I'm finally getting tired of Skype's shenanigans on my desktop and intend to get rid of it. While I don't miss its messaging and pure-IP calling at all - there are tonnes of substitutes out there like Riot/Matrix, Ring or even Whatsapp in a pinch - I still need to call legacy phone numbers a lot, and I couldn't figure out what's a good alternative.

• Aside from being proprietary, Google Hangouts is also browser-only on desktop, and the mobile app is a little clunky. The unofficial desktop client, Yakyak, does not seem to do calls at all.

• Ring can theoretically do legacy calling via SIP, but has no recommended/example provider. I can't quite figure out which provider to use.

• Ekiga/Empathy/other SIP clients out there has the same problem as Ring: I don't know which public provider to trust/pay into, and there's little guide to setting them up.

Anyone has experience to share?