VoIP Rates to Moscow and Other Parts of Russia - a Review

I make a lot of calls to Russia - and recently do all my calling via VoIP companies here in the US. Here is a short review for those determined to hurt Baby Bells.

 Please feel free to email me your experiences via voip[at]varsanofiev.com. 

* Includes some international calling

Note that:

• Monthly charge is a flat rate for unlimited US calling. Most flat rate plans cover also Canada.
• Rates are per minute; "other" is non-Moscow (495), non-StPB (812), non-cellular (9xx), non-"overlay" (5). Note that Moscow also uses the 499 prefix; some providers still quote the obsolete 095 code.
• Question marks indicate that I have encountered a rate or reference to it, yet it is not published on the Web site
• Call quality is judged subjectively on a 1 to 10 scale; I did not try most of the providers. 10 is "better than (old) AT&T", 8 is "on par with the regular phone", 5 is "similar to cellular".
• Setup is the ease of setup with the router / firewall. "Easy" requires no understanding beyond basic cabling and browser skills. "Medium" requires ability to change the firewall configuration. "Hard" assumes the possession and knowledge of the IP telephone boxes (analog telephone adapters, ATA, or their equivalents).
• In general, it seems to be easier to complete a VoIP call to Moscow than an analog one
• My current provider(s) is/are highlighted (I frequently enjoy an affordable luxury of having few boxes at home simultaneously)
• These are by far not the lowest prices available, as I prefer a convenience of an ATA (almost-regular phone). "Use your own ATA" or PC-based providers can make it into this list only if their pricing is very low or they have other exceptional advantages. A good list of different IP providers can be found on http://www.myvoipprovider.com

If you came here to find a VoIP provider in Russia, this is a wrong page - but here is a link to the list.

Updated 11/18/2009