Have potential customers in Canada contacted you to learn more about your business?
If you’re wondering about how to call them back, it’s easier and cheaper than you might think.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to call Canada from the US using landlines and cell phones. We’ll also cover time zones, call costs, and a cheaper alternative that will help you serve your Canadian customers better.
How to call Canada from the US
Calling Canada from the United States using your cell phone or landline is simple. You can call Canada from the US in three simple steps:
- The format for a Canadian phone number begins with the country code “1.” Since Canada is part of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), you don’t have to dial the US exit code to reach customers in the Great White North.
- Enter the three-digit area code of the Canadian region you’re dialing. If your contact forgot to provide that information, we’ve listed the most popular Canadian area codes below.
- Dial the rest of the recipient’s seven-digit phone number.
Let’s say your contact is in Edmonton, and their phone number is 780-123-4567. Just dial that number from your cell phone or landline and add a “1” in front as the country code.
So the final number you type on your cell phone and landline would be 1-780-123-4567.
Now you can call Canadian landlines and cell phones from anywhere in the US. Just keep in mind these calls may not be free, depending on your carrier. In this guide, we’ll break down when calling may cost extra and share a better option.
Is it free to call Canada from the US?
Depending on your service provider, calls to Canada may incur additional fees. For example, if you have a cell phone plan with T-Mobile, you may have to upgrade to more expensive plans to make calls and texts to Canada. Or you may have to pay an additional monthly charge to add Canadian calling to your account.
AT&T also offers several ways to call Canada from the US. For example, its International Day Pass offers unlimited talk, text, and data in 210+ countries for $12 per day, but this can add up quickly. If you’re using Verizon One Talk, WiFi calls to Canada are billed according to your international long-distance plan. The rates you can expect to pay range from $0.05–$0.09 per minute, which is more expensive than other VoIP providers.
You could also opt for a toll-free number so your Canadian customers don’t have to pay long-distance fees to make business calls. However, this may be relatively expensive, depending on the service you use. You may have to buy an international calling plan upfront, and then pay per-minute pricing for all outbound calls.
Thankfully, there’s a third solution: OpenPhone. You can call anyone in Canada or the US for free with the OpenPhone Starter plan (starting at $15 per user per month).
Best of all, you can do this from almost anywhere in the world and on any smartphone, computer, or laptop with an internet connection. Each user on your plan comes with one US, Canadian, or North American toll-free number. Any additional numbers are just $5 per month. You can make phone calls to Canada in just 15 minutes and confirm OpenPhone is a great fit with our seven-day free trial.
What are Canada’s area codes?
Like the US, Canada uses area codes to differentiate between provinces and regions. Below is a table showing Canada’s area codes and the regions they belong to.
| Province | Major Cities | Area Code |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta | Banff, Calgary, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat | 403/ 587/ 825/ 368 |
| Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Jasper, Peace River | 780/ 587/ 825/ 368 | |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | St. John’s | 709/ 879 |
| Saskatchewan | Regina, Saskatoon | 306/ 474/ 639 |
| Prince Edward Island | Charlottetown | 902/ 782 |
| Nova Scotia | Halifax, Truro, Bridgewater, Amherst | 902/ 782 |
| Manitoba | Winnipeg, Brandon, Steinbach, Winkler | 204/ 431/ 584 |
| New Brunswick | Moncton, Saint John | 506/ 428 |
| British Columbia | Vancouver, Chilliwack, Hope | 236/ 604/ 778 |
| Port Hardy, Comox, Nanaimo, Sidney, Victoria, Merritt | 236/ 250/ 778 | |
| Ontario | Toronto | 416/ 437/ 647 |
| Hamilton, St. Catharines | 289/ 365/ 905 | |
| Kitchener, Brantford | 226/ 519 /548 | |
| Barrie, Peterborough | 249/ 705 | |
| Belleville, Kingston, Ottawa | 343/ 613 | |
| Quebec | Montreal | 514/ 438 |
| Gatineau, Sherbrooke, Drummondville, Trois-Rivières | 819/ 873 | |
| Laval, Longueuil | 450/ 579 | |
| Quebec City, Thetford Mines | 418/ 581 |
How to factor in time zone differences when calling Canada from the US
Canada covers six different time zones that you need to factor in depending on your recipient’s location.
These include the following times, which are during the non-daylight saving months:
| US Time Zone | Canadian Time Zone | Example Best Times to Call Canada from US (Standard Time) |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Time: UTC -5 | Newfoundland and Labrador: UTC -3:30 (1.5 hours ahead of ET) | US ET: 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM |
| Atlantic Standard: UTC -4 (1 hour ahead of ET) | US ET: 11 AM – 3 PM | |
| Eastern Standard: UTC -5 | US ET: 12 PM – 4 PM | |
| Central Standard: UTC -6 (1 hour behind ET) | US ET: 1 PM – 5 PM | |
| Mountain Standard: UTC -7 (2 hours behind ET) | US ET: 2 PM – 6 PM | |
| Pacific Standard: UTC -8 (3 hours behind ET) | US ET: 3 PM – 7 PM | |
| Central Time: UTC -6 | Newfoundland and Labrador: UTC -3:30 (2.5 hours ahead of CT) | US CT: 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM |
| Atlantic Standard: UTC -4 (2 hours ahead of CT) | US CT: 9 AM – 1 PM | |
| Eastern Standard: UTC -5 (1 hour ahead of CT) | US CT: 10 AM – 2 PM | |
| Central Standard: UTC -6 | US CT: 11 AM – 3 PM | |
| Mountain Standard: UTC -7 | US CT: 12 PM – 4 PM | |
| Pacific Standard: UTC -8 | US CT: 1 PM – 5 PM | |
| Mountain Time: UTC -7 | Newfoundland and Labrador: UTC -3:30 | MT: 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM |
| Atlantic Standard: UTC -4 | MT: 9 AM – 1 PM | |
| Eastern Standard: UTC -5 | MT: 10 AM – 2 PM | |
| Central Standard: UTC -6 | MT: 11 AM – 3 PM | |
| Mountain Standard: UTC -7 | MT: 12 PM – 4 PM | |
| Pacific Standard: UTC -8 | MT: 1 PM – 5 PM | |
| Pacific Time: UTC -8 | Newfoundland and Labrador: UTC -3:30 | PT: 7:30 AM – 11:30 AM |
| Atlantic Standard: UTC -4 | PT: 8 AM – 12 PM | |
| Eastern Standard: UTC -5 | PT: 9 AM – 1 PM | |
| Central Standard: UTC -6 | PT: 10 AM – 2 PM | |
| Mountain Standard: UTC -7 | PT: 11 AM – 3 PM | |
| Pacific Standard: UTC -8 | PT: 12 PM – 4 PM |
If you need to compare time differences quickly, check out TimeTemperature before scheduling a call.
Alternative options to landlines and phone carriers for calling Canada from the US
If you use landlines or mobile phone carriers to reach Canadian customers, you’re still subject to extra fees for making and receiving calls.
This leaves you with three alternatives:
1. Sign up for a VoIP phone system
VoIP phone services are a popular option for those looking to call Canada without paying extra fees. Call rates to Canada and VoIP provider’s pricing vary.
Some VoIP services like OpenPhone include Canadian calls for free with each plan, so you can make calls to Canada without paying any international rates.
2. Buy a Canadian number
Getting a local number in Canada helps you look more familiar to customers in the Great White North. It also makes business communication a breeze, especially if you plan on expanding your business.
VoIP systems like OpenPhone let you buy all the Canadian numbers you need to connect with your customers. Every user on your plan comes with one free Canadian, US, or North American toll-free number, and you can purchase additional numbers for just $5 per month.
3. Download Google Voice (for personal use only)
If you want to make Canadian calls to friends or family, you can download Google Voice in Canada for personal use and communicate for free. However, you can’t send text messages to anyone outside the US, and more than one user won’t be able to access the same phone number if you wish to use Google Voice as a team.
You need to purchase Google Voice for Google Workspace to make business calls. You should know Google Voice for Business has limited features, including no call recording, no shared phone numbers, and no toll-free numbers.
Fortunately, there are great business phone alternatives to Google Voice. OpenPhone provides all the features Google Voice lacks — and then some.
How to call Canada from the US with OpenPhone
With OpenPhone, you can call Canada from the US for free.
Here’s how:
- Sign up for a seven-day free trial of OpenPhone.
- Pick a US, Canadian, or North American toll-free number for your account. Any of these options let you make free unlimited calls to the US and Canada.
- Once you’ve activated your free trial, dial the three-digit area code and seven-digit phone number of the person you’re trying to call.
With OpenPhone, you can set up a business phone system that provides support to Canadian customers and customers around the world.
OpenPhone has everything you need to call and text your Canadian customers, including:
- Free calling and texting to the US and Canada
- The option to use OpenPhone from almost anywhere in the world via the iOS, Android, web, and desktop (PC and Mac) apps
- Competitive international calling rates to reach customers outside the US and Canada
- Free number porting of existing numbers to OpenPhone
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You can also build better relationships with your customers. Here are a few other key reasons thousands of businesses use OpenPhone:
- Local and toll-free Canadian numbers. You can get a local Canadian or US number to build a local presence in any area of these countries. Get as many phone numbers as your team needs as your business scales. You can even port over any existing US or Canadian number for free.
- Let customers know when you’ll get back to them. With OpenPhone, you can set up business hours so customers know when to expect a response. For example, you can create a voicemail greeting that informs callers of your availability when they call you outside of business hours.
- Collaborate to solve customer problems. Split responsibility for incoming calls and work together to follow up with your contacts using shared numbers. Plus, add a phone menu to any OpenPhone number to save time routing calls to specific individuals or teams.
- Save time with texting automations. Streamline your workflow with texting automations like snippets (text message templates), auto-replies, and scheduled texts, ensuring you don’t waste time on manual tasks and can deliver a better customer experience.
- Never forget to record important calls. With OpenPhone, you can set up automatic call recording, which means you don’t need to worry about missing important call details. Plus, call recordings are saved for as long as your account is active.
OpenPhone: The best way to call the Canada from the US
Regularly calling Canada from the US opens up new business opportunities and helps you reach more customers. With OpenPhone, you can make unlimited calls and texts to Canada for just $15 per user per month. Plus, you’ll benefit from features like auto-replies, shared numbers, voicemail transcriptions, and an auto-attendant for incoming calls, all designed to enhance the experience for your Canadian customers.
Get started with a free trial of OpenPhone today to call anyone in Canada for free.
Looking to call elsewhere? Check out our guides to calling other countries:
FAQs
Decrease calling costs to Canada from the US by using a VoIP provider like OpenPhone. It lets you make unlimited calls and texts to Canada for just $15 per user per month.
Since Canada is part of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), you don’t need to dial an international code when calling from the US.
Canada’s country code is 1.
No, you don’t need to dial 011.
Here’s the number you need to dial to make a call from the US to a Toronto landline:
1. 1 (country code)
2. 416 (area code)
3. 155-4567 (7-digit phone number)
Here’s an example of the phone number you’ll dial: 1 (416) 155-4567
