Skype (discontinued) vs. West Collaboration (discontinued)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Skype (discontinued)
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
Skype (the personal edition or Skype free) was a web meeting, video conferencing, and VoIP software, now superseded by Microsoft Teams' free edition and unsupported from May 2025.
$2.99
per month
West Collaboration (discontinued)
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Launched in October 2020, Hoot Meetings from Intrado was a client-free service used to host and join video meetings. Since rebranding to West Technology Group, the company is discontinuing its collaboration technologies. Hoot Meetings is no longer available.N/A
Pricing
Skype (discontinued)West Collaboration (discontinued)
Editions & Modules
United States Subscription
$2.99
per month
North America Subscription
$6.99
per month
India Subscription
$7.99
per month
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Skype (discontinued)West Collaboration (discontinued)
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Skype (discontinued)West Collaboration (discontinued)
Features
Skype (discontinued)West Collaboration (discontinued)
Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software
Comparison of Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software features of Product A and Product B
Skype (discontinued)
6.7
138 Ratings
17% below category average
West Collaboration (discontinued)
8.5
2 Ratings
7% above category average
High quality audio7.2135 Ratings9.02 Ratings
High quality video7.5133 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Low bandwidth requirements6.0130 Ratings7.62 Ratings
Mobile support6.0118 Ratings8.42 Ratings
Screen Sharing
Comparison of Screen Sharing features of Product A and Product B
Skype (discontinued)
6.4
119 Ratings
21% below category average
West Collaboration (discontinued)
8.3
2 Ratings
5% above category average
Desktop sharing6.2118 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Whiteboards6.660 Ratings8.62 Ratings
Online Meetings / Events
Comparison of Online Meetings / Events features of Product A and Product B
Skype (discontinued)
6.3
118 Ratings
26% below category average
West Collaboration (discontinued)
8.4
2 Ratings
3% above category average
Calendar integration6.385 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Meeting initiation6.8106 Ratings8.62 Ratings
Integrates with social media4.965 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Record meetings / events7.077 Ratings8.62 Ratings
Slideshows6.568 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Online Events Collaboration
Comparison of Online Events Collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Skype (discontinued)
5.8
111 Ratings
33% below category average
West Collaboration (discontinued)
8.3
2 Ratings
3% above category average
Live chat6.1110 Ratings8.42 Ratings
Audience polling5.764 Ratings8.42 Ratings
Q&A5.762 Ratings8.02 Ratings
Online Events Security
Comparison of Online Events Security features of Product A and Product B
Skype (discontinued)
7.5
101 Ratings
7% below category average
West Collaboration (discontinued)
8.7
2 Ratings
8% above category average
User authentication8.888 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Participant roles & permissions7.183 Ratings8.42 Ratings
Confidential attendee list6.560 Ratings8.62 Ratings
VoIP system collaboration
Comparison of VoIP system collaboration features of Product A and Product B
Skype (discontinued)
6.9
4 Ratings
9% below category average
West Collaboration (discontinued)
-
Ratings
Video conferencing6.44 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio conferencing7.24 Ratings00 Ratings
Video screen sharing6.24 Ratings00 Ratings
Instant messaging7.74 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Skype (discontinued)West Collaboration (discontinued)
Small Businesses
Whereby
Whereby
Score 9.9 out of 10
Whereby
Whereby
Score 9.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
JioMeet
JioMeet
Score 9.8 out of 10
JioMeet
JioMeet
Score 9.8 out of 10
Enterprises
Webex Meetings
Webex Meetings
Score 8.7 out of 10
Webex Meetings
Webex Meetings
Score 8.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Skype (discontinued)West Collaboration (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
8.4
(140 ratings)
8.4
(2 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
6.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(42 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Professional Services
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Skype (discontinued)West Collaboration (discontinued)
Likelihood to Recommend
Discontinued Products
Having interacted with a new replacement tool, Microsoft Teams, it is challenging to recommend Skype, as it lacks some essential features, such as being less equipped with the latest updates, and it is not platform-independent, causing issues on PCs and phones, as well as during calls that might hinder work.
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Discontinued Products
It is a great choice if someone wants to add a large number of participants and have a large team. I have been using it and haven’t found it ruining the quality of video because of participants. Furthermore, My team found it easy to join the link . Something that bothers me is that it doesn’t work well with a weak internet connection and this is troublesome for us.
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Pros
Discontinued Products
  • The instant chat function is great. Very straightforward, easy to use, easy to learn, no technical issues.
  • Video calls are pretty easy also, user friendly and a mostly stable connection with no issues.
  • Voice calls are easy also, eliminates the need for an external landline or the need to use your cell phone. Clear connections, not really any dropped calls.
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Discontinued Products
  • Its integration with [Microsoft] Outlook is very helpful for us.
  • It provides the best quality of video and audio.
  • Its pricing is so fair and justified.
  • Its mobile application works quite smoothly.
Read full review
Cons
Discontinued Products
  • Skype is a RESOURCE hog. People who have limited bandwidth will have poor call quality.
  • It is hard to figure out how to use emojis and upload images in the chat.
  • The background images do not fool anybody....it is clearly not your real background.
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Discontinued Products
  • It requires a profoundly strong internet connection or else it stops working.
  • It is buggy.
  • There should be an update on it.
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Likelihood to Renew
Discontinued Products
I have given this rating as this need to give more than that as it's very helpful for us and makes our work more efficient and fast.
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Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Usability
Discontinued Products
Skype is not as good as Facetime in terms of ease to glance at it and figure out how it works. I think that's a result of Skype trying to be too many things at once. A lot of the menu and UI could be streamlined, and I would jettison some of the additional functions that have been tacked on over the years to simplify. That being said, while some options are slightly hard to find, they all work flawlessly once found.
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Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Discontinued Products
I am not aware of the current support level for Skype for business, as I have never used even though I have the product. However, the support for Skype's personal paid users is not where it could be. Users who pay for Skype features do not have a clear path to reach out to support. So, rating 6, can be better as soon as I need to use Skype for business support and get a good experience. I will say that I will renew Skype for Business subscription, which is a significant inconsistency on my end. The explanation is that Skype for Business comes bundled with Office for Business, with no additional cost, so why not.
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Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Discontinued Products
It can be used on the phone via mobile application as well as on the desktop by logging in to the website. Easily installed and ready to use.
Read full review
Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Discontinued Products
We use Skype in combination with Grasshopper. While Grasshopper acts as a routing toll free number with extensions, if we are making calls directly, we do it through Skype. Skype's desktop and mobile apps are easier to use, and provide unlimited local calls at a flat, affordable rate. Allowing our team to use their existing mobile or desktop devices without additional hardware for business office phone calls is important, and Skype makes that possible
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Discontinued Products
I was not satisfied with the quality of video Zoom used to provide us. Furthermore, my team didn’t find the Zoom link easy to join and above all creating link for the meeting was very hard and tricky in Zoom which is easy in Hoot and Hoot works well even with a large number of participants, and my teammates find it easy.
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Professional Services
Discontinued Products
The service provided is up to date, as discussed before buying.
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Discontinued Products
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Discontinued Products
  • Skype made keeping in touch with an advisor in Mexico very easy. The initiative there resulted in 5 new partnerships.
  • Skype has helped me with account management for at least 3 customers in LATAM--usually it's a fast way to answer a question about a support renewal.
  • For about 9 months Skype helped me stay in touch with a colleague in Prague. We would meet once a week to go over sales activities.
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Discontinued Products
  • My team and I can better coordinate.
  • I am able to bring my team on one page and can communicate freely.
  • I can add my whole team and the quality of the video remains the same.
Read full review
ScreenShots