Skype was one of the first apps to offer VoIP calls back in 2012 and hence it was the app to beat for many years. However, after Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype and the consequent addition to the Microsoft 365 bundle, the service is not the same. It still works and you do get quite a generous free tier, but the entire signup process has become complex. And with the company focusing on pushing Microsoft Teams, Skype no longer receives the same attention as it should. If you too are not happy with Skype and looking for its alternatives, you have come to the right place. In this article, we are going to mention the best Skype alternatives for VoIP, video calls, and video conferencing in 2020.
Best Skype Alternatives You Should Use (Free and Paid)
Since Skype is meant for both personal and business use, we have divided the article into two sections to cover both these use-cases. Some apps on this list are best for personal use and will help you stay connected with friends and family. While others are meant for business use and will let you conduct video conferences and webinars.
One thing to note here is that if you are working with a small team, you can use the apps in the personal section to communicate with your team. There is no hard and fast rule. The sections are here to make you choose wisely. With that out of the way, let’s get to our list, shall we?
Best Skype Alternatives for Professional Use in 2020
Before we get to our list, let’s set our expectations right. In this section, all the apps mentioned are for professional use. You should not try to use them for personal communication as we have mentioned apps for that purpose in the next section. These apps are a bit harder to set up and are not as popular as consumer apps. It means, your friends will have to start from scratch, and most probably you will ending up teaching them everything, so it’s not worth the effort.
On the other hand, the apps in this section are great for professional use. Not only they allow you to get hundreds of people on a single call, but you can also do things like sharing screens, recording calls, saving them in the cloud, get call transcriptions, schedule meetings, and more. The bottom line is that the apps mentioned in this section are for professional use, so they make more sense when used accordingly.
1. Microsoft Teams
Microsoft is pushing its Teams app in favor of Skype so it does make sense to check it out before looking at other alternatives. It also makes more sense if your company is working with Microsoft Office apps as the integration here is much refined. Using Microsoft Teams, you can make video calls, create online conferences, access Office 365 documents, collaborate in real-time, and more. With this, you also get 1TB of OneDrive storage for keeping and sharing files.
It brings collaboration features too, allowing you to collaborate on Office documents in real-time. If you want to induce a little bit of fun, you can use emojis, gifs, and animated stickers. One thing I love about Teams is that it allows you to instantly convert a group chat into a conference call. Depending on your plan, you can host up to 10,000 people in a conference so bandwidth is no concern here. If your team works with Office apps, this is the best Skype alternative that you should be using.
- Supported Platforms: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux, Web
- Pricing: 1-month free trial, starts at $8/month/user
2. Google Meet
Google Meet is Google’s answer to Skype, Zoom, and other online meeting solutions. The service was initially available for G Suite customers, but now Google has made it free for all users. The app has become popular in the past few days and has already crossed 50 million downloads on the Play Store. The best thing about Google Meet is that it integrates with Gmail’s web app allowing you to start a meeting directly from there. Google Meet is also pretty easy to set-up and run. You create a meeting and share the link with other users to join. You can host up to 250 participants, which is more than most teams require.
Google is also working on new features, including the much-requested background blur feature. Other features of Google Meet include the ability to schedule meetings, end-to-end encryption, screen sharing support, and more. There’s also a broadcast mode that allows users to broadcast meetings to 100,000 people at the same time. This is a great feature for companies that want all their employees to watch the meeting. The only restriction is that every participant should have a Google account. Also, the free meetings are capped at 60 minutes. Google has created an easy-to-use and powerful alternative to Skype, and you should try it.
- Supported Platforms: iOS, Android, Web
- Pricing: Free, starts at $6/month/user (part of G Suite) for removing restrictions
3. Zoom
If there’s one company that has profited most from the failure of Skype, it’s Zoom. It has become the goto service for any professional team and business who is looking for a video conferencing software. Zoom is one of the best communication tools for real-time video conferencing. The main features include support for up to 500 people on a single conference call, virtual background, serene share, integration with third-party apps, local recording, and more. I also love the audio transcription feature that automatically creates a transcription of meetings.
Why I love Zoom has to do with the fact that Zoom is easy to set up and use and is available across devices. You can use it on mobile, web, or using its desktop apps. The free version is very generous and enough for most small businesses. Using the free version you can make a conference call to 100 people with call duration capped at 40 minutes. If you are searching for a Skype alternative to conduct online meetings and conferences, Zoom should be your first stop. If you do decide to go with it, read our article on Zoom tips and tricks to learn and use its best features.
- Supported Platforms: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Web
- Pricing: Free, starts at $14.99/month
4. Jitsi Meet
For the final Skype alternative on this list, we have chosen an open-source application that is free to use. The best thing about this service is that you don’t need to install any app if you don’t want to. Just open its website and click on the “Go” button. The service brings some cool features including chat, session recording and upload to Dropbox, and the ability to remove disorderly participants. I love that Jitsi allows me to set a password so only the people I invite can join the meeting.
The service also provides mobile apps for Android and iOS platforms so you can join the meeting on the go. It also integrates well with Slack. So if you are using Slack for communication in your team, Jitsi Meet will be the perfect fit for you. As far as group call is concerned, it supports up to 75 members. However, for best performance, keep the member participation under 40. If you are looking for a free and easy-to-use video conferencing service, you should check out Jitsi Meet.
- Supported Platforms: iOS, Android, Web
- Pricing: Free
Best Skype Alternatives for Personal Use in 2020
This is the section for people who just want to stay in touch with friends and family. The apps mentioned here are widely popular, so chances are all your loved ones are using one of these apps. The apps are easy to use and don’t require technical know-how to use. And most importantly, all of them are either free or offer a generous free tier.
Conversely, these apps are not meant for conducting meetings. There are a limited number of people who can join a group call, and there are no additional features such as screen recording, call transcript, etc. You can use them from a quick one-on-one meeting or a small team meeting. But for most users, these apps will better serve their personal needs.
5. WhatsApp
With over 1.5 billion monthly active users, WhatsApp is the king of third-party messaging apps. The service released its group video calling feature back in 2018, and since then it has become one of the best apps to stay in touch with your friends and family. I am a long time WhatsApp user and can tell you that both voice and video calling features of WhatsApp are second to none. When it comes to group video calls, WhatsApp supports 4 simultaneous connections.
While this is not bad, it feels a bit on the lower side in some situations. Also, when you fill all the four spots, the quality of the video call decreases a fair bit. Still, considering almost everyone uses WhatsApp and its VoIP calling features work even on slow networks, it is one of the best Skype alternatives for personal use.
- Supported Platforms: Android, iOS
- Pricing: Free
Note: While WhatsApp offers desktop and web apps, they do not support either voice or video calls.
6. Google Duo
Google’s messaging apps have always been a disaster. Back in 2016, Google tried to reinvent its messaging platform by launching two separate apps: Google Allo and Google Duo. The former was for text messaging while the later brought video and voice calling features. And while Google Allo was killed in 2018, Google Duo emerged as one of the best video calling services for personal use. I have been a fan of Google Duo since its launch and consider it to be one of the best apps for making VoIP and video calls.
The video call quality of Google Duo is unbeatable and its connection is the most stable of all the apps that I have used. Unlike WhatsApp, Google Duo supports 12 people in a group call and even offers a web app that works flawlessly. Also, the app is available on iOS devices so you don’t have to worry if you are rocking the latest iPhone 11 Pro. Google Duo also brings tons of cool features such as low-light calling, the Knock Knock feature, video message support, end-to-end encryption, and more.
- Supported Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
- Pricing: Free
7. FaceTime
If you are entrenched in the Apple ecosystem and so are your friends and family, there is no better alternative to Skype than FaceTime. FaceTime works phenomenally well and is available on all three major Apple platforms including iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. And when Apple introduced FaceTime group calling with iOS 12 and macOS Mojave, it instantly solved the only problem that users had with this voice and video calling service.
Apple in its Apple-like fashion didn’t introduce the group call feature half-heartedly. It supports 32 people on the same call and has a nice feature where the speaker’s window comes to the front. This is a feature that works most of the time and is missing in most video calling services. Apple also includes some funky features like the ability to use Memojis and Animojis when making a FaceTime call. If you use Apple products, FaceTime is the best Skype alternatives for you.
- Supported Platforms: iOS, iPadOS, macOS
- Pricing: Free
Comes Pre-installed
8. Houseparty
Houseparty is one of the apps that has become immensely popular in the past few weeks. The app describes itself as a “face-to-face social network” and rightly so. Once you sign up using your email ID and phone number, it scans your Facebook or Snapchat accounts and adds friends who are already on Houseparty to its list. It then allows you to create groups or “party” of 7 people, and initiate a group video chat with a single click. Your party is a virtual room where you and your friends spend time, play games (there are several built-in games), and do other things to pass time.
However, once you create a room, remember to lock it with a password, otherwise, anyone can join it. The phenomenon is called Houseparty bombing, and many people have experienced this. So remember to secure your party with a strong password. The bottom line is that it’s an excellent laid-back alternative to Skype for people who just want to chill with their friends.
- Supported Platforms: iOS, Android, macOS, Web
- Pricing: Free
9. Facebook Messenger
I know that Facebook has received a lot of flake for privacy, but it remains the biggest social media website on the planet. Chances are that all your friends and family use Facebook and its instant messaging app Facebook Messenger. Facebook Messenger is one of the best chatting application on the market. It supports text, voice, and video chats and brings awesome features to the table. You can also make group video calls (up to 6 people) and the call quality is quite good.
Not only that, but you can also increase the group size to 50 people. The six speakers can appear on the call, while the rest can join in to listen to calls. This is great if you are conducting a kind of online seminar. Also, in the past few months, Facebook has removed all the clutter including the discover tab and the app brings a new UI which is both lighter and 2x faster. If you consider all these improvements and Facebook’s reach, you can easily use it to replace Skype in your life.
- Supported Platforms: iOS, Android, Web
- Pricing: Free
10. Discord
While Discord is mostly used by the gaming community, it’s one of the best online chat services to replace Skype. The thing I like most about Discord is that it gives you a fun environment. You can create multiple channels for friends and family. Think of channels as different groups. These channels allow you to quickly chat or make voice calls. You can make the channels fun by using Discord bots. These bots bring allow you to do things like playing music using Spotify, adding extension support for Wikipedia, YouTube, and other websites, adding meme support, creating an incentive system, and more.
Discord also supports video calling and group video calling. You can make a group call to up to 9 people. One of the best features of Discord is the ability to share your screen. You can switch between the screen sharing mode and video chat mode in an instant. Overall, I find Discord to be a fun and powerful chat application that you are going to enjoy using more than Skype.
- Supported Platforms: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Web
- Pricing: Free, $9.99/month
Replace Skype with These Awesome Video Calling and Conferencing Apps
I hope you were able to find an able replacement for Skype in this article. We have included options for both personal and professional use. Whether you want to have an online get-together with friends or conducting a video conference with your team, you will find an app here. I have also included paid and free options to make it easier for people with a low budget. So, check them out and let us know which app fulfilled your quarantine needs.
