"Skype is unmatched in terms of its user base, reliability, and ease of use."
We use Skype, an effective tool for communicating internationally. It's the best software for calls, meetings, and instant messages due to …
Skype
Top Rated
Skype
Top Rated
Skype
Overview
What is Skype?
Skype (the personal edition) is a free web meeting, video conferencing, and VoIP software. The free version includes audio and video Skype-to-Skype calls, ability to call mobile phones and landlines, paid international calling, and conference calling capabilities for up to...
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Top Rated
2022
Popular Features
View all 17 features- Desktop sharing (113)8.585%
- High quality audio (130)8.484%
- High quality video (128)8.282%
- Low bandwidth requirements (125)6.969%
Reviewer Pros & Cons
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Adil Khan Robin
Front-end Developer| Team Lead
Dhaka IT Solution (Information Technology & Services, 11-50 employees)
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Pricing
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What is Skype?
Skype (the personal edition) is a free web meeting, video conferencing, and VoIP software. The free version includes audio and video Skype-to-Skype calls, ability to call mobile phones and landlines, paid international calling, and conference calling capabilities for up to 25 people.
Entry-level set up fee?
- No setup fee
Offerings
- Free Trial
- Free/Freemium Version
- Premium Consulting / Integration Services
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GoToConnect, from GoTo, is a cloud-based business phone system with built-in web-based video conferencing solutions. It includes features such as call analytics, call recording, softphone, fax to email, voicemail to email, and desktop integration.
Product Demos
Skype group video calling for mobile phones and tablets brings everyone together
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Features
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Product Details
- About
- Tech Details
- FAQs
What is Skype?
Skype (the personal edition) is a free web meeting, video
conferencing, and VoIP software. The free version includes instant messaging, audio
and video Skype-to-Skype calls, the ability to call mobile phones and
landlines, paid international calling, and conference calling capabilities for
up to 25 people. During video sessions, users also have the option to share
their screen with other participants. Other distinctive features include background blurring, voice and text translation, location share, conversation search, and integration with Microsoft's Digital Assistant, Cortana.
This version of Skype works on phones, desktop, tablet, browsers, Alexa, and
Xbox. Users can call landlines and mobile phones from around the world by
paying for Skype Credit or signing up for Skype subscriptions, a monthly
contract for users who only need service to specific regions. Users can also
pay to have a local phone number through Skype Numbers, so that they can answer
phone calls from their desktops, tablets, or smartphones. They can also send
SMS text messages and share their location using the Skype mobile app.
Skype Video
What is Skype?
Skype Technical Details
| Operating Systems | Unspecified |
|---|---|
| Mobile Application | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
Skype (the personal edition) is a free web meeting, video conferencing, and VoIP software. The free version includes audio and video Skype-to-Skype calls, ability to call mobile phones and landlines, paid international calling, and conference calling capabilities for up to 25 people.
Reviewers rate Live chat highest, with a score of 8.7.
The most common users of Skype are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We use Skype, an effective tool for communicating internationally. It's the best software for calls, meetings, and instant messages due to its multiple communication methods. Microsoft supports Skype with simple integrations into OneDrive, making sending and receiving even very large files easy. Installing the Zoom plugin for Skype lets us import Zoom contacts and invite them to Skype meetings. Skype allows us to collaborate, communicate, and create. Screen-sharing, file-sharing, and image-sharing are all possible. Skype shows screenshots without downloading them, making it ideal for sharing. One of the most inspiring resources is the built-in whiteboard, which can be used to make designs and illustrate discussions. It allows the host to record meetings anytime, which are immediately shared with participants. Skype uses industry-leading technology with full privacy and security.
- It's the best call, meeting, and IM software.
- An attractive and straightforward UI is a major selling point.
- IMs and calls are free, and paid features are affordable.
- It's great for group meetings because it allows video and audio calls.
- Free users may find ads intrusive.
- Some callers and texters have dropped.
- Slow internet connections can degrade call quality.
January 04, 2023
Communicate with anyone from anywhere, for free!
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Ever since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our government posted heavy lockdowns and social distancing restrictions we had to adhere to. Our company couldn't function the way it used to as we couldn't go to our office and work in person. Skype helped us by acting as a bridge through which we could connect with one another from our homes. Skype is free-to-use and easily accessible on any Windows computer or laptop. It's a cross-platform software, meaning one can use it on any device as it's also available on portable devices like smartphones and tablets. This made it easy for us to stay in touch during work hours as we could carry out our daily tasks from our home and remain on the same page during both individual and collaborative work. Skype allows multiple mediums of communication, such as instant messaging, voice calling, video calling, and scheduled meetings. Everyone is just one click away from connecting with, which helped us greatly in transitioning to working from home. File sharing on Skype is quick and secure, thereby reducing our reliance on attaching files to emails, which is slowly being phased out. Screen-sharing is another major feature on Skype through which we can share any part of our screen during meetings and enhance our discussions.
- Skype is excellent for people looking to collaborate on their work remotely.
- Skype is free to use on any device and is a great substitute for phone calls.
- Skype allows you to record your sessions, which you can view at any time. In the event someone is unable to attend a meeting, the entire session can be recorded and sent to them so that they can catch up on the topics discussed.
- Skype allows secure image and file transfers.
- Skype's integration with OneDrive makes it possible to transfer large files that may exceed Skype's file transfer limit.
- Skype has VOIP features through paid subscriptions that you can use to make calls anywhere in the world.
- Skype has a closed eco-system and cannot be integrated with a vast majority of the software that people use on a day-to-day basis.
- Skype's interface is pretty outdated when you compare it to Zoom, which is more intuitive and user-friendly.
- Long hours of screen-sharing on Skype can take up a lot of memory and in turn, make Skype laggy.
December 01, 2022
The software will upgrade your work pattern and will help in achieving your business goals more fast and make your communication more easy.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We use Skype in our organization to get connected at every time and at any place through this software as it helps us a lot in communicating and passing information from one person to another in no time. It is very less time-consuming and easy to use. Through the software, we do calling, chat and share files and images, videos, etc., on a single tip.
- Through Skype we can communicate very easily globally
- We can do Chat, Call, Video Call, Screensharing, Media & File sharing at a one tip
- We can create different groups and can add a large number of people to the same group, which helps in spreading any news to masses
- Skype need to add different templates which looks more attractive.
- No Training
No
July 12, 2022
Seamless user interface.
It's used for video, audio discussions and file sharing. Because of COVID-19 it has become part of our life and our day-to-day communication has become so seamless. We are using its free version and not facing any challenges. I am sure because of its user friendly UI anybody could use it easily. I am a developer so, my discussions are mostly with other developers over Skype but all other teams like management, testing and all senior level employees use Skype for communication.
- First of all its user friendly and convenient interface. Anybody without much training can use it.
- Easily installable on any operating system [without] installing any dependencies.
- It's inexpensive. Although its free version fulfills almost all requirements. if you want to purchase its paid version for international calls it is still very much cost effective.
- Skype could add a translation feature in its software. If a user sends text to another user in a different language Skype could translate it for that user.
- Skype could add a status feature like WhatsApp so that users can describe their feelings.
- Skype lite app size is still big; Skype should reduce its size.
Skype is used for team members to keep in touch and direct message one another. Groups can be made to include multiple people/departments. It is widely used throughout the whole organization. Video conferencing is also available. At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Skype was used to facilitate meetings that had been in person.
- Instant messaging
- User friendliness
- Video conferencing
- Group threads
- Slow, big files
- Recording video to send later
- Identification of who is speaking
In these times where online communication is vital and every IT organization is in dire need of a meeting tool that covers all professional aspects as well as requirements for bringing people close and making communication easy. Skype has become a part and parcel of day to day professional life of users
- Online meetings
- file sharing
- Group conferencing
- May be license cost for professional use could be lowered to compete with other competitors.
- Bandwidth requirements are high and could be reduced
November 29, 2021
User friendly and great connectivity - 10/10
Due to covid-19, we had to implement many online strategies in order to communicate. Skype allowed us to schedule meetings with people in our department and across other departments, as well as those who are not in the office or cannot come to meet in person. Now we can continue using Skype to expedite meetings without meeting in person.
- Expedites meeting scheduling now that it can all be virtual.
- Many people from different locations can get on a call more easily without the hassle of traveling.
- Very user friendly!
- I’d like to see a feature where you can do interactive presentations - unless this has already been implemented within the past few months that I have not used it!
- Some connectivity issues.
- Other than that I don’t see any other improvements needed since this already helps our team tremendously.
November 29, 2021
An All Around Good Communications Tool
We use Skype to communicate externally with other peer organizations. Notably we have also used Skype to communicate with job applicants in other countries. As a large organization I am sure that other offices are using Skype on campus. Skype fills a void for a reliable face to face communication platform that makes it feel like you are having a casual conversation with others without the need to be present. In a previous role I used Skype's chat or instant messaging features but no longer use that functionality. It worked well when I used it but it is my understanding they have beefed up this functionality.
- It does video calling very well.
- You can share files easily over the platform.
- The chat / instant messaging feature was robust.
- It's very accessible. Users on many platforms can use it.
- It is reliable. I have not had issues with uptime or charshing.
- I think that often people are confused on what usage or functions will cost them money to use.
- Everyone is concerned about security and safety these days. I don't conduct secret business over Skype but I've heard there may be some concerns about this issue if you are thinking of using it for sensitive information.
- Chat history gets deleted after a certain point so if keeping years long records is something that you are looking to do consider saving chunks off from time to time.
November 24, 2021
Skype has delivered as promised in a virtual world
We use Skype to engage customers virtually. Due to the pandemic access was curtailed and we needed to quickly adapt to the virtual world and Skype was 1 tool in our arsenal.
- Easy interface
- Connectivity
- Engagement
- Better more user-friendly whiteboard for virtual engagement.
- Tracking questions.
- PowerPoint interface.
November 09, 2021
Call on a budget!
We use Skype, to conduct and monitor all our Sales calls and reach out programs, It is used primarily by our sales, product/Ops, and customer service teams to stay in touch with our leads and customers. It helped us in terms of not worrying about user adoption as most people are familiar with the product. Also, the screen-sharing features, ease of use in terms of the simplicity Skype had to offer is unparalleled. We did not have to roll out any kind of training within the organization as the teams were familiar with its UI and UX already. So there were cost savings on that from a training perspective. Also, the Audio quality while making calls through Skype for Business is unbeaten to this day be it through MS Teams or Zoom.
- Doesn't require high internet speeds.
- Videoconferencing.
- Voice calls.
- Instant messaging.
- Screen sharing and recording.
- Freezes often.
- Needs to update and add more features as competitors provide more and better offerings.
- UI has been the same for years.
- No new features, would love to see some more.
October 28, 2021
Skype: Feel free to connect!
Skype is a primary and needful app for me and our organization. Skype is very good for personal or small group chatting and meeting. It is well distributed and well accepted. Skype is probably the easiest of this type of app to install and get working. We use Skype both for internal communication between employees and for communication with our clients. Currently, Skype works perfectly on any device such as PC, tablets, and smartphones.
- Notification system of Skype is awesome.
- You can set your group video call to Dynamic View.
- During a call, you can send files, share contacts, add callers, and share your screen.
- Skype need to improvement in Performance
- The mobile version does not update conversations immediately So need to work on it.
- The file size limit on shared files is less.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
A pioneer in video communication software, Skype is a service like no other. It’s a pioneering app that’s made communication accessible to millions of people across the globe. Using it for collaboration with coworkers and family members, meetings, and even hosting webinars is a fantastic idea! Keeping in contact with clients and coworkers throughout the pandemic was easy using Skype. Employees and customers alike took advantage of it. Today, Skype is available on a wide range of devices, such as tablets, smartphones, and desktop PCs. Even though we can share the screen, it may exchange extensive files of up to several GB through Skype conversation.
- Using our mobile phones, tablets, and desktop PCs to communicate with others is doable, as long as we remember to keep track of our conversations on all of them.
- Excellent video conference software with a solid backbone and an intuitive user interface. When discussing in-depth problems with customers, this is very beneficial.
- Slack-like chat that is constantly being updated by Microsoft makes it simple for businesses to stay on top of communication with others.
- A sign-in procedure that is more secure, and network delays during video calls degrade the user experience, as well as an even more streamlined user interface, are all goals.
- Updated feature sets are required to remain competitive. While operating, it may crash, thus this has to be addressed.
- Skype has a premium calling option and the call prices should go down as a result of the improved integration.
September 11, 2021
Feel Safe with Skype with 15 years of Expertise
I used Skype for the first time 15 years ago. Videoconferencing from user to user wasn't widely available at that time due to the lack of software applications. My duties in Canada involved dealing with vendors from Australia, the UK, India, the Philippines, Canada, and the US. Seeing each other's faces was what I liked about it. At the time, it was free, and it is still free today as long as both parties are using Skype. We prefer Skype because of its security issues, but they've also been around for a while.
- Videoconferencing
- Videotelephony
- Voice calls
- Instant messaging
- File transfer
- Private calls
- Closed caption auto recordings per person in a group (Live Captions)
August 16, 2021
an Engineer's Review of Skype
Skype is being used by our company for keeping in touch with other members and communicating while working remotely.
- Reliable connection for calls and conference meetings
- Ability to join a meeting from a phone line
- Ability to share screen with other meeting participants
- Ability to record meetings
- Not possible to hold Webinars
- No social networking groups unlike Teams
August 13, 2021
If simplicity + ease are what you're looking for, go for Skype. If more than that, look elsewhere
Skype was being tested as one of the video conference calling tools for our office. Since we're an audio and music company, one of the most crucial elements of these different programs we were auditing to make a decision was the sound quality, which unfortunately Skype fell very short. We were constantly having issues with dropped audio, robotic sounding voices, and difficulty sharing audio. It's unfortunate since we would have had this service already implemented with Microsoft Office.
- UX/UI is very intuitive
- Built in video features make privacy/backgrounds simple
- Cross-device functionality is seamless
- Audio quality is horrible: choppy, robotic, dropped, etc.
- Other functions outside video calls are virtually useless + other apps (Slack) work much better
- Limited features: no breakout rooms, lack of interactivity, it's very basic
August 13, 2021
easy to use collaboration tool
Skype has been used by both at the department level and across the whole organization. Since Teams have essentially replaced most of Skype implementations for collaboration, Skype is being used more on an individual basis. It addresses the business problems of having a really easy to use collaboration tool, both from a management standpoint and also a user standpoint.
- It works good across multiple platforms. This is very important, since so many organizations are dealing with multiple/mixed OS's in their environments.
- It works really well among different programs, as it integrates seamlessly especially with the MS Office suite. This is a benefit to users, since they can access Skype form within programs.
- It is very easy to use, especially from a user standpoint. There is not really formal training that is required for users to be able to utilize this in their everyday work.
- You really need a strong internet service connection to work with Skype, which helps when making video calls/conferencing, etc. Otherwise, weaker connections will lead to more issues with the above.
- Skype needs to be more secure overall, as it has come under attack lately from hackers, intrusions, etc. This then leads to user information possibly becoming exposed, etc.
- The platform needs to be more stable overall. As compared to some other collaboration software on the market, Skype does seem to have more stability issues overall.
July 26, 2021
Skype- classic but useful
Skype was used at my previous employer as a way to handle video conferencing. Particularly as the whole world shifted to digital meetings, we used it to stay connected to donors, sponsors, community partners and other organizations. This was helpful to communicate our mission to these prospects and potential collaborators.
- Video conferencing
- Audio quality
- Consistency
- Other programs featured more
- Not industry standard
- Reputation as outdated
July 26, 2021
Skype review
Skype is used primarily for remote meetings and interviews, even before the pandemic. Charts and groups are also used to collaborate remotely with different groups and to build connections between coworkers. Since it can be installed on almost any device it's easy for almost anyone in our org to use.
- Can be installed on basically any device
- Video meetings four groups of any size
- Affordable
- Recording meetings is not intuitive
- Zoom is easier to broadcast webinars
- Need to download and update often
- Special account needed
July 26, 2021
Skype works Fine, but most people choose Zoom.
Skype is the defacto choice for instant messaging communication among staff members. The University where I work is a "Microsoft Campus" so everyone has Skype installed by default, and we use our university email address as skype IDs. It can help address the problem of a quick question that needs a quick answer, or it helps remote colleagues collaborate in certain situations.
- Instant Messaging with a constrained user base
- Voice calls
- Video Calls
- Linux support
- Chromebook support
- Phone system integration
July 26, 2021
Skype make video calling easier.
I and company using this software for the last 5 years and I think this is the best software for collaboration. I often use this software during my office meeting. This is very easy to use and has very good features of screen sharing and so on. I recommend you to try at once and you will fall in love with this software.
- Easy to use and you can also access through your mobile
- Video and audio quality is so good
- It is very safe to use.
- You can also share your screen
- Sometimes there is a lag in the application.
- Sharing files sometime creating issue.
- Audio quality need to improve.
July 26, 2021
Still superior video call quality
My current company is very small, only a few employees. It's a startup, where everyone works from a different locations. Skype is used for quick calls and conference calls between employees.
- Quick video chat to work on a product
- Screenshare option.
- Available on range of devices and platforms
- Less people using Skype, make something to attract more people
- Some UI improvements, some of the new chat/video chat apps look better
July 22, 2021
How Skype Has Helped Our Company
Skype is being used by our organization mostly by myself to have meetings with employees and certifiers of our product that currently cannot come visit our facility due to the coronavirus pandemic. It addresses the problems that the virus has caused with social distancing by allowing us to stay in contact with our employees and the like.
- User-Friendly Interface
- Easy to find contacts
- Call Quality for us is always crisp and clear!
- The Search function seems to find people that we have no idea who they are
- Even with notifications turned off, notifications still find a way through for no apparent reason
- Too many spam emails from bots and random accounts
July 20, 2021
A nice application to use Business and personal use
With being at home for work, programs like Skype have made it easier to see and hear coworkers and team members in order to get help or collaborate on projects more effectively.
- Skype is valuable in business, It permits individuals to work from the home, it has numerous accommodating highlights including bunch video considering that saves a great deal of movement time and cash for the organizations, organizations can speak with associates, and it assists the organizations with conveying bunch gatherings from better places.
- Video gathering.
- Introduce android telephones.
- Cross-stage Support.
- Decrease in Travel Costs.
- Expansion in Revenue and Opportunities.
- Cost Savings.
- Validation.
- Easy to use.
- Easy maintenance.
- Easy to connect to another person.
- Pakistan
July 19, 2021
Probably the best free collaboration tool
Skype is used across our whole organization as the main tactical communication tool for coordination of maintenance windows and to quickly discuss working questions with various teams. There are plenty of "permanent" chat groups as well as a bunch of "temporary" ones that change their names depending on the situation. It certainly lacks integration with corporate mail system but allows for better cross-platform flexibility comparing to some free alternatives we tried.
- Skype saves money particularly well since it's free
- Skype allows one-to-one interaction as well as easily maintainable group discussions
- Skype has screen sharing capabilities which become much better recently
- Reliability - Skype sometimes is not very reliable in delivering messages right away
- Notification management - the "smart" notification feature is not easy to find and properly configure
- Integration - there is no integration with corporate email system
- Security - there is no easy control of chat group members in case of resource rotation
Skype is used in two main ways with my production company. First of all, it's a useful way to video chat for people who don't own Apple products (otherwise we would use Facetime) and who don't want to bother with meeting links (otherwise we would use Zoom). The second use is that we record podcasts and Skype not only allows us to all dial-in together but serves as a recorder that later we can extract the file to post for our audience.
- Allowing you to call someone across several devices, including phones, tablets, and desktop computers
- Allows you to record your sessions to be used for record keeping or Podcast creation
- Allows you to have multiple people dial in to the same call easily and smoothly
- Skype's overall UI is a little confusing, especially the phone app
- It's unclear how to steer a Skype call, which is to say if I call someone and they have Skype on multiple devices, do they all ring or just the one related to the method I used to call (phone #, email, etc.)
- Skype tries to be not just a communication device but also somewhat a social media platform, which it doesn't need to be.