When most people search for “long distance call,” they’re not asking about calling another US state. They want to know how to call someone in another country without paying a fortune for it. That’s what this article covers.
An international long distance call is a telephone connection made from a phone in one country to a number in a different country. It typically costs more than a local call and requires dialling a country code. The rest of this guide explains how to make those calls as cheaply as possible.
Does “long distance” still mean what it used to?
The term comes from a time when calling someone in another state or city cost extra. Phone networks charged by distance. You’d watch the clock.
Most of that is gone now. If you’re in the US, calling another state is included in virtually every mobile plan at no extra cost. The same goes for Canada. So for most people today, domestic long distance is no longer something worth worrying about.
International long distance is a different story. Calling from the US to the UK, or from Japan to Germany, still costs money on a traditional phone plan, and often a lot of it.
When free apps aren’t enough
The first thing someone says when you mention international calls is usually “just use WhatsApp.” It’s a reasonable suggestion, but it only works app-to-app. Both people need the app, a smartphone, and a working internet connection. (For a full look at which apps are worth using and when, see our guide to free international calling apps.)
That rules it out in a lot of situations.
Calling someone on a landline. Plenty of people, particularly older relatives, don’t have smartphones. Andrew, a frequent traveller, uses ZippCall specifically to reach his 94-year-old mother in Australia: “The only phone that she can answer is a land line. So any ideas of WhatsApp, Messenger, Teams etc are irrelevant.”
Calling banks, government offices, and businesses. These don’t have WhatsApp accounts. If you’re an expat or traveller who needs to call your bank, your insurer, or a government helpline, you’re placing a real international call. Mikio, who moved from Japan to the UK, found this out first hand: “Spending 20 minutes on hold is frustrating enough without it costing me a fortune, which it would if I used my regular phone.”
Calling toll-free numbers from abroad. This catches a lot of people off guard. 800 numbers are free when called from within the country, but they are not free internationally. Some countries restrict access to toll-free numbers from overseas entirely. That’s why banks often publish a separate international contact number, but not everyone knows to look for it. If you call the standard 800 number from abroad on your mobile carrier, you’ll be billed at international per-minute rates.
For any of these situations, you need a service that can call a regular phone number. Free apps won’t cut it.
How to dial an international call
The format is simple: + country code + number.
The + symbol tells your phone or app to use the correct international exit code automatically. It works on every mobile network and every modern VoIP service, which makes it the most reliable approach. If you prefer to dial manually, the exit code is 011 in the US and 00 in the UK and most of Europe.
A couple of things that trip people up:
Drop the leading zero. UK numbers start with 0 (for example, 020 7XXX XXXX), but when dialling internationally you remove it: +44 20 7XXX XXXX. Most countries that use a leading zero in their domestic format follow the same rule: drop it when you add the country code.
Country codes vary. The US and Canada share +1. The UK is +44. Australia is +61. Japan is +81. If you’re not sure of the code, most VoIP services let you select a country from a list which handles it automatically. The FCC’s international calling tip sheet also has a clear reference if you need it. For a broader guide to dialling formats, see our how to make international calls article.
Your options for making a cheap international call
There are three main ways to make an international call. Here is an honest look at each.
1. Use your carrier with no add-on
The most convenient option: just dial, no setup required. But convenience costs you. Traditional mobile and landline carriers typically charge anywhere from $0.50 to $5.00 per minute for international calls.
Catherine, a voice actress, discovered this when she needed to call her bank in Ireland: “I rarely need to place international calls that I cannot make on WhatsApp, but I needed to call my bank in Ireland, several times. T-Mobile charges $3 a minute for this.” That’s $45 for a 15-minute call to a bank.
2. Add an international calling plan
Most carriers offer international add-ons that bring per-minute rates down. They’re better than standard pay-as-you-go rates, but you’re paying a monthly fee regardless of how much you use it. Worthwhile if you make frequent calls to one specific country, less so for occasional calling.
3. Use a VoIP service
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) routes your call over the internet rather than the traditional phone network. The rates are significantly lower (often a fraction of what carriers charge), and the person you’re calling just needs a phone. They don’t need an app.
Some VoIP services require registration or verification steps. Others are quick to start. ZippCall has no subscription or contract. You sign up, add credit, and call. The whole process from sign-up to first call takes under two minutes. For a broader look at VoIP options, see our guide to the best VoIP services for international calls.
| Method | Typical cost | Setup | Works on any phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrier PAYG | $0.50–$5.00/min | None | Yes |
| Carrier add-on | $0.10–$0.50/min | Add-on activation | Yes |
| VoIP (e.g. ZippCall) | $0.02–$0.10/min | Minimal | Yes |
What does a long distance international call actually cost?
To make the comparison concrete, here are ZippCall’s rates for some of the most commonly called destinations (per minute, from any country):
| Destination | ZippCall rate |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | $0.02/min |
| United States | $0.02/min |
| Australia | $0.03/min |
| Japan | $0.04/min |
| Singapore | $0.06/min |
| India | $0.07/min |
At $0.02 per minute to the UK or US, a 30-minute call costs $0.60. Compare that to $3 a minute on T-Mobile and the difference is not small.
Minnie, a US expat in South Africa, put it this way: “With most calls at 2 cents a minute I could call for an hour and spend just over a dollar.”
ZippCall covers over 200 countries. Rates vary by destination, so check the rate calculator on zippcall.com before you dial.
Full disclosure: ZippCall is my product. I built it because I kept running into this problem myself. I run a UK business while based in Morocco, which means I regularly need to call HMRC, my bank, my insurer. The kind of institutions that don’t have a WhatsApp account. A call to my insurer recently ran about 10 minutes and cost me $0.20. At carrier rates, that same call could have cost $5 or more. I’m not going to tell you ZippCall is the right answer for every situation, but for anyone making occasional or regular international calls to real phone numbers, the economics are hard to argue with.
If you want to see how others have found it, the ZippCall reviews page has genuine stories from customers calling across the world, from emergency calls in Bali to weekly check-ins with elderly relatives in Australia.
Frequently asked questions
What is considered a long distance call?
Any call placed outside your local calling area. In practice, for most people today, this means an international call. Domestic long distance within the US is included in virtually every mobile plan at no extra charge.
How do I make an international long distance call?
Dial + followed by the country code, then the number. Drop any leading zero from the local number format. For the cheapest rates, use a VoIP service rather than your mobile carrier.
Are 800 numbers free to call from abroad?
Not usually. Toll-free numbers are free for callers within the country they’re registered in. From overseas, your carrier will typically charge standard international rates, and some countries block access to toll-free numbers entirely. Check whether your bank or provider publishes a separate international contact number.
What is the cheapest way to make a long distance international call?
A VoIP service is almost always the cheapest option. ZippCall starts from $0.02 per minute to the US and UK, with no subscription or contract.
Do I need an app to make international calls?
No. ZippCall works directly in your browser. You don’t need to install anything, and neither does the person you’re calling. They just need to have a phone number.
Entrepreneur and founder of ZippCall. After years living abroad, Josh built ZippCall to make international calling simple, affordable, and reliable.
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