SimVala

The best Skype alternatives, sorted by what you used Skype for

In short

Skype closed on 5 May 2025. For free video calls, use WhatsApp, Signal or Teams Free. For calling landlines and mobiles the way Skype Credit did, you need a prepaid calling service. For a Skype Number, you need a new number, because moving the old one is no longer possible.

Find your replacement What happened to my credit?

Facts checked 26 October 2026 on Microsoft's support pages and each service's own site

A woman smiling on a phone call on her sofa

Skype today

  • Skype appClosed 5 May 2025
  • Buying Skype CreditStopped
  • Leftover creditWeb dial pad, unreliable
  • Skype NumbersEnded May 2026
  • Moving your numberNo longer possible
  • Chat exportClosed 15 Jun 2026

Start here

Skype did three different jobs. Each has a different replacement.

Most lists of Skype alternatives mix chat apps, meeting tools and calling apps into one ranking. That does not help someone who used Skype Credit to call their mother's landline. Work out which of these you need first.
  1. Job 1

    Free calls between apps

    Skype to Skype video and voice. Any free messenger replaces this, and they are better at it than Skype was.

    Free alternatives
  2. Job 2

    Calling real phones

    Skype Credit and calling subscriptions, for landlines and mobiles. This needs a paid calling service.

    Paid calling options
  3. Job 3

    A number people could call

    A Skype Number that rang your Skype app. It cannot be moved now, so you need a new one.

    Number options

Replacement finder

Find your Skype replacement

Tick what you used Skype for and say how private you want to be. You get one best fit per job, plus a backup.

1. What did you use Skype for?

Pick as many as you like.

2. What can you sign up with?

What replaces it

  1. Video and voice calls with family and friends

    • Best fitWhatsApp

      Free, and most people already have it. Signs up with your phone number.

    • Signal

      Free and encrypted by default. Also signs up with a phone number.

    • Teams Free

      Microsoft's own replacement. Signs in with your old Skype account.

  2. Calling landlines and mobiles with Skype Credit

    • Best fitSimVala SIP accountOurs

      Prepaid credit like Skype Credit, from $0.001 a minute, billed by the second on most routes, in any SIP app.

      See prices

    • Yolla

      Calling app with rates from $0.04 a minute, by its own site. Pays by card or app store.

    • Viber Out

      Paid calls inside Viber. Viber needs a phone number to sign up.

The shutdown

What happened to Skype, Skype Credit and Skype Numbers

Skype did not switch off in one day. Microsoft wound the paid parts down over more than a year, and many guides still describe the plan from early 2025. Here is what actually happened, from Microsoft's own pages.

  1. 28 Feb 2025

    Microsoft announces the end

    Paid Skype features stop being sold to new customers. Existing users are pointed to Teams Free.

  2. 3 Apr 2025

    Last automatic renewals

    Skype subscriptions and Skype Numbers stop renewing by themselves after this date.

  3. 5 May 2025

    Skype closes

    Free and paid Skype both shut down. Texting, call forwarding, voicemail and gifting credit end the same day.

  4. 15 Feb 2026

    Caller ID switched off

    Calls from leftover credit no longer show your own number to the person you call.

  5. 1 May 2026

    Subscription service ends

    Calling subscriptions that ran past this date are cancelled and turned into Skype Credit.

  6. May 2026

    Skype Numbers end

    Every Skype Number subscription is over, and Microsoft no longer accepts requests to move a number elsewhere.

  7. 15 Jun 2026

    Data export closes

    The last day to download chats and files. Microsoft deletes the remaining Skype data after it.

Dates from Microsoft's support page on the Skype retirement and its announcement of 28 February 2025, checked 26 October 2026.

If you still have Skype Credit

Microsoft says remaining paid users can spend it from the Skype Dial Pad, on the Skype web portal and inside Teams Free. In Microsoft's own Q&A forum, people report calls that fail to connect and a dial pad that tries to sell a Microsoft 365 trial. Use it up if it works for you, but do not count on it for anything important.

Refunds

The only refund on Microsoft's page is for calling subscriptions that ran past 1 May 2026 and were cancelled. Ask Skype customer support. For plain leftover credit, a Microsoft staff member said refunds apply only within 14 days of buying it.

If you had a Skype Number

It is gone. Every Skype Number subscription ended in May 2026 and Microsoft no longer accepts requests to move one. Anyone who still has that number saved will not reach you. Jump to getting a new number.

Job 1

Free Skype alternatives for video and voice calls

For calling other app users, free is the right price. Pick the app your family and friends already have. The one thing none of these can do is call a landline or a mobile that does not have the app.

  • WhatsApp

    Android, iPhone, Windows, Mac, web

    Sign up with: Your phone number

    Most of your contacts probably have it already. Voice and video, one to one or in groups.

    Everyone you call needs WhatsApp too, and your number is your identity.

  • Signal

    Android, iPhone, Windows, Mac, Linux

    Sign up with: Your phone number

    Encrypted calls and messages by default, run by a non-profit.

    Fewer people use it, so you may need to ask family to install it.

  • Telegram

    Android, iPhone, Windows, Mac, Linux, web

    Sign up with: Your phone number

    Voice and video calls plus large group chats and channels.

    Ordinary chats are not end-to-end encrypted; only secret chats are.

  • FaceTime

    iPhone, iPad, Mac

    Sign up with: An Apple Account

    Built into Apple devices, with good video quality.

    Android and Windows users can only join from a link in a browser.

  • Teams Free

    Android, iPhone, Windows, Mac, web

    Sign up with: A Microsoft account, including your old Skype login

    Microsoft's own replacement, and the place your Skype contacts could move to.

    It cannot buy calls to phone numbers. Microsoft says the free version has no paid calling plans.

  • Google Meet

    Browser, Android, iPhone

    Sign up with: A Google account

    Join from a link with nothing to install on a computer.

    Group calls on the free plan are time-limited.

  • Zoom

    Android, iPhone, Windows, Mac, Linux, web

    Sign up with: An email address, or a Google or Apple login

    The easiest way to get a large group on one video call from a link.

    Free meetings are time-limited, and it is built for meetings more than quick calls.

  • Jami

    Android, iPhone, Windows, Mac, Linux

    Sign up with: Nothing: you get a Jami ID

    Free, open source and peer to peer. No phone number or email needed.

    Few people use it, so most of the people you call will need to install it first.

Our pick: WhatsApp if you just want everyone on the same app, Signal if privacy matters, and Jami if you do not want to hand over a phone number at all. Want Signal or WhatsApp without giving them your real number? Sign up with a second number for messaging apps.

Job 2

Skype Credit alternatives: calling landlines and mobiles

SkypeOut let you put a few dollars on your account and call any phone in the world. The closest thing today is a prepaid calling account. Here is what calls cost with ours, live from our rate table.
CallingPer minute10-min call
  • United States$0.0018/min6-second steps$0.02
  • Canada$0.001/min6-second steps$0.01
  • United Kingdom$0.0028/minper second$0.03
  • India$0.0028/minper minute$0.03
  • Pakistan$0.0028/minper second$0.03
  • Bangladesh$0.0028/minper second$0.03
  • Philippines$0.0028/minper second$0.03
  • Nigeria$0.0032/minper second$0.03
  • Mexico$0.0018/minper minute$0.02
  • Brazil$0.00312/minper minute$0.03
  • Germany$0.0046/minper second$0.05
  • Poland$0.0046/minper second$0.05

Mobiles and landlines cost the same in each country listed. Every other country is on the full rate list.

What to compare before you pay

The rate is only half of it. Check how calls are rounded. Billed by the second, a 61-second call costs 61 seconds. Billed by the minute, it costs two full minutes. Most calling apps never say which they use.

Then check what you hand over. Most calling apps sign you up with your phone number and take payment through a card or app store. That is fine for many people. If it is not fine for you, it narrows the list fast.

And check the caller ID. Skype could show your mobile number. Some services can, some show a random number, and some let you buy one. People screen unknown numbers, so this decides whether your calls get answered.

  • SimVala SIP account

    Ours: pay as you go, in any SIP app
    • Calls to 202 countries from $0.001 a minute, $5.00 minimum
    • Billed by the second on most routes; we publish the step for every country
    • No phone number, email or ID. You get an account number and pay in crypto
    • Your own number as caller ID if you add one; 10 calls at once
    • You need a SIP app such as Linphone and four fields to fill in, which is more setup than Skype was
    • Without a number of ours, people see an international number when you call

  • Yolla

    Calling app
    • Rates from $0.04 a minute, by its own site
    • Can show your existing mobile number as caller ID
    • Pays by card or app store
    • Its site does not say how calls are rounded

  • Viber Out

    Paid calls inside Viber
    • Familiar if your family already uses Viber
    • Calls from the same app as your free Viber chats
    • Viber needs your phone number to sign up
    • We could not read current prices on its site on 26 October 2026

  • Google Voice

    US only
    • Free calls within the US and a free US number
    • International calls from prepaid credit
    • Only available in the US, with credit in US dollars
    • New accounts must pass a government ID check

  • Teams Phone

    Microsoft, for businesses
    • Calls to phone numbers inside Microsoft Teams
    • Fits a company already on Microsoft 365
    • A paid business add-on, not part of Teams Free
    • Priced per user per month, plus a calling plan

Other services' details are from their own websites on 26 October 2026. Where a site did not say something, we left it out rather than guess.

Job 3

Skype Number alternatives: getting a new number

Because a Skype Number can no longer be moved, everyone who had one is starting again with a new number. The good news is that a virtual number today does more than a Skype Number did by the end.

A Skype Number

Ended May 2026

  1. Caller
  2. Skype Number
  3. Skype app only
  • Texts to the number (ended May 2025)
  • Your number as caller ID (ended Feb 2026)
  • Move the number to another provider

A virtual number with a SIP login

What we sell now

  1. Caller
  2. Your new number
  3. SIP login
  4. Any SIP app
  • Unlimited texts in and out
  • Your number as caller ID on calls you make
  • Rings your phone, your computer or your office phone system

Some banks and apps refuse virtual numbers for security codes, so keep your mobile number on accounts that matter.

How it works with us: you rent a number in the country you want, from $1.99 a month, and add a SIP account. Calls to the number ring the SIP app on your phone or computer, and calls you make show the number as your caller ID. Texts in and out are unlimited. The number renews from your balance each month or year, so it stays yours while you keep paying.

Pick the country your callers are in, not the one you are in. A UK number lets UK family call you at local rates wherever you live. Browse numbers in 200+ countries, or read every way to get a second phone number if you are still weighing it up.

One honest limit: some banks and apps refuse virtual numbers for security codes. Skype Numbers had the same problem. Keep your mobile number on bank accounts and use the new number for people.

Banks and toll-free

Calling banks and toll-free numbers without Skype

A common reason people kept Skype Credit was calling a bank, an airline or a government office back home from abroad. Those calls work from a SIP account like any other.

  • Toll-free numbers connect

    US 1-800 and other toll-free numbers cost the same as a normal US call: $0.0018 a minute.

  • Use a number they can call back

    Banks often ring back. With one of our numbers as caller ID, they reach you in your SIP app.

  • Expect extra checks

    A bank may ask more questions when you call from abroad. That is their fraud check, not a fault on the line.

Calling the US or UK specifically? The guides to calling the USA from abroad and calling the UK from abroad cover dialing formats, toll-free numbers and time zones.

Switching

How to replace Skype in four steps

About 15 minutes, most of it telling people your new details.
  1. 1

    Move your app calls to one free messenger

    Ask the people you video call which app they already use, and install that one. Usually it is WhatsApp.

  2. 2

    Get a calling account for real phones

    Top up $5.00 or more and you get a SIP login on your order page: username, password and server.

  3. 3

    Install a SIP app and sign in

    Linphone is free on every device. Fill in the four fields from your order page and make a test call.

  4. 4

    Add a number and share it

    If people used to call your Skype Number, rent a new one in their country and send it to them and your contacts.

Fair warning: this is more setup than Skype, where calling and the app came in one box. The upside is that you choose the app. Our comparison of SIP apps shows which ones ring on a locked phone, and the Linphone setup guide walks through every screen.

Method

How we chose, and who we are

We sorted alternatives by the job they replace, not by a single score, because a chat app and a calling service do not compete with each other. Facts about Skype come from Microsoft's support pages and announcement. Facts about other services come from their own websites, read on 26 October 2026. Where a site did not state something, such as how calls are rounded, we say so.

SimVala sells SIP accounts and virtual numbers, so we are not neutral on jobs 2 and 3, and we have said where our product sits. For job 1 we do not sell anything, and free apps are the better answer.

Main sources

Replace Skype Credit

Prepaid calls to any phone, paid in crypto

Calls to 202 countries from $0.001 a minute, billed by the second on most routes. Start with $5.00. No phone number, no email, no ID.

Get a SIP account Get a number, from $1.99

Prefer a bundle?

If you mostly call one country, a minute bundle for that country can cost less per minute than pay as you go. Bundles use the same SIP app.

Calling bundles by country

Skype replacement questions, answered

Can I still use Skype in 2026?+

No. Microsoft closed Skype on 5 May 2025 for free and paid users alike, and pointed people to Teams Free. Chat export closed on 15 June 2026, after which Microsoft deletes the remaining data.

What happened to my Skype Credit?+

Microsoft lets people with leftover credit spend it through the Skype Dial Pad on the Skype web portal and in Teams Free. Users in Microsoft's own forum report calls that fail to connect, and you cannot buy more credit.

Can I get a refund for unused Skype Credit?+

Microsoft's page offers refunds only for calling subscriptions that ran past 1 May 2026 and were cancelled, through Skype customer support. A Microsoft staff member in its Q&A forum said unused credit can be refunded only within 14 days of buying it.

Can I port my Skype Number to another provider?+

Not any more. All Skype Number subscriptions ended in May 2026, and Microsoft says port-out requests are no longer available. The realistic option now is a new number, and telling your contacts and accounts about it.

Can Microsoft Teams Free call landlines and mobiles?+

No. Microsoft says Teams does not support paid calling plans on the free version. Calling phone numbers from Teams needs Teams Phone, a paid add-on for business accounts.

What is the cheapest Skype alternative for calling landlines?+

Look at two things: the rate per minute and how calls are rounded. A SIP account billed by the second, like ours from $0.001 a minute, charges a 61-second call as 61 seconds. A service that rounds up to the minute charges it as two minutes.

Is there a Skype alternative that does not need a phone number?+

For free calls between apps, Jami needs no phone number or email. For calling real phones, a SimVala SIP account needs neither: you get an account number and pay in crypto. WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram and Viber all sign up with a phone number.

Will a new virtual number receive bank texts?+

Sometimes not. Some banks and apps refuse virtual numbers for security codes, so keep your mobile number on accounts that matter and use the new number for calls and people.

Keep reading

Also useful: Google Voice alternative · Call the USA · Second phone number

Skype, Microsoft Teams and the other names here are trademarks of their owners. SimVala is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Microsoft or any service named on this page.