The best al­tern­at­ives to Skype: 14 free ap­plic­a­tions for video calls

For many years, Skype was among the most popular and widely used video call services. However, on 5 May 2025, it was of­fi­cially dis­con­tin­ued. Today, users can choose from a wide variety of modern al­tern­at­ives that offer extra features, stable con­nec­tions, and strong privacy pro­tec­tions. But which Skype al­tern­at­ives are really worth con­sid­er­ing? In this article, we introduce 13 free apps and outline their key strengths and weak­nesses.

The 13 best Skype al­tern­at­ives for video calls

First things first: Many video chat apps raise concerns about privacy. Still, there are several providers that place a stronger focus on pro­tect­ing com­mu­nic­a­tion content. Some services have chosen to spe­cial­ise in privacy from the start, while others have improved their policies and en­cryp­tion in response to criticism and user demand.

Beyond the privacy debate, there are plenty of strong Skype al­tern­at­ives that shine with practical and creative features. The 13 video chat apps presented below are all free to use, and we highlight the strengths and weak­nesses of each.

Spike

Ori­gin­ally developed as an in­nov­at­ive chat tool, Spike has become es­pe­cially valuable for pro­fes­sion­al use thanks to its in­teg­rated video call solution. The platform helps teams com­mu­nic­ate more ef­fi­ciently—both in­tern­ally and with external partners. Its standout feature is the way it re­ima­gines email traffic: incoming and outgoing emails are displayed in a chat-like format, similar to popular messenger apps. Beyond this, the all-in-one com­mu­nic­a­tion tool also supports VoIP, making Spike a genuine Skype al­tern­at­ive with built-in voice and video calls. Ad­di­tion­al functions include automatic email summaries, smart reply sug­ges­tions, and an AI-powered message feed.

For smoother col­lab­or­a­tion, con­vert­ing emails into chat-style messages keeps the focus on the es­sen­tials by filtering out un­ne­ces­sary elements. Spike also enhances team pro­ductiv­ity with features like file sharing, in­teg­rated en­cryp­tion, and a built-in calendar.

Spike is available on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and as a web app. It’s free for personal use, while pro­fes­sion­al teams can opt for paid user accounts. A separate login isn’t needed since Spike connects directly with the user’s existing email account. Regarding data pro­tec­tion, Spike processes in­form­a­tion on servers in the USA and Israel. Although the provider claims GDPR com­pli­ance, a data pro­cessing agreement is only available upon request—so companies handling sensitive data should exercise caution.

Zoom

With the rise of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in Zoom surged sig­ni­fic­antly. Today, the platform operates under the name Zoom Workplace.

Users praise Zoom’s cloud-based in­fra­struc­ture for its stability and per­form­ance. Phone calls and video con­fer­ences in HD quality generally run smoothly. Security has also improved: end-to-end en­cryp­tion (E2EE) is now available to all users, though it must be activated manually. When enabled, some features—such as live tran­scrip­tion or re­cord­ings—are not available. Despite in­vest­ments in European data centres and par­ti­cip­a­tion in the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework, Zoom remains subject to the U.S. CLOUD Act, meaning U.S. au­thor­it­ies can access certain data. Companies handling highly sensitive in­form­a­tion should therefore remain cautious.

As a Skype al­tern­at­ive, Zoom stands out with its freemium model, which includes a wide range of features at no cost. One-on-one video calls are unlimited. Group con­fer­ences can host up to 100 par­ti­cipants for free, provided they stay under 40 minutes. The user-friendly apps work across all major devices and operating systems, and meetings are easy to organise: only the host needs an account and the app. Par­ti­cipants can simply join via an in­vit­a­tion link.

Jitsi

The open-source platform Jitsi is aimed at users who place a high priority on security and data pro­tec­tion in video calls. All con­ver­sa­tions—whether with or without video—are encrypted via DTLS-SRTP, and chat content can also be encrypted. For true end-to-end pro­tec­tion, E2EE can be activated in the browser or desktop client. It’s automatic for 1:1 calls and can be enabled manually for group calls.

There’s no hard limit on the number of par­ti­cipants, though in practice a server setup for around 75 people per con­fer­ence is re­com­men­ded. Jitsi Meet works across platforms: directly in the browser, as an app for Android and iOS, and as an Electron-based desktop client for Windows, macOS, and Linux. If you host your own instance, Jitsi can be used com­pletely without a user account. On the public server meet.jit.si, re­gis­tra­tion is only required for mod­er­a­tion—everyone else joins without signing up.

Starting a meeting takes just a few clicks: create a room name, share the link, and you’re ready to go. While its interface is simpler than many com­mer­cial solutions, it stands out for its clarity and ease of use. Jitsi can also be installed on Linux servers, with mobile clients available for both Android and iOS.

Tox

After the NSA sur­veil­lance scandal in 2013, an anonymous developer launched the open-source project Tox. Even the padlock logo reflects the platform’s strong focus on privacy. All com­mu­nic­a­tion through Tox is protected with end-to-end en­cryp­tion, ensuring that only con­ver­sa­tion par­ti­cipants can access the content. Even your IP address is visible only to your contacts.

A key feature of Tox is its de­cent­ral­ised ar­chi­tec­ture: data is trans­mit­ted ex­clus­ively peer-to-peer, directly between devices without a central server. This design helps safeguard in­form­a­tion from outside access while reducing the risk of outages and cen­sor­ship. With this, Tox positions itself as a privacy-first al­tern­at­ive to com­mer­cial messenger and video chat services.

In May 2025, version 0.2.21 was released as the first stable version. The un­der­ly­ing c-toxcore protocol is now con­sidered mature. However, most Tox clients are still community-driven, and many have not undergone in­de­pend­ent security audits—something to keep in mind when selecting a client.

The once-popular qTox desktop client was archived in February 2025 and is no longer main­tained. Still, clients are available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, including Toxygen (desktop) and Antox (Android). De­vel­op­ment remains frag­men­ted, so not all clients support every feature reliably. Tox enables classic instant messaging, as well as video and voice calls, file transfers, and screen sharing. Com­mu­nic­a­tion is tied to a unique Tox ID, similar to an email address.

Users do report lim­it­a­tions such as oc­ca­sion­al con­nec­tion drops, missing offline message delivery, or message loss—par­tic­u­larly in group chats or with unstable con­nec­tions. Still, for those who value maximum data sov­er­eignty and are willing to accept some usability trade-offs, Tox delivers a con­sist­ently private com­mu­nic­a­tion solution.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp has grown far beyond being just a text messenger. The app from Meta (formerly Facebook) supports voice and video calls, file sharing, voice messages, screen sharing, and group chats with up to 1,024 par­ti­cipants. Since 2023, private video con­fer­ences have also supported group calls with up to 32 people.

In addition to mobile apps for Android and iOS, WhatsApp is available as a desktop app for Windows and macOS, as well as WhatsApp Web in browsers. With the multi-device feature, you can now use WhatsApp on multiple devices in­de­pend­ently of your main phone.

All messages and calls are secured with end-to-end en­cryp­tion—including video calls and voice messages. However, privacy remains a concern, since WhatsApp shares data such as contact lists, usage times, and con­nec­tion details with Meta. Still, thanks to its enormous pop­ular­ity, WhatsApp remains one of the most con­veni­ent solutions for quick com­mu­nic­a­tion worldwide—even across borders.

FaceTime

FaceTime is Apple’s video calling app and is primarily aimed at iPhone, iPad, and Mac users. FaceTime comes pre-installed on most Apple devices and makes voice and video calls simple. Group con­ver­sa­tions with up to 32 par­ti­cipants are supported.

Since iOS 15 and macOS Monterey, even people without an Apple device can join FaceTime calls via a link. This means the service now works for mixed groups of iOS, Android, and Windows users. Ad­di­tion­al features include screen sharing (SharePlay) and spatial audio (3D Audio). All calls are end-to-end encrypted, and Apple states that it cannot access the content.

FaceTime de­lib­er­ately excludes messenger functions like text chat or file sharing. For users who want straight­for­ward, secure com­mu­nic­a­tion, it delivers a reliable and easy-to-use solution—as long as the call is started from an Apple device.

Google Meet

Google Meet is Google’s primary video chat service and has fully replaced Google Duo. Ori­gin­ally designed for private video calls, the platform now combines features for both personal and business use—including video calls, group meetings, screen sharing, back­ground blur, live captions, and calendar in­teg­ra­tion. Meetings can be joined directly in the browser, via the Android or iOS app, or through Google Workspace. Even users without a Google account can par­ti­cip­ate via an in­vit­a­tion link.

The free version allows group calls with up to 100 par­ti­cipants, limited to 60 minutes per session. For larger groups or longer meetings, Google provides paid options through Google Workspace. Calls are encrypted during trans­mis­sion, but unlike some com­pet­it­ors, they are not end-to-end encrypted.

Tight in­teg­ra­tion with Gmail, Calendar, and Drive makes Google Meet easy to embed into existing workflows. As a result, it has become es­pe­cially popular in pro­fes­sion­al settings.

Wire

Wire is a security-focused messenger with end-to-end en­cryp­tion for all messages, audio, and video calls. Wire is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, and can also be accessed directly in the browser. Alongside 1:1 chats, it supports group con­ver­sa­tions, file sharing, voice messages, and screen sharing.

The platform enables group audio calls with up to 25 par­ti­cipants and video calls with up to 12 people. A former feature for sharing media content (such as YouTube or Spotify) has been dis­con­tin­ued and is no longer part of the service.

Wire is operated by Wire Swiss GmbH, headquartered in Berlin, Germany with technical de­vel­op­ment located in the EU. All data is stored ex­clus­ively on European servers in full com­pli­ance with GDPR. Its open-source code is publicly available and regularly audited by in­de­pend­ent experts.

While Wire is suitable for private users, it is es­pe­cially popular in business en­vir­on­ments. Beyond the free version, the company offers several en­ter­prise solutions, including Wire En­ter­prise for secure team com­mu­nic­a­tion and Wire Red, a crisis com­mu­nic­a­tion service designed for or­gan­isa­tions with the highest security re­quire­ments.

Whereby

Whereby is a par­tic­u­larly user-friendly Skype al­tern­at­ive that works entirely in the browser. The Norwegian provider em­phas­ises data pro­tec­tion and European com­pli­ance: servers are located in Europe, and all usage is GDPR-compliant.

In the free version, re­gistered users can create a personal meeting room and invite up to 100 par­ti­cipants via link. However, free meetings are limited to 45 minutes, and only one room can be used at a time. Longer sessions and multiple rooms require a paid upgrade.

Key features include screen sharing, group video calls, a chat function, and the option to watch YouTube videos together during a call. The paid version expands func­tion­al­ity with in­teg­ra­tions for Google Calendar, Miro, Trello, YouTube, and more.

Whereby runs smoothly on all major browsers (best with Chrome or Firefox) and is ideal for anyone seeking a straight­for­ward, privacy-friendly solution without ad­di­tion­al software in­stall­a­tion.

Element

Element is an open-source messenger based on the de­cent­ral­ised Matrix protocol. Unlike cent­ral­ised platforms such as Zoom or WhatsApp, Element routes messages and con­nec­tions through a network of federated servers. This allows users to run their own servers and retain full control over their data.

The app includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, voice and video calls, file sharing, and in­teg­ra­tions with external tools. For group video calls, Element relies on Jitsi in the back­ground, ensuring stable per­form­ance while main­tain­ing privacy.

Element is widely adopted by or­gan­isa­tions and public in­sti­tu­tions that pri­or­it­ise data sov­er­eignty. It is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and can also be used directly in the browser. Private users can access Element for free, while pro­fes­sion­al teams can choose paid en­ter­prise packages with features like SSO, user man­age­ment, and hosting support.

Signal

Signal is a par­tic­u­larly privacy-friendly messenger known for its con­sist­ent end-to-end en­cryp­tion. Initially designed for secure text messaging and voice calls, Signal now also supports group video calls with up to 40 par­ti­cipants. These calls follow the same strict security standards as in­di­vidu­al con­ver­sa­tions, using advanced en­cryp­tion methods based on the Signal protocol—the same standard im­ple­men­ted in WhatsApp.

The app is fully open source and operated by the nonprofit Signal Found­a­tion, funded entirely through donations. There are no ads, no trackers, and no com­mer­cial ex­ploit­a­tion of user data. Even metadata such as contacts or con­nec­tion times is kept to an absolute minimum, setting Signal apart from other major mes­sen­gers.

Signal is free to use on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux. Re­gis­tra­tion requires a phone number, though it is not publicly visible. Desktop users must pair the app with their mobile device. For those seeking a highly con­fid­en­tial Skype al­tern­at­ive and willing to forgo extras like screen sharing or third-party in­teg­ra­tions, Signal is a secure and de­pend­able choice.

Discord

Discord was ori­gin­ally developed for gamers but has since evolved into one of the most versatile com­mu­nic­a­tion platforms for com­munit­ies, busi­nesses, and edu­ca­tion­al in­sti­tu­tions. In addition to voice and video calls, Discord offers text chats, screen sharing, livestream­ing, cus­tom­is­able server struc­tures with roles and per­mis­sions, and in­teg­ra­tions with third-party tools like YouTube, Spotify, or Trello.

Video calls are available both in direct messages and in voice channels. Group calls support up to 25 par­ti­cipants on video, while voice calls can host far more. A par­tic­u­larly useful feature is the ability to use screen sharing and chat at the same time, making Discord a versatile option for remote meetings, online coaching, or virtual classrooms.

Discord is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and directly in the browser. The basic version is free, while paid Nitro sub­scrip­tions add benefits like larger upload sizes, HD streaming, and server boosts. Although Discord has faced criticism in the past for its U.S.-based server in­fra­struc­ture, the platform now provides more options for privacy controls and mod­er­a­tion.

An overview of all video calling ap­plic­a­tions

The following table provides a com­pre­hens­ive overview of the most important free al­tern­at­ives to Skype and their features:

Which Skype al­tern­at­ive suits your needs?

Whether for personal or pro­fes­sion­al use, there are now numerous free apps for video calls and online meetings. Many of these tools go far beyond the features of earlier services, focusing on privacy, ease of use, and cross-platform com­pat­ib­il­ity.

Depending on your pri­or­it­ies, different solutions may be the best fit:

• Privacy & security: If pro­tect­ing your data is most important, apps like Signal, Element, Wire, or IONOS Video Chat are ideal. They offer end-to-end en­cryp­tion and GDPR-compliant data pro­cessing.
• Teamwork & pro­ductiv­ity: For col­lab­or­a­tion in teams, Zoom, Spike, Google Meet, or Whereby work es­pe­cially well. They provide features such as screen sharing, calendar in­teg­ra­tion, and breakout rooms.
• Ease of use & pop­ular­ity: For quick, everyday video calls, WhatsApp and FaceTime are reliable, simple options with wide adoption.

Tip: Not all tools are equally suited for large groups or sensitive data. Always check in advance which features and security standards best match your needs.