How to try a calling app before you buy in South Africa

Every calling app says it is cheaper and clearer. The only test that counts is your own: your phone, your Wi-Fi, the people you actually call. Here is how to test one properly, and what to look for.

Before you start, check four things.

1. What the trial costs and what it includes. A real trial gives you a real number and real airtime, not a demo.
2. Whether you must sign anything. If a trial needs a contract or a debit order, it is not a trial.
3. What happens when it ends. You should be able to walk away without phoning anyone.
4. Whether you keep your SIM. A good calling app sits beside your network. It should not ask you to leave it.

During the trial, test the calls you really make.

• Phone a landline, a mobile and, if you have family abroad, an overseas number.
• Call from home Wi-Fi and from mobile data, and from the place where your signal is worst.
• Ask someone to phone you, and check that it rings and that they see the right number.
• After each call, look at what it cost. If you cannot see that, stop there.

What the Ukutel trial is. R25 (about $1.52) for five days. You get a South African cloud number and airtime to call with, in the app, on your own phone. There is no contract. If someone you know already uses Ukutel, they can sponsor a three-day trial for you for R5 (about $0.30) instead.

We set it up this way on purpose. We are a small company without a big advertising budget, and we do not expect you to believe a slogan. On our own website we say it like this: neither were we sure at first, so we would rather show you.

If the calls are not good on your connection, you will know within a day, and you will have spent R25 to find out.