How do I call home without roaming charges?

Use StartACall in your browser over wifi. The call runs over the internet, not the foreign mobile network, so your home carrier and its roaming fees are never involved.

Do I need an app or a SIM while travelling?

No. StartACall runs in the browser, so there is no app to install and no SIM to swap. Just connect over wifi and call.

How much does it cost to call Canada from abroad?

Calls to Canada and the United States are a flat rate near $0.046 per minute, billed by the minute with no monthly plan and a small connection fee per call.

Is the rate the same no matter which country I am in?

Yes. The price depends on the destination you call, not on where you are. A call to Canada is $0.046 per minute whether you place it from Lisbon, Tokyo or Mexico City.

Can people call me back while I am away?

Yes, if you add an optional US or Canada inbound number for roughly $2.14 to $5 a month. They dial that number and it rings in your browser. It is never needed just to make calls.

Can I try it before I travel?

Yes. The first call is free with no card, so you can confirm the voice quality at home before you depend on it on your trip.

Call home without roaming, for Canadians | StartACall | StartACall

Why roaming charges happen and how to skip them

Roaming charges appear when your Canadian SIM connects through a foreign carrier while you travel. Both calls and data can carry steep per minute or per day fees, which is why a few calls home from another country can cost more than the trip's groceries.

StartACall avoids that entirely. It places the call over your internet connection from the browser, not over the visited mobile network, so your home carrier is never involved and there is no roaming surcharge. You connect over wifi in a hotel, a cafe or an airport and call as usual.

Calling over wifi from the browser

Because everything runs in the browser, there is no app to install before your trip and no SIM to swap. Open Chrome, Safari, Edge or Firefox on your laptop or phone, allow the microphone, and you are ready to call.

To reach a number in Canada, type the plus sign, the area code and the number, for example +1 416 and the rest for Toronto. The person at home answers on their ordinary phone, with nothing to install.

Roaming versus browser calling on cost

On a typical Canadian plan, a roaming day pass or a per minute international roaming rate can run several dollars before you have said a word, and the meter keeps running on both incoming and outgoing calls. The cost depends on the country, the carrier agreement and whether you went over a daily cap, which makes it hard to predict.

Browser calling replaces all of that with a single clear rate. A call back to Canada or the United States is a flat $0.046 per minute, the same whether you are in Lisbon, Tokyo or Mexico City, because the price depends on the destination, not on where you happen to be standing. There is nothing to estimate and no day pass to forget to switch off.

What it costs while you travel

Calls back to Canada and the United States are a flat rate near $0.046 per minute for both mobile and landline. Billing is by the minute with no monthly plan, a small $0.004 connection fee applies per call, and credit never expires.

That predictability is the point. Instead of dreading a roaming bill when you get home, you spend only the per minute rate on the calls you actually make, and the first call is free so you can confirm it works before you rely on it.

Receiving calls while you are away

Making calls never requires a number of your own. If you also want people back home to reach you while you travel, you can add an optional US or Canada inbound number for roughly $2.14 to $5 a month. Friends and family then dial that ordinary number and it rings in your browser, wherever you are connected to the internet.

This is handy for a longer trip, since it gives you a stable Canadian or US number that does not change as you move between countries and wifi networks. It stays entirely optional though, and you can travel and call home for weeks using only the browser and a little credit.

Call home without roaming from anywhere

What you get

How it works

Open StartACall

Enter the number

Click call

Why people use StartACall

Instant setup

Pay as you go

No app, no SIM

Ready to make your first call?

Call home from abroad without roaming, for Canadians

Why roaming charges happen and how to skip them

Calling over wifi from the browser

Roaming versus browser calling on cost

What it costs while you travel

Receiving calls while you are away

Frequently asked questions

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