What do I need to call online?
A browser — Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave or Safari — with a microphone, and an internet connection. That is all: no app to install, no SIM card, no phone number of your own. On a phone, the same page works in the mobile browser.
The call runs over WebRTC, the voice technology built into every modern browser. It needs a steady connection rather than a fast one; ordinary home Wi-Fi or 4G is enough. Headphones stop the other person hearing their own echo.
Is a browser call a real phone call?
Yes. The person you call answers on their ordinary phone — a landline or a mobile — and needs no app and no internet. Your voice travels over the internet to our carriers, who connect it to the phone network in the destination country.
That is the difference from WhatsApp, Viber or FaceTime: those are free only when both of you use the same app. TwinPhone calls the number itself.
How does calling online compare with WhatsApp or my carrier?
| TwinPhone in the browser | WhatsApp / Viber | Your mobile carrier | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calls any landline or mobile | Yes | Only people on the same app | Yes |
| Needs an app on your side | No | Yes | No |
| The other person needs | Nothing but a phone | The same app and internet | Nothing but a phone |
| Needs a SIM card | No | A phone number to register | Yes |
| International price | Per minute, shown before the call (UK landline $0.06, Mexico landline $0.02, India mobile $0.08) | Free app-to-app | Pay-per-use rates, often a dollar or more a minute without an add-on |
| Subscription | None | None | Monthly plan |
What does the person I call see?
Without a number of your own, they see a shared TwinPhone number, and calling it back does not reach you. If you rent a US or Canadian number (from $3.19/month) you can call from it and people can call you back; incoming calls cost $0.02/min from your balance. You can also show your own mobile number after verifying it, for $1.00/month.
What does it cost, and what if my credit runs out?
Signing up is free. Calls are paid from a prepaid balance: packs of $10, $25, $50, $100, no subscription, and the credit never expires. Each call is billed per minute, rounded up, with a one-minute minimum.
Before a call connects the dialer shows its rate; a call your balance cannot cover for one minute does not start, and a running call ends when the balance does. Unused credit can be refunded within 14 days if no more than 30% of it was spent — see the refund policy.