Zoom vs. Skype: Which Video Calling App Is Better?
The past two years have massively increased our worldwide demand for video conferencing services.
With so many people working from home, businesses have overhauled their entire infrastructure to integrate these services into their long-term plans. This has left people around the world with a choice: which video conferencing service should you choose? There are many options out there that serve a variety of different needs, making the decision far from easy.
Zoom and Skype are two of the most reliable and popular options on the market. While both applications provide the same basic service, they do so in very different ways that provide drastically unique experiences from one another.
Pricing, size, layout, and video quality are not equal, so here is an overview and comparison of both options.
Skype
Skype was one of the first services that popularized video conferencing. Before 2020, Skype allowed people to meet and talk from anywhere on the planet with minimal delay. For a long time, the Skype brand was synonymous with video conferencing in general.
Features of Skype
Skype’s real-time communication service translates to an instant messaging platform as well. With Skype, you can create a list of contacts and call or message them at any time so long as they are also Skype users, similar to using a phone. For a price, you can also use Skype to call a person’s mobile or landline device.
How Skype Scales
A Skype call can house up to 50 people. This makes it well suited to small business meetings or gatherings.
Skype’s Accessibility
To use Skype, everyone who wants to be a part of the meeting has to have the internet or the software installed.
Skype is a very popular platform, with roughly 2.27 billion users as of 2020, so many people you interact with will likely have access to Skype. At one point, the other party had to have Skype installed, but users could access a Skype meeting from their browser with the launch of Meet Now.
Skype Integrates With Other Applications
Skype is owned by Microsoft, meaning that it is compatible with several different Microsoft programs. These include but are not limited to Outlook and Office.
Skype’s Price
Any communication between two Skype users is free. Communication to a cell or landline can be done by purchasing Skype credit.
Zoom
Zoom is the younger of the two platforms, but it has rocketed in popularity over the past couple of years. Zoom is based entirely around its web conferencing capabilities, providing various tools within each meeting that allows for better control of participants and scheduling procedures.
Zoom Features
Zoom also has various features that hosts can utilize to streamline meetings, such as breakout groups and webinar hosting, both widely used in the business and educational spaces. A great tool is meeting transcripts, which is very beneficial for groups to ensure non-attendees have access to the information discussed in the meeting.
How Zoom Scales
A huge benefit of using Zoom is that you can meet up to 100 participants at its base level. If you are willing to dish out some money to upgrade your plan, you could end up with up to a thousand meeting participants in your conference.
Zoom’s Accessibility
Like Skype, all you need to do to get on a Zoom call is the link. While you can do more if you have the application, anyone with a computer and an internet connection can get into your Zoom meeting.
Zoom is among the most popular video conferencing services, with up to 300 million daily participants. This means that many people are sending you Zoom invites, meaning you will have plenty of experience with the platform if you do not already.
Zoom Integrates With Other Applications
Zoom doesn’t have the automatic connections that Skype has through Microsoft, but there are a variety of apps it is compatible with, including Slack and LinkedIn.
Zoom’s Price
The free version of Skype comes with most bells and whistles and a participant cap of 100. Several plans exist that go as high as $50, which allows you to have up to 1000 interactive participants in a meeting.
The Bottom Line
Both of these apps have a lot of history and have shaped the landscape around video conferencing. Skype has the benefit of being run by Microsoft, one of the biggest companies in the world.
This means that it is compatible with a variety of well-used software and is very stable. The fact that Skype is a well-rounded communication service works in its favor, with it offering instant messaging and chat services in addition to video conferencing.
However, if features are what you are going for, Zoom takes the cake.
Even without paying extra, Zoom allows for double the capacity of Skype, and it has a ton of features that improve the experience for both hosts and attendees.
Breakout groups have become a smash hit in schools, and the platform is very accessible so long as you have an internet connection. Topped with the massive popularity the platform has attained in the last two years means it is almost impossible to avoid Zoom in this day and age.
Zoom is simply the more profound and more prolific platform at the moment.
Conclusion
While Zoom edges out Skype on features, the choice is yours for which platform you prefer (and odds are you’ll be using both at some point this year). If you need a platform that can keep you connected with your business network, consider trying Dialed.
Dialed was made by the creators of Burner, and it allows you to manage your contacts and get a work phone number.
With Dialed, you can label your contacts and distinguish customers from team members, helping you organize your network.
You can also set office hours so people know when you are available to talk. Take a look at your needs and the needs of your business to determine which communication platform is right for you.
Sources:
Stay connected with free video calls worldwide | Skype
Estimated Skype user numbers worldwide 2009-2024 | Statista
Video Conferencing, Cloud Phone, Webinars, Chat, Virtual Events | Zoom
