How to Call India from the US

To call India from the US, dial 011 + 91 + the 10-digit Indian number. For an Indian mobile: 011-91-98765-43210. For a Mumbai landline: 011-91-22-XXXX-XXXX. The 011 is the US international exit code; 91 is India’s country code.

This guide covers every variant — mobile, landline, city STD codes, time zone math, costs, and what the large Indian diaspora in the US needs to know about calling back home or managing US-India business communication. Sibling guide: how to call the UK from the US.

How to dial India from the US

Follow these four steps from any US phone:

1. Dial 011 — the US international exit code. Every international call from a US landline or mobile starts here. On a US mobile, you can press and hold 0 to enter +, which substitutes for 011 automatically.
2. Dial 91 — India’s country code, assigned by the ITU. The prefix is now 011 91 (or +91 on mobile).
3. Dial the 10-digit Indian number — no leading 0. Mobile numbers (starting with 6, 7, 8, or 9) are dialed as all 10 digits. Landlines use the STD area code + local number, totaling 10 digits, without the trunk prefix 0.
4. Press call / send.

The full pattern: 011-91-XXXXXXXXXX

Number type	Local (India) format	From US
Indian mobile	98765-43210	011-91-98765-43210
Mumbai landline	022-2222-3333	011-91-22-2222-3333
Delhi landline	011-2222-3333	011-91-11-2222-3333
Bangalore landline	080-4444-5555	011-91-80-4444-5555

Note that for landlines the domestic 0 prefix is dropped when calling from the US.

Indian area codes by major city (STD codes)

Indian landlines use STD (Subscriber Trunk Dialing) codes — equivalent to area codes in the US. When calling from the US, the leading 0 of the STD code is always dropped.

City	STD code (local)	Dial from US after 011-91
Mumbai (Bombay)	022	22
New Delhi	011	11
Bangalore (Bengaluru)	080	80
Chennai (Madras)	044	44
Hyderabad	040	40
Kolkata (Calcutta)	033	33
Pune	020	20
Ahmedabad	079	79
Jaipur	0141	141
Lucknow	0522	522

India has over 400 STD codes administered by TRAI (trai.gov.in). The table above covers the 10 largest metros by call volume from the US.

Why India uses +91 and 10-digit numbers

India is not part of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). The NANP covers the US, Canada, and most of the Caribbean under country code +1. India operates its own independent numbering plan under country code +91, assigned by the ITU in 1968.

Until 2003, Indian phone number lengths varied by city and operator — a confusing legacy of the pre-liberalization telecom era. TRAI’s 2003 numbering plan reform unified all numbers to 10 digits. Mobile numbers begin with 6, 7, 8, or 9. Landline numbers are the STD area code (2–4 digits) plus a local subscriber number, with the two together totaling 10 digits.

This is why you never hear of a “10-digit Indian number” needing verification the way some countries have variable-length numbers. The 10-digit rule is consistent nationwide.

Time zones — India Standard Time (IST)

IST is UTC+5:30. The half-hour offset is unusual globally — most time zones differ by whole hours, but India intentionally chose the 5:30 offset in 1955 as a political compromise covering the country’s full east-to-west span.

India does not observe daylight saving time. This simplifies the math year-round: the IST offset from US time zones never changes with the seasons.

US time zone	Offset to IST	9 AM local = IST
Eastern (ET)	+10h 30m	7:30 PM IST
Central (CT)	+11h 30m	8:30 PM IST
Mountain (MT)	+12h 30m	9:30 PM IST
Pacific (PT)	+13h 30m	10:30 PM IST

For business scheduling: calling between 7 AM–9 AM Eastern reaches India at 5:30–7:30 PM IST — the tail of the Indian business day. After 9 AM Eastern (7:30 PM IST), you are calling into Indian evening hours. The FCC international calling guide recommends confirming recipient time before calling.

US to India calling costs

Cost depends heavily on the method:

Per-minute carrier rates (no plan): Typically $0.25–$2.00 per minute to Indian mobile or landline. Major US carriers publish their current India rates in their international calling pages.

International add-on plans: $5–$15 per month for discounted per-minute rates to India, generally $0.05–$0.20/min depending on carrier.

VoIP providers: The lowest cost for paid calls. Google Voice charges $0.01–$0.02/min to India. DialPhone’s business phone plans include India calling at competitive per-minute rates — no separate international add-on required.

Free internet-based options: WhatsApp, FaceTime Audio, Google Meet. These require the recipient to have internet access and the same app installed. WhatsApp is by far the dominant messaging and calling app in India, with over 500 million users.

For businesses managing regular US-to-India call volume — sales teams, customer support, remote engineering teams — a VoIP plan eliminates the unpredictability of per-minute carrier charges. See DialPhone pricing for India calling rates by plan tier.

Calling Indian mobile vs. landline from the US

The dialing format is identical whether you reach a mobile or a landline — both use 011-91-<10-digit number>. The difference is in how the 10 digits are structured:

Mobile numbers start with 6, 7, 8, or 9. All 10 digits follow directly after 011 91. Example: 011-91-98765-43210.

Landline numbers embed the STD area code in the first 2–4 digits, with the local subscriber number filling the remaining digits to reach 10 total. Example: 011-91-22-2222-3333 (Mumbai, STD 22, 8-digit local).

One practical note: Indian mobile numbers are routed over mobile networks operated by Airtel, Jio, BSNL, and Vodafone Idea. Calls to Indian mobiles from the US may cost marginally more than landlines on some carrier rate tables, though VoIP rates are often flat across both.

SMS to India from the US

Standard SMS from a US number works to any Indian mobile. Use international format: +91 followed by the 10-digit Indian mobile number. US carriers typically charge $0.10–$0.25 per international SMS.

For business communication, DialPhone supports SMS to India alongside voice — useful for sending appointment reminders, support follow-ups, or alerts to Indian customers or team members.

For personal use, WhatsApp is the de facto standard in India. Over 500 million Indians use it daily. If your contact is in India, a WhatsApp message is free, instant, and far more likely to be seen than a carrier SMS.

Common dialing mistakes

• Including the domestic 0 in the STD code. Dialing 011-91-022-... (with the 0 before 22) is the top reason US-to-India landline calls fail. The domestic trunk 0 is for dialing inside India only.
• Forgetting 011. Some numbers shared online appear as 91-XXXXXXXXXX without a leading +. That format needs 011 prepended from a US landline: 011-91-XXXXXXXXXX.
• Wrong digit count. Indian numbers are exactly 10 digits after the country code. If you have 9 or 11 digits, the number is likely in an old format or mis-transcribed.
• Calling Indian toll-free numbers from the US. Indian toll-free numbers start with 1800. They are free only within India. From the US, these calls either fail or connect at full international rates.
• Ignoring the time zone. India is over 10 hours ahead of US Eastern. A 5 PM ET call lands at 3:30 AM IST — practically never appropriate. Check the time zone table above before scheduling.

Get a business phone with India calling included

For teams that regularly communicate with India — whether that means managing offshore development centers, supporting Indian customers, or coordinating with remote colleagues — a purpose-built business VoIP system removes the overhead of per-call cost management.

DialPhone’s business phone plans include India calling at flat per-minute rates across all tiers. DialPhone’s AI receptionist can handle inbound calls from India with the same STIR/SHAKEN A-attestation that keeps your US business numbers out of spam filters — including India’s own operator fraud filters, which TRAI mandated stricter enforcement of in 2025.

Start with a free trial or review DialPhone pricing to find the plan that fits your India call volume.

For number porting questions before switching, see the number porting guide. For call authentication background, see the STIR/SHAKEN explainer.

Calling India FAQ

Calling India FAQ

What is India's country code? +

India's country code is +91, assigned by the ITU. From a US landline, you reach it by dialing the US exit code 011 first, making the full prefix 011 91. From a US mobile, you can dial +91 directly (the + replaces 011).

How do I call a Mumbai number from the US? +

Mumbai's STD code is 22. A Mumbai landline number in local format looks like 022-XXXX-XXXX (8 digits after the area code).

From the US, drop the leading 0 from the STD code and dial: 011-91-22-XXXX-XXXX. The leading 0 in 022 is India's domestic trunk prefix — it is only used when dialing inside India.

Why does India's time zone have a half-hour offset? +

India Standard Time (IST) is UTC+5:30 — a deliberate half-hour offset chosen in 1955 as a political compromise between the time zones of the country's eastern and western extremities.

India spans roughly 30 degrees of longitude, but the government unified the entire country under a single time zone to simplify administration. The half-hour split was the negotiated middle ground. India has never observed daylight saving time.

Do I need to drop the leading 0 when calling India from the US? +

Yes. Indian STD area codes are written with a leading 0 in domestic format (for example, Delhi is 011 domestically). That leading 0 is India's trunk prefix and is only used within India.

When dialing from the US, you replace it with 011 91. So a Delhi landline written as 011-XXXX-XXXX becomes 011-91-11-XXXX-XXXX from the US — the domestic 0 disappears and the area code (11) follows directly after the country code (91).

Why are Indian phone numbers 10 digits? +

India migrated to a uniform 10-digit numbering plan in 2003 under a TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) mandate. Before the reform, number lengths varied by city and operator.

The 10-digit plan unified mobile and landline formats: all mobile numbers are 10 digits starting with 6, 7, 8, or 9; landlines are the STD area code plus a local number that together total 10 digits.

What is the best time to call India from the US? +

IST is UTC+5:30. It is 10 hours 30 minutes ahead of US Eastern (EST) and 13 hours 30 minutes ahead of US Pacific (PST).

For business calls, 8:30–9:30 AM Eastern / 5:30–6:30 AM Pacific catches India at 7:00–8:00 PM IST — end of the Indian business day but still reachable. Morning ET (9 AM ET = 6:30 PM IST) works well. Avoid calling after 11 AM Eastern — that is past 9:30 PM in India.

Can I send SMS to India from the US? +

Yes. Standard SMS from a US number to an Indian mobile number works using the same international format: +91 followed by the 10-digit Indian mobile number.

US carrier rates for international SMS to India are typically $0.10–$0.25 per message. WhatsApp is the dominant messaging app in India, so for personal communication, WhatsApp over data is effectively free. DialPhone supports SMS to India for business communication needs.

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

Costs vary widely by method. Per-minute carrier rates without a plan typically run $0.25–$2.00/min to India. International add-on plans from US carriers cost $5–$15/month for discounted rates.

VoIP providers are generally the cheapest paid option — Google Voice charges $0.01–$0.02/min to India, and DialPhone covers India calling on all business plans. WhatsApp and Facetime Audio are free but require the recipient to have internet and the app installed.