The Only Thing We Charge For

Most communications apps blur the line between what is free and what is not. A subscription here, a bundle there, a per-second rate disclosed only on the statement. MPower takes the opposite position: one paid feature, priced in the open, and everything else free. This article sets out exactly where the meter runs and where it does not.

What costs nothing

Every interaction between MPower users is free, anywhere in the world. Voice calls, video calls, and messaging carry no charge. Nor do the things attached to them: photos, videos, files, voice notes, live location, and the 24-hour stories with seen-by. The app runs on our own infrastructure in Germany, and app-to-app traffic is carried without metering.

Live voice translation across 57 languages sits inside this free tier as well. On a call, each sentence is translated and spoken to the other party in their language, and the reply returns in yours, with a natural pause of a second or two. It is an aid to understanding rather than a certified interpretation service, and it costs nothing to use.

Calls and messages are encrypted in transit; messages and stories are also encrypted at rest. This is transport encryption, not end-to-end encryption, and we describe it as such.

The one paid path

There is a single billable action in MPower: calling an ordinary phone number, meaning a landline or mobile that is not an MPower user. These calls reach the public telephone network, which charges us to terminate them, so we charge for them in turn.

Billing is per started minute at a rate that depends on the destination. A call that lasts ninety seconds is billed as two minutes; a call of ten seconds is billed as one. Rates vary by country and, within some countries, by whether the number is fixed or mobile. There is no connection fee and no rounding beyond the started minute.

Payment comes from a prepaid balance held in US dollars and topped up in the app. There is no subscription for the app itself and no monthly line rental. You hold a balance, you spend it when you call ordinary numbers, and you top it up when you choose.

Cost and balance, before and after

The app tells you which kind of call you are about to make before it connects. When you open a number, MPower shows whether it is free, because the person is on MPower, or charged per minute, and at what rate. Your current balance is visible in the same place. Nothing is dialled before you can see what it will cost.

After the call, the actual amount appears in your balance history, alongside the destination and duration. The figure you were quoted per minute and the figure you were charged reconcile against the started-minute rule, so the record can be checked line by line.

Caller ID follows the same principle. Your verified phone number is your identity on MPower, and other users see you by it. On calls to ordinary numbers, that same number is presented as caller ID once you have verified it with the carrier under Settings, then Caller ID. Until then, a shared MPower number is used, and the app makes clear which is in effect.

When the balance reaches zero

A prepaid balance cannot go negative. Calls to MPower users continue as normal, because they were never billed. Calls to ordinary numbers are declined at the point of dialling, with the balance shown, rather than cut off mid-conversation or allowed to run into debt. Topping up restores outbound calling immediately.

Transparent pricing is not a feature to be added later; it is a property of how the system is built. As we extend where MPower can reach, the commitment stays the same: one meter, visible before and after, and a balance that is only ever spent on the calls that genuinely cost something to place.