Key takeaways
- The extension needs Chrome 116 or later and asks for four permissions: storage, identity, sidePanel and offscreen.
- It places one outbound call at a time and never receives the Twilio Auth Token, only a short-lived Voice access token.
- A call from the panel costs the same as one from the web Dialer: about 1.8 cents a minute to a US number.
- Calls from the panel are logged in call history without an outcome or notes.
Calling from other tabs without a dialer
- Prospecting from a CRM or LinkedIn means copying a number into another tab or a desk phone for every call.
- Calling from a personal mobile leaves no record in the team’s call history.
- Many Twilio extension dialers are a keypad with no team account, roles or shared Do Not Call list behind them.
Calling from the Chrome side panel
Open the side panel
Click the Rapidialer Dialer icon in Chrome. The panel stays open while you move between tabs.
Sign in once
Sign in through the normal Rapidialer login. The extension exchanges a short-lived code and never stores your password.
Dial and talk
Paste or type a number, choose a caller ID from your Rapidialer numbers, and call. Mute, keypad tones and hang-up are in the panel.
Keep browsing
The call stays connected if you close the panel or switch tabs, and it is logged in your Rapidialer call history.
What can the Rapidialer Chrome extension do?
The extension places outbound calls from a keypad beside your tabs, and leaves lists and wrap-up to the web app. Like the web app’s browser softphone, it places one outbound call at a time over Twilio’s Voice SDK, and it enforces the same rules as the web app: your plan, your Twilio setup and your organization’s Do Not Call list. Chrome asks for the microphone only when you start a call.
It does not detect or click-to-call numbers on web pages, receive inbound calls, or run lists, Power Dial, talk tracks or wrap-up outcomes. Calls placed from the extension are logged without an outcome or notes, and automatic local presence does not apply because you always choose the caller ID.
When should you use the extension instead of the Dialer?
Use the extension for one-off calls while researching, and the Dialer for anything repeated. Typical panel calls: a prospect you found on LinkedIn, a number in an email signature, a customer in your CRM. Use the web dialer for working a list, follow-ups, and calls you need to log with an outcome.
If you came looking for a Chrome extension power dialer that runs down a list by itself, the side panel is not it: Power Dial, with its five-second countdown between contacts, lives in the web app. The panel is the Twilio side panel dialer for the calls in between.
Why won’t the extension place a call?
The panel shows why calling is blocked, and the Call button stays disabled until the cause is fixed. Each status and its fix:
- “Sign in on Rapidialer to place calls” or “Session expired.” Choose Sign in on Rapidialer and log in again.
- “Upgrade required.” Your plan does not allow calling, often an ended trial. Upgrade in Rapidialer opens the Billing page.
- “Calling setup required.” Twilio is not connected yet. An owner or admin enters the Account SID and Auth Token under Settings → Telephony; Set up calling opens that page.
- “Add a caller ID.” The organization has no outbound number. Import one from Twilio on the Telephony page.
- “Microphone blocked.” Open chrome://extensions, click Rapidialer Dialer and set Microphone to Allow.
What do extension calls cost on Twilio?
A panel call is a browser call, so Twilio bills two legs: $0.0140 a minute to a US number and $0.0040 for the browser leg, with partial minutes rounded up (Twilio US voice pricing). The extension adds nothing in Twilio beyond what the web app created, and it carries no extra fee.
Seats cover both. A 3-rep team at about 1,000 billed minutes per rep, from panel and Dialer combined, pays about $64.95 to Twilio (recording and a local number each included) and $15 for seats. Ten reps pay about $216.50 and $50.
Does the extension see your Twilio Auth Token?
No. An owner or admin enters the Twilio Auth Token once, in the Rapidialer web app, and it stays on Rapidialer’s servers, encrypted at rest (security). The extension only receives a short-lived Twilio Voice access token from Rapidialer’s API, the same kind the web Dialer uses. That token can place calls for your session; it cannot read or change your Twilio account.
Other Twilio extensions work differently: Twilio Dialpad and Twilio Softphone – Click-to-Call, SMS & Call Logs, for example, sign in with your Account SID and Auth Token (Twilio Dialpad, Twilio Softphone), and Twilio warns that anyone who holds those has full access to your account (Twilio Help Center). Check where any extension stores them before you paste them in.
How does it compare with other Twilio dialer Chrome extensions?
The other extensions that call through your own Twilio account are standalone apps, so each does more on its own; Rapidialer’s is a companion to the web app, the dialer for your Twilio account where the lists and the team live. Many other Chrome extension dialers come with their vendor’s own calling plans rather than your Twilio account.
- Auto Dialer for Twilio (Nethram): click-to-dial on web pages, list dialing, SMS and inbound calls, for $4.99 a month after a free trial (Chrome Web Store). See the Nethram comparison.
- Twilio Dialpad (listed earlier as Twilio Dialer – Click To): click-to-call, auto-dialing a loaded list, inbound calls and live transcripts, for $9 a month after a 7-day trial (Chrome Web Store).
- Twilio Softphone – Click-to-Call, SMS & Call Logs: calls in both directions, click-to-call, an auto dialer, SMS and call logs, free to install with in-app purchases (Chrome Web Store).
- Rapidialer Dialer: a keypad for one outbound call at a time, with your team’s numbers, Do Not Call list and call history behind it; lists, automatic list dialing and inbound calls stay in the web app.
Privacy and permissions
The extension asks for the microphone only when you start a call, and it does not read the pages you visit: numbers are typed or pasted into the panel. It requests four Chrome permissions: storage, to stay signed in on this device; identity, to open Rapidialer’s sign-in page; sidePanel, to show the keypad beside your tabs; and offscreen, to keep a call’s audio running when the panel closes. Its site access covers Rapidialer’s API and sign-in page, and twilio.com for the call itself.
Sign-in goes through the normal Rapidialer login page. The extension exchanges a short-lived code for its session instead of storing your password, and signing out of the panel ends that session on the device.
Calls from the extension in your history
Every call placed from the side panel appears in Rapidialer’s call history under the rep who made it, with the number, the caller ID and the duration, next to calls from the web Dialer. Calls go through your organization’s Twilio setup, so your Do Not Call list blocks them and your plan limits apply in the same way.
Because the panel has no wrap-up screen, open the lead in the web app afterwards if the call needs an outcome, notes or a follow-up.
The features behind it
- Power DialSequential power dialing: the next contact is dialed after each wrap-up and a five-second countdown.
- Do Not Call listAn organization-wide internal Do Not Call list that blocks outbound calls to listed numbers.
- Team rolesOwner, admin and agent roles, seat-based invites and what each role can see.
Teams that use it this way
- SDR and BDR teamsHow SDR and BDR teams run call blocks, book meetings and track activity in Rapidialer.
- RecruitersHow recruiters and staffing teams call candidate and client lists in Rapidialer.
Chrome extension dialer: questions and answers
Is the extension free?
Yes. Rapidialer Dialer is included with every Rapidialer seat at no extra charge, including during the 14-day trial. To place calls you need a Rapidialer account, a plan that allows dialing, a connected Twilio account and at least one outbound number. Twilio still bills each call at its published per-minute rates on your own account.
Where do I install it?
Install Rapidialer Dialer from the Chrome Web Store: Rapidialer Dialer. Click Add to Chrome, then pin the icon to the toolbar so the side panel is one click away. Sign in through the normal Rapidialer login page the first time; the extension keeps that session on the device until you sign out.
Does it turn numbers on web pages into click-to-call links?
No. Rapidialer Dialer does not scan web pages or add click-to-call buttons; you copy, paste or type the number into the panel. That is why the extension needs no access to the sites you visit: its host permissions cover only Rapidialer’s own API and sign-in page, plus twilio.com for the call audio.
Can it receive calls?
No. Rapidialer Dialer is outbound only. Inbound calls to your synced Twilio numbers ring in the Rapidialer web app on any page while you are signed in, and on a forwarding mobile at the same time if an owner or admin has set one for you. Keep the web app open in a tab if you expect callbacks.
Which browsers does it support?
Rapidialer Dialer supports Google Chrome version 116 or later on desktop computers, the first version with the side panel the extension uses. Edge, Brave and other Chromium browsers can install Chrome Web Store extensions, but Rapidialer builds and tests the extension in Chrome only, so use Chrome for extension calls; the Rapidialer web app itself runs in desktop browsers. There is no native mobile app.
Can I choose which caller ID the extension uses?
Yes. Pick one of your organization’s outbound numbers from the Caller ID menu in the panel before you dial. Automatic local presence does not apply in the extension, so choose a number with the lead’s area code yourself when it matters. Only numbers synced from your Twilio account appear in the list.
Does the extension need the Rapidialer web app open?
No, not for outbound calls. Rapidialer Dialer signs in on its own and fetches its own short-lived Twilio Voice token, so you can call from the side panel with no Rapidialer tab open, and the call keeps running if you close the panel. Inbound calls are different: callbacks ring in the web app, never in the panel, so keep a Rapidialer tab open if you expect them.
Can the extension call from a Twilio Verified Caller ID?
No. Rapidialer can’t use Twilio Verified Caller IDs, such as a personal mobile you verified in the Twilio Console. The Caller ID menu lists only phone numbers bought in, or ported into, your Twilio account and synced to Rapidialer on the Telephony page. To show a number you already own, move it into Twilio first, then import it from the provider.