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Skype Alternatives for Mac

There are many alternatives to Skype for Mac if you are looking for a replacement. The best Mac alternative is Discord, which is free. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Skype and loads of them are available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Mac alternatives to Skype are Telegram, Tox, Signal and Wire.

Skype alternatives are mainly Group Chat Apps but may also be Video Calling Apps or Instant Messengers. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Skype.
This page was last updated
Skype iconSkype
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  • Freemium • Proprietary
  • Mac
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • Online
  • Android
  • iPhone
  • Blackberry
  • Chrome OS
  • Windows S
  • Android Tablet
  • BSD
  • Windows Phone
  • iPad
  • Android Wear
  • PortableApps.com

Skype is the most popular free voice-over IP and instant messaging service globally. It allows users to text, video and...

Learn more about Skype
  1. Discord icon

    Discord

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    • Freemium • Proprietary
    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Chrome OS
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • iPad
    • Electron / Atom Shell
    • FreeBSD
    • Playstation
    • Xbox

    Whether you’re part of a school club, a gaming group, a worldwide art community, or just a handful of friends that want to spend time together, Discord makes it easy to talk every day and hang out more often.

    Discord Desktop Client Dark Mode
    Discord vs Skype opinions
    Almost everyone thinks Discord is a great alternative to Skype.
     all • positive • negative      relevance • date

    At least Discord allows us to choose our username.

    Top positive comment   ago
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    18

    Better call quality, better group management, better design.

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    13

    Discord is more like a chat version of Reddit, it's intended for large crowds

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    -2

    Crashes everytime, full of errors and bugs, serious problems related to security and privacy, bad moderation, and many other reasons.

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    -6
    c4334544

    good but i've heard they are corrupted. not sure how true this info is

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    0

    It's topical and server based, not individuals who can connect.

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    -6

    Better design, better quality, not by Microsoft

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    8
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    7 of 30 comments
  2. Telegram icon

    Telegram

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    • Freemium • Proprietary
    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • HUAWEI AppGallery
    • Windows Phone
    • iPad
    • Apple Watch
    • Linux Mobile
    • Android Wear
    • PortableApps.com
    • FreeBSD

    Telegram is a messaging app created by former VK creators with a focus on speed and security. It’s superfast, simple and free. It is like SMS, but more powerful.

    Telegram Desktop
    Telegram vs Skype opinions
    Most users think Telegram is a great alternative to Skype.
     all • positive • negative      relevance • date
    alternative1234

    Most communication on Telegram is not encrypted. Still a good platform, but it's not secure by default.

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    0

    Allready telegram have video calls

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    5

    Skype needs ID for login while all these need network numbers

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    14
    joprime87

    Use it day by day. Stable, has good connection, high-quality chat features. And good enough to use for video calls.

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    0

    Telegram does not provide video calling.

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    -8

    Is free software. Free as freedom

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    -2

    It doesn't have video chat.

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    0
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    7 of 15 comments

  4. With the rise of widespread government monitoring programs, Tox is an easy to use application that allows you to connect with friends and loved ones without anyone else listening in.

    The Universal Tox Client. A Tox client that runs on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, FreeBSD & the web. Written in JS using React & React Native / electron.
    Tox vs Skype opinions
    Almost everyone thinks Tox is a great alternative to Skype.
    beatrupp

    It is completely decentralized, open source, you can freely choose your client (from terminal, over Windows, to iOS)

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    12
    bumba

    Decentralized, Secure, Open-source, fast to setup, no ads.

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    12

    free for most of the feature. But no group chat yet, and difficult to sync between multiple devices.

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    5

    You cannot setup your microphone properly on any of the major clients. Useless

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    -21

    you cannot down load this program

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    -13

  5. Signal is a messaging app with an unexpected focus on privacy, combined with all the features expected from a modern IM app. Signal has received a lot of praise from all around the world for its security and privacy-respecting technologies.

    Screenshot
    Signal vs Skype opinions
    Most users think Signal is a great alternative to Skype.
    sedeti

    this is like skype without the data log

    Top positive comment   ago
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    2

    End-to-end encryption and servers do not log data.

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    11

    Strong encryption, high quality sound. Uses both WiFi and Mobile Data to grant the best possible quality. Recommended by Edward Snowden. Enjoy!

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    2

    Free as in free beer, and fully open source !

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    9
    patrykmilhouse

    Secure, encrypted, not owned by Microsoft or Facebook, keeps your data safe.

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    9

    Call people without being listened on!

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    7
  6. Wire icon

    Wire

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    • Free Personal • Open Source
    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • F-Droid
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)

    Wire is the most secure collaboration platform featuring messenger, voice, video, conference calls, file-sharing, and external collaboration –all protected by the most secure end-to-end-encryption.

    Screenshot
    Wire vs Skype opinions
    Almost everyone thinks Wire is a great alternative to Skype.
     all • positive • negative      relevance • date
    svenjost

    Group audio calls with screen sharing functionality, open source, nice UI.

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    10

    Great security, open source, video calls, responsive developers.

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    9

    Wire is free, open source and easy to use and, most importantly, PRIVATE. It transmits data only in an encrypted way that even the creators of Wire cannot see, so you can be sure your content is YOURS, and not something the likes of Microsoft (who own Skype) can read, analyze, hand on to authorities or lose to hackers.

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    1

    Truly secure and feature reach

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    0
    someonelast

    It's open source, cross-platform, and free!

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    -3
    Lura

    Open source, encrypted, stable

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    0

    a better connection and more secure

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    0
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    7 of 9 comments
  8. Element icon

    Element

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    • Freemium • Open Source
    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Matrix.org
    • Cloudron

    Element is a secure collaboration and messaging app based on the Matrix protocol. It’s decentralised to deliver digital sovereignty, and based on an open standard for easy connections and interoperability. It is end-to-end encrypted by default.

    Video calls for desktop and mobile
    Element vs Skype opinions
    Almost everyone thinks Element is a great alternative to Skype.
    MasteLrugarius

    It's like Skype but has open groups like Teamspeak and it has unlimited fileupload. Thanks to a server to server structure, everyone can text everyone.

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    7

    FOSS, free, open source, own nodes etc.

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    1

    Cross platform in terms of Apps and equally good using a browser.

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    1

    It's arguably the premier Matrix client, which is free software that is decentralized. Riot.im gives you the option to host a Matrix server yourself and connect to it. It also offers end-to-end encryption and high quality video and audio chat. Not to mention the modern UI.

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    5
    Murz

    Free, opensource and encrypted, with federation support and can be hosted on your servers.

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    3
  9. Slack icon

    Slack

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    • Freemium • Proprietary
    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Chrome OS
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Electron / Atom Shell
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)

    Slack is a unified communication platform built with an optimized workflow to keep modern teams focused and productive. A familiar chat interface facilitates discussions while advanced features are easily exposed based on context.

    Screenshot
    Slack vs Skype opinions
    Most users think Slack is a great alternative to Skype.
    Ola

    With the new VOIP it has replaced Skype in our office.

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    6
    TNovak

    Prefer it to Skype in a Commercial environment

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    2
    georgecoem

    Both great for separate purposes

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    0
  10. Jami icon

    Jami

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    • Free • Open Source
    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad

    Jami (formerly GNU Ring, SFLphone) positions itself as a potential free Skype replacement

    Jami video conference OS X
    Jami vs Skype opinions
    Almost everyone thinks Jami is a great alternative to Skype.

    Not only is it free and open, they also do not record all your private conversations and use it against you. As a trial in New Zealand has shown, it also does not spy on your computer like Skype does and does not insert itself into everything.

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    4

    Fast, very secure and Open Source.

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    5
    LucaFinizio

    Very fast and open source

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    0

    Very good alternative to Skype, WhatsApp and other mainstream chat software. Decentralised, free and open source!

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    1

    Jami seems to be really providing the service it declares and not interested in tracking its users in a confused way as other Skype alternatives do (ie Google Hangouts).

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    3

    Open source, decentralized

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    1
    jsonoctopus

    Great p2p voice and text chat.

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    1

  11. Mumble was the first and is the most successful and wide spread free and open source software for VoIP. It was the first VoIP software to provide low-latency audio suitable for gaming, and at the same time was a pioneer in high audio quality at the same time.

    Mumble 1.2.3 Release Candidate – some users in different channels
    Mumble vs Skype opinions
    Almost everyone thinks Mumble is a great alternative to Skype.

    Completely open source, very high quality

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    4

    Communication more lightweight due to new opus codec when communicating

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    4

    Mumble requires a server to run

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    3

    Lightweight high quality audio chat. Self-hosted and encrypted, so your communications are private.

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    1

    Mumble requires a server. Skype is end-to-end

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    -21
  12. Matrix.org icon

    Matrix.org

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    • Free • Open Source
    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • WebRTC
    • Python
    • JavaScript
    • Go (Programming Language)
    • Cloudron
    • Java
    • Perl

    Matrix defines a set of open APIs for decentralised communication, suitable for securely publishing, persisting and subscribing to data over a global open federation of servers with no single point of control.

    Main Page
    Matrix.org vs Skype opinions
    Most users think Matrix.org is a great alternative to Skype.
    Murz

    Feature-full modern free opensource instant messaging server with federation.

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    3
Showing 10 of 113 alternatives