to the table and what you can find in other apps is the user base. These apps happen to have the largest user bases therefore, it’s more likely that the people you’re trying to reach are going to have an account on the app and therefore you’re going to be able to contact them.
Another topic that gets more than one person worried is the security on these apps. WhatsApp is part of the Facebook lineup of apps. They’ve come under fire recently over potential security issues. If you’re just going to use these apps though for informal talk between family members you’re going to be fine. Just make sure that you safeguard your account so only people that you have on your contact list can contact you. That’s the best step to make sure that you’ll stay safe. What you’ll be able to avoid are any type of scammers that may want to contact you.
Could You Get A Read On How Much You Can Expect to Pay If You Stick To Regular Texting?
There are different rates for international texting that you could see depending on your plan. For example AT&T could give you around 600 international texts on your regular plan. It depends on where you’re traveling so you’re going to want to check that. If you surpass the 600 text message mark you’re going to find yourself paying around 25 cents per message. When the message has a picture or some type of media file those could cost you around 50 cents to even a dollar! If you stick to your regular plan you’ll probably want to make sure you keep a count on the number of texts that you’re sending.
We talk about the International day pass option which is available on most providers. Most providers are going to give you a limited amount of text messages per day for those ten dollars. The number of messages is usually high. Again though, if you go over that mark you can find yourself paying 25 cents per text. Really that fee seems over the top when you start adding it up. If you want to make sure that you’ll be able to send texts on your regular number the day pass is a good option. Just make sure that you keep track of the number of texts that you end up sending. That way you won’t find yourself paying excessive roaming fees.
International Texting Conclusion
For the most part the alternatives that see you have the opportunity to text just as you would locally, abroad are going to cost you more money. If you’re going to be abroad for a couple of days an international day pass can keep things as normal as can be. Even though we’re talking about a 10 dollar fee that’s usually preferable when you add up the 25 cents per text that you could be paying, plus the fee that you’ll pay for data roaming. To be able to send a text you need to have mobile data, and the problem with data usage is that your service provider has total control over those readings. They are going to charge you whatever they want, especially when you’re roaming. That’s why the day pass is an attractive option.
If you’re looking to keep texting when you’re traveling, but you want to make sure that you’re staying within a tight budget, texting through apps is going to be the best option. The big problem with this option though is also data roaming. If you’re on a very tight budget the best thing that you can do is just turn off your mobile data completely. Just use these apps to text when you’re connected to a wifi network.
Where you travel and how long you are going to be there are variants that could limit your options for sure. For folks with a US phone plan traveling to Mexico or Canada may not be as big a deal. You’re pretty much able to use your phone as you regularly would in these places. Just make sure to read the fine print on your contract to see if the service is included. The worst thing that can happen is that you get great coverage while abroad, but you end up paying a ton of roaming fees! Have a plan in place before you travel. That could save you a ton when you come back home and get your phone bill.