Have you recently expanded to Nigeria and have new Nigerian customers and clients to cater to? If yes, then you must know how to call Nigeria from USA to address their needs efficiently over calls.
Ensuring friction-free customer calls is the most efficient way to enhance customer experience. After all, 96% of customers believe a positive CX boosts trust, leading to higher sales and revenue.
We have created this actionable guide to expand your knowledge about calling Nigeria from the USA. We’ve included steps to place international calls to Nigeria via landline or cell phone, a way to place free voice or video calls, and the cheapest way to call Nigeria from the USA. Find the best time to call Nigeria from the USA towards the end of this guide. Let’s dive in!
How to Call Nigeria from USA?
Calling Nigeria from the USA is possible in 3 different ways. One is with landline/cell phone (high rates), the next is with voice or video chat apps (connectivity issues), and the last is via VoIP (most cost-effective). Let’s dive into all three of them one by one:
1. Calling Nigeria from USA using your cell phone or landline
Here’s the roadmap to call Nigeria from the USA successfully via your cell phone or landline –
Step 1: Enter the exit code
The first step to placing an international call is to enter the exit code or international access number. Doing this indicates to your carrier that it’s an international call.
To call via landline, dial the US exit code (011). If you’re calling via mobile number, replace the exit code with the ‘+’ symbol.
Step 2: Dial the country code
After keying in the exit or ISD code, it’s time to dial the Nigeria country code. To call Nigeria, you must enter its country code ‘234’. This ensures that your call correctly routes to Nigeria.
Step 3: Dial the area code
Next, dial Nigera’s area code that your contact belongs to. For example, the area code for Akure, Nigeria, is ‘34’.
Note- Searching for a list of city calling codes or major area codes of Nigeria? A simple search can help you find it.
Step 4: Enter the recipient’s phone number
Now that you’re done with all the codes–exit, country, and area, quickly key in your contact’s landline or cell phone number.
For example, suppose you’re dialing Akure, Nigeria, with a contact number ‘1234567’.
In that case, the correct Nigeria phone number format will be +234-34-1234567 (if dialing via mobile) or 011-234-34-1234567 (if making calls to Nigeria via landline).
2. Free calls to Nigeria using a voice or video chat
Do you know you can enjoy free voice or video calling to Nigeria? Yes, that’s possible with a calling app like Skype or FaceTime. Here are the three major points to remember while making free calls to Nigeria via Skype or FaceTime:
Step 1: Sign up on Skype
Download the Skype app on your computer or mobile. Now hit sign up and fill in your credentials. Once done, your new Skype account will be ready to use.
Step 2: Call a phone number directly via Skype
If you need to make calls on your contact’s phone number directly via Skype, add free credit following these steps:
- Open your Skype app
- Scroll to Setting> Manage >Skype to Phone
- Now search Nigeria in the search bar and buy credit by making a payment
- Start making calls to Nigeria
Step 3: Call another Skype or Facetime account
To dial Nigeria and reach your contact who’s already using Skype or FaceTime, add them to your contact list first.
- Skype to Skype: Search for the recipient’s name in the search bar and request to add them as friends. Once accepted, start video or voice calling them for free.
- FaceTime to FaceTime: Add the desired contact’s number and start calling for free.
Before you get too excited about making these free calls, let us tell you that Skype and FaceTime face connectivity and call (audio and video) quality issues with a slight reduction in internet speed. It consumes a lot of data and might freeze at times. So, relying on them for frequent business calls is not the best choice.
You May Also Read : A Holistic Guide On How To Make International Calls
3. Cheapest way to call Nigeria from USA using VoIP
Let’s discuss an excellent alternative (minus drawbacks) to Skype and FaceTime—VoIP. Now international calling is expensive. We say that because calling Nigeria would cost you multiple dollars per minute.
If you want to make cheap calls and eliminate Skype’s drawbacks, shifting to VoIP is wise. Placing calls over the Internet via an effective VoIP service and local number provider like CallHippo is bound to reduce calling costs and save money.
You can trust CallHippo to help you save money by placing cheap calls to Nigeria for just $0.161. On top of these budget-friendly call rates, CallHippo empowers you to build a local presence and gain loyal customers by getting a Nigerian local number (Nigeria virtual phone number) within 3 minutes.
You can unlock new levels of efficiency in your international business communication with a virtual business phone system, as it has truly advanced features. Some of them are:
- Global connectivity to get your time right when calling Nigeria.
- Free unlimited calling within US and Canada
- Number porting from VoIP to CallHippo in 4 easy steps
- Smart call forwarding to route and forward inbound business calls to the next best available agent
- Call analytics to monitor your customer support’s performance
- Call recording to review and train your agents based on previous customer/client calls
- Smart switch to toggle and select the best telecom operator offering the highest call quality and connectivity
Explore CallHippo’s exciting pricing plans and seamlessly make international calls from today! Interested in knowing how to call Nigeria from US for free? Try CallHippo’s free trial (available with all the plans)!
You May Also Read : Best Free International Calling Apps in 2023
What Is The Best Time for Calling Nigeria from the US?
You cannot miss the time zone differences when conducting international business calls. Wrong timing can make or break the deal and lead to unfruitful discussions, draining your time and call minutes.
When calling Nigeria from the US, remember that the US has different time zones for different regions. In contrast, Nigeria observes just one time zone, West Africa Time (WAT).
The best time to call your Nigerian customers and clients is between 9:00 AM-10:00 AM in the US. This would be around 4:00 PM-5:00 PM in Nigeria.
US Time Zone | Nigeria Time Zone | Time Zone Difference | Best Time to Call |
Eastern (EDT) UTC-4 | West Africa Time (WAT) UTC+1 | Nigeria is 5 hours ahead of the US | 3:00 AM-4:00 PM |
Central (CTD) UTC-5 | West Africa Time (WAT) UTC+1 | Nigeria is 6 hours ahead of the US | 2:00 AM-3:00 PM |
Mountain (MDT) UTC-6 | West Africa Time (WAT) UTC+1 | Nigeria is 7 hours ahead of the US | 1:00 AM-2:00 PM |
Pacific (PDT) UTC-7 | West Africa Time (WAT) UTC+1 | Nigeria is 8 hours ahead of the US | 12:00 AM-1:00 PM |
Alaska (ADT) UTC-8 | West Africa Time (WAT) UTC+1 | Nigeria is 9 hours ahead of the US | 11:00 PM-12:00 PM |
Hawaii (HDT) UTC-10 | West Africa Time (WAT) UTC+1 | Nigeria is 11 hours ahead of the US | 9:00 PM-10:00 AM |
Current time in Nigeria:
Wrapping Up
Successfully calling abroad is no big feat. But it requires just the right elements–correct codes and the right time. So, when calling Nigeria, check the exit, country, and area codes twice before making calls via cell phones or landline phones. Wrong codes will obstruct your calls to reach Nigeria.
But dialing the right codes does not promise success if done at the wrong time or at high costs. That’s exactly why we recommend leveraging a robust virtual phone system like CallHippo. Invest in CallHippo today to experience a host of advanced calling features, keep calling costs minimal, and maximize ROI.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How to call Lagos, Nigeria, from US?
Steps to call Lagos from US:
- Enter the US exit code (011)
- Key in the country code of Nigeria (234)
- Enter Lagos area code (1)
- Key in the complete mobile or landline phone number
2. How to call USA from Nigeria?
Steps to call the US from Nigeria:
- Enter the Nigeria exit code (009)
- Key in the US country code (1)
- Enter the relevant area code
- Key in the complete phone number
3. What are the best VoIP providers to call Nigeria?
The best VoIP and local number provider to dial in Nigeria has to be CallHippo. This is because it has an affordable call rate of $0.161/minute and has edgy features that can help you make friction-free calls in seconds.
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