I built Fonable after getting stuck trying to call a restaurant abroad

I started Fonable because of a restaurant reservation.

I was in Budapest and needed to call a restaurant. That should have been simple, but the restaurant only had a normal phone number. No WhatsApp, no online booking, no easy app fallback.

So I tried to find a quick way to make one international call from my laptop. Most options wanted a subscription, a business phone setup, or an app install. Skype used to solve this kind of problem, but it was no longer the obvious answer.

I built a rough MVP in a few hours so I could make the call.

After that, I noticed the same problem everywhere. People still need to call real phone numbers abroad: hotels, airlines, banks, embassies, suppliers, clients, and support desks. But many of them do not need a full phone system or another monthly bill.

So I kept building.

Fonable is now a pay-as-you-go web dialer for international calls. It lets you call real mobile and landline numbers from a browser without a SIM card, native app, subscription, or PBX setup.

I’m still early and would appreciate feedback from anyone who has dealt with international calls while traveling, working remotely, selling, recruiting, or handling customer support.