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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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Recent Reviews

Great for one on one

6 out of 10
October 18, 2023
Incentivized
It has allowed us to connect with our team members around the world in one on one scenarios. It is helpful to be able to see them face to …
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Call on a budget!

8 out of 10
November 09, 2021
Incentivized
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 …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 17 features
  • High quality audio (131)
    7.9
    79%
  • High quality video (129)
    7.8
    78%
  • Desktop sharing (114)
    7.4
    74%
  • Low bandwidth requirements (126)
    6.5
    65%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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N/A
Unavailable

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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51 people also want pricing

Alternatives Pricing

What is GoTo Connect?

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.

What is PanTerra Networks?

PanTerra is a provider of unified cloud-based services for communications, enterprise file sharing and mobility solutions for mid-market enterprises (MME), headquartered in Santa Clara. The Company's Streams service provides - Unified Communications and SmartBox - Communications-Enabled Content…

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Product Demos

Skype Video Call Demo Video (No Audio)

YouTube

One Chat - All in one Messenger for WhatsApp, Fb, Skype & more

YouTube

Designing a Drawer / Sliding panel in Winform App C# (Skype Demo)

YouTube

Skype on Symbian Video Demo

YouTube

Demo of Skype for the iPhone

YouTube

Sony Xperia M Skype Video Call Demo - Front Camera Quality - PhoneRadar

YouTube
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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.

7.5
Avg 8.0

Screen Sharing

Features related to remote screen sharing capabilities.

6.9
Avg 8.0

Online Meetings / Events

Features related to hosting and attending meetings and events online.

6.8
Avg 8.2

Online Events Collaboration

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

7.7
Avg 8.4

Online Events Security

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

7.4
Avg 8.4
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Product Details

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 SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

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 8.5.

The most common users of Skype are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(2604)

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 136)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
October 18, 2023

Great for one on one

Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Skype is great for one on one calls. I would highly recommend it if you need to speak with one person. If you need to speak to 2 or more people, I would recommend using something else. For me, the greatest improvement should be around collaboration with groups and teams.
Score 4 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
In the current setting, Skype will suit people who have always used it. It is a good solution and they will know it well. This will cover your personal chats and conversations but business applications like group video chats an collaborations.
scenarios where it is less appropriate is if people you’re inviting to a meeting don’t have an account or where you want good quality audio and video.
Adil Khan Robin | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Skype is convenient and trustworthy. That was one of the first video conferencing apps to call landlines and mobiles. It's simple, reliable, fast, and compatible with calendars. Skype's group meeting feature makes it great for business. It enables global interaction by facilitating free worldwide phone calls between Skype users. Skype eliminates the need for meeting attendees to travel to a boardroom or office. Instead, users can hold meetings at home and make faster decisions. Skype is great, but they should increase the member limit. If a business wants to host a town hall with more than 100 people, using Skype can be a disadvantage.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
As I have experienced Skype and found that it helps us a lot in my professional and personal life. Through Skype, I can communicate with my colleague, clients, family, and friends from anywhere in the world. I can do Audio calls, video calls, screen sharing, and chatting with anyone. It is very remote-friendly software and acquires very less space in your mobile or system. It is user-friendly. I use it to share all the official documents and other files with another person through Skype, and it works very nicely and efficiently while transferring the data.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
This software can be used in any kind of organization. Because it provides almost all features like audio, video conferring and file sharing with different applications like Skype lite and Skype for business. I recommend to all to use Skype for remote discussions and file sharing. It's less expensive than other software which are available in market. I do not have anything negative to say because Skype fulfilling all my requirements.
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I prefer using Skype to the other video conferencing systems available (Teams, Zoom, etc.). Skype handles text, audio, video and can send and receive files through Skype. Staying connected to others in an organization, at least for quick calls/texts/etc, has been made easier with Skype. I would caution against having too many people in a thread. More than 10+ in a text/video/audio thread and people begin to talk over each other, and there is too much information coming at once to be useful.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
In projects where one has to stay in constant touch with industry professionals on the principal side or client-side internationally, skype is a communication tool that we can rely upon. Meeting requirements are done easily and people all around the globe are in touch constantly and connected through chats, video calls , calling always
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Skype is best suited now more than ever across many different purposes. I think it’s allowed people to realize how easily we can all communicate from where we are at any time within our working hours. It allows us to get the answers we need for meetings, presentations, interviews, and more way quicker than ever before.
Jason Hartigan | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
If you want to be able to communicate quickly and easily for personal or professional reasons Skype is a great solution. It offers the ability to feel like you are in the same place. It also allows you to communicate quickly and concisely if you don't want to bother with a full video and audio setup. I don't think it is well suited for chatting with multiple people at once. The maximum number of people you can get together is 10. We found it much easier to go with Google Hangouts for smaller group calls because it was free and GoToMeeting for larger groups. GoToMeeting also had a fee but was well suited for such environments.
November 09, 2021

Call on a budget!

Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Well, it is perfect if you plan to cover long geographic locations and are looking at a cost-effective means to have an effective call dialer option that can be tracked and monitored. This software is primarily used to connect with internal teams, with customers, and with clients allowing for file sharing as well as quick updates.
Chetan Chandrapal | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Well Suited: I can use it for basic communication, audio calls, and video calls. The interface and seamless features are really good which makes a great overall experience. Skype allows for flexibility in being able to do both conversing and video/audio calling in one platform. Less appropriate: They are so many cheaper options available in the market which offers almost the same services. So, basically costing could have been better.
Nilufa Hossain | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
With Skype, it’s a dream come true, particularly if we’re chatting fast or calling abroad. This isn’t the greatest option for sizeable groups with a lot of users. Even if the participants are in separate countries, it may take the place of regular telephone communication. It’s ideal for making international calls. That Skype has no security problems is one thing I enjoy most about it. Other applications have security problems that we read about all the time, yet Skype doesn't have any!
Michael Chow | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
What I like about this application is the security. We constantly hear about security issues with other apps, but we don't hear about them with Skype! When you hear about other applications having security or privacy issues, you wonder what Skype is doing right in comparison. Therefore, Skype's existence for over 15 years means something!
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
If the goal is keeping in touch with other team members, Skype can handle that well. The software is intuitive and offers stable connections. However, for meetings with large groups or holding webinars, the competitor software Zoom is more suitable. For sharing and maintaining information in channels, as well as simple management of projects in Kanban board, Teams is more suitable.
Score 5 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
The biggest benefit of Skype is that it's native to the Microsoft ecosystem. If you're using Office 365 it's already part of the suite and makes it a lot easier for IT/tech to manage within these settings. You're not managing several different accounts for employees on multiple platforms with different passwords, 2 factor authentication, etc. It's simple to use, quick to pick up, and relatively effortless for people who simply need to make video calls to communicate and talk.

However, if you're looking for a more robust system and video/audio quality are extremely important features to you, I'd look elsewhere. We're a smaller team so dealing with multiple accounts/different logins across SaaS programs isn't an issue, but I could see this problematic if you're a larger organization managing everything from a central account (Microsoft for example).
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It is well suited to organizations that want a collaboration tool that is easy to set up/deploy, and is easy to be used by users, without having them go through formal training to learn how to use the software. It is less appropriate in organizations that want a platform that has little to none stability issues, and is the most secure platform around.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Skype is perfectly suited for video calls and spent a decade as the industry’s leader. It seems like more people have shifted to Zoom and Microsoft Teams but it still gets the job done. I think it will continue to be reliable and a quality product even as others steal its shine.
July 26, 2021

Skype review

Maggie Karl | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 5 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Good for places with small tech budgets, places that need to do video meetings and/or chats. Better for smaller events, not big virtual event webinars. Less user-friendly and has less functionality than Zoom. Chats and groups work well.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Skype is fine if you need to set up a meeting with specific colleagues. It's well-integrated into Outlook, and most people will have it installed on their work computers. Problems arise if someone wants to call in from a non-windows or non-osx device. I haven't had much luck with Linux or Chomeos, for example.
Jitendra Pratap | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Because of its easy-to-use feature, I like it most ease of access and affordability of the application across different platforms and devices. Also, it is available across other devices and platforms. A highly recommended feature is the ability to video call either one on one or a team meeting. Seamless experience when it comes to video conferencing.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We find Skype to be well suited in the ease of function. Finding people we need to have meetings with, setting up voice or video chat, and adjusting any settings, such as volume, is very simple and fast. We find Skype to be less appropriate when a voice chat could easily be done just on a regular phone call.
Score 5 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Skype is very well suited for handling discussions of matters not involving private/sensitive information. It is definitely just fine for any personal conversations and group chats. I could not recommend it for anything involving PII or any other sensitive data since chat membership control is very unreliable once the chat grows large.
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