How much to call USA from UK? Best Comparison

No matter if it’s for work or personal, we all like to stay in touch with friends, family, clients and colleagues overseas. Sadly this can be an expensive endevour, although some providers offer much better rates than others, it might leave you wondering how much to call USA from UK with your provider?

In this post we’re going to be looking into the different costs you’ll pay with various providers and hopefully by the end of it, you will be able to save money on calls to the United States from the United Kingdom.

How to Call the United States from the UK

Making a call to the US from the UK is straightforward, but you’ll need to ensure you’re dialing correctly to avoid any unnecessary charges or misdialed numbers.

What is the Country Code for the United States?

The United States, like Canada and most Caribbean countries, follows the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). This means US phone numbers follow the ten-digit format (XXX)-XXX-XXXX, with the first three digits being the area code.

Unlike most countries, the NANP allows its participating countries to share the same dialing code instead of having distinct country codes. All NANP countries, including the US, use +1, so when dialing from the UK, a US number will have the international format +1 (XXX)-XXX-XXXX. The + symbol represents 00 when calling from a UK landline or mobile.

A Brief History of UK to US Calls

The first ever transatlantic phone call between the UK and the USA took place on January 7, 1927. This historic moment used a radio signal to transmit the call between London and New York. Initially, it was an operator-assisted call, costing £15 for three minutes—a staggering amount at the time.

With advancements in telecommunication, direct-dial services became available in 1957, revolutionizing international communication. Today, calls to the US are easily accessible through mobile networks, landlines, and VoIP services, often at significantly lower costs than in the past.

You can read more about the first transatlantic call here.

How much to call USA from UK via a UK mobile provider

Not the cheapest route but if you’re set on using a mobile number to make calls to North America – US, you’ll want to know which of these providers are going to offer you the best rates.

O2 / Telefonica

O2 charges £1.68/minute for calls to the USA without their international bolt-on. With the bolt-on it’s 5p/min to call the U.S.

The bolt-on costs £3/month.

Vodafone

Vodafone charges £3/min to call the US.

They also offer plans with inclusive minutes.

Three

Three (3) like Vodafone also charges £3/month. Also like vodafone they do deals with inclusive minutes. According to their website:

“For £7 a month get 100 minutes a month to call standard landline and mobile numbers. This recurrs monthly and includes 55 destinations.”

“For £12 a month get unlimited minutes a month to call standard landline and mobile numbers. This recurrs monthly and includes 55 destinations.”

It appears these are for personal use and there is a fair usage policy too.

EE

EE charges the most out of the big 4 – £4.21/min to call the USA. They also have bundles/plans:

£14.05 is the price for the international pass and gives you 500 minutes/month at 3p before going back up to £4.21

Summary

To sumarise, the cheapest you’ll pay without any extra bolt-ons or passes is £1.68/minute with O2.

It’s important to note that some of the providers above may also have plans that we didn’t notice when we checked the prices for calling the USA.

How much do landline providers charge for calls to the United States?

We didn’t cover MVNO’s in the mobile section – these could be cheaper. Like MNVO’s, it’s impossible for us to cover all landline providers so we’ll stick to the big ones.

BT

If you want to make calls to the USA from BT, you’ll be looking at – £1.16/minute.

BT also do plans for calling abroad for less.

Sky

19p connection + £0.183/minute or £0.126/minute for evenings and weekend. Definitely much better than a lot of providers we’ve gone over so far.

TalkTalk

TalkTalk charge £0.33/minute or discounted £0.03/minute.

You can also get a plan which gives you 500 minutes inlcuded to call USA.

It’s important to note that some of the providers above may also have plans that we didn’t notice when we checked the prices for calling the USA.

How much to call USA from UK with VoIP?

Technically the landline providers will either be VoIP or about to be depending on when you’re being switched over or if you have been already.

Plexatalk

USA Calls: Included in the package.

Plan: £10/month.

Includes: 500 minutes/month and a dedicated number.

One great thing about VoIP is you can make calls of a VoIP/landline type phone as well as your mobile thorugh apps like Zoiper. This makes calling the USA convenient as you’ll have the option to call at home or when you’re away from home.

If you’re frequently calling the US, choosing the right provider or add-on can significantly reduce costs. Standard mobile rates are high, but options like O2’s Bolt-On or Three’s international plans offer substantial savings. Landline providers like Sky and TalkTalk also offer competitive rates. For businesses or frequent callers, VoIP services like Plexatalk provide a much more cost-effective alternative with included minutes.

Additionally, understanding how to dial the US correctly and knowing a bit of history about transatlantic communication can add some useful context when making international calls today.

Frequently Asked Questions about making calls to the USA