+49 Country Code: Germany Dialing Guide

Germany's country code is +49. Whether you're calling Berlin, Munich, or a German mobile number, that's the code you need. Here's exactly how to dial it.

What's Germany's Country Code?

Germany's country code is +49. You can also write it as 0049 - same thing. This code works for all calls to Germany, whether you're dialing a landline in Frankfurt or a mobile in Hamburg.

One critical rule: drop the leading zero from German numbers when calling internationally. German area codes and mobile prefixes start with 0 when dialed domestically, but you skip that 0 when calling from abroad.

How to Dial Germany from the US

From the US, the format is: 011 + 49 + area code + local number. That leading 0 on German area codes? Skip it.

Here's the breakdown:

011 - US exit code (or just hit + on your mobile)
49 - Germany's country code
Area code - Without the leading 0
Local number - The rest of the digits

Example: Calling a Berlin number that's 030 1234567 within Germany becomes 011-49-30-1234567 from the US. Notice the 030 became just 30.

If you're calling from a mobile phone, you can use the + symbol instead of 011. Same result: +49 30 1234567.

German Area Codes (Major Cities)

Berlin is 30, Munich is 89, Frankfurt is 69, Hamburg is 40. These four cities have the shortest area codes - just two digits. Other German cities have longer codes (3-5 digits).

City	Domestic Code	Dial from US
Berlin	030	+49 30
Hamburg	040	+49 40
Frankfurt	069	+49 69
Munich	089	+49 89
Cologne	0221	+49 221
Stuttgart	0711	+49 711

Germany has over 5,200 area codes. If you're calling a smaller city, look up its specific code - they range from 2 to 5 digits.

German Mobile Numbers

German mobile numbers start with 015, 016, or 017. These aren't geographic area codes - they're carrier prefixes originally assigned to specific networks.

Prefix	Original Carrier
015x, 0160, 0170, 0171, 0175	Telekom
0152x, 0162, 0172, 0173, 0174	Vodafone
0176, 0179	O2

Important: Since 2002, Germans can keep their number when switching carriers. So the prefix doesn't guarantee which network someone's actually on anymore.

Format from US: +49 1XX XXXXXXX (drop the leading 0 from 01XX)

Quick Dial Examples

Here's exactly what to punch in for common scenarios:

You're Calling	German Number	Dial from US
Berlin landline	030 1234567	011-49-30-1234567
Munich landline	089 9876543	011-49-89-9876543
German mobile	0170 1234567	011-49-170-1234567
Frankfurt office	069 5551234	011-49-69-5551234

On a mobile phone, replace 011 with + for any of these.

Calling the Other Direction

Calling from Germany to the US? That's a different code - the US country code is +1. But the bigger challenge is cost. German carriers charge premium rates for international calls to the US.

If you're in Germany and need to call a US number, World Dialer works in your browser for $0.04/minute to US landlines. No app download, no subscription required - just open, dial, done.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is calling me from a +49 number?

A +49 number means the call originated in Germany. The digits after +49 tell you more: numbers starting with +49 30 are from Berlin, +49 89 from Munich, +49 69 from Frankfurt, and +49 40 from Hamburg. Mobile numbers start with +49 15, +49 16, or +49 17. If you weren't expecting a call from Germany, common sources include scam callers spoofing German numbers, businesses you signed up with that have EU operations, or wrong-number dials. Don't call back unknown +49 numbers — German callback scams (Wangiri) ring once to bait you into dialing premium-rate +49 900 lines that bill heavily. Use a lookup site like tellows.de to identify unknown German numbers before returning a call.

Why do German numbers have so many different area code lengths?

Germany assigns shorter area codes to larger cities and longer codes to smaller towns, a pattern set by the Bundesnetzagentur (Germany's telecom regulator) when codes were standardized in the 1990s. Berlin gets 2 digits (30) because it's the capital and largest city; small villages can have area codes up to 5 digits long. Germany has over 5,200 distinct area codes covering about 5,200 local calling areas called Ortsnetz. The full local phone number length stays roughly consistent at 10 to 12 digits including area code — so a Berlin number has more digits in the subscriber portion than a small-town number with a longer area code.

Do German mobile numbers cost more to call than landlines?

Yes, calling a German mobile (+49 15x, +49 16x, +49 17x) typically costs more than calling a German landline because mobile termination fees set by the Bundesnetzagentur are higher than landline termination fees. From the US, expect $0.08 to $0.20 per minute to German landlines on most pay-per-minute services and $0.15 to $0.40 per minute to German mobiles. WorldDialer publishes a single Germany rate starting at 4¢/min, below both of those ranges. From inside Germany, the picture flipped years ago: domestic mobile-to-mobile and landline-to-mobile are typically free or bundled on most German contracts. Always check the destination type before quoting yourself a per-minute rate.

Can I send SMS to a +49 German number from the US?

Yes, US carriers (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile) support international SMS to German +49 numbers, but charges vary widely by plan. Pay-as-you-go rates run $0.25 to $0.50 per outbound text; some international add-on plans like T-Mobile Magenta include unlimited international texts. Incoming texts from Germany to your US number are typically free. For free texting to German contacts, use WhatsApp (which has 80 percent-plus penetration among German smartphone users), Signal, or Telegram. iMessage works iPhone-to-iPhone. Note that two-factor authentication codes sent from German banks or services to your US number may arrive delayed (5 to 30 minutes) or fail entirely if the sender uses a short code rather than a long-form number.