Skype icon
Skype icon

Skype

 2578 likes

Skype offers free video and voice calls, instant messaging, and affordable landline and mobile calls, all on multiple devices. With over 300 million users worldwide, you can connect easily, share moments, and stay in touch effortlessly. Supports up to 250 users in Skype for Business.

Skype screenshot 1

License model

  • FreemiumProprietary

Country of Origin

  • US flagUnited States

Platforms

  • Mac
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • Online
  • Android
  • iPhone
  • Chrome OS
  • Android Tablet
  • BSD
  • iPad
  • Android Wear
2.7 / 5 Avg rating (73)
2578likes
89comments

Features

Suggest and vote on features

Properties

  1.  Lightweight

Features

  1.  Video Calling
  2.  Screen Sharing
  3.  VoiP Calls
  4.  Encrypted Chat
  5. Microsoft 365 Copilot icon  Microsoft Office integration
  6.  Video Conferencing
  7.  Voice messages
  8.  Ad-free
  9.  Multiple languages
  10. Microsoft Exchange icon  Exchange Integration
  11.  Dark Mode
  12. IFTTT icon  IFTTT Integration
  13.  Live Captions Translation
  14.  Secure Chat
  15.  Voice Chat
  16.  Team Messaging
  17.  Messages

 Tags

  • Video Chat
  • Messaging
  • messaging-client
  • Voicemail
  • messaging-system
  • international-calls
  • voicemails
  • voice-over-internet
  • voice-over-internet-protoctol
  • typing-indicator
  • pc-to-phone
  • messengers
  • message-popup
  • Chat
  • messenger-app

Skype News & Activities

Highlights All activities

Recent News

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Recent activities

  • Danilo_Venom updated Skype
    about 1 month ago
  • thesuncitywitch liked Skype
    about 1 month ago
  • bluebrad reviewed Skype  
    2 months ago

    NOW A DEAD APP. wish we could have a version alternative review. the 2005 version was the best.

  • Fla updated Skype
    3 months ago
  • App icon
    AISS added Skype as alternative to 0xchat
    4 months ago
  • App icon
    c17s5qhu added Skype as alternative to Mostlymatter
    4 months ago
  • App icon
    AISS added Skype as alternative to Keychat
    4 months ago
  • braky updated Skype
    4 months ago
  • App icon
    Maoholguin added Skype as alternative to Yolla
    5 months ago
Show all activities

Comments and Reviews

   
 Post comment/review
Comment summary: Skype receives mixed reviews. While some users appreciate its robust video call and screen sharing features, others criticize its performance and resource usage, especially on mobile devices. The acquisition by Microsoft has led to concerns about privacy and increased bloat. Alternatives like Zoom and Discord are frequently suggested, with users expressing frustrations over bugs, slow updates, and a perceived decline in quality. Despite criticisms, it remains popular due to its widespread use.
Top Positive Comment
Peter S.
Apr 21, 2019
2

Even though it's still technically functional, it is not private or secure enough for me. I want something decentralized and distributed. I want nobody to peek into my text or calls. See Jami for example.

Top Negative Comment
Anamon
Jul 10, 2018
13

Skype was pretty terrible from the start, but it has been completely devastated through recent updates. The UWP version of the client was (like almost every UWP app) an entirely unusable, feature-free toy that wasn't useful for anything, but at least we could use the legacy desktop version. Now my Windows 7 client was updated to a similarly horrible version that won't let me do any of the things I used to do in Skype anymore.

It's one of those mind-bogglingly bloated Electron applications, which means you'll get a 180 MB monstrosity of a JS framework and browser, for functionality that used to fit into 3 MB. Of course that also means that its UI is built with web technologies, which means it's a disgrace to even call it a desktop app – it's not anymore. It's as numbingly slow and high-latency as you would expect a web app to be. Don't even get me started on memory consumption. 400 MB in idle without any windows open? You bet. Damned be the day that web developers began to be able/allowed to develop for Desktop, because they don't have a freaking clue what they're doing.

Of course, the best part is that it's a complete re-write, with an estimated 95% of the features that the previous Skype clients had simply gone without replacement. Contact groups? Gone. Chat search? Gone. Configuration options? Gone. Now it's just another flashy-looking but useless toy that doesn't cater to anyone's needs anymore, with the only distinguishing feature being that some old contacts of yours might still be using it. Ditch it, the sooner the better.

brad s
Apr 11, 2025
0

NOW A DEAD APP. wish we could have a version alternative review. the 2005 version was the best.

BorisF
May 12, 2024
0

"Suggested" feature is extremely annoying and has to be disabled manually every time the app starts. And like any Microsoft app, it is getting worse with every iteration. If I did not have a friend that uses Skype and can not be easily taught other apps, I would have deleted it a long time ago.

Duncan Briggs
Nov 12, 2023
1

Skype is compatible with SMS, but it uses a separate phone number, so it is not a replacement for Apple Messages.

"Discover a quick, simple way to connect via SMS online (text messaging) anytime, anywhere with Skype." "A Skype Number is a second phone number which is attached to your Skype account."

https://www.skype.com/en/features/ https://secure.skype.com/en/skype-number/

urbanimp
Sep 27, 2023
0

It's alight. I was suing zoom for a while but came back to Skype

orangePlane
May 12, 2021
1

ah yes. another microsoft product that is bloated and slow af.

Show more comments
7 of 89 comments

What is Skype?

Skype is the most popular free voice-over IP and instant messaging service globally. It allows users to text, video and voice call over the internet. Users can also call landlines and mobiles at competitive rates using Skype credit, premium accounts and subscriptions.

Features:

  • Find all of your friends and family in an instant - search for friends, groups, conversations or new contacts on Skype. With over 300 million people using Skype, you’re bound to bump into someone you know.
  • Call your world for free - Free voice and video calls let you talk to your heart’s content with all your friends and family on Skype.
  • Make low cost calls to mobiles and landlines - Keep in touch with anyone even if they’re not on Skype, with low cost calls to mobiles and landlines.
  • Instantly get in touch - No matter where you are, your friends are always available with free instant messaging.
  • Share moments - Send photos, record and send video messages, share your location or share web content with the people who matter most.
  • Available for Apple Watch - see your notifications and chat on your Apple Watch so you’re always part of the conversation.
  • Skype is available everywhere - on smartphones, tablets, Macs, PCs, and even TVs. Whatever your friends or family use, Skype is there. Simple.

The Skype that you use at home is great for smaller businesses of up to 20 employees. It is free to use, unless you want to buy credit to make calls to landlines and mobiles.

Skype for Business lets you add up to 250 people to online meetings, gives you enterprise-grade security, allows you to manage employee accounts, and is integrated into your Office apps. It costs from $2 per month per user.

Official Links

Skype information

  • Developed by

    US flagMicrosoft
  • Licensing

    Proprietary and Freemium product.
  • Pricing

    Subscription ranging between $3 and $14 per month + free version with limited functionality.
  • Rating

    Average rating of 2.7 (73 ratings)
  • Alternatives

    299 alternatives listed
  • News

    13 news article related to Skype
  • Supported Languages

    • English
    • Arabic
    • Bulgarian
    • Catalan; Valencian
    • Croatian
    • Czech
    • Danish
    • Dutch
    • Estonian
    • Finnish
    • French
    • German
    • Greek
    • Hebrew
    • Hindi
    • Hungarian
    • Indonesian
    • Italian
    • Japanese
    • Korean
    • Latvian
    • Lithuanian
    • Malay
    • Norwegian Bokmål
    • Polish
    • Portuguese
    • Romanian
    • Russian
    • Serbian
    • Slovak
    • Slovene
    • Spanish
    • Swedish
    • Thai
    • Chinese
    • Turkish
    • Ukrainian
    • Vietnamese

AlternativeTo Categories

Social & CommunicationsRemote Work & EducationOffice & Productivity

Apple AppStore

  •   Updated Apr 3, 2025
  •   4.72 avg rating
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Our users have written 89 comments and reviews about Skype, and it has gotten 2578 likes

Skype was added to AlternativeTo by Stuck on Feb 28, 2009 and this page was last updated May 5, 2025. Skype is sometimes referred to as Skype for Business.