Lycamobile vs MyTello
One sells you a SIM card and one sells you a way to place calls from the phone you already have. They compete for the same customer with different products.
vs
Lycamobile is a mobile network operator — a SIM, a plan, bundles, and roaming, with international calling included as one of its selling points. Its published European tariffs show separate connection charges in some markets, and its bundles expire. MyTello is a calling service: access numbers and an app placing calls to more than 220 destinations, with no SIM involved.
MyTello's published terms include two costs worth naming: it rounds each call up to the next whole minute, and it charges a fixed setup fee per call of around 0.25 in local currency in some markets. On short calls those two together can outweigh a lower per-minute rate entirely.
Side by side
Pick what you care about and the differences reorder.
4 of 8 fields differ; 3 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
Billing unit
Lycamobile bills per minute; MyTello bills rounded up. At an identical per-minute rate those produce different bills, and the gap is widest exactly where most people call. Rounding a 35-second call up to a whole minute is a surcharge of roughly seventy per cent on that call, and it appears in no rate comparison anywhere, because the rate has not changed.
Credit expiry
Lycamobile: Expires. MyTello: 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
Lycamobile: Offers a subscription. MyTello: 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
Lycamobile runs on iOS, Android. MyTello runs on iOS, Android, Web. 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.
- Connection fee: both charged.
- Account required: both account required.
What each one is
Lycamobile
Lycamobile is primarily a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that also offers international calling via SIM and associated apps, providing low‑cost international calls and roaming for its mobile subscribers.
MyTello
MyTello is an international calling service that provides local access numbers and an app to place low‑cost calls from many countries to more than 220 destinations using per‑minute tariffs and a small setup fee per call.
How each one bills you
As published by Lycamobile
- per minute for PAYG calls; bundle minutes decrease per minute when used.
- PDFs show separate connection charges in some European tariffs (e.g. €0.07–€0.21 connection charge depending on destination and plan).
- Lycamobile PAYG credit and bundles generally have validity periods defined per country (e.g. 30 days for bundles); roaming and call‑rate PDFs indicate standard mobile‑operator expiry behaviours.
- Pay‑as‑you‑go credit or bundle purchase varies by country (e.g. small top‑ups or monthly bundles starting around €5).
As published by MyTello
- per minute, rounded up to the next minute, plus a fixed setup fee per call.
- Typical setup fee of about 0.25 local currency units per call in some rate tables (e.g. 0.25 RM per call in Malaysian price list; 3.5 ₽ per call in Russia example).
- Rate pages focus on per‑minute charges and fixed setup fees; public text does not prominently specify a fixed credit expiry period.
- Varies by currency; examples show minimum orders like 500 local currency units for calling credit (e.g. 500 ₽ or similar).
What each one asks of you
As published by Lycamobile
Users typically purchase a Lycamobile SIM, activate it, and then can use Lycamobile’s app and dialer for international calling; registration requires personal data and SIM registration per local regulations.
As published by MyTello
Users register online or in the app, link their phone number, and can then dial international numbers via local access numbers or the smartphone app.
Plans, where each one sells them
As published by Lycamobile
Offers pay‑as‑you‑go tariffs plus bundles and 'global flex' or country packs including minutes, texts, and data for domestic and international use.
As published by MyTello
MyTello sells calling credit and country‑specific packages; there are no ongoing monthly subscription bundles advertised as 'unlimited'.
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.
Lycamobile
- United States, landline: Varies by issuing country’s price list; example UK PAYG rates cite around 5p/min for domestic UK calls; specific cross‑border rates to US are in separate rate tables not visible here.
- United Kingdom, landline: Typically domestic calls as part of national PAYG or bundles with around £0.05/min base rate according to review examples.
- India, mobile: Some Lycamobile UK plans advertise very low rates (fractions of a pound per minute) to India in international bundles, but exact current PAYG per‑minute values are in detailed PDFs.
Source, as recorded: Lycamobile roaming and international call‑rate PDFs and marketing pages; detailed per‑destination tariffs depend on country of SIM issuance.
MyTello
- United States, landline: Listed under 'America' in some rate tables; around 0.04 RM/min in the Malaysian list (approximate, taxes inclusive as stated for that currency).
- United States, mobile: Same as landline in the Malaysian example table (0.04 RM/min).
- United Kingdom, landline: Around 0.04 RM/min in Malaysian table and low single‑digit cents in other localised lists; VAT/tax handling depends on local currency description.
- United Kingdom, mobile: 0.2 RM/min in the Malaysian example table; other local lists show higher rates for mobiles.
- India, mobile: 0.12 RM/min in Malaysian list; other currency pages show similar low per‑minute pricing; VAT/tax treatment is per‑list.
Source, as recorded: MyTello country‑specific rate tables (e.g. MYR and RUB pages) and MyTello blog post about checking international calling rates; figures vary by local currency and rate page.
What each one does
Lycamobile
- Offers low‑cost international calls and roaming via SIM‑based mobile service.
- Provides pay‑as‑you‑go tariffs and monthly bundles, including international minutes to selected countries.
- Roaming rate PDFs list per‑minute voice and per‑SMS/data rates across the EU/EEA and beyond.
- Some bundles include free or heavily discounted calls to over 50 countries.
- Apps and online accounts let users check balances and manage bundles.
- Supports both physical SIMs and eSIMs in some markets.
- Targets budget‑conscious travellers and migrants needing cheap calls to home countries.
- Standard mobile features such as SMS and mobile data are integrated with international calling offers.
MyTello
- Provides cheap international calling from regular phones via local access numbers and from smartphones via app.
- Works to more than 220 destinations worldwide.
- Uses per‑minute rates with a small fixed setup fee per call.
- Offers country‑specific rate tables in local currencies.
- Does not require the called party to have the app or an internet connection.
- Supports free app download for iOS and Android, which automatically filters international contacts for easier dialing.
- Markets savings of up to 90% versus normal mobile operators for international calls.
- Provides packages with pre‑calculated minutes for given credit amounts (e.g. 500, 1000, 2000 local currency units).
What users complain about
Lycamobile
- User and reviewer feedback highlights spotty coverage in some rural areas compared with major host networks.
- Some customers report confusion about roaming charges and which calls are included in 'free calls to over 50 countries'.
- Complaints include complexity of tariffs across many countries and the need to consult detailed PDFs to understand exact per‑minute rates and connection charges.
MyTello
- Some users report confusion around setup fees being charged per call in addition to per‑minute rates.
- Online reviews mention variable call quality and occasional connection failures for certain destinations.
- A subset of users complain about difficulties in contacting support or resolving billing disputes.
About each company
| Founded | 2006 (Lycamobile launched mid‑2000s as an MVNO). | — |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom. | — |
| Minimum purchase | Pay‑as‑you‑go credit or bundle purchase varies by country (e.g. small top‑ups or monthly bundles starting around €5). | Varies by currency; examples show minimum orders like 500 local currency units for calling credit (e.g. 500 ₽ or similar). |
Website: Lycamobile MyTello
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
Lycamobile is a mobile operator selling a SIM and bundles, with connection charges published in some European tariffs and bundles that expire.
MyTello is a calling service using access numbers and an app, which rounds every call up to the next whole minute and adds a fixed per-call setup fee in some markets.
Both bill per minute. For short frequent calls, the setup fee and the rounding are the numbers to compare rather than the rate.
Frequently asked questions
Can Lycamobile call a landline or mobile number?
Yes. Lycamobile dials ordinary landline and mobile numbers, so the person you are calling does not need to install anything.
Can MyTello call a landline or mobile number?
Yes. MyTello dials ordinary landline and mobile numbers, so the person you are calling does not need to install anything.
Does Lycamobile charge a connection fee?
Yes. Lycamobile publishes a charge applied to each call on top of the per-minute rate, which costs proportionally most on short calls.
Does MyTello charge a connection fee?
Yes. MyTello publishes a charge applied to each call on top of the per-minute rate, which costs proportionally most on short calls.
Does unused credit expire on Lycamobile or MyTello?
Credit on Lycamobile expires after a period of inactivity according to its published terms. Credit on MyTello 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, Lycamobile or MyTello?
Neither publishes per-country rates in a form that allows a like-for-like table, so the comparison rests on billing terms. Lycamobile bills per minute, MyTello bills rounded up. On calls of under a minute the billing unit and any per-call fee change the total more than the headline rate does.
Do Lycamobile and MyTello require an account?
Lycamobile: Account required. MyTello: Account required. Every service in this comparison set except one requires you to identify yourself before you can call.
Which devices do Lycamobile and MyTello run on?
Lycamobile runs on iOS, Android. MyTello runs on iOS, Android, Web. These are the platforms each provider publishes.
