Capital City Guide

London Calling
Code is 020

Connecting to the UK capital? The area code for London is 020. Whether you're calling a business in Canary Wharf or a friend in Brixton, dial accurately and cheaply from your browser.

How to Dial
Calling LondonActive
🇬🇧

How to Call London from Abroad

The UK uses a "closed" dialing plan with area codes.

1

Exit Code

Dial 011 (US) or 00 (EU). Or just use + on mobile/VoIP.

2

UK Code (+44)

Dial 44. This is the country code for the United Kingdom.

3

London Code (20)

Dial 20.
⚠️ Drop the leading zero! Do not dial 020.

Decoding London Numbers

London numbers are 8 digits long and start with 3, 7, or 8.

020 7...

Inner London

Historically associated with central London (Westminster, City of London, Kensington). Still highly prestigious for businesses.

020 8...

Outer London

Historically covered the outer boroughs (Ealing, Croydon, Barnet). Now used London-wide.

020 3...

New London

Introduced in 2005 to handle high demand. These numbers cover the entire London area, both inner and outer.

Doing Business in London?

London is a global financial hub. Having a reliable way to call London clients or acquiring a London virtual number is crucial for international business.

Corporate Presence

An 020 number signals you are established in the UK capital.

Time Zone

London is on GMT/BST. StartACall's dashboard shows you the local time before you dial.

Call London for £0.04/min

Don't pay international carrier rates. Use StartACall to reach London landlines and mobiles instantly.

London Calling FAQs

Is 0207 better than 0208?

Technically, no. Both are standard London numbers. However, 0207 is traditionally associated with central London, so some businesses prefer it for prestige.

What time is it in London?

London follows GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) in winter and BST (British Summer Time, GMT+1) in summer. Always check the time difference before calling business contacts.

Can I call London mobiles with this code?

No. London landlines use 020. UK mobile phones have their own prefixes (usually 07) and are not tied to a specific city location.

Connect to London Now

Reaching London from Overseas: Hours, Habits and the Right Number

In short

Connecting to London is rarely the hard part. Reaching the right person at a time they can talk is where calls succeed or fail. This guide translates London office hours into major world time zones, explains when to dial the 020 landline versus a UK mobile, and shares switchboard habits that get international callers through faster.

London Office Hours, Translated

Most London businesses staff their phones from 9:00 to 17:30 Monday through Friday, with reception coverage thinning noticeably after 17:00 and on Friday afternoons. Retail and hospitality run longer, but professional offices keep tightly to these hours. Lawyers, agencies and finance firms are the strictest about these hours, while trades and retail answer earlier and later.

From New York that window is 4:00 to 12:30 Eastern, so a morning call from the US East Coast is ideal. From Los Angeles only the 1:00 to 9:30 morning stretch overlaps, from Singapore the London day begins at 16:00 or 17:00 local, and from Sydney it opens in your evening around 18:00 to 20:00. Midweek days are the most reliable, since Mondays absorb internal meetings and Fridays thin out early.

Check the UK holiday calendar before important calls. Bank holidays in early May, late May and late August close most offices, and the stretch between Christmas and New Year is quiet across the city even when businesses are nominally open.

Landline 020 or Mobile 07

London contacts often share two numbers, an 020 landline and an 07 mobile. The landline typically reaches a reception desk or team line during office hours, while the mobile follows the person everywhere. For first contact with a company, the 020 number is the professional route.

Cost points the same way. In most international rate tables a UK mobile costs more per minute than a London landline, because mobile networks charge higher termination fees. When either number would do, dialing the 020 line keeps the call cheaper.

Both formats drop the leading zero from abroad. The landline becomes +44 20 followed by eight digits, and the mobile becomes +44 7 followed by the remaining nine, a distinction worth double checking before you press call. Reading the saved number back before dialing takes a second and prevents the transposed digit that sends a call to a stranger.

Getting Through, Not Just Getting Connected

Call before 9:45 London time to catch people ahead of their first meetings, and avoid the loose hour around 13:00 when many staff step out. Late afternoon works for wrap-up questions but is risky for anything needing a decision maker's full attention.

When leaving a callback number, give it in full international format, spoken slowly and repeated. A London contact cannot redial a bare ten digit American number or a local number from any other country, and this single habit rescues a surprising share of transatlantic phone tag.

For the call itself, StartACall connects to any London landline or UK mobile from a browser tab over WebRTC, billed per minute with no subscription and no connection fee, which suits the short scheduling calls international business runs on. Credits never expire, so an account used only for occasional London calls loses nothing between them.

Frequently asked questions

What time should I call London from California?+

London is eight hours ahead of the US West Coast. Calling between 6:00 and 9:00 in the morning Pacific reaches London offices in the mid afternoon, comfortably before the 17:30 close. Later calls will miss the working day.

Are London offices open on UK bank holidays?+

Generally no. The UK observes bank holidays that other countries do not, including Mondays in early May, late May and late August. Checking the UK calendar before scheduling an important call avoids dialing into an empty office.

Is it cheaper to call a London landline than a UK mobile?+

Usually yes. UK mobile numbers starting 07 carry higher termination fees than 020 landlines in most rate tables, so when a contact lists both numbers the landline is normally the lower cost way to reach them.

How should I give my own number to a London contact?+

Always in international format, starting with the plus sign and your country code. A number written the way you dial it at home usually cannot be redialed from the UK, which is the most common reason callbacks never arrive.

When is the best time to call London from Singapore?+

London opens at 16:00 or 17:00 Singapore time depending on the season. Calling between 17:00 and 21:00 from Singapore reaches London during its morning and early afternoon, the most productive stretch of the UK business day.

Last reviewed June 2026Reviewed by the StartACall calling teamDialing rules cross checked against ITU international dialing procedures
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