Yes, you can make international calls from a UK phone without paying anything extra, and you do not need an app, a data connection or a new contract to do it. If your landline or mobile plan includes calls to 0845 or 0870 numbers, dial 0845 222 6666, wait for the tone, then dial the international number starting 00. The call to us comes out of the inclusive minutes you already pay for, and we connect you abroad at no charge.
That is the whole trick. There is nothing to register, no PIN and nothing to top up.
How can a call abroad be free?
Your phone company charges you for the call it carries, which is the call from your phone to our UK access number. If your plan counts 0845 or 0870 numbers as part of your inclusive minutes, that call costs you nothing extra. We then carry the international leg ourselves at no charge to you, because we receive a share of the charge for the call to our number. You end up talking to someone in Poland or Pakistan for the price of a UK call you were already paying for.
Step by step
- Check your plan includes calls to 0845 numbers (or 0870; see below).
- Dial 0845 222 6666 from your landline or mobile.
- Wait for the tone, then dial the full international number: 00, the country code, then the number without its leading zero.
If your plan includes 087 numbers rather than 084, use 08700 477 477 instead. It reaches every country on the free list, including a few that are not on 0845 at all, and mobiles in some countries are only on 0870. Each country page tells you which number to dial. If your plan does not include 087 numbers, calls to 08700 477 477 cost 13p a minute plus your provider’s access charge.
Which countries are free?
More than 100 countries are on the free service, from the USA, Canada and Australia to Poland, Bangladesh and Brazil. Some include mobiles and some cover landlines only; each country page says which. The complete, current list is on the free international calls page.
Is it free on your plan?
Most UK landline packages and many mobile plans include 0845 and 0870 numbers in their inclusive minutes, but not all do, and some providers have dropped them over the years. Before a long call, check your tariff or ask your provider whether 0845 or 0870 calls are included. Useful places to look:
- Landlines: your provider’s call price guide lists how 084 and 087 numbers are charged on your package.
- Mobiles: some networks include 084 and 087 numbers in your allowance, others charge them separately or sell an add-on for them.
If your plan does not include them, the call to 0845 222 6666 costs 5p a minute plus your provider’s access charge. You pay nothing to us. Our access charges page explains what your provider adds.
When free is not the best option
If your plan does not include 0845 or 0870 calls, or the country you call is not on the free list, a Planet Numbers prepaid account is usually the cheapest way to call. You register the phone you call from, top up by PayPal from £5 and dial 0161 328 7777 before the international number. Calls come off your credit from 1p a minute, the call to our 0161 number counts as an ordinary UK call on most plans, and your credit never expires. Set up an account or see how to make cheap international calls.
Things to know
- The service is for calls from UK phones. Dialling our numbers from abroad costs you your network’s roaming rate.
- If you are not the bill payer, check with them first, because the call to us appears on the normal phone bill.
- Your provider may apply a fair use limit to inclusive minutes, as it would for any UK call.
If a call does not connect, send us the number you dialled and the time of the call through the support form and we will check the call record.