About callfrombrowser.org: how I check, score and disclose

Who I am and why this site exists

I'm Alexander Moretti, an independent auditor and technical specialist. I started callfrombrowser.org to answer one narrow question well: how do you call a real landline or mobile from a browser tab, which services can do it, at what price and with what limits?

Several guides I read on the subject still recommended Skype and Google Duo, and none dated an individual price. Skype has been retired since 5 May 2025^[1]; my note on Skype's shutdown has the details.

My author page says more about my background.

How I score services

I score each service from 0 to 10 on eight criteria and combine them into a weighted total, also out of 10. Reach and cost weigh most, because most people who search for browser calling want to ring an ordinary phone and want to know what that costs.

Score = sum of (criterion score × weight) ÷ 100, on a 0–10 scale. When two totals are equal, the service that scores higher on more of the eight criteria ranks first; if that is equal too, they share the rank and are listed alphabetically.

Why each criterion counts

• Reach (20): most searches ask for a call to a landline or mobile, and search results keep app-to-app calls apart from calls to numbers. A messenger that only calls people on the same app scores 0, however good its calls are.
• Cost (20): "free" is the word people add most often to these searches. Free with no practical cap scores 10, free with a tight daily cap 6; paid services score on the median per-minute price of a mobile call to the US, the UK, India and Mexico.
• Availability (15): a service is no use if you cannot sign up where you live. Google Voice personal accounts work only in the US^[2], and TextNow's terms say it is meant for residents of the US and Canada^[3].
• Browser (10): browser calling promises nothing to install. Full marks need Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge and mobile browsers; web calling that is still rolling out, or Chrome only, scores 6.
• Sign-up (10): many readers want to call without a SIM or without giving a phone number. No account scores 10, email or Google 8, a phone number with a text code 6, a phone number plus an ID or card check 4.
• Incoming calls and caller ID (10): people want to be called back and recognised. A free number that rings in the browser scores 10; outgoing calls from a shared number nobody can call back score 2.
• Privacy (10): "is it safe?" is the usual follow-up question. End-to-end encryption by default scores 10, stated encryption in transit 7, no statement 5. My privacy and safety checks explain what each level means.
• Trust (5): some web dialers run on years-old terms or template text. A large operator with complete, current documents scores 10; placeholder terms or no named operator score 2.

Where a service falls between two anchor points of the rubric, its reason in the score table says why.

Three reader markets

Cost and availability depend on where you live, so I score them three times: for a reader in the US, for a reader in a country where Google sells Voice as a Workspace business add-on, such as the UK or Germany^[4], and for everyone else. Only Google Voice and TextNow change between the three.

The numbered ranking appears on the English home page only and uses the US scores. Pages in other languages show no numbers: they name a pick for each situation, such as calling a mobile without a SIM, because the two highest-scoring services take personal sign-ups only in the US (and Canada, for TextNow). My other English pages do not number services either.

Zadarma and Sonetel appear in the score table but stay out of the ranking, because they are business phone systems: Zadarma's plans come with a PBX^[5], and Sonetel's terms limit use to your own business purposes^[6].

Ties and fixed weights

When two totals are equal, the service that scores higher on more of the eight criteria ranks first; if that is equal too, both share the rank and are listed alphabetically. TwinPhone and Yolla both total 7.85 for a US reader: TwinPhone scores higher on four criteria (browsers, sign-up, incoming calls, privacy) and Yolla on one (cost), so TwinPhone is third and Yolla fourth. Microsoft Teams (free) and WhatsApp both total 6.55: Teams scores higher on two criteria and WhatsApp on one, so Teams is eighth and WhatsApp ninth. The site owner set this tie rule on November 1, 2026, after the scores were known; it changes no score.

I fixed the criteria and weights before I scored any service, and I do not change them to move a service up or down. If I ever change a weight, the new weight, the reason and the date will go in the corrections log below, and every service will be re-scored with it.

Services I did not score

Rebtel and Talk360 call from phone apps, not a browser tab^[7][8], and Google Fi web calls need an active Google Fi plan^[9]. Skype is retired^[1], so it is out too.

I also leave out tools that only connect you with other users of the same app, such as Discord^[10], and business suites that verify your identity and company before full access, such as Aircall^[11]. StartACall, HelloAirDial and MySecondLine appear only in warnings, unlinked: their pages carried template or filler text, or named no company behind the service.

Every score and the reason behind it

The table shows each service's eight criterion scores and its total for each reader market; open a service under the table to read the reason and the source behind each number. Where I could not confirm something, such as whether TwinPhone or Yolla limits sign-up by country, the score follows the rubric for "no restriction stated" and stays marked unverified.

Where a cell shows three numbers, they are for a reader in the US / in a Google Workspace country / elsewhere.

The ranking on the home page uses the same US totals.

How I check each service

I start with the operator's own documents, then open its web client in a browser, then write each finding down with the date I checked it. I have not placed test calls yet, so nothing here describes how a call sounds or how fast it connects.

What I do for every service

1. I read the official rate card for per-minute prices to the US, the UK, India and Mexico, landline and mobile.
2. I read the help centre on browsers, sign-up, incoming calls, caller ID and emergency calls.
3. I read the terms and privacy policy: who may sign up, what is not allowed, which company runs the service.
4. I open the web client in a Chrome tab, signed out, to see what a visitor gets: a dial pad, a sign-in screen or a redirect.
5. I record each finding with the page address, a short quote and the date checked.

That routine is how I found that OpenPhone now trades as Quo^[78] and that new Google Voice numbers need a government-ID check before they work^[19].

What I have not done yet

Besides placing no test calls, I opened no accounts and bought no credit for this edition, so I report what documents and signed-out web clients show. When I place test calls, I will publish the dated results here: browser and system, destination, whether it connected, the caller ID shown and the cost.

Screenshots and their dates

The screenshots show each service's public page, signed out, captured on November 1, 2026 in Chrome at desktop (1,440 pixels) and phone (390 pixels) widths. The connection I captured from was outside the US, so a few pages switched language or currency; I never take a price from a screenshot. Logos and screenshots belong to their owners and only identify each service.

Which sources I use and how I date them

I use primary sources only: the operator's own pages for prices and limits, and standards bodies and regulators for how calls and the rules around them work. Every fact carries the date I checked it and a numbered citation to its source.

For services, that means rate cards, help centres, terms, privacy policies and app-store listings; for technology and rules, sources such as the W3C, MDN, the FCC and Ofcom. Review sites, forums and AI answers only show me which questions people ask; they are never the source of a fact.

The Sources list at the foot of each page shows every source with its check date. Prices appear in your currency at that day's exchange rate; hover over one to see the operator's original. For this edition I recorded 435 facts on 30 services, all checked on November 1, 2026: 340 confirmed on a live official page and 95 not confirmed.

Unverified and conflicting facts

When an official page does not answer a question, I say so instead of guessing. TextNow's browser list, for example, comes from an older help article^[14] because its current help centre would not load for me, and I say so where I quote it. When two official pages disagree, I report both. An unverified fact is labelled wherever it appears and never earns more than the rubric gives for "not stated".

Sponsor disclosure: TwinPhone

TwinPhone sponsors this site. It is also one of the services I review: a pay-per-minute dialer that calls landlines and mobiles from a browser tab^[22]. The sponsorship does not set the scores: I apply the same method to every service, and it places TwinPhone third for a US reader, level on points with Yolla and ahead of it on the tie rule.

Links to TwinPhone carry tracking parameters (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign and utm_content), so TwinPhone can see which visits came from this site and from which spot on a page. Links to every other service go straight to its official site, with no parameters.

I name its weak points as plainly as anyone else's. It has no free tier or trial credit^[24], and credit starts at $10, paid before the first call^[79]. A minute to a UK mobile costs $0.12 and to India $0.08^[23]; Yolla charges $0.10 and $0.0239^[31][80]. TwinPhone cannot call emergency numbers^[24], rents numbers only for the US, Canada and Puerto Rico^[25], and claims 145+ countries on one page^[22] but 165 destinations on its rates page^[23].

Apart from TwinPhone's sponsorship, the site carries no advertising, sets no cookies and runs no analytics; my privacy notice has the details. The one button on the site sits in TwinPhone's card on the home page.

Corrections and how to report an error

When I correct a fact, a price or a score, I fix it on every page where it appears and add a dated line to the log below that says what changed and why. This is the first edition, so the log has a single entry so far.

I have not set up a contact address yet; when I do, it will be published on this page. A report that links to the official page showing the correct fact will help me most.