It’s over for Skype. What are the real alternatives?
Not so long ago – in late August, 2024 – we’ve published a post titled “Microsoft carries on with Skype; why would you want it?” It was about an update for the messenger, a rather big one, which kind of hinted at the company’s desire to keep it going for this software.
Today, on February 28, 2025, XDA Developers broke the news about finding a line in the app's code that announces Skype shutdown in May and urges users to switch to Teams. This decision was likely made a considerable time ago, but, as a matter of fact, Skype has actually been growing: in 2010, it had 145 million monthly users, and in 2025 – up to 300 million. We can only speculate about the reasons behind this decision now, since, as of this writing, Microsoft have not made an official statement on the matter.
So, it’s time to consider switching to a Skype alternative. Microsoft Teams is an obvious choice, but if it is not to your liking, here are four other solutions, selected with the aim to cover as many use cases as possible.
1. Google Meet
Google Meet was launched in 2017 as a version of Google Hangouts for companies. With time, it evolved into a solid video communication service that really picked up during the COVID-19 pandemic, since the calls were free, interface clean, and quality good.
Today, Google Meet is one of the most popular solutions of this kind on the market, supporting video conferencing, voice calls, and text chats. It allows up to 100 participants in the free plan and up to 500 for paid accounts. Key features include screen sharing, live captions, meeting recordings (for paying customers), and breakout rooms. Available as a browser version and an app for Android and iOS.
2. Slack
“Slack” is actually an acronym for “Searchable Log of All Conversation and Knowledge,” coined by one of the creators of the system. It started out in 2013 as an internal communication tool for a now-defunct online game Glitch, and developed into a go-to solution for corporate communications. In 2021, Slack was acquired by Salesforce for $27.7 billion.
Slack has quickly outgrown its initial concept of a messenger: today, in addition to texting, it allows voice and video calls, and file sharing. The standout feature, though, is channels, a great way to organize communication by topics or projects. Another good thing about Slack is the abundance of integrations: the system can work with over 2,200 tools, including Google Drive, Zoom, and Salesforce. While limited in functions, the free tier of Slack is a popular choice among small teams.
3. Jami
Jami was launched in 2016 as “Ring,” and renamed later to avoid trademark conflicts. It is a decentralized, open-source communication platform, totally free. The priorities announced by the developers of Jami are privacy and security, so the software may feel a bit less comfortable for those used to paid solutions.
Unlike many other communication systems, Jami relies on a peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture, so there are no central servers behind it. With end-to-end encryption and X.509 certificate-based authentication, this approach does deliver in terms of privacy. Feature-wise, Jami offers instant messaging, voice and video calls, group chats (referred to as “Swarms”), video conferencing, screen sharing, and file sharing.
4. Talky
If you’re looking for something lightweight and simple, consider Talky. Launched in 2013, it is a browser-based communication platform that focuses on being just useful, not fancy. Talky relies on WebRTC technology, which means everything happens in your browser, no downloads required.
Currently, Talky supports instant messaging, voice and video calls, screen sharing, and group chats. As a bonus, you can create virtual meeting rooms and take notes during calls. Talky is compatible with most modern browsers (e.g., Chrome, Firefox, Safari) and works on any device with a browser that supports WebRTC.
And if you need a client for some other messenger, check out Instant Messaging & VoIP section of the Informer catalog:
