Snapchat is a popular social media app that allows users to send photo and video messages called snaps. One of Snapchat’s key features is the ability to make voice and video calls with friends right in the app. But are Snapchat calls free? The short answer is yes, Snapchat calls are free as long as you have an internet connection.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how Snapchat calls work, including voice calls, video calls, and group calls. We’ll cover whether they use your phone plan minutes and data, if there are any limits, and how the quality compares to traditional phone calls. By the end, you’ll understand exactly what you get with Snapchat calls and how to take advantage of this free calling feature.
How Snapchat Calls Work
Snapchat introduced voice calling back in 2014. Video calling followed in 2016. To make a call within Snapchat, you simply open a chat with a friend and tap the phone icon in the top right corner. For voice calls, this will initiate a call using your phone’s internet connection. For video calls, it will switch to using your phone’s front-facing camera.
Calls made through Snapchat utilize Voice over IP (VoIP) technology. This means they convert your voice into digital data to send over the internet, rather than through your phone provider’s network. As long as both you and your friend have a WiFi or cellular data connection, the call quality can be very similar to a regular phone call.
Some key advantages of Snapchat calls include:
- Ability to switch between voice and video easily
- Fun AR lenses and filters during video calls
- Group calling with up to 16 friends
- Chat features remain accessible during calls
- Completely free, even for long conversations
Do Snapchat Calls Use Your Phone Plan Minutes?
One common question about Snapchat calls is whether or not they use up minutes from your phone plan. The good news is that Snapchat calls do not take minutes away from your monthly allowance. This is because they utilize data rather than your carrier’s voice network.
Snapchat calls are considered data usage just like streaming music or video. So you won’t have to worry about going over your plan’s minute limits. However, you will still need a WiFi or cellular data connection to make the internet-powered calls work.
Do Snapchat Calls Use Your Data?
Even though Snapchat calls don’t take phone plan minutes, they do use some of your data allowance. The exact amount used will depend on call length, video vs voice calling, and your connection speed.
Here are some estimates for how much data Snapchat calls use:
Call Type | Data Used Per Minute |
---|---|
Voice call | 0.5 MB – 2 MB |
Video call | 8 MB – 12 MB |
As you can see, video calls use significantly more data than voice calls. Ten minutes of video chatting could use up to 120MB of data. An hour long voice call may only use 60MB or less.
Compared to streaming video or music though, Snapchat calls are relatively light data usage. But those with limited data plans will still want to be mindful of how much time they spend on Snapchat calls to avoid overages.
Are There Any Limits on Snapchat Calls?
Snapchat places no hard limits on how long you can talk with friends over their service. So you and your close friends could have hours long conversations without being cut off.
However, there are some restrictions to be aware of:
- Both callers must be actively using the app – you can’t call someone who isn’t logged in
- Group calls are limited to 16 participants maximum
- Long calls will rack up cellular data usage
- Call quality depends on each user’s connection strength
As long as both parties remain active in the app with decent network connections, you can chat over Snapchat call for as long as you want. The only real limit is your own data plan and battery life.
How Does the Call Quality Compare?
Snapchat calls use VoIP technology to transmit voices over the internet rather than a phone network. This means call quality really depends on having fast, low latency internet connections on both sides of the call.
Here are some factors that can affect Snapchat call quality:
- Cell signal strength – Snapchat calls need cellular data or WiFi
- Network congestion – More users means more potential for lag
- Hardware performance – Older phones may struggle with encoding video
- Distance between users – Further geographic distance can increase latency
Under ideal conditions, Snapchat call quality can rival a regular cell phone call. But there are more factors at play that can potentially degrade audio or video on Snapchat calls compared to traditional networks.
Some tips for improving Snapchat call quality include:
- Connect to WiFi instead of cellular whenever possible
- Reduce background bandwidth usage from other apps
- Use a newer phone with good hardware performance
- Stay stationary instead of walking around during calls
- Set your phone screen brightness lower to reduce strain on the battery
Conclusion
Snapchat offers users free voice and video calling built right into the app. These calls utilize data and WiFi instead of your carrier plan’s minutes. While call quality depends on having a strong internet connection, it can be just as good as a phone call under optimal conditions.
Some key takeaways about Snapchat calls include:
- Completely free with no limits on call duration
- Don’t use phone plan minutes but will use cellular data
- Video calls use much more data than voice calls
- Call quality varies depending on hardware, signal strength, and bandwidth
- Fun filters and lenses available during video chatting
Overall, Snapchat’s free calling feature provides an easy and convenient way to keep in touch with friends right from your smartphone. Taking advantage of voice and video calls is a great way to maximize Snapchat’s communication capabilities.