After bringing together people from around the world for 23 years, Skype, a popular video calling service, is closed. Parent company Microsoft has confirmed that the official sunset for the service is May 5, 2025.
Skype users can choose to migrate all their contacts and chat with their Microsoft teams, or download Skype data and migrate to another video call service.
To help Switch users, we have created a guide on how to migrate to a team and how to download Skype data. Additionally, we have curated a list of apps calling alternative videos that can replace Skype.
How to migrate from Skype to Microsoft Teams
By May 5th, Skype users will be able to sign in to their teams for free using their Skype credentials. Once you log in, all your chats and contacts will be automatically transferred to the app.
Teams offer Skype-like features such as one-on-one calls, messaging, and file sharing. Skype is primarily designed for casual use with small groups (up to 20 participants), but the team is more business-focused and houses up to 10,000 participants per video call. It also comes with advanced security features and a variety of integrations, including Evernote, OneDrive, Office 365, Salesforce, SharePoint, and Trello.
Teams are available on Android, iOS, Mac, PC, and the web.
How to export Skype data
For users who are not interested in migrating to a Microsoft team, we recommend exporting their account data. This will back up valuable information such as messages, files, contact details and more to be accessible in the future.
Open Skype and log in. Click on the three horizontal dots under the account name in the top left corner.[設定]>[アカウントとプロファイル]>[アカウント]Go to. After being redirected to Skype's web portal, choose from either the export contact (.CSV), caller ID number (.CSV), or export file and chat history. The “Export File and Chat History” option allows users to download conversations and files.[リクエストを送信]Click to continue. Once the export process is complete,[ダウンロード]Click.
This is the best Skype alternative
Google Meet
Image credit: Google
The obvious benefit of using Google Meet is that it is free to use with your Google account. Migrating to this platform is pretty easy as many people already use Google and have existing accounts.
With Google Meet, users can hold meetings with up to 100 participants, record meetings, share screens, and more. The downside of the free plan is that there is a 60-minute time limit if there are more than three participants in the meeting.
Large companies are encouraged to purchase Google Workspace plans for features with up to 25 co-hosts, split participants into small breakout rooms during meetings, purchase poll creation, Q&A session setup, live streaming to YouTube and more. Workspaces ($7/month, $14/month, $22/month, etc.) provide AI-powered tools through Gemini Assistant.
zoom
Zoom is another popular web conferencing tool. It hosts up to 100 participants and offers several useful features, including the ability to chat with both private and public groups, and features tools such as notebooks, whiteboards, screen sharing features. Users can also record meetings and access transcripts.
However, one drawback is the 40-minute time limit per meeting for users on the free plan. To prevent meetings from being disconnected, users must purchase a subscription. Subscriptions range from $13/month to $18/month. Paid subscribers will have access to Zoom's AI companion. This includes the ability to summarise meetings and ask questions about the transcribed meetings.
WebEx
Image credit: WebEx
WebEx, a Cisco-owned video conferencing tool, offers similar plans to its competitors. For example, there are features such as screen sharing, session recording, and whiteboarding.
The free plan includes up to 100 participants per meeting and an unfortunate time limit of 40 minutes. WebEx also offers plans that cost $12 a month and $22 a month or more, depending on the size of your team. Paid Tiers come with AI Assistant, Live Polling, Q&A, and the ability to add up to 1,000 participants.
discord
Discord was originally designed as a chat platform for gamers, but also serves as an alternative to Skype for personal use and small teams. However, it is not recommended for large companies as it limits calls to 25 participants.
On the positive side, Discord offers unlimited meeting lengths and features, including screen sharing, ability to record meetings, and breakout rooms. The platform has two paid options, priced at $5 a month and $10 a month, plus a free plan, making it one of the more affordable options available depending on the needs of the user.
slack
Image credit: Slack
Slack may not be ideal for formal scheduled meetings with large groups, but it is effective for voluntary meetings within team chats. Slack's Huddle feature allows users to easily transition from chat threads to unofficial audio or video calls with colleagues. The free plan allows Huddles to accommodate only two people, while the paid plans ($7 a month or $12 a month) allow up to 50 people.
signal
Signal, an encrypted messaging app, has provided the ability to call group videos from 2020, serving up to 50 participants in a single call.
Although not a direct Skype competitor, users can share the links of calls and send links to others rather than creating groups as Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft teams do. In particular, signals are freely available.
Other similar apps for mobile users considering video calls with small groups include WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Apple FaceTime.