How to Call Canada from the UK
Olivia Willemin
Guide
International phone calls have long been associated with exorbitant fees and great expense. While technology has come a long ways over the past decades in bringing every corner of the world closer to one another, these fees are far from being a thing of the past if you don't know which plans, apps, or tricks to use when making an international phone call.
In this Monito guide, our experts answer all of your questions and tell you how to best call Canada from the UK without paying through the nose: we take you through the basics (country code, dialling code, etc.) and tell you the best strategies for calling Canada for free.
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How to Call from Canada to the UK
Canadian Country Code
Canada, along with the United States and most of the Caribbean, is part of the North American Numbering plan, which uses ten-digits phone number in the format (XXX)-XXX-XXXX, with the first three digits being the area code.
This pan-American format also allows its participating countries to share the same dialling code, instead of having specific country codes: all of them use 1, which means a Canadian number will have the international format +1 (XXX)-XXX-XXXX.
How Much Does It Cost to Call Canada from the UK?
As with most foreign destinations, calling Canada is generally not included on UK mobile or landline plans, and you will have to pay extra to do so. Most UK service providers charge a hefty sum, with rates going up to 3.42 GBP a minute to call Canadian landline or mobile numbers. However, those that charge so much generally offer cheaper rates if you subscribe to an international option, such as O2’s International Monthly Bolt On, which costs 2 GBP a month and lets you call Canada for 2p a minute instead of 3 GBP! Some providers don’t require the option at all, like GiffGaff (2p a minute) or Three (1p, if you use a shortcode).
Some providers, like Three, also offer international minute bundles, but most of them don’t include them as a baseline. Two notable exceptions are LycaMobile and Lebara, both of which include at least 100 international minute, including to Canada, even on their cheapest plans.
Another option is using a voice over IP service like Skype, whose Skype to Phone service lets you make calls to Canadian mobiles and landlines for 4.6p + 2.2p a minute on a pay-as-you-go basis, with unlimited calls costing 2.4 GBP a month. If you already have a mobile phone subscription and you need a cheap add-on to regularly call Canada, that might prove a simpler option than taking out a new phone line.
How to Call Canada for Free from the UK
The cheapest way to call someone in Canada is to not use cell service at all, but rather to use a free VOIP service like Apple’s FaceTime, Skype, WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, which are all free. However, they will require a good internet connection, and the person you want to call needs to have the app downloaded and installed, as well. The biggest downside, of course, is that these don’t let you call actual phone numbers, which makes it impossible to call landlines — with the exception of the Skype to Phone paying service mentioned above.
In you regularly need to call Canadian phone numbers, the best option might then be to chose a mobile plan which includes international calls as a baseline, like those offered by LycaMobile and Lebara.
