Call the US from the UK — from your browser
To call a US number from the UK, open TwinPhone in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave or Safari, type +1 and the number, and press Call. US mobiles, landlines and toll-free 1-800 numbers cost US$0.02 a minute (about £0.02). No app and no SIM: sign up with an email and add credit from US$10 (about £7.62). The rate shows before the call connects.
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Landline $0.02/min · Mobile $0.02/min
Call nowFree account, no card to sign up. Calls use credit: top up from $10, billed per minute, rounded up, one-minute minimum.
Calling the US from the UK: key facts
- Price
- US$0.02 a minute to US mobiles, landlines and toll-free numbers. The same rate applies to Canada.
- In GBP
- About £0.02 a minute, converted at the card rate of 1 November 2026. Your balance and every charge stay in US dollars.
- Billing
- Whole minutes, rounded up, one-minute minimum. No subscription, no connection fee. A call nobody answers costs nothing.
- 1-800 numbers
- Toll-free numbers (800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877, 888) are called like any US number, at US$0.02 a minute. They are free only for callers inside the US and Canada.
- Who you appear as
- A shared TwinPhone number that can't be called back, a US or Canadian number you rent from US$3.19/month, or your own verified mobile for US$1/month.
- Paying
- By card at checkout; the amount in your currency is shown before you pay. Credit packs of US$10, US$25, US$50, US$100; credit never expires.
- What you need
- A current Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave or Safari, a microphone and an internet connection. An email address or Google account to sign up.
- Not for
- Emergency numbers (911, 112, 999) and sending text messages.
What is different when you call the US from the UK
A US 1-800 number is not the same as a UK 0800 number: it is free only inside the US and Canada. From a UK phone it is an international call, and some US toll-free lines don't take calls from abroad.
Most UK mobile plans don't include calls to the US: they are charged per minute or through an international add-on. TwinPhone is pay-as-you-go: no add-on, no contract, and the rate is on screen before you call.
How to dial a US number from the UK
A US number has ten digits after the country code 1: a three-digit area code and a seven-digit number. Mobiles and landlines look the same and cost the same.
- In TwinPhone: +1 212 555 0142
- From a phone in the UK: 00 1 212 555 0142 — 00 is the exit code for international calls, then 1 for the US.
In TwinPhone you never type an exit code: the dial box adds +1 when you choose the United States. Paste a number with a leading 001, 011 or + and it is cleaned up for you.
Time difference between the UK and the US
For most of the coming year the clock in the UK is 5 hours ahead of New York and 8 hours ahead of Los Angeles. The gap moves when daylight saving starts or ends — the US, Europe and Australia switch on different days, and many countries do not switch at all.
| Period | vs New York (ET) | vs Los Angeles (PT) | US office hours 9:00–17:00 ET, your time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 November 2026 – 13 March 2027 | +5 h | +8 h | 14:00–22:00 |
| 14 March 2027 – 27 March 2027 | +4 h | +7 h | 13:00–21:00 |
| 28 March 2027 – 30 October 2027 | +5 h | +8 h | 14:00–22:00 |
| 31 October 2027 – 6 November 2027 | +4 h | +7 h | 13:00–21:00 |
| 7 November 2027 – 11 November 2027 | +5 h | +8 h | 14:00–22:00 |
Calculated for the coming year from the official time-zone database. Shops and offices on the West Coast open three hours after New York.
What a call to the US costs from the UK
- 1 minute
- US$0.02 (≈ £0.02)
- 10-minute call
- US$0.20 (≈ £0.16)
- 1-hour call
- US$1.20 (≈ £0.92)
- Smallest top-up, US$10 (≈ £7.62)
- 500 minutes to the US or Canada
GBP figures are conversions at the card rate of 1 November 2026, rounded up; you are charged in US dollars, and your bank may add its own fee. A few US lines on high-cost carriers are billed at their own rate — the dialer shows it before connecting.
Ways to call the US from the UK
Each option fits a different situation. What each one costs, where it stops — and where TwinPhone is the wrong tool:
| Option | Price to the US | Install needed? | Best for | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TwinPhone in the browser | US$0.02/min (≈ £0.02) | No | Calling US mobiles, landlines and 1-800 numbers from a computer, including a work laptop | Prepaid credit from US$10; no emergency calls; can't send SMS |
| EE (your UK mobile) | £4.64/min (Pay Monthly), £1/min (Pay As You Go) | No | Calling from your own mobile number | Standard rates to US mobiles and landlines, without the International Pass add-on |
| O2 (your UK mobile) | £4.10/min (Pay Monthly), £1.50/min (Pay As You Go) | No | Calling from your own mobile number | Standard rate for 'All other destinations' without a Bolt On; the page does not name the US |
| Viber Out | from 2.0 c/min | Yes, Viber app | People who already use Viber | Calls phones from the Viber app; the page gives no currency for the figure |
| WhatsApp, FaceTime | Free app to app | Yes, on both sides | Calling someone who uses the same app | Can't reach a landline, a 1-800 number or anyone without the app |
| Google Voice | — | No on the web | People in the US | Personal Google Voice is available only in the US |
| Skype | — | — | Spending Skype Credit you already have | Retired on 5 May 2025; new credit can't be bought |
Prices as each company publishes them: EE (read 1 November 2026); O2 (read 1 November 2026); Viber Out (read 1 November 2026). Google Voice and Skype as stated on their own help pages: Google Voice plans; Skype is retiring. Plans change — check your own before you rely on a figure.
Calling a US 1-800 number from the UK
A toll-free number is paid for by the company that owns it (FCC), and only for callers in the US and Canada. The UK is outside that area, so from a phone in the UK a 1-800 call is charged as an international call — and some toll-free lines don't take calls from abroad at all.
With TwinPhone the call leaves from the US network, so 1-800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844 and 833 numbers ring like any US number, at US$0.02 a minute. Between 4 May 2026 and 9 November 2026 TwinPhone users placed 716 calls to US toll-free numbers; 639 of them were answered.
Some toll-free lines accept calls only from certain states. If one never connects, call the organisation's ordinary number instead — banks, airlines and agencies usually list one "for calls from outside the US".
- 1-800
- 1-833
- 1-844
- 1-855
- 1-866
- 1-877
- 1-888
- 911
Calling the US from the UK — FAQ
Short answers about prices, 1-800 numbers, caller ID and time zones.
US$0.02 a minute to US mobiles, landlines and toll-free numbers — about £0.02 at the card rate of 1 November 2026. A 10-minute call is US$0.20. Billing is in whole minutes with a one-minute minimum, and there is no subscription.
No. Signing up is free and needs no card, but calls to phone numbers are paid from credit — from US$10, which buys 500 minutes to the US. Calls are free only app to app, such as WhatsApp to WhatsApp.
Yes. Toll-free numbers starting 800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877 and 888 ring like any US number, at US$0.02 a minute. A few lines accept calls only from certain US states; if one doesn't connect, use the organisation's ordinary number.
No. Calls run in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave or Safari on a computer or a phone. You sign up with an email or a Google account — no card, no phone number of your own.
No. In the US, mobiles and landlines use the same kind of number and cost the same: US$0.02 a minute. A small number of lines on high-cost rural carriers are billed at their own rate, and the dialer shows that rate before the call connects.
Without a number of your own they see a shared TwinPhone number, and calling it back does not reach you. Rent a US or Canadian number from US$3.19/month to be called back, or show your own verified mobile for US$1/month.
In TwinPhone type +1, the area code and the number: +1 212 555 0142. From a phone in the UK you dial 00 1 212 555 0142 — 00 first, then 1.
Right now US office hours on the East Coast (9:00–17:00 New York time) are 14:00–22:00 your time; the West Coast opens three hours later. The time table on this page lists the weeks when the gap changes.
Yes, by card at checkout, where the amount in your currency is shown before you pay. Your balance and every charge are in US dollars; GBP figures on this page are conversions at the rate of 1 November 2026.
Yes. Safari on an iPhone and Chrome on Android place calls the same way, on Wi-Fi or mobile data. There are also apps for iPhone (iOS 17.0 or later) and Android; one account and one balance work everywhere.
Yes. Canadian numbers also start with +1 and cost the same US$0.02 a minute.
No. A call that is not answered, a busy line and a call that fails to connect cost nothing. Billing starts when the other side picks up.
TwinPhone is run by hrhelperg s.r.o., a company registered in Prague, Czech Republic. Card payments go through Stripe. Unused credit can be refunded within 14 days if no more than 30% of it was spent.
No. US toll-free numbers are free only for callers inside the US and Canada. From the UK they are charged as international calls by most networks; with TwinPhone they cost the same as any US number.
Most don't: calls to the US are charged per minute outside the bundle or through an international add-on, so check your plan before a long call. TwinPhone has no add-on and no contract; the rate is on screen before you dial.
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Type the number, sign up with your email, top up from US$10. US$0.02/min to the US and Canada.
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