After 23 years of connecting individuals all over the world, Skype, the favored video-calling service, is shutting down. Microsoft, the mother or father firm, confirmed that the official sundown date for the service is May 5, 2025.
Skype customers can both migrate all their contacts and chat knowledge to Microsoft Teams, or they will select to obtain their Skype knowledge and transition to a different video-calling service.
To help customers within the swap, we’ve created a information on learn how to migrate to Teams or obtain Skype knowledge. Additionally, we’ve curated a listing of other video-calling apps that may substitute Skype.
How to maneuver from Skype to Microsoft Teams
Before May 5, Skype customers can check in to Teams free of charge utilizing their Skype credentials. Once logged in, all their chats and contacts will robotically switch to the app.
Teams provides options just like Skype, together with one-on-one and group calls, messaging, and file sharing. While Skype was primarily designed for smaller teams (as much as 20 individuals) and informal use, Teams is extra business-focused, accommodating as much as 10,000 individuals in a single video name. It additionally comes with superior safety features and varied integrations, reminiscent of Evernote, OneDrive, Office 365, Salesforce, SharePoint, Trello, and extra.
Teams is out there on Android, iOS, Mac, PC, and the online.
How to export Skype knowledge
For customers who aren’t taken with making the transition to Microsoft Teams, we nonetheless suggest exporting account knowledge. This ensures that priceless data — reminiscent of messages, information, and speak to particulars — is backed up and will be accessed sooner or later.
- Open Skype and log in.
- Click on the three horizontal dots underneath the account title within the prime left nook.
- Go to Settings > Account & Profile > Your Account.
- After being redirected to Skype’s net portal, select from both Export contacts (.csv), Export Caller ID numbers (.csv), or Export information and chat historical past.
- The “Export information and chat historical past” choice lets customers obtain Conversations and Files.
- Click Submit Request and Continue.
- When the export course of is full, click on Download.
Here are the very best Skype alternate options
Google Meet
An apparent good thing about utilizing Google Meet is that it’s accessible free of charge with a Google account. Since lots of people are already utilizing Google and have current accounts, transitioning to this platform could be pretty straightforward.
Google Meet permits customers to carry conferences with as much as 100 individuals, document conferences, share screens, and extra. A disadvantage with the free plan is that if a gathering has greater than three individuals, there’s a 60-minute time restrict.
Large firms might wish to buy a Google Workspace plan for options like having as much as 25 co-hosts, dividing individuals into smaller breakout rooms throughout conferences, creating polls, establishing a Q&A session, livestreaming to YouTube, and extra. Workspace — which has plans for $7/month, $14/month, $22/month, and up — additionally provides AI-powered instruments via its Gemini assistant, which helps Meet customers take notes and create customized background photographs.
Zoom
Zoom is one other standard web-conferencing instrument. It provides a number of useful options, together with the power to host as much as 100 individuals and chat in each personal and public teams, and has instruments reminiscent of notes, a whiteboard, and screen-sharing capabilities. Users may document conferences and entry transcripts.
However, one draw back is the 40-minute time restrict per assembly for customers on the free plan. To keep away from having conferences minimize off, customers might want to buy a subscription, which ranges from $13/month to $18/month. Paid subscribers have entry to Zoom’s AI Companion, which incorporates the power to summarize conferences and ask questions on transcribed conferences.
Webex
Webex, the Cisco-owned video conferencing instrument, provides the same plan to its opponents. For occasion, it has options reminiscent of display screen sharing, the power to document classes, a whiteboard functionality, and extra.
The free plan consists of as much as 100 attendees per assembly, in addition to an unlucky 40-minute time restrict. Webex additionally provides plans from $12/month, $22/month, and up, relying on group dimension. The paid tiers include an AI assistant, dwell polling, Q&A, and the power so as to add as much as 1,000 attendees.
Discord
Discord was initially designed as a chat platform for players, however it may possibly additionally function an alternative choice to Skype for private use or for smaller groups. However, it’s not really useful for bigger companies, because it limits calls to 25 individuals.
On the optimistic facet, Discord provides limitless assembly lengths and options reminiscent of display screen sharing, the power to document conferences, and breakout rooms. The platform has a free plan along with two paid choices priced at $5/month and $10/month, making it one of many extra inexpensive selections accessible, relying on customers’ wants.
Slack
While Slack might not be very best for formally scheduled conferences with giant teams, it may be efficient for spontaneous conferences inside group chats. The Huddle function in Slack allows customers to simply transition from a chat thread to an off-the-cuff audio or video name with colleagues. On the free plan, Huddles can accommodate solely two individuals, whereas paid plans (priced at $7/month or $12/month) permit for as much as 50.
Signal
Signal, the encrypted messaging app, has offered group video-calling options since 2020 and may accommodate as much as 50 individuals in a single name.
Although it’s not a direct competitor to Skype, it permits customers to share hyperlinks for calls, enabling them to easily ship the hyperlink to others moderately than creating a gaggle, very similar to Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams do. Notably, Signal is free to make use of.
Other related apps for cellular customers trying to video name with smaller teams embody WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Apple FaceTime.
