What Is a Web Phone? How to Call From Your Browser
A web phone lets you call real phone numbers from a browser tab, with no app or SIM card. How it works, what it costs, and how it differs from a softphone or a business webphone.
Short answer
A web phone is a phone dialer that runs in your web browser. You type a number, press call, and the web phone carries your voice over the internet to the normal phone network. The person you call answers on an ordinary mobile or landline. Webbphone is a web phone for calls to 230+ countries, paid per minute with no app and no SIM card.
How a web phone works
- Your browser records your voice. Browsers have a built-in technology called WebRTC for real-time audio.
- The audio goes to the provider over the internet. The connection from the browser is encrypted.
- The provider hands the call to a phone carrier. The carrier connects it to the mobile or landline that you dialled.
For you, the web phone looks like a keypad in a browser tab. For the person you call, it is a normal phone call: they do not need an app or an internet connection.
Web phone, softphone, VoIP app: what is the difference?
| Type | Where it runs | Install needed | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web phone | Browser tab | No | Calls from any computer, including shared or work computers |
| Softphone | Desktop program | Yes | Office phone systems (PBX) |
| VoIP app | Smartphone app | Yes | Calls from a mobile, such as Viber Out or Rebtel |
| Business webphone | Inside a CRM or help desk | Set up by IT | Call centres and sales teams |
Business webphones are part of a company phone system and need an administrator to set them up. Webbphone is a personal web phone: you sign up with an email address and call right away.
What you can do with a web phone
- Call family abroad on a landline or an older mobile.
- Call banks, airlines and government offices from abroad without roaming. See how to call your bank from abroad.
- Reach US toll-free numbers from another country. See how to call a 1-800 number from abroad.
- Call from a laptop when your phone has no signal, or no international plan.
How to use Webbphone as your web phone
- Sign in with Google or your email address. You do not need a phone number.
- Try a free call of up to 1 minute (destinations under $0.10 per minute), or add credit from $5.
- Open the web dialer, enter the number with its country code, and check the rate.
- Press call and allow microphone access.
See the per-minute price for every country on the rates page.
What a web phone cannot do
- Emergency calls. Webbphone cannot call 911, 112 or 999. Keep a mobile or landline for emergencies.
- Calls without internet. You need a stable connection. Home Wi-Fi or good 4G is enough for voice.
Call any number from your browser
No app and no SIM card. Your first minute is free, then pay only for the minutes you use.
Open the dialerSee ratesFrequently asked questions
What is a web phone?
A web phone (also called a webphone, browser phone or online phone) is a phone dialer that runs in a web browser. It sends your voice over the internet and connects the call to the normal phone network, so you can call mobiles and landlines without an app or a SIM card.
Is there a free web phone?
Calls between users of the same app or website can be free. Calls to real phone numbers cost money, because a carrier must connect them. Webbphone gives new accounts one free call of up to 1 minute to destinations under $0.10 per minute, and after that you pay per minute from prepaid credit.
Do I need to download a web phone app?
No. A web phone runs in Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari. There is nothing to install; your browser only asks for permission to use the microphone.
What is the difference between a web phone and a softphone?
A softphone is a program that you install on a computer or phone. A web phone does the same job inside a browser tab, so it works on any computer, including work computers where you cannot install software.
Can a web phone receive calls?
Some can, if you rent a phone number from the provider. Webbphone is for outgoing calls: you call any number, and you can show your own verified number as the caller ID.