business phone · 9 min read
How to Call Internationally from the US
Dial any country from the US: exit code 011, country codes, and the mobile quirks that trip callers up. Country-by-country guides for 31 destinations.
To call internationally from the US, dial 011 + country code + national number (drop the foreign number’s leading 0). On a mobile you can use + in place of 011.
Example — a London landline 020 7946 0958 becomes 011-44-20-7946-0958 from the US (the UK’s leading 0 is dropped).
The exit code (011) and country code are the easy part. What trips most callers up is the per-country detail: which leading digit to drop, whether mobiles need an extra digit, and what the local number format actually is. The 31 country guides below cover each one exactly.
How international dialing works — 4 steps
- Dial the US exit code: 011. This tells the US network the call is leaving the country. On a smartphone, a leading + does the same thing and travels with you abroad.
- Dial the country code. One to three digits assigned by the ITU — 44 for the UK, 91 for India, 52 for Mexico. The full list is in the table below.
- Drop the leading 0 from the national number. Most countries print numbers with a domestic trunk 0 that is not dialed internationally. (Italy is the notable exception — keep its 0.)
- Dial the national number — area/city code plus the local subscriber number.
Full pattern: 011 + <country code> + <national number, no leading 0>
The one wrinkle to watch is mobiles. A handful of countries route mobile calls differently — Argentina inserts a 9 after the country code, for instance. Each country guide flags its mobile rule explicitly.
Country calling codes and step-by-step guides
Every destination below has a dedicated guide with the exact landline and mobile dial sequence, area codes, time-zone offsets to US zones, calling costs, and the local-format gotchas. Country codes are ITU-assigned.
Americas
| Country | Country code | Dial from US | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | +1 | Just 1 + number (NANP — no 011) | Call Canada |
| Mexico | +52 | 011-52-… | Call Mexico |
| Brazil | +55 | 011-55-… | Call Brazil |
| Argentina | +54 | 011-54-… (mobiles add 9) | Call Argentina |
| Colombia | +57 | 011-57-… | Call Colombia |
Europe
| Country | Country code | Dial from US | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | +44 | 011-44-… (drop leading 0) | Call the UK |
| France | +33 | 011-33-… | Call France |
| Germany | +49 | 011-49-… | Call Germany |
| Italy | +39 | 011-39-… (keep leading 0) | Call Italy |
| Spain | +34 | 011-34-… | Call Spain |
| Netherlands | +31 | 011-31-… | Call the Netherlands |
| Ireland | +353 | 011-353-… | Call Ireland |
| Russia | +7 | 011-7-… | Call Russia |
| Ukraine | +380 | 011-380-… | Call Ukraine |
| Turkey | +90 | 011-90-… | Call Turkey |
Asia-Pacific
| Country | Country code | Dial from US | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | +91 | 011-91-… | Call India |
| China | +86 | 011-86-… | Call China |
| Japan | +81 | 011-81-… | Call Japan |
| South Korea | +82 | 011-82-… | Call South Korea |
| Pakistan | +92 | 011-92-… | Call Pakistan |
| Bangladesh | +880 | 011-880-… | Call Bangladesh |
| Thailand | +66 | 011-66-… | Call Thailand |
| Vietnam | +84 | 011-84-… | Call Vietnam |
| Philippines | +63 | 011-63-… | Call the Philippines |
| Indonesia | +62 | 011-62-… | Call Indonesia |
| Australia | +61 | 011-61-… (drop leading 0) | Call Australia |
Africa and the Middle East
| Country | Country code | Dial from US | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | +27 | 011-27-… | Call South Africa |
| Nigeria | +234 | 011-234-… | Call Nigeria |
| Kenya | +254 | 011-254-… | Call Kenya |
| Egypt | +20 | 011-20-… | Call Egypt |
| Israel | +972 | 011-972-… | Call Israel |
Universal mistakes to avoid
- Forgetting the exit code. Every international call from the US starts with 011 (or +). Dialing just the country code and number will not connect.
- Keeping the leading 0. Most countries’ national numbers carry a domestic trunk 0 that you drop when dialing from abroad. Italy is the exception — keep it.
- Ignoring the mobile rule. Some countries (Argentina, historically Mexico) route mobiles with an extra digit. Check the country guide.
- Miscalculating the time zone. Several countries don’t observe daylight saving time, so the offset to US time shifts twice a year. Each guide lists the exact ET/CT/MT/PT windows.
- Calling foreign toll-free numbers. A country’s 0800-style freephone numbers usually don’t work — or aren’t free — from abroad. Ask for the geographic number.
The cheapest way to call internationally
US carriers charge anywhere from $0.20 to over $1.00 per minute for international calls without a plan. A VoIP business phone removes that premium: calls route over the internet at a flat per-minute rate, with no per-seat international add-on.
For sales teams, nearshore operations, support desks, or anyone calling overseas contacts regularly, the savings are substantial. DialPhone pricing lists current per-country rates, and a free trial includes outbound calling credit.
DialPhone’s business phone system supports outbound dialing worldwide at flat rates, and applies STIR/SHAKEN attestation so your outbound calls display as verified rather than flagging as spam — an increasing concern for international B2B calling.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is the US international exit code?
The US exit code is 011. Every international call dialed from a US phone — landline or mobile — begins with 011, followed by the destination country code and the national number.
On a mobile phone you can replace 011 with a plus sign (+), which works from any country and is the format you should save contacts in.
What is the difference between dialing 011 and +?
They do the same job. 011 is the literal US exit code; + is a universal shorthand that the network converts to whatever exit code applies in the country you are dialing from.
Use 011 from US landlines. Use + on mobiles and when saving contacts in E.164 format (for example +44 20 7946 0958) so the number dials correctly from anywhere.
Do I drop the leading 0 in a foreign phone number?
Usually yes. Many countries write numbers domestically with a leading 0 trunk prefix (the UK's 020, Germany's 030, Argentina's 011). That 0 is for domestic long-distance only.
When calling from the US, drop the leading 0 after the country code. The main exception is Italy, which keeps its leading 0 when dialed internationally.
What is the cheapest way to call internationally from the US?
Traditional carrier rates run $0.20–$1.00+ per minute without an international plan. A VoIP business phone like DialPhone charges a flat per-minute rate that is typically a fraction of carrier pricing, with no per-seat international add-on.
For any team that calls overseas weekly, VoIP pays for itself quickly. See DialPhone pricing for current per-country rates.
Why do some countries need an extra digit for mobiles?
A few numbering plans route mobiles differently from landlines. Argentina is the best-known case: you insert a 9 after the country code (54) for any mobile. Mexico historically required a 1 for mobiles (now largely retired).
Always check the country-specific guide below — the mobile rule is the step most generic guides omit and the most common reason an international call fails.
Related guides
- DialPhone business phone — outbound international dialing at flat rates
- DialPhone pricing — per-country per-minute rates
- Number porting guide — managing international DIDs
- STIR/SHAKEN explained — call authentication for outbound
About the author
Growth Operations Lead at DialPhone
Darshan leads Growth Operations at DialPhone, where he owns three interconnected programs: the comparison content operation, the open VoIP Pricing Dataset, and the test-call methodology used to verify every pricing claim published on the site.
His research process starts with hands-on product trials and live vendor quotes — not marketing pages. Pricing figures are cross-checked against actual invoices and re-verified on a rolling quarterly cycle, with the underlying dataset kept public for independent re-verification. That dataset now covers 40+ VoIP and virtual-number providers across the US and Canada market.
Darshan also leads DialPhone's AI receptionist evaluation program, running structured test-call scenarios across English, Spanish, and French to assess transcription accuracy, intent routing, and escalation behavior. Methodology notes and raw scoring are archived in the research section.
For factual corrections or dataset discrepancies, Darshan can be reached at the DialPhone editorial address. Verified corrections are published as errata with a changelog date — no silent edits.