Which UK and International Numbers Are the Most Expensive to Call?

Not many things are worse than a large, unexpected phone bill.

No one knows this better than Yahaya Wahab who, in 2007, received a £194 trillion phone bill nearly a year after disconnecting his deceased father’s mobile line.

Considering that that’s the largest telephone bill ever sent – and one which came with a demand to pay within 10 days or face prosecution – it’s safe to assume that your own telephone bill nightmares have not been so dramatic.

Still, racking up big phone bills is never fun. That’s why, in this article, we’re going to give you the lowdown on which UK and international telephone numbers are the most expensive to call so that you can keep your next bill in check.

UK Numbers

01/02 Numbers

Numbers beginning with the digits 01 or 02 are called geographic numbers. Each area of the UK has its own geographic code (beginning 01 or 02). Though a call made to a 01/02 number isn’t always picked up in the area the code belongs to (due to businesses changing premises and the like), the cost is always the same.

Calls made from a landline (approximate): up to 13p per minute.

Calls made from a mobile (approximate): up to 55p per minute.

03/0345 Numbers

Introduced by Ofcom in 2007, 03/0345 numbers were created to allow organisations with a national presence to use a non-geographic number without callers having to pay more. This means that calls to 03/0345 numbers cost the same as those made to 01/02 numbers.

Calls made from a landline (approximate): up to 13p per minute.

Calls made from a mobile (approximate): up to 55p per minute.

030 (0300/0303) Numbers

030 (0300/030 numbers) are a subset of 03 numbers. These numbers are used only by charities and not-for-profit enterprises. These numbers are charged at the same rate as 01/02 numbers and 03/0345 numbers.

Calls made from a landline (approximate): up to 13p per minute.

Calls made from a mobile (approximate): up to 55p per minute.

07 Numbers

Numbers starting 07 belong to either a mobile phone or a pager. Calls made to these numbers are often included in your package. That said, that cost of calling 07 numbers varies significantly between carriers.

Cost from a landline (approximate): between 10p and 20p per minute

Cost from a mobile (approximate): between 3p and 55p per minute

070 Numbers

Known as personal or “follow me” numbers, 070 telephone numbers are allocated to businesses or individuals so that they can redirect incoming calls to a device of their choosing. For example, using a 070 number, you could direct calls to your office phone during working hours and to your mobile during the evening.

Cost from a landline (approximate): between 4p and 83p per minute (as well as a possible 51p per call)

Cost from a mobile (approximate): between 30p and £1.30 per minute (as well as a possible 51p per call)

0800/0808 Numbers

0800 and 0808 are called freephone numbers. This number type is billed for as an arriving call to the organisation using it rather than as an outgoing call to person making a call to it. As such 0800 and 0808 numbers are always free to call.

Cost from a landline: £0.00

Cost from a mobile: £0.00

0843/0844/0845 Numbers and 0870/0871/0872/0873 Numbers

These types of numbers are known as business rate numbers. The types of organisations that use this number type include businesses offering chargeable information and support lines, event and travel ticket booking services, conference call lines and pre-sales information lines.

Cost of 0843/0844/0845 numbers from a landline (approximate): up to 7p per minute and your phone company’s access charge

Cost of 0843/0844/0845 numbers from a mobile (approximate): up to 7p per minute and your phone company’s access charge

Cost of 0870/0871/0872/0873 numbers from a landline (approximate): up to 13p per minute and your phone company’s access charge

Cost of 0870/0871/0872/0873 numbers from a mobile (approximate): up to 13p per minute and your phone company’s access charge

09 Numbers

09 numbers are also known as premium numbers. Calls made to these numbers are generally quite expensive and are used for the likes of horoscope services, television competitions and chat lines.

Cost from a landline (approximate): up to £3.60p per minute, your phone company’s access charge and a one-off payment of up to £6

Cost from a mobile (approximate): up to £3.60p per minute, your phone company’s access charge and a one-off payment of up to £6

118 Numbers

118 numbers are known as directory enquiry numbers – in other words, numbers used to search for an unknown phone number belonging to a person or business. Like 09 numbers, 118 numbers are charged at premium rates. Anyone calling a 118 number is charged two separate charges: a flat-rate connection fee and a per minute charge.

Cost from a landline (approximate): typically a £4.50 one-off  charge and £4.50 per minute (though this can be more)

Cost from mobile (approximate): typically a £4.50 one-off  charge and £4.50 per minute (though this can be more)

International Numbers

In terms of charges, making calls to international numbers from the UK is a complicated area. This is because providers are free to charge what they like for connecting such calls. As such, the cost of making international calls varies dramatically from provider to provider. Which? has created a handy comparison chart detailing how much UK providers charge to connect a UK mobile to a telephone number within the EU.

However, in order to get the best value for money, it’s best to see what offers, bolt-ons and packages your provider offers. Such deals can significantly reduce the cost of international calls by allocating you a set number of minutes or including international numbers in your existing bundles.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that making international calls is not always cheaper from a landline – despite what you may have been told. Again, exactly how much you will be charged varies significantly between providers so, before you make an international call from a landline, it’s worth checking whether that’s really your best option.

And remember, if you need to call abroad regularly, services such as WhatsApp, Viber and Skype allow you to make calls to any destination via the internet (whether that’s a 4G connection or a Wi-Fi connection). Making calls in this way is probably the most cost-effective option when it comes to making international calls from the UK.

Elite Group is the leading unified communications provider. We supply a range of telephone numbers to businesses and organisations – including international virtual phone numbers for more than 145 countries and over 7,500 cities across the globe.