Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams vs. Whereby

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
Score 7.7 out of 10
N/A
Skype for Business was an online messaging and conferencing tool, now superseded by Microsoft Teams.N/A
Whereby
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Norwegian company appear.in offers their flagship video conferencing platform to small teams, both in a free edition hosting up to 4 guests simultaneously in a session or a paid edition that supports up to 12 simultaneous meeting guests, among other features.
$0
per user
Pricing
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft TeamsWhereby
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Free
$0
per user
Pro
$9.99
per user
Business
$59.99 and up
per user/room
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft TeamsWhereby
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft TeamsWhereby
Considered Both Products
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
Chose Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
The three are great tools, but each one have its set of benefits. Lync it's getting out of market, but certainly it still has a great market to those companies that are not worried with external communication, for example. Teams and Slack, have already this approach, but both …
Chose Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
Slack and Chatter have great adoption here, for many reasons, including the persistent chat and because it is so easy to deploy.

BUT, there is no real working Windows clients for those solutions, while Skype for Business is available on almost all platforms. Using a web browser …
Whereby
Chose Whereby
When compared to the other VC platforms, we found Whereby the easiest to use for users and invitees. The only install from a recipient's point-of-view is a Chrome extension. Zoom requires a download and an account to sign into. Microsoft Teams is only for other members on the …
Chose Whereby
Whereby allows you to see everyone instead of just the last few people to talk. It also has no software to download and install. It works on any device that can access a website.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft TeamsWhereby
Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software
Comparison of Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software features of Product A and Product B
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
8.0
195 Ratings
1% above category average
Whereby
7.8
14 Ratings
2% below category average
High quality audio8.9191 Ratings9.014 Ratings
High quality video8.9185 Ratings9.014 Ratings
Low bandwidth requirements5.3181 Ratings8.012 Ratings
Mobile support8.9146 Ratings5.011 Ratings
Screen Sharing
Comparison of Screen Sharing features of Product A and Product B
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
7.2
191 Ratings
9% below category average
Whereby
8.0
13 Ratings
1% above category average
Desktop sharing9.0191 Ratings8.013 Ratings
Whiteboards5.5120 Ratings8.04 Ratings
Online Meetings / Events
Comparison of Online Meetings / Events features of Product A and Product B
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
9.2
188 Ratings
11% above category average
Whereby
9.4
13 Ratings
13% above category average
Calendar integration9.8174 Ratings9.94 Ratings
Meeting initiation9.3182 Ratings9.010 Ratings
Integrates with social media8.182 Ratings9.72 Ratings
Record meetings / events8.9143 Ratings9.07 Ratings
Slideshows9.8115 Ratings9.35 Ratings
Online Events Collaboration
Comparison of Online Events Collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
7.6
173 Ratings
7% below category average
Whereby
8.3
9 Ratings
2% above category average
Live chat8.6171 Ratings9.09 Ratings
Audience polling7.194 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Q&A7.194 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Online Events Security
Comparison of Online Events Security features of Product A and Product B
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
7.0
156 Ratings
15% below category average
Whereby
6.9
11 Ratings
16% below category average
User authentication8.9142 Ratings8.86 Ratings
Participant roles & permissions8.5148 Ratings5.09 Ratings
Confidential attendee list3.7109 Ratings7.04 Ratings
VoIP system collaboration
Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams
7.8
1 Ratings
1% above category average
Whereby
-
Ratings
Video conferencing7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio conferencing8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Video screen sharing8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Instant messaging8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft TeamsWhereby
Small Businesses
ClickMeeting
ClickMeeting
Score 9.3 out of 10
ClickMeeting
ClickMeeting
Score 9.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
ClickMeeting
ClickMeeting
Score 9.3 out of 10
ClickMeeting
ClickMeeting
Score 9.3 out of 10
Enterprises
Webex Meetings
Webex Meetings
Score 8.4 out of 10
Webex Meetings
Webex Meetings
Score 8.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft TeamsWhereby
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(198 ratings)
9.0
(15 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(7 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(14 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
8.5
(40 ratings)
5.1
(9 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.0
(2 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft TeamsWhereby
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams is a remote/virtual team collaboration tool must have...especially if you already use Microsoft tools. Of course, since it now part of an MS 365 subscription, it really doesn't make sense to use anything else. It is easy to use and just works. I'm not sure how anyone who works with digital files/documents and needs to work with other people doing similar work can be effective without such a tool. Of course, there are a number of alternatives like Zoom or Webex, but why pay or use another separate tool if you don't need to. :-)
Read full review
Whereby
If you cannot use another more common solution on the market or are looking for an alternative to the known solutions, it is a great alternative. If you have other tools already, and just want to test [them], that's fine, but I think the better-known ones have a better chance of using, knowing, and the learning curve will be shorter.
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Pros
Microsoft
  • Instant messaging to anyone who we know only by name/email. Even if they're offline, they get the message in missed convos and a notification automatically goes to them via Outlook mail. All conversations are saved and accessible via Outlook.
  • Video and voice calls are a norm in the WFH scenario, and an average employee has around 4-5 calls a day. Skype gives notifications for upcoming meetings, allows easy scheduling via outlook calendar, and its audio/video quality [is] reasonably good compared to the amount of data it consumes.
  • Status availabilities - in the WFH scenario, you could be off for lunch, out of office, busy, sharing screens - and might not want to be disturbed. Skype allows you to do that, and in case you're off, ensures that you know that you have missed messages.
  • Screen sharing - we have to share screens at least once or twice a day with a coworker when working on some issues/features, and Skype easily lets us do that. One of the best things about Skype is that the screen can be shared without being on a video/voice call - which is of immense advantage because oftentimes, you could prefer sharing the screen, while it [is] too noisy to talk.
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Whereby
  • Easy to use: The app is very, very easy to use. Literally just create a chat room (input a name) and access it to chat.
  • Call/video quality: I've experienced better call quality on appear.in than in almost all other chat and video conferencing services out there.
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Cons
Microsoft
  • Connection issues can be hard to diagnose when they come up(as some knowledge of server information may be needed to reestablish as the connection troubleshooting options on the sky are not as user-friendly as the rest of the platform.
  • Some issues setting up camera/sound could use more info on troubleshooting options with playback sound, video, etc.
  • Statuses sometimes are unreliable and do not display correctly .
Read full review
Whereby
  • The paid version may have dial-in. But I have always used the free version. Dial-in is typically required for an "official" multi-purpose teleconference platform.
  • I did have some trouble with larger groups (5+) when it was Appear.in but almost always use it for small 1-on-1 or 3 person meetings.
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Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
The software is simple to install and configure. It is rather simple to explain for correct use. It is possible to profile users for the different functions offered. It is integrated quite completely with Outlook and with Active Directory security. It performs all communication functions well with one or more interlocutors and the possibility of granting control of your computer is convenient.
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Whereby
We are using a larger tool suite that already includes video conferencing instead of our older approach of using different apps from different vendors. appear.in has a simple but great set of features but its pricing scheme is not as scalable as we really need in a 500+ employee company.
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Usability
Microsoft
Very easy to use. Even though Microsoft Teams has a lot of features and integrations, as a user I feel completely comfortable on finding what I need, getting information about the app extensions and using them. It's a very comprehensive tool, intuitive design and does not make me feel tired to be using it. I am glad with the current experience.
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Whereby
Very easy to use, technical and non-technical colleagues have used it with no instructions needed. That says all about the app and services.
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Support Rating
Microsoft
I have only had to reach out to the Support team at Skype for Business once with an issue, and I was pleasantly surprised and encouraged by the quickness and thoroughness of their response. The wait time was short and my question was dealt with politely and clearly, so I would say the support team has it together.
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Whereby
Never had to contact support, so we cannot give a rating for their overall support. When we noticed the audio was not always great quality, we simply educated our users to mute the mic and use the in-room conference phone which is connected via a dedicated VOIP link and had much better voice quality. The video performance varied by locations network speed and found it got much worse when the room size increased to over 4 connections.
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Implementation Rating
Microsoft
Skpe for business is utilized company wide in regards to my company. Everyone not only uses it, but uses it often. It is an effective way of communicating. It also integrates very nicely with outlook and all conversation history is pushed to a folder within the outlook system. We also have it so that if someone misses a message, they are sent an email reminder saying that there is a message that went unread.
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Whereby
After a recommendation from a partner, as the system is very easy to use, we simply start.
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Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
For the below reason I will always choose this app over its competitors: Better audio and video quality, Little to no disconnections or freezing when on a call/video conference Integrates well with mailbox/ calendar/ one drive, and SharePoint is easy to use
Read full review
Whereby
I find Zoom more complicated to use and harder to use because a lot of people do not like having to download things to their computers or devices and Whereby is so easy to get connected with . I like that Zoom offers larger rooms, but at this point the cost is not worth the extra expense.
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Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • Skype for Business has enabled a migration in part away from fixed line telephony and introduced the user to mobile working with a headset which cannot be overstated as being a game changer.
  • Being able to schedule Skype for Business meetings through Outlook has meant meetings with colleagues without a meeting room has been a great enabler.
Read full review
Whereby
  • In general, any sort of online collaborations saves a lot on your budget. The meetings are rather more on time and can be efficient and short.
  • Easy to drop-by and have a small talk with clients/teammates within COVID era.
  • The URL makes you look fancy instead of a random hash.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Whereby Screenshots

Screenshot of Easy video meetings in your browser. No downloads, no login.Screenshot of Up to 50 participants in Townhall rooms.Screenshot of Record, save, and share meetings.