Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) Reviews & Ratings 2025

Overview

What is Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)?

Skype for Business was an online messaging and conferencing tool, now superseded by Microsoft Teams.

Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams is a great collaboration tool!

Rating: 10 out of 10

June 13, 2024

IncentivizedVetted ReviewVerified User

Our team currently works remotely with no physical office. In order to collaborate effectively we needed a solution that allows us to meet virtually and share information (fil...

Austin Lin

Professional - Corporate

IT Operations Lead

Providence Technology Group, Inc.

5 years of experience

Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams: A near perfect all-in one suite for video conferencing and collaboration

Rating: 7 out of 10

June 11, 2024

IncentivizedVetted ReviewVerified User

Skype for Business, now part of Microsoft Teams, is primarily used to have online and hybrid meetings. This is used primarily to overcome the flexible working policies at my o...

Verified user

Employee

4 years of experience

Great Software!

Rating: 8 out of 10

May 4, 2024

Vetted ReviewVerified User

There are no problems so far. This software comes in handy when other organizations request to be used for meetings and they don't have other software's we use in the office. ...

Evelyn Chapman

Employee - Customer Service

Administrative Assistant

Ardurra

1 year of experience

Beyond expectation

Rating: 9 out of 10

January 17, 2024

Vetted ReviewVerified User

Limited features for business collaboration find it lacking in terms of advanced features.Business depend heavily on communication tools and any technical issues often lead to...

Verified user

Employee

4 years of experience

"Skype for Business is a remarkable communication tool that has widespread adoption."

Rating: 8 out of 10

July 13, 2022

Vetted ReviewVerified User

We use Skype for Business as one of the best ways to connect. We can use it anywhere, boosting communication. It is excellent for chats, calls, and videoconferencing, but I ca...

Khairul Islam Tonmoy

Team Lead - Product Management

Software Developer

STAR TECH IT solution Ltd

1 year of experience

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Pricing

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Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)

N/A

Unavailable

What is Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)?

Skype for Business was an online messaging and conferencing tool, now superseded by Microsoft Teams.

Entry-level set up fee?

No setup fee

Offerings

Free Trial
Free/Freemium Version
Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Would you like us to let the vendor know that you want pricing?

12 people also want pricing

Alternatives Pricing

Microsoft Teams combines video conferencing software with team collaboration tools. The communications platform allows MS Office users to conduct conference calls and share files via SharePoint, and join or initiate a group chat.

Skype (discontinued)

$2.99

per month

What is Skype (discontinued)?

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.

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Features

Performance & Compatibility of Online Events Software

Features related to the performance, reliability & compatibility of web conferencing and webinar (online events) software.

Avg 7.9

9
High quality audio
(191) Ratings
High quality audio connection is consistently available, with few or no interruptions.
9
High quality video
(185) Ratings
High quality video connection is consistently available, with few or no interruptions.
5.1
Low bandwidth requirements
(181) Ratings
Software is optimized so that meetings do not require a huge amount of bandwidth.
9
Mobile support
(146) Ratings
Attendees can access meetings/webinars from mobile devices.

Screen Sharing

Features related to remote screen sharing capabilities.

7.1

Avg 7.9

Online Meetings / Events

Features related to hosting and attending meetings and events online.

9.3

Avg 8.2

9.9
Calendar integration
(174) Ratings
Scheduling capabilities integrate with users’ Calendars.
9.5
Meeting initiation
(182) Ratings
Meetings can be easily initiated, whether they are scheduled or on the fly.
8.1
Integrates with social media
(82) Ratings
Integrates with social media sites like Twitter and LinkedIn to promote meetings and webinars.
9
Record meetings / events
(143) Ratings
Meetings and webinars can be recorded for playback.
9.9
Slideshows
(115) Ratings
Presenters can present slideshows during the meeting within the web conferencing platform.

Online Events Collaboration

Features related to collaboration between attendees during web conferences, webinars, and other online events.

7.5

Avg 8.1

Online Events Security

Features related to the security of meetings and other events held via web conferencing/webinar software.

6.9

Avg 8.0

9
User authentication
(142) Ratings
Administrators can require users to authenticate their identities before joining a meeting.
8.5
Participant roles & permissions
(148) Ratings
Administrators can grant users different levels of access to conferences, as moderators, presenters, attendees, or participants. Permissions can be set for individual users, or based on user role/group.
3.2
Confidential attendee list
(109) Ratings
Presenters, moderators, or admins can see a confidential list of attendees that is not visible to all attendees.

VoIP system collaboration

Team collaboration via cloud phone system

7.8

Avg 7.7

7
Video conferencing
(1) Ratings
Built-in video conferencing capabilities
8
Audio conferencing
(1) Ratings
Audio conferencing credentials for all on the system.
8
Video screen sharing
(1) Ratings
Users are able to share their screens with other meeting participants on video conference calls.
8
Instant messaging
(1) Ratings
Users are able to communicate via chat, either one-on-one or in a group message, through an instant messaging or chat tool.

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Product Details

About
Tech Details
FAQs

What is Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)?

Skype for Business was a unified communications tool superseded by Microsoft Teams.

For personal use, Skype Desktop and Mobile apps are still available for download, but for business functionality the vendor now fully supports Microsoft Teams as the replacement for Skype for Business.

Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) Technical Details

Operating Systems	Unspecified
Mobile Application	No

Frequently Asked Questions

Skype for Business was an online messaging and conferencing tool, now superseded by Microsoft Teams.

Reviewers rate Calendar integration and Slideshows highest, with a score of 9.9.

The most common users of Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued) are from Enterprises (1,001+ employees).

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Comparisons

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Reviews From Top Reviewers

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(1-5 of 167)

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Stacks up well compared to any free option.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Incentivized

April 22, 2016

Verified User

Administrator in Marketing

Non-Profit Organization Management Company, 51-200 employees

Vetted Review

Verified User

2 years of experience

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Skype for Business is being used for video calls with learning groups. It is primarily used by three departments that focus on professional development. It helps create remote class rooms for departments and users.

Pros

Quality of video is good and noticeably better than standard skype
Easy to use, not too dissimilar from standard skype

Cons

Audio quality certainly could use some work
Lag needs to be secured, frame rate shouldn't fall below a certain threshold on good internet connections

Likelihood to Recommend

Skype for Business definitely tops any free options out there.

It's Skype we all know, but just for business nothing personal.

Rating: 9 out of 10

June 12, 2018

Stefan Trbojevic

CCC Team Lead

NCR Corporation (Information Technology and Services, 10,001+ employees)

Vetted Review

Verified User

3 years of experience

View profile

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Skype for Business is being used across the whole organization. We mostly use it for a quick conversation, quick questions, and answers.
The whole Idea being connected with everyone from your organization that numbers 10.000+ users is perfect. Team collaboration has never been easier. No matter where you are stationed you can jump into a Quick conversation, meeting or video call to elaborate on hot topics.

My team which has around 350+ people use it daily. I, for instance, have 20 separate Chats/Conversations. Some of them are really big chats where we have more than 50+, and some of them are just private e.g. Leadership chat.
In those big chats, we have employees asking questions about work, and someone is always available to provide them with an adequate answer, which boosts our team productivity enormously.

Pros

Status: Integration with Outlook and Outlook calendar makes it easy for you if you accept a meeting invitation. Skype will read your calendar data and change your status to "In a Meeting" where you won't get disturbed by side chats or notifications.
Remote connection: another great tool if you need to connect with someone and show them how something is done. For example, you need to install your company printer on their machine, it is easier to take control than to explain chatting.
Video and Audio calls: Skype always had high-quality calls, nothing has changed in that department, you can always call a colleague and have a talk about something that must be explained quickly.
Ability to add Skype contacts outside of your organization. It makes Skype for Business also your personal Skype, but you shouldn't share your organization email easily with everyone.

Cons

Having multiple Chats/Conversations open, make Skype unresponsive from time to time. Sometimes it has tendencies of crashing even on high-end machines.
Grouping chats - Works well, however, there is no option to group appointed meeting conversation with other regular conversations/chats that were not initiated by calendar event.
Should be able to have some themes to choose from. Microsoft is going for a dark theme in Windows insider program. Personal Skype already has it why wouldn't Skype for business have it? It is pleasant to the eye, at least in my opinion and for my eyes.

Likelihood to Recommend

Skype for business is literally good for everything no matter if it's a quick conversation, question and answer, or simple file sharing. It can do it all.

It is much better and faster way of communication than email if you want to get fast answer. But its integration with Outlook makes it just easy if you want to shoot a question about some email that you received and you do not completely understand it or you have more questions about your project.

Less appropriate usage would be for chit chats as your employees can lose focus having fun chatting with other employees in their private conversation.

Skype for Business - Great Tool for companies looking for an instant messaging and conference software

Rating: 10 out of 10

Incentivized

April 15, 2016

Verified User

Administrator in Information Technology

Financial Services Company, 501-1000 employees

Vetted Review

Verified User

2 years of experience

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We utilize Skype for Business as our main communication tool outside of of e-mail. It's used primarily as an instant messaging tool and a presentation tool.

Pros

Integrates well with our Microsoft prodcts
Reliable instant messaging program
Video conferencing works well
Ability to present desktop

Likelihood to Recommend

Skype for Business is great for conference calls, video conferencing, and desktop sharing. If you are looking for a tool for large groups, there are better alternatives (i.e. WebEx, Vidyo, etc.).

Easy to use help for internal communications

Rating: 7 out of 10

Incentivized

March 24, 2017

Roel Timmermans

European Online Marketing Leader

D+M Group (Consumer Electronics, 501-1000 employees)

Vetted Review

Verified User

2 years of experience

View profile

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use it as internal messenger and for video calls. Especially with teams across countries and with multiple people that need to be able to join the call, this is an easy to use application.

Pros

Video calls
Screensharing
Messaging

Cons

Sending files and images (slow)
Allow external / non-Skype for business users

Likelihood to Recommend

[Skype is well suited for scenarios that are] Internal. It is a very easy to use tool. Simple and accessible.

Does not support external phone line/calls

Rating: 1 out of 10

Incentivized

January 23, 2018

Mechelle Timmons

Founder/CEO

MJT US (Research, 1-10 employees)

Vetted Review

Verified User

1 year of experience

View profile

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We are a small start-up and tried to drink the Microsoft Kool-Aid by going with Office 365 for Business, which Skype for Business comes with. We really wanted to use this tool for our phone (VoIP) and team/customer chatting. We spent numerous hours trying to figure out how to get business and individual phone lines. Skype for Business is not set up that way, there was a workaround that we could have implemented but it was very confusing and the time and the expense was not worth the headache.

Pros

Chatting - very easy to chat with internal teams and external customers that have a Skype account.
Outgoing phone calls - worked fine.
Screen sharing - worked well internally.

Cons

No way to receive external phone calls unless they have a Skype account. This was a deal killer for us.
No way to schedule meetings with customers and share screen if they are calling in from an external number - they must have Skype and you have to be connected.

Likelihood to Recommend

If you are a company that doesn't need to receive external phone calls from non-Skype users, this would be a good fit for you.

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Skype for Business / Lync (discontinued)

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Cons

Cons

Cons

Cons