Cheap calls to China from $0.96/min
Calling China with callmins costs $0.96 a minute to landlines and mobiles, from your browser or the callmins app, with no subscription. Dial +86 and the number, and pay only for the minutes you use from a prepaid wallet.
Updated
Per minute to China
- Landline
- $0.96
- Mobile
- $0.96
USD, before tax. Billed per minute from your wallet.
Rates to China by caller ID
Carriers price a call partly by the number it comes from, so the rate depends on which callmins number you show as caller ID. The headline price above is the highest of these, so it never understates what you'll pay.
For China, the rate is the same whichever callmins number you call from: $0.96 a minute to landlines and $0.96 to mobiles.
What a call to China costs
Worked out at the highest rate, so your call costs this or less.
| Call length | To a landline | To a mobile |
|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | $4.81 | $4.81 |
| 10 minutes | $9.62 | $9.62 |
| 30 minutes | $28.85 | $28.85 |
| 60 minutes | $57.71 | $57.71 |
For comparison, check the international rate card of your mobile network or landline provider. Pay-as-you-go international calls on a phone plan are usually billed per minute at well above wholesale, and many plans need an international add-on first. A $5 callmins top-up buys about 5 minutes to a mobile in China.
How to call China
Inside China, numbers are written with a leading 0. Drop that 0 when you dial from abroad: +86 goes in its place.
| Calling from | Dial |
|---|---|
| The US or Canada | 011 86 13123456789 |
| The UK and most of Europe | 00 86 13123456789 |
| Australia | 0011 86 13123456789 |
| A mobile, anywhere | +86 13123456789 |
Example: a mobile number in China, written 131 2345 6789 at home, is +86 131 2345 6789 in international format. In the callmins dialer, type it in international format, starting +86.
Mobile or landline?
- Mobile numbers start with
- 13–1911 digits after +86
- Landlines start with
- 10, 20–25, 27–29, 31, 33–35, 37, 39, 41–43, 45–48, 51–59, 63, 66, 69, 70–77, 79, 80–83, 85, 87–89, 90–91, 93–95, 97, 997 or 8 or 9 or 10 or 11 digits after +86
- Rate difference
- None: one rate for both
Number ranges from Google's libphonenumber data, after +86 and without any leading 0. Ported numbers keep their original range.
Time in China
- Time zones
- 2 time zones, UTC+6 to UTC+8Times below are for Shanghai (UTC+8).
- Compared with New York
- 13 hours ahead of New YorkNoon in New York is 1:00 am the next day there (standard time).
- Compared with London
- 8 hours ahead of LondonNoon in London is 8:00 pm there (standard time).
Daylight saving shifts these by an hour for part of the year where either side changes clocks.
Calling China with callmins
- Sign up with email or Google. It's free and there's no app to install.
- Top up your wallet by $5 or more by card (Apple Pay and Google Pay work where supported).
- Open the dialer, type the number and press call. The rate shows before it rings.
- Optional: rent your own UK, US or Canadian number (a US number is $2.00/month, no setup fee) so people in China see a real number and can call you back.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to call China?
With callmins, calls to China cost $0.96 a minute to landlines and $0.96 a minute to mobiles, paid from a prepaid wallet with no subscription. A 10-minute call to a mobile costs about $9.62.
What is the country code for China?
The country code for China is +86. From the US or Canada dial 011 then 86 and the number; from the UK dial 00 86; from any mobile you can type +86 instead. Leave out the leading 0 that numbers in China are written with at home.
Do I need an app or a SIM card to call China?
No. callmins calls China from a web browser on a laptop or phone, over your internet connection, so there's nothing to install and no SIM or roaming involved. There are also callmins apps for iPhone, Android and Mac if you prefer.
Can I call China for free?
App-to-app calls (WhatsApp, FaceTime, Signal) are free when both people have the app and a data connection. To reach a landline in China, or a mobile that's offline or has no data, you need a paid call to the phone network, which is what callmins sells, from $0.96 a minute.
Is the price the same for mobiles and landlines in China?
Yes. Our rate to China is $0.96 a minute whether you call a landline or a mobile.
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Call China from $0.96 a minute.
Sign up free, top up $5 and call from your browser. No contract, no app, no SIM.
Rates in USD before tax, from callmins' carrier rate deck. The dialer always shows the exact price for the number you dial. Full rate table.