How to call India from the USA: what to dial, landline codes and the cheapest options

What do you dial to call India from the US?

Dial 011, then 91, then the 10-digit Indian number. 011 is the US international prefix ^[1] and 91 is India's country code ^[6]. India gives mobile and landline numbers 10 digits each ^[2], so the full string from a US phone has 15 digits. A browser or app dialer replaces 011 with a plus sign: +91, then the 10 digits.

1. Check the time. India keeps UTC+5:30 all year while US clocks change ^[1]: it is 9 hours 30 minutes ahead of New York in summer, 10 hours 30 minutes in winter.
2. Get all 10 digits. A mobile number has 10 of its own; a landline number is an STD code of 2 to 4 digits plus a 6- to 8-digit local number ^[2].
3. Drop the leading 0. Indians dial 0 before a long-distance code ^[2], and landline callers also dial 0 before a mobile ^[2]. That trunk prefix is never dialled from abroad ^[1].
4. Dial 011 91 and the 10 digits from a US phone, or choose India (+91) in a browser dialer and skip 011. Google Voice asks for the country code before the number ^[8].

X stands for a digit. STD codes come from the area-code list in TRAI's 2024 numbering consultation paper ^[2], read on November 1, 2026.

Watch New Delhi: inside India its code is written 011, the same digits as the US exit code, so a Delhi landline from the US starts 011 91 11.

How do you call India from a browser?

It depends on who you are calling. Someone on WhatsApp can be reached free from WhatsApp Web ^[5]. A landline, or a mobile without WhatsApp, needs a web dialer connected to the phone network: paid ones charge per minute, free ones limit how long and how often you call. Allow the microphone when the browser asks.

Paid web dialers

Google Voice, Yolla and TwinPhone all call phone numbers from a browser tab ^[8][9][10]. Google Voice personal accounts work only in the US ^[11], and a new number needs a phone for a text code plus a government ID check ^[12][13]; I cover its prices in my look at Google Voice's rate card.

Yolla's web dialer shows the rate before each call ^[9], and sign-up asks for your phone number ^[14]. TwinPhone needs only an email or Google account, and the browsers it lists include Brave ^[10]. TextNow's web client places calls ^[15], but I found no page confirming its India credit works there.

WhatsApp Web, for people on WhatsApp

WhatsApp added calls to WhatsApp Web on 28 July 2026 ^[16]; they are free even abroad, though the feature may not have reached your account yet ^[5]. It cannot ring an Indian number that is not on WhatsApp, but you can send a call link that a person without WhatsApp opens in a computer browser and joins free once you admit them ^[17]; my guide to WhatsApp calls abroad walks through both cases.

Free web dialers

PopTox lists India as free ^[18], with up to 5 calls a day to one number ^[19], but every call shows the same US number, not yours ^[20]. Call2Friends' free list changes during the day: on November 1, 2026 it gave India 90 seconds in the afternoon, and by evening India was gone ^[21].

Skype is no longer an option: Microsoft retired it on 5 May 2025 ^[22], as I cover in my post on the Skype shutdown. I also left out three newer dialers: StartACall's terms still contain the template text "[Your Jurisdiction]" ^[23], HelloAirDial's terms name no company ^[24], and MySecondLine's homepage shows Lorem ipsum filler ^[25].

How much does it cost to call India from the US?

On the rate cards I read on November 1, 2026, Google Voice charged $0.02 a minute to India and Yolla started at $0.0239, with no landline or mobile difference ^[3][7]. Call2Friends charged $0.039 and TwinPhone $0.08 ^[26][4]. Each of the four lists one price for Indian landlines and mobiles alike.

Rows follow the order of my overall comparison, not price. "From" marks the lowest rate a service lists for India.

A monthly figure is easier to judge. Below is my arithmetic for one 30-minute call a week, 120 minutes a month, before taxes or fees.

Same row order as above; Rebtel, outside my comparison, comes last. Rebtel is a phone app, not a browser dialer ^[31].

TwinPhone has the highest per-minute India rate in these tables. It needs no phone number to sign up ^[10], its credit never expires ^[29], and an optional US or Canadian number (from $3.19 a month) rings in the browser ^[32]. It has no trial credit and cannot dial emergency numbers ^[28], bills whole minutes ^[29], and claims 145+ countries on one page but 165 destinations on its rates page ^[10][4].

Rebtel's flat plan covers India and 46 other countries ^[30], but at Google Voice's rate the same money buys 700 minutes. Why the per-minute price varies so much is the subject of my explainer on how international minutes are priced.

What is the cheapest way to call India?

Free, if the person uses WhatsApp ^[5]. For a landline, or a mobile without WhatsApp, TextNow listed the lowest starting rate of the services I compared, $0.01 a minute, though I could confirm it only for the app ^[27]. Of the web dialers in my tables, Google Voice and Yolla were the cheapest paid options on November 1, 2026.

• You live in the US and can pass Google's checks: Google Voice ^[11].
• You want your own number to show in India: Yolla, which displays your number ^[33].
• You want a paid account without giving a phone number: TwinPhone, which signs you up with an email or Google account, at a higher per-minute price ^[10].
• You need one short call today: PopTox ^[19], or Call2Friends if India is on its free list ^[21].
• You talk more than 700 minutes a month: a flat plan such as Rebtel's, in its phone app ^[30].

Frequently asked questions

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