Skype alternatives

Skype alternatives now that Skype is retired

Skype was retired on May 5, 2025, and Microsoft moves its users to Teams Free, where you sign in with your Skype account and keep your chats and contacts. If you want something else, Google Meet allows free one-on-one calls of up to 24 hours, Brave Talk unlimited calls for up to 4 people, and Meeto browser calls plus a contact list. None calls phone numbers.

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By Meeto · Updated

What happened to Skype

Microsoft retired Skype on May 5, 2025[1] and named Microsoft Teams Free as the way forward[2]. You sign in to Teams Free with your existing Skype account[3], and your chats and contacts transfer when you do[4]. Skype history could be requested through Microsoft's export portal until June 15, 2026[5], and all Skype Number subscriptions ended in May 2026[6].

Teams Free is the shortest path for most former Skype users. The others below suit people who mostly made video calls and want something lighter, or who call people who will not install anything. If what you need is a meeting tool for work, see the Microsoft Teams alternatives or the free video conferencing comparison.

How we chose these alternatives

Each product had to be available today and to publish its limits on its own pages. We compared them on the same points:

What we checked for every product
CriterionWhat we looked at
One-on-one callsHow long a free call between two people may last, since that was most Skype use.
Group callsThe free time limit and number of people for family and team calls.
JoiningWhether the other person needs an account or an app, or can join from a browser link.
ContactsWhether you can keep a list of people and call them directly, the way Skype worked.
PriceThe cheapest paid plan in USD, if you outgrow the free one.

This page is published by Meeto, one of the products on it. Meeto's limits are printed as plainly as the others', including what it does not do. No vendor paid to be listed, and there are no affiliate links.

Products appear in alphabetical order; this is not a ranking. Every figure about another product links to the vendor's own page, quoted as read on November 3, 2026.

The alternatives at a glance

Free calls on each Skype alternative
ProductFree meeting lengthFree plan: peopleCheapest paid plan
Brave TalkNo limit[7]Up to 4[8]Premium, $7/month[9][10]
Google Meet60 min (3+); 24 h one-on-one[11][12]Up to 100[13]Business Starter, $8.40/user/month[14][15]
Jitsi Meet (meet.jit.si)95 min[16]Not statedNone (free service)[17]
Meeto60 min (2 or more people)Up to 10Pro, $6.99/month
Microsoft Teams Free60 min (one-on-one unclear)[18][19][20]Up to 100[21]Essentials, $4/user/month (yearly)[22][23]
Whereby30 min[24]Up to 4[25]Pro, $10.99/month[26][27]
Zoom40 min[28][29]Up to 100[30]Pro, $16.99/user/month[31][32]

Prices are in USD as each vendor lists them. A product name links to its card below.

The 7 alternatives

Brave Talk

by Brave Software

Video calls from Brave Software that run in the browser, free for small calls.

Free meeting length
No limit on the number or length of free calls[7]
Free plan: people
Up to 4[8]
Guests
Invitees join from any browser with the call link; no login or download[33][34]
Cheapest paid plan
Brave Talk Premium: $7/month[9][10]

Good for

  • Long free calls with up to 4 people.
  • Optional encryption with keys held by participants.[35]

Watch out for

  • Free calls are for 4 people at most; larger calls and recording need Premium.[8][36]

Facts from Brave Software's own pages, listed under Sources.

Google Meet

by Google

Google's video meetings, free with a personal Google Account.

Free meeting length
60 minutes with 3 or more people; one-on-one meetings up to 24 hours[11][12]
Free plan: people
Up to 100[13]
Guests
The host needs a Google Account; guests can join without one, but someone in the meeting has to let them in[37][38]
Cheapest paid plan
Google Workspace Business Starter: $8.40/user/month on the flexible plan[14][15]

Good for

  • Long one-on-one calls: up to 24 hours on a computer.
  • Families and friends who already have Google Accounts.

Watch out for

  • Group calls on a free account end at the hour.
  • A guest without a Google Account waits for someone to let them in.

Facts from Google's own pages, listed under Sources. Full comparison: Meeto vs Google Meet.

Jitsi Meet (meet.jit.si)

by Jitsi (8x8)

Open-source video meetings on the free meet.jit.si service.

Free meeting length
95 minutes per meeting on meet.jit.si, since October 9, 2026[16]
Guests
The person who creates the room needs an account; the others do not[39][40]
Free use cap
25 active end points per calendar month, under meet.jit.si's terms of service[41]
Cheapest paid plan
None: meet.jit.si is run as a free service[17]

Good for

  • Free calls of up to 95 minutes from the browser.
  • People who prefer open-source software.

Watch out for

  • The person who creates the room has to sign in.
  • The monthly usage cap on meet.jit.si.

Facts from Jitsi (8x8)'s own pages, listed under Sources. Full comparison: Meeto vs Jitsi Meet (meet.jit.si).

Meeto

by Meeto — the publisher of this page

Browser video meetings, plus a contact list and direct calls between Meeto accounts on the web and in the iOS and Android apps.

Contacts
Add people with a Meeto account as contacts (up to 25 on Free) and call them directly, like a phone call, in the browser or the apps; on iPhone the call rings like a normal incoming call
Free meeting length
60 minutes once 2 or more people are in the call, one-on-one included
Free plan: people
Up to 10
Guests
No account and no app; guests join from the link in a browser
Cheapest paid plan
Pro: $6.99/month or $69/year; no time limit for up to 2 meetings at a time, up to 25 people

Good for

  • Calling people who do not want another account: send a link and they join from the browser.
  • A Skype-style contact list for people who do have a Meeto account.
  • Running client calls with a booking page, not just personal calls.

Watch out for

  • No calls to phone numbers and no phone dial-in, so it does not replace Skype Credit or a Skype Number.
  • Free calls stop after 60 minutes once two people are in them, one-on-one included.
  • Text chat exists only during a call and is deleted when the meeting ends; there is no chat history.

Facts from Meeto's pricing and limits, reviewed November 3, 2026.

Microsoft Teams Free

by Microsoft

Microsoft's official replacement for Skype: sign in with your Skype account and your chats and contacts come with you.

Moving from Skype
Sign in with your existing Skype account; chats and contacts transfer automatically[3][4]
Free meeting length
60 minutes for group meetings. For one-on-one meetings Microsoft's pages disagree: one says up to 30 hours, its plan table gives 60 minutes for every meeting[18][19][20]
Free plan: people
Up to 100[21]
Guests
Join from a link without a Teams account, in a browser[42][43]
Cheapest paid plan
Teams Essentials: $4/user/month, paid yearly only[22][23]

Good for

  • Keeping your Skype contacts and chat history with the least effort.
  • Group chats with family or friends alongside calls.

Watch out for

  • Group calls end at 60 minutes on the free plan.
  • No meeting recordings on the free plan.[44]
  • Chats between Skype users and Teams work or school accounts do not move over.[4]

Facts from Microsoft's own pages, listed under Sources. Full comparison: Meeto vs Microsoft Teams.

Whereby

by Whereby

Browser meeting rooms at a fixed link, with no app or login for guests.

Free meeting length
30 minutes per meeting[24]
Free plan: people
Up to 4[25]
Guests
No download and no login for guests[45][46]
Cheapest paid plan
Pro: $10.99/month for 1 host, excluding VAT[26][27]

Good for

  • One permanent room link that friends and family can bookmark.
  • End-to-end encryption in small rooms.[47]

Watch out for

  • Free calls end at 30 minutes, with up to 4 people.

Facts from Whereby's own pages, listed under Sources. Full comparison: Meeto vs Whereby.

Zoom

by Zoom

The best-known meetings platform, with a free Basic plan.

Free meeting length
40 minutes per meeting, one-on-one included[28][29]
Free plan: people
Up to 100[30]
Guests
Can join without signing in, from the browser through the Zoom Web App; a host can require sign-in[48][49]
Cheapest paid plan
Pro: $16.99/user/month billed monthly[31][32]

Good for

  • Calls with people who already have Zoom installed.
  • Larger group calls of up to 100 people.

Watch out for

  • Every free call ends at 40 minutes, including calls between two people.
  • It is built around scheduled meetings rather than a contact list.

Facts from Zoom's own pages, listed under Sources. Full comparison: Meeto vs Zoom.

Moving the people you used to call

  1. Decide where the contacts live. Teams Free brings your Skype contacts over when you sign in. With any other tool you rebuild the list, so start with the handful of people you call most.
  2. Send one link first. For people who will not install an app, a browser link is the easiest start: with Meeto they open it and are in the call in the browser, no account needed.
  3. Add contacts for regular calls. People you call every week can create a free Meeto account and add each other as contacts, then call directly from the web or the iOS and Android apps.

Sources

Meeto facts come from the pricing and limits and security pages, reviewed November 3, 2026. Every other figure is quoted from its vendor's own page on the date shown. Plans change; check the linked page before you decide.

  1. Skype: support.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/skype-is-retiring-in-may-2025-what-you-need-to-know — “As of May 5th, 2025, Skype is retired. This change will impact both free and paid Skype users, but not Skype for Business.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  2. Skype: support.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/skype-is-retiring-in-may-2025-what-you-need-to-know — “Skype users can move to Microsoft Teams Free, which offers many of the same core features and more.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  3. Skype: support.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/skype-is-retiring-in-may-2025-what-you-need-to-know — “You can log in to Teams Free with your existing Skype account” (checked November 3, 2026)
  4. Skype: support.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/skype-is-retiring-in-may-2025-what-you-need-to-know — “Your chats and contacts will automatically transfer to Teams Free when you log in with your Skype credentials.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  5. Skype: support.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/skype-is-retiring-in-may-2025-what-you-need-to-know — “Users will be able to request a copy of their Skype history using the export portal until June 15, 2026” (checked November 3, 2026)
  6. Skype: support.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/skype-is-retiring-in-may-2025-what-you-need-to-know — “All Skype Number subscriptions have ended in May 2026.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  7. Brave Talk: brave.com/talk — “Make as many free calls as you want, for as long as you want. With Brave Talk, there’s no limit on the number or length of free calls.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  8. Brave Talk: brave.com/talk — “With Brave Talk, calls are free and private for up to 4 people.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  9. Brave Talk: brave.com/premium — “Talk premium $7.00/month $69.99/year Start free trial” (checked November 3, 2026)
  10. Brave Talk: brave.com/premium — “$7.00/month” (checked November 3, 2026)
  11. Google Meet: support.google.com/meet/answer/7317473 — “Meetings with 3 or more participants for up to 60 minutes.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  12. Google Meet: support.google.com/meet/answer/7317473 — “One-on-one meetings for up to 24 hours.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  13. Google Meet: support.google.com/meet/answer/7317473 — “For users with personal Google accounts: You can have a maximum of 100 participants in a meeting.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  14. Google Meet: workspace.google.com/pricing.html — “Business Starter includes 30 GB pooled storage per user” (checked November 3, 2026)
  15. Google Meet: knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/billing/flexible-plan — “$8.40 USD per user for Business Starter” (checked November 3, 2026)
  16. Jitsi Meet (meet.jit.si): jitsi.org/blog/changes-coming — “Starting today, meetings on meet.jit.si are limited to 95 minutes.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  17. Jitsi Meet (meet.jit.si): jitsi.org/user-faq — “Yes. Jitsi is 100% open source and freely available to use and develop with. We also host and run meet.jit.si as a free service.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  18. Microsoft Teams: microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/free — “Free group calls and meetings for up to 60 minutes.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  19. Microsoft Teams: microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/free-video-conferencing — “Unlimited one-to-one meetings for up to 30 hours” (checked November 3, 2026)
  20. Microsoft Teams: support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/learn-more-about-subscriptions-for-microsoft-teams-free-1061bbd0-6d97-46a6-8ca0-21059be3eee3 — “Maximum meeting duration | 60 minutes | 30 hours | 30 hours | 30 hours” (checked November 3, 2026)
  21. Microsoft Teams: microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/free — “Up to 100 participants per meeting.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  22. Microsoft Teams: microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/free — “Unlimited group meetings for up to 30 hours with up to 300 people.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  23. Microsoft Teams: microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/essentials — “$4.00 user/month, paid yearly (annual subscription–auto renews)” (checked November 3, 2026)
  24. Whereby: whereby.com/information/meetings/pricing — “Meetings for up to 30 minutes” (checked November 3, 2026)
  25. Whereby: whereby.com/information/meetings/pricing — “4 attendees per meeting” (checked November 3, 2026)
  26. Whereby: whereby.com/information/meetings/pricing — “Pro For professional individuals $10.99 per month 1 host” (checked November 3, 2026)
  27. Whereby: whereby.com/information/meetings/pricing — “$10.99 per month 1 host” (checked November 3, 2026)
  28. Zoom: zoom.us/pricing — “40 minutes per meeting” (checked November 3, 2026)
  29. Zoom: support.zoom.com/hc/en/article — “Almost all meetings scheduled and hosted by Basic (free) users, on Free and Paid accounts, are limited to 40 minutes.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  30. Zoom: zoom.us/pricing — “100 participants per meeting” (checked November 3, 2026)
  31. Zoom: zoom.us/pricing — “Best for personal use or small teams.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  32. Zoom: zoom.us/pricing — “$16.99 /user per month · billed monthly” (checked November 3, 2026)
  33. Brave Talk: brave.com/talk — “The people you invite can join from any browser as well (they just need the call link).” (checked November 3, 2026)
  34. Brave Talk: brave.com/talk — “Browser-based (no login or download required)” (checked November 3, 2026)
  35. Brave Talk: brave.com/talk — “Only people with keys can see your calls. Assuming honest but curious behavior, neither Brave nor its partner, 8x8, have this key by default.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  36. Brave Talk: brave.com/talk — “Brave Talk Premium offers call recordings, hosting tools like participant muting and entry passcodes, and more for calls with hundreds of people.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  37. Google Meet: workspace.google.com/products/meet — “Anyone with a Google Account can create a video meeting, invite up to 100 participants, and meet for up to 60 minutes per meeting at no cost.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  38. Google Meet: support.google.com/meet/answer/9303069 — “You can join a meeting without a Google Account, but the organizer or a participant needs to let you in.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  39. Jitsi Meet (meet.jit.si): jitsi.org/security — “Since August 24, 2023, meet.jit.si requires an account for the person creating the room.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  40. Jitsi Meet (meet.jit.si): jitsi.org/security — “Subsequent participants in meetings do not need to create an account.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  41. Jitsi Meet (meet.jit.si): jitsi.org/meet-jit-si-terms-of-service — “Your Use of the Service at no cost is limited to a maximum aggregate total of 25 Active End Points per calendar month” (checked November 3, 2026)
  42. Microsoft Teams: microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/free — “Create a quick meeting with a meeting link for others to join, even without a Teams account, free up to 60 minutes.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  43. Microsoft Teams: microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/free-video-conferencing — “No. You can join a Teams meeting from a web browser without installing anything.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  44. Microsoft Teams: support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/learn-more-about-subscriptions-for-microsoft-teams-free-1061bbd0-6d97-46a6-8ca0-21059be3eee3 — “Meeting recordings | No | Yes | Yes | Yes” (checked November 3, 2026)
  45. Whereby: whereby.com/information/meetings — “No downloads and no login for guests required.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  46. Whereby: whereby.com/information/meetings — “All calls run directly in your browser, making it easy to join and connect during a session. No additional logins or app downloads required.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  47. Whereby: whereby.com/information/security — “For small rooms, End2End Encryption is in effect, ensuring that nobody except the call participants, can access the video calls.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  48. Zoom: support.zoom.com/hc/en/article — “To join a meeting without signing in, click Join a meeting.” (checked November 3, 2026)
  49. Zoom: support.zoom.com/hc/en/article — “The Zoom Web App brings the full Zoom Workplace experience to your browser, no downloads or plugins required.” (checked November 3, 2026)

Frequently asked questions

Is Skype still working?

No. Microsoft retired Skype on May 5, 2025, for free and paid users alike; Skype for Business was not affected. Microsoft's page says Skype history could be exported until June 15, 2026.

What did Microsoft replace Skype with?

Microsoft Teams Free. You sign in to Teams Free with your existing Skype account, without creating a new one, and your chats and contacts move over automatically.

Which Skype alternative can call phone numbers?

None of the products on this page is a replacement for calling landlines and mobiles with Skype Credit. They all call other app or browser users. Microsoft's page says all Skype Number subscriptions ended in May 2026.

Which free Skype alternative has the longest calls between two people?

Google Meet allows one-on-one calls of up to 24 hours on a computer, and Brave Talk has no time limit for up to 4 people. Jitsi Meet allows 95 minutes. Meeto's free plan allows 60 minutes.

Put it to work

Open your Meeto account to set it up, or explore the working product first.

Try Meeto freeSee Meeto pricing
Microsoft Teams alternatives

Meeting tools compared with Teams free.

Calls without a download

How a Meeto guest joins from a browser link.

Free video meetings

What Meeto's free plan includes, and its limits.