After 23 years of connecting folks all over the world, Skype, the favored video-calling service, is shutting down. Microsoft, the father or mother firm, confirmed that the official sundown date for the service is Could 5, 2025.
Skype customers can both migrate all their contacts and chat information to Microsoft Groups, or they’ll select to obtain their Skype information and transition to a different video-calling service.
To help customers within the change, we’ve created a information on the best way to migrate to Groups or obtain Skype information. Moreover, we’ve curated an inventory of other video-calling apps that may exchange Skype.
The best way to transfer from Skype to Microsoft Groups
Earlier than Could 5, Skype customers can register to Groups without cost utilizing their Skype credentials. As soon as logged in, all their chats and contacts will robotically switch to the app.
Groups gives options just like Skype, together with one-on-one and group calls, messaging, and file sharing. Whereas Skype was primarily designed for smaller teams (as much as 20 members) and informal use, Groups is extra business-focused, accommodating as much as 10,000 members in a single video name. It additionally comes with superior security measures and varied integrations, comparable to Evernote, OneDrive, Workplace 365, Salesforce, SharePoint, Trello, and extra.
Groups is offered on Android, iOS, Mac, PC, and the net.
The best way to export Skype information
For customers who aren’t excited by making the transition to Microsoft Groups, we nonetheless advocate exporting account information. This ensures that beneficial info — comparable to messages, information, and make contact with particulars — is backed up and might be accessed sooner or later.
- Open Skype and log in.
- Click on on the three horizontal dots below the account identify within the prime left nook.
- Go to Settings > Account & Profile > Your Account.
- After being redirected to Skype’s net portal, select from both Export contacts (.csv), Export Caller ID numbers (.csv), or Export information and chat historical past.
- The “Export information and chat historical past” choice lets customers obtain Conversations and Recordsdata.
- Click on Submit Request and Proceed.
- When the export course of is full, click on Obtain.
Listed below are the most effective Skype alternate options
Google Meet
An apparent advantage of utilizing Google Meet is that it’s accessible without cost with a Google account. Since lots of people are already utilizing Google and have present accounts, transitioning to this platform could be pretty simple.
Google Meet permits customers to carry conferences with as much as 100 members, report conferences, share screens, and extra. A downside with the free plan is that if a gathering has greater than three members, there’s a 60-minute time restrict.
Massive firms could wish to buy a Google Workspace plan for options like having as much as 25 co-hosts, dividing members into smaller breakout rooms throughout conferences, creating polls, establishing a Q&A session, livestreaming to YouTube, and extra. Workspace — which has plans for $7/month, $14/month, $22/month, and up — additionally gives AI-powered instruments by way of its Gemini assistant, which helps Meet customers take notes and create customized background photos.
Zoom
Zoom is one other standard web-conferencing instrument. It gives a number of useful options, together with the flexibility to host as much as 100 members and chat in each personal and public teams, and has instruments comparable to notes, a whiteboard, and screen-sharing capabilities. Customers may report conferences and entry transcripts.
Nevertheless, one draw back is the 40-minute time restrict per assembly for customers on the free plan. To keep away from having conferences reduce off, customers might want to buy a subscription, which ranges from $13/month to $18/month. Paid subscribers have entry to Zoom’s AI Companion, which incorporates the flexibility to summarize conferences and ask questions on transcribed conferences.
Webex
Webex, the Cisco-owned video conferencing instrument, gives the same plan to its rivals. As an example, it has options comparable to display screen sharing, the flexibility to report periods, a whiteboard functionality, and extra.
The free plan contains as much as 100 attendees per assembly, in addition to an unlucky 40-minute time restrict. Webex additionally gives plans from $12/month, $22/month, and up, relying on crew dimension. The paid tiers include an AI assistant, dwell polling, Q&A, and the flexibility so as to add as much as 1,000 attendees.
Discord
Discord was initially designed as a chat platform for avid gamers, however it will possibly additionally function an alternative choice to Skype for private use or for smaller groups. Nevertheless, it’s not advisable for bigger companies, because it limits calls to 25 members.
On the optimistic aspect, Discord gives limitless assembly lengths and options comparable to display screen sharing, the flexibility to report conferences, and breakout rooms. The platform has a free plan along with two paid choices priced at $5/month and $10/month, making it one of many extra reasonably priced selections accessible, relying on customers’ wants.
Slack
Whereas Slack might not be preferrred for formally scheduled conferences with giant teams, it may be efficient for spontaneous conferences inside crew chats. The Huddle characteristic in Slack permits customers to simply transition from a chat thread to a casual audio or video name with colleagues. On the free plan, Huddles can accommodate solely two folks, whereas paid plans (priced at $7/month or $12/month) permit for as much as 50.
Sign
Sign, the encrypted messaging app, has offered group video-calling options since 2020 and might accommodate as much as 50 members in a single name.
Though it’s not a direct competitor to Skype, it permits customers to share hyperlinks for calls, enabling them to easily ship the hyperlink to others quite than creating a gaggle, very like Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Groups do. Notably, Sign is free to make use of.
Different comparable apps for cellular customers trying to video name with smaller teams embody WhatsApp, Fb Messenger, and Apple FaceTime.
