Skype isn't an option any more: Microsoft retired it in 2025 and moved users to Microsoft Teams Free, so the real choice is Zoom or Teams Free. Pick Zoom if you want a dedicated meetings and collaboration suite with AI built in. Pick Teams Free if you're a former Skype user who wants your contacts and chats carried across with your Skype sign-in.
I read Microsoft's support page on Skype's retirement and the Teams Free meetings page, then Zoom Workplace's product and plans pages. If you're searching this to choose a calling app, the first fact changes the whole comparison.
Zoom and Skype's replacement compared
| Zoom | Skype (now Teams Free) | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Active, sold as Zoom Workplace | Skype retired; users moved to Microsoft Teams Free |
| Meetings on the free plan | Workplace Basic: meetings up to 40 minutes | Teams Free: 60-minute free meetings |
| Paid meetings | Up to 30 hours on paid plans | Paid Skype features no longer sold to new customers |
| Participants | Up to 100 by default on all plans | Not stated on the page I read |
| Extras | Team chat, mail, calendar, docs, whiteboards, ZoomMate AI | Live captions in over 40 languages, Copilot for planning |
| Your history | Not applicable | Contacts and chats transfer when you sign in with Skype details |
| Free option (as of October 2026) | Yes, Workplace Basic | Yes, Teams Free |
What happened to Skype
Microsoft's support page says Skype was retired in 2025, on 5 May, and that the change affected both free and paid Skype users but not Skype for Business. Users can move to Microsoft Teams Free by signing in with their Skype credentials, and their contacts and chats are transferred automatically. If you don't want Teams Free, you can export your Skype data through Microsoft's export portal.
The paid side has gone too. Microsoft no longer offers Skype Credit or calling subscriptions to new customers, and its page now says all Skype Number subscriptions have ended and number port-out requests are no longer available. If you had a Skype Number tied to your business, that's the detail to act on.
What Zoom offers instead
Zoom Workplace bundles meetings, team chat, mail, calendar, scheduling, docs, whiteboards and video clips, with its ZoomMate AI assistant built in to summarise meetings and draft follow-ups. Its plans run from Basic to Pro, Business and Enterprise. On Basic, meetings last up to 40 minutes, while paid plans allow up to 30 hours, and every plan lets up to 100 people join by default, rising to 1,000 with the Large Meeting add-on.
Zoom says participants can join your meetings for free from a phone, desktop or tablet, which makes it easy to invite clients and guests.
The free plan difference
Teams Free, the place Skype users were sent, offers 60-minute free meetings and live captions in over 40 languages, on Microsoft's page. Zoom's free Workplace Basic plan caps meetings at 40 minutes. So if you mostly run short free calls, Teams Free gives you more time; if you need long meetings, both expect you to upgrade.
How to decide
- Were you a Skype user with years of contacts? Sign in to Teams Free with your Skype details to bring them over.
- Need long client meetings or webinars? Zoom's paid plans allow meetings of up to 30 hours.
- Running short free catch-ups? Teams Free gives 60 minutes, Zoom Basic gives 40.
- Want AI meeting summaries? Zoom's ZoomMate and Microsoft's Copilot both offer help.
- Had a Skype Number? Microsoft says those subscriptions have ended, so move the number's role elsewhere.
If you're settling into Zoom, here's how to turn on captions in Zoom and what hosting a Zoom webinar involves.
My advice on Zoom or Skype
Don't spend time comparing against Skype, because it's gone. If you were a Skype user, move to Teams Free so you keep your contacts and chats, and export your history if you want a copy. If you run a business that lives on client meetings, webinars and recorded calls, Zoom is the more complete meetings platform, and its free plan is fine for testing before you upgrade.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Do you make video meeting software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place in comparisons like this one.
Frequently asked questions
Does Skype still work?
No. Microsoft's support page says Skype has been retired and users can move to Microsoft Teams Free. Skype for Business wasn't affected by that change.
How do I move my Skype contacts?
Sign in to Microsoft Teams Free with your Skype credentials, and Microsoft says your contacts and chats transfer automatically. You can also export your Skype data.
How long are free Zoom meetings?
Zoom's plans page lists a meeting duration of 40 minutes on Basic and 30 hours on paid plans.
How long are free Teams meetings?
Microsoft's Teams Free page lists 60-minute free meetings.
What happened to Skype Numbers?
Microsoft says all Skype Number subscriptions have ended and port-out requests are no longer available.
