Localphone vs Nymgo
Two of the older, quieter VoIP providers still selling prepaid international calling. Neither markets hard, and the comparison rests almost entirely on what each publishes about itself.
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Both dial real phone numbers, bill per minute, and publish no separate connection fee. Both offer apps as well as other access routes, and both are aimed at people making regular calls to a small number of destinations.
Localphone is the more transparent of the two: based in Sheffield in the United Kingdom, operating since the mid-2000s, offering inbound numbers in many countries as well as outbound calling, and stating that credit does not expire. Its one published App Store rating is poor — 2.4 from a small number of ratings on one regional listing. Nymgo publishes no clear answer on credit expiry and its corporate location is not clearly stated, which the March 2026 research recorded as likely Luxembourg or Cyprus.
One thing has changed since that research, and it is the sort of thing worth checking before you top up anywhere. We re-tested every outbound link on this site on 4 September 2026, and nymgo.com no longer resolves — not a moved page or a redesign, but no DNS record at all. We have no statement from the company and draw no conclusion about the service itself; a domain can lapse for dull reasons. But a prepaid balance is money held by somebody whose website you cannot reach, and that is a risk to weigh consciously rather than discover later.
Side by side
Pick what you care about and the differences reorder.
3 of 8 fields differ; 4 are the same.
How to read this comparison
Work down in this order and most comparisons resolve in under a minute. First, can it reach the number you actually need — a service that only calls its own users is not a cheaper version of one that dials a landline, it is a different thing. Second, what are the billing terms: the unit a call is measured in, and whether a fixed fee is added to each one. Third, what happens to money you do not spend.
The per-minute rate is deliberately not the first question here, and it is the only question most comparisons ask. At the same advertised rate, a service that rounds every call up to a whole minute and adds a per-call fee can cost close to double another on the short calls that make up most people's actual usage. The rate is the number that gets compared because it is the number that gets published.
Where they actually differ
Credit expiry
Localphone: Never. Nymgo: Not published. Expiring credit is a cost that appears in no rate table, and it matters in proportion to how much you top up at once and how irregularly you call. A balance bought for emergencies and left unused is precisely the balance an inactivity rule takes.
Subscription
Localphone: Offers a subscription. Nymgo: No subscription. A subscription is cheaper per minute once you pass its break-even point and more expensive in every month you do not, which makes choosing one a bet on your own future behaviour. Prepaid credit is the opposite trade: a worse unit price in exchange for no commitment.
Platforms
Localphone runs on iOS, Android, Web. Nymgo runs on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS. This decides more comparisons than it ought to: a service that is excellent and unavailable on the device in your hand is not a candidate at all, and a desktop client matters more than it sounds when the alternative is holding a phone against your ear for an hour.
Where they are the same
- Calls a phone number: both dials real phone numbers.
- Billing unit: both per minute.
- Connection fee: both none.
- Account required: both account required.
What each one is
Localphone
Localphone is an international calling and DID provider that offers low‑cost calls via local access numbers, VoIP apps, and SIP, as well as inbound numbers (DIDs) in many countries.
Nymgo
Nymgo is a VoIP calling app and service that offers low‑cost international calls and SMS to mobiles and landlines worldwide, using prepaid credit and per‑minute tariffs.
How each one bills you
As published by Localphone
- per minute.
- none mentioned; marketing emphasises 'no hidden charges and no monthly fees' for core per‑minute calling.
- Marketing and Trustpilot page emphasise 'no contracts, no hidden charges, and no monthly fees'; there is no prominent statement of credit expiry, implying standard non‑expiring prepaid balance subject to account activity.
As published by Nymgo
- per minute for calls; per SMS for text messages.
- none mentioned; marketing emphasises 'no hidden fees' and shows per‑minute rates only.
- Public marketing material emphasises credit tracking and top‑ups but does not clearly state a fixed expiry date for unused credit.
What each one asks of you
As published by Localphone
Users create an account on Localphone.com, add credit or a subscription, and then can call using access numbers, apps, or SIP credentials; apps require account login.
As published by Nymgo
Users create a Nymgo account, install the app on supported devices, and top up their balance to start calling.
Plans, where each one sells them
As published by Localphone
Core model is prepaid credit with per‑minute rates; Localphone also sells inbound number subscriptions (DIDs) and some price plans but no broad unlimited international calling subscription is highlighted on consumer pages.
As published by Nymgo
Operates on prepaid credit only; users top up balances and are charged per minute for calls and per message for SMS.
Published rates
The corridor prices each provider published at the time of the research. An empty list means the provider does not publish its rates outside its own app, which is itself worth knowing before you top up.
Localphone
- United States, landline: From about 0.4¢/min according to top‑country comparison table.
- United States, mobile: From about 0.4¢/min; US is listed as 0.4¢ in sample table that does not distinguish mobile vs landline.
- United Kingdom, landline: Listed around 0.6¢/min in App Store description examples; VAT/tax not specified.
Source, as recorded: Localphone sample rate table comparing with Skype, and App Store description listing rates from specific amounts per minute; full rate table is on localphone.com 'Rates' page.
Nymgo
- India, mobile: Marketing examples describe 'super cheap' rates, with calls 'as low as $0.003/min' to some destinations; specific India row is in the online rate table but not visible in snippets.
Source, as recorded: Nymgo official rates page and blogs; full tables accessible via web 'rates' tool and in‑app rate lookup.
What each one does
Localphone
- Offers low‑cost international calls via access numbers, VoIP apps, and SIP.
- Provides inbound phone numbers (DIDs) in many countries.
- Lets each contact be assigned a unique local access number to call them abroad at local call rates.
- No contracts or monthly fees are required for basic pay‑as‑you‑go calling.
- Apps provide call history, rate lookup, balance display, and contact integration.
- Supports Wi‑Fi calling mode to avoid roaming fees, and 'local calls' mode that uses local access numbers.
- New customers receive a 5‑minute free call credit to test the service.
- Company is headquartered in Sheffield, United Kingdom, with support contact information listed on Trustpilot.
Nymgo
- Provides low‑cost VoIP calls to landlines and mobiles in many countries worldwide.
- Supports SMS at low per‑message rates to international destinations.
- Offers 'Hello Points' and promotions for active users and referrals.
- Integrates with the smartphone’s contact list and automatically handles network switching between Wi‑Fi and cellular data to maintain call quality.
- Markets 'no hidden fees' with upfront call‑cost display before connecting.
- Apps available for Android and other platforms.
- Targets frequent callers to countries such as India, Bangladesh, Brazil, Philippines, Mexico, Egypt, Nigeria and others.
- Uses VoIP over Wi‑Fi or 3G/4G for international calling.
What users complain about
Localphone
- Trustpilot rating around 2.7/5 with complaints about customer support responsiveness and billing issues.
- Some users report poor call quality or connection problems to specific destinations in recent years.
- Complaints include steep rates for certain countries compared with headline 'top countries' pricing.
Nymgo
- Some user reviews report inconsistent call quality and occasional dropped calls.
- Complaints include difficulty in obtaining refunds or resolving account issues via support.
- A portion of users mention rate changes over time making certain destinations less competitive.
About each company
| Founded | 2007 (Localphone has operated as a VoIP provider since mid‑2000s; specific founding year not clearly listed on the consulted pages, approximate). | — |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Sheffield, United Kingdom. | Likely based in Luxembourg or Cyprus (exact current HQ not clearly stated in the sources consulted). |
| Store rating | 2.4 (59 ratings on one regional App Store listing). | — |
Website: Localphone
If neither of them fits
Both of the services above bill per minute or cannot dial a phone at all. If what you need is to call an ordinary number and pay only for the seconds you talk, that is what we publish — and the same nine fields are in the table above, in the first row, marked as ours.
Rates from $0.03 a minute across 41 destinations, billed per second with no connection fee and credit that does not expire.
What Telvio does and does not doSources and dates
Every value on this page is quoted from the provider's own published material, gathered in a structured research pass on 2026-03-18. Where a provider published no answer, the page says so rather than estimating. Nothing here is a review: call quality, reliability and support are not assessed, because they cannot be established from published material.
Bottom line
Both are per-minute prepaid VoIP providers with no published connection fee, aimed at regular callers to a few destinations.
Localphone publishes its UK base, offers inbound numbers, and states that credit does not expire, though its one published store rating is poor.
Nymgo publishes neither a clear credit expiry policy nor a clearly stated corporate location, and as of 4 September 2026 its website no longer resolves. For a service holding a prepaid balance, weigh that before topping up.
Frequently asked questions
Can Localphone call a landline or mobile number?
Yes. Localphone dials ordinary landline and mobile numbers, so the person you are calling does not need to install anything.
Can Nymgo call a landline or mobile number?
Yes. Nymgo dials ordinary landline and mobile numbers, so the person you are calling does not need to install anything.
Does Localphone charge a connection fee?
No separate connection fee is published for Localphone, so the cost of a call is the per-minute rate applied to the billed time.
Does Nymgo charge a connection fee?
No separate connection fee is published for Nymgo, so the cost of a call is the per-minute rate applied to the billed time.
Does unused credit expire on Localphone or Nymgo?
Credit on Localphone does not expire according to its published terms. Credit on Nymgo has no published expiry policy, so it could not be confirmed. Expiry costs most when you top up in large amounts and call infrequently.
Which is cheaper for short calls, Localphone or Nymgo?
Neither publishes per-country rates in a form that allows a like-for-like table, so the comparison rests on billing terms. Localphone bills per minute, Nymgo bills per minute. On calls of under a minute the billing unit and any per-call fee change the total more than the headline rate does.
Do Localphone and Nymgo require an account?
Localphone: Account required. Nymgo: Account required. Every service in this comparison set except one requires you to identify yourself before you can call.
Which devices do Localphone and Nymgo run on?
Localphone runs on iOS, Android, Web. Nymgo runs on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS. These are the platforms each provider publishes.
