How to call the US from NZ: The simplest way

Calling the US from New Zealand is easier than you might think. Whether you’re contacting a landline or a personal cell, it’ll take just a few minutes to enter the numbers.

This guide will walk through the four steps required to call the US from NZ. We’ll also explore the overall cost, time zone differences, and how you can make unlimited calls without paying additional fees.

How to call the USA from a New Zealand phone number

You’ll need four things to call a US phone number from NZ: an exit code, a country code, an area code, and a seven-digit phone number.

Let’s walk through an example together.

1. The exit code

Exit codes tell your phone service provider that you’re calling someone outside of the country. In New Zealand, the exit code is 00.

2. The country code

You need to tell your phone company which country you’re trying to reach — in this case, the USA.

Just enter the United States’ country code: 1.

3. The area code

The United States has more than 325 area codes (also known as calling codes) across all fifty states.

Thankfully, most contacts will include their area code information along with their phone number. If not, you can easily look up their city’s dialing code through a quick online search.

Some of the most common area codes in the US are:

You can use sites like All Area Codes to look up other prefixes in the US.

4. The seven-digit phone number

The final step is to enter your contact’s seven-digit phone number. Both landlines and cell phones share the same number of digits, so the process will be the same no matter what device you call. The format is generally 123 – 4567, not including the area code.

This is all you need to call a US phone number from New Zealand.

To summarize, you’ll need to enter an exit code, country code, area code, and phone number.

Here’s an example of what this might look like:

00 (NZ exit code) 1 (US country code) 347 (NYC area code) 123 – 4567 (phone number)

In other words:

00 – 1 – 347 – 123 – 4567

How much does it cost to make international calls to the US from New Zealand?

There are no set calling rates for reaching US contacts from New Zealand.

Traditional phone carriers like 2degrees, Vodafone, and Spark charge a set price per minute for international calls. You won’t have to pay when calling a toll-free number, but contacting a local number will cost anywhere from a few pennies to a few dollars per minute. You may end up paying over a hundred dollars for a one-hour call — not ideal for small business owners.

If you’re interested in a different method, you could instead opt to purchase a calling card with prepaid international minutes. While this may be somewhat cheaper and a bit easier to manage, you’ll still need to worry about what happens when your minutes run out. Some companies will cut the line completely when your card empties, potentially ending your connection in the middle of a conversation.

Per-minute pricing is a frustrating and expensive way of paying for international calls. You can instead reach American contacts for a set monthly price — potentially saving you hundreds over time.

With OpenPhone, you can make unlimited calls to the US from Zealand for just $15 per month per user.

If you make frequent calls to the United States or looking to expand your customer base to the States, you can get a US number with OpenPhone that you can use anywhere you have internet access. US contacts are more likely to pick up numbers they recognize, which means they’ll respond even better to familiar area codes. 

Additionally, having a US number shows your business caters to customers there — and not just those in New Zealand. 

When you dial someone with your US number, all you need is their area code and seven-digit number to reach them in seconds.

How to factor in time zone differences calling the US from New Zealand

The United States has six separate zones for each of the 50 states. This discrepancy can make it tricky to reach US contacts at a convenient time and complicates meetings, conferences, and video calls.

Here are the time differences you can expect if you live in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, or other inland cities:

• Eastern Daylight Time (EDT): You are 17 hours ahead of callers on Eastern time. Phone calls at 12 PM will reach the US at 7 PM the previous day.
• Central Daylight Time (CDT): You are 18 hours ahead of callers on Central time. Phone calls at 12 PM will reach the US at 6 PM the previous day.
• Mountain Daylight Time (MDT): You are 19 hours ahead of callers on Mountain time. Phone calls at 12 PM will reach the US at 5 PM the previous day.

• Pacific Daylight Time (PDT): You are 20 hours ahead of callers on Pacific time. Phone calls at 12 PM will reach the US at 4 PM the previous day.
• Alaskan Daylight Time (AKDT): You are 21 hours ahead of callers on Alaskan time. Phone calls at 12 PM will reach the US at 3 PM the previous day.
• Hawaii-Aleutian Daylight Time (HST): You are 22 hours ahead of callers on Hawaii-Aleutian time. Phone calls at 12 PM will reach the US at 2 PM the previous day.

Keep in mind that Daylight Savings will regularly change the time zone gaps between the US and NZ. To avoid further confusion, you should use tools like World Time Buddy to instantly compare time zones.

How to call the USA from New Zealand and avoid paying long-distance fees

OpenPhone lets you make unlimited calls to US contacts by purchasing a local number in the United States or Canada.

It takes five steps to get started:

1. Sign up for a free seven-day trial of OpenPhone
2. Choose between a local US number, a local Canadian number, or a North American toll-free number
3. Download and use OpenPhone on your browser, desktop, or Android and iOS cell phones

Having trouble with any of these steps? Feel free to reach out to our support team using this contact form.

Now you can use your OpenPhone number to make unlimited calls to the USA. However, there’s a lot more you can do with our platform than just make international calls. As one of the highest-rated business phone systems on G2, we’ve helped thousands of companies modernize their daily communications:

• Your team can start using OpenPhone for just $15 per month per user, which includes unlimited phone calls, SMS, and MMS to Canada and the US
• You can use your OpenPhone number to call contacts all over the world — including the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, and more — and browse all our international calling rates before paying a dime
• We don’t limit the amount of VoIP numbers you can buy, so you can purchase as many local, toll-free, and team numbers as you need to support individuals, departments, and teams
• OpenPhone works on devices you already own (tablets, laptops, phones, etc.), so you won’t need to purchase expensive hardware or secondary equipment
• Existing business numbers can be ported to OpenPhone for free, which helps new customers find your business quickly and stops older clients from getting confused
• You can connect your number(s) with 5,000+ integrations already in your tech stack, including Salesforce, Slack, HubSpot, and Zapier
• Easily scale your business communications with tools that help you save time, including IVR, voicemail transcriptions, call routing, and more

Ready to save time and money on your next call to the US? Sign up for a free seven-day trial of OpenPhone today.

Check out more of our guides on international calls:

• How to call the USA from Australia
• How to call the USA from the UK
• How to call the USA from the Philippines

Words by Meagan Shelley

Meagan is a professional writer in VA that has covered business phone communication since 2021. If she's not helping companies navigate VoIP technology, she's helping companies craft their own stories.