Call any phone number from your browser
Yes, a browser can place a call to an ordinary landline or mobile. WebRTC has been built into every modern browser for years, so there is nothing to download and nothing to install at either end. You need a browser, a microphone, and the number in international format.
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01Which browsers
Which browsers can place a call
All of the current ones, on every operating system. The differences are in where each of them keeps the microphone permission, which is the only setting that ever needs touching.
| Browser | Where | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera | Desktop and Android | The common case, and the one with the fewest surprises. All four are the same engine underneath. |
| Firefox | Desktop and Android | Works. Firefox asks about the microphone separately from other permissions, so check its own address-bar prompt rather than the system one. |
| Safari | macOS and iOS | Works, and needs the microphone allowed for the site in Safari's own settings as well as in macOS or iOS. Two switches, not one. |
| Chrome and Firefox on an iPhone or iPad | iOS | Behaves as Safari does. Every browser on iOS uses the same engine, so a problem in one is a problem in all of them and the fix is the same. |
02The microphone
The microphone, which is the only thing that usually goes wrong
A browser will not hand your microphone to a website without being told to, so the first call asks. Allow it once and the answer is remembered for the site. If nobody can hear you, that prompt is almost always the reason and it is almost always been dismissed rather than refused.
To fix it: open the padlock, the tune icon or the “aA” menu in the address bar, find Microphone, and set it to Allow. On Safari and on iOS there is a second switch in the browser’s own settings, and on macOS, Windows and Android a third in the system privacy settings that decides whether the browser has a microphone at all. Reload the page after changing any of them.
A wired headset is the single biggest improvement you can make to how you sound, mostly because it stops your speakers feeding back into the call. Bluetooth works and adds a little delay. A laptop’s built-in microphone works and picks up the room.
03How
What happens between the tab and the phone
The browser carries the audio over the internet as far as a carrier. The carrier puts it onto the telephone network. From the other end it is an ordinary incoming call, which is why the person you are calling needs no app, no account and no internet connection.
04Limits
What a browser call cannot do
It cannot reach emergency services.
Not 911, not 999, not 112, not any equivalent, and it cannot report your location to a dispatcher. That is a limitation of internet calling generally rather than of this service. Keep a phone that can.
The person you call sees a number we assign.
Not your own. So a bank check that verifies you by the number you are calling from will not pass, and you should expect to be asked more security questions than usual.
It will not receive your verification codes.
Most banks and services deliberately refuse to send two-factor codes to internet numbers. Keep your ordinary mobile number for anything that texts you a code.
A backgrounded tab is a dropped call.
Phone browsers suspend pages that are not in front of the user, which ends the audio. Keep the call in the tab you are looking at, and use a laptop for anything long.
05Questions
Common questions
Can you make a phone call from a browser?
Yes. A browser can place a call to an ordinary landline or mobile using WebRTC, which is already built into every modern browser, so there is nothing to download and no extension to add. The browser carries the audio over the internet to a carrier, and the carrier hands the call to the telephone network, so the number you dial rings exactly as it would from a handset. You need a modern browser, a working microphone, and the number in international format.
Which browsers can make phone calls?
Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Opera and Brave all support the technology, on desktop and on mobile. On an iPhone or iPad every browser uses the same underlying engine, so Chrome and Firefox there behave exactly as Safari does. The operating system makes no difference: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS all work.
Do I need to install anything to call from a browser?
No. No app, no extension, no plugin and no SIM card. That is what makes it work on a borrowed laptop, a hotel computer or a work machine where you cannot install software. The person you are calling installs nothing either, because the call arrives on their ordinary phone.
Why does my browser ask for microphone access?
Because a call needs your voice, and a browser will not hand a microphone to a website without being told to. The prompt appears once, on the first call, and the answer is remembered for the site. If you dismissed it or blocked it by accident, open the padlock or the tune icon in the address bar and set the microphone to Allow. On Safari and on iOS you may also need to allow it in the browser's own settings, which is a separate switch from the system one.
Is calling from a browser free?
Calling another person who uses the same app is free on WhatsApp, FaceTime, Telegram and Messenger. Calling an ordinary phone number is not, because a carrier has to be paid to deliver the call onto the telephone network. Airlophone publishes every rate before you sign up, starting at $0.02 a minute across 220+ countries, and the first minute is free without a card.
Is a browser call as good as a normal one?
On a decent connection, yes, and often better, because the internet leg carries wider audio than an old telephone line does. What decides it is your own connection and your microphone. A wired headset is usually a noticeable improvement over a laptop's built-in microphone, mostly because it stops the speakers feeding back into the call, and a wired network connection beats a busy shared wifi.
Try it on the number you need to reach
Nothing to install and no card for the first minute. Type the number, allow the microphone once, and the exact price for that number appears before anything dials.