Key Points
- Skype was purchased by eBay in 2005, then by Microsoft in 2011.
- Both Skype and Zoom offer robust encryption options, something that is necessary for personal and business use.
- Pricing options have changed significantly throughout the history of both platform’s existence but Zoom’s current freemium options have helped to give it more of an advantage over Skype.
- While both platforms have cooperated with governmental authorities to mitigate security concerns, they have also been forced to modify their platforms to meet censorship concerns in countries like China. In one case, Zoom was actually accused of violating their own terms of service in order to gain access to the growing Chinese market.
In today’s business environment, many companies have remote workers. Some of these workers may be local employees and contractors who now work from home some or all of the time. Others may be located in different cities or other countries. Thanks to platforms like Zoom and Skype, meeting in the same “virtual room” is as easy as making a phone call.
These communication tools also make meeting with friends and family a breeze. During the Covid pandemic lockdown, virtual meetings quickly became a safe way for personal users to get together, even though many of them never used these platforms before social distancing was established.
Let’s take a closer look at Zoom and Skype, how they’re similar, how they’re different, and whether one is clearly better than the other.
Zoom vs. Skype: The Key Differences Explained
Zoom and Skype are both platforms that have gained prominence by being used for audio and video conferences. But when it comes to Zoom vs. Skype, which is better? They have many similarities, including video and audio conferencing, mobile compatibility, paid subscription plans, and more. However, both have emerged in far different positions, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic raged on, with Zoom unquestionably becoming more prominent and favored by people in the business world.
Zoom has become far more popular for many reasons, including its advanced array of features, its highly popular business uses and superior marketing. These differences became particularly acute during the pandemic when Skype lost a large chunk of its business to Zoom.
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Zoom vs. Skype: Side by Side Comparison
| Skype | Zoom | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Telecommunications platform that offers videoconferencing and audio calls | Telecommunications platform that offers videoconferencing and audio calls |
| Primary Use | Videoconferencing/audio services | Videoconferencing and massive conferencing services, as well as audio conferencing options |
| Name | Skype | Zoom |
| Conceived | ||
| Initial Release | 2003 | 2012 |
| Technical Committee | n/a | n/a |
| Influential Developers | Niklas Zennstrom, Janus Friis | Eric Yuan |
| Open format | No | No |
| Technologies influenced | Zoom, Popularity of VoIP services, Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams |
In Summary
Skype is telemarketing software that allows users to conduct video or audio calls with other uses that are also using the platform. The calls can occur on a phone, computer, or other electronic devices. Skype’s purchase by Microsoft came with leaps and bounds in terms of advances in overall video quality, technological access, and market share. However, of late, Skype has seemingly fallen out of favor for another Microsoft product, Teams.
Zoom is a similar feature that has more of a business focus. It offers many business plans, features for conferencing, and has increased capacity that allows for major conferences to be held over the platform. This has led to a major increase in its popularity, particularly as the service became more popular during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The two platforms do have much in common, including a similar purpose and customer demographic that puts them in direct competition with each other. Furthermore, there are many similarities in terms of data usage (with WiFi helping to eliminate expensive data usage concerns), efforts to provide uses for family and businesses, quality, plans, pricing, and more.
Both offer the ability to record meetings, chat during meetings, background blur, the ability to use from a phone or computer (which, again, can eliminate data usage issues), and more.
However, over time, the two have diverged significantly from each other. Simply put, Zoom has more features. It allows users to blur backgrounds, change the background, access a whiteboard, and create breakout sessions. That last feature is absolutely critical for many business and classroom use, as it allows users to access different rooms and hold different conversations before returning to the main conference.
Zoom vs. Skype: Which is Better?
There seems little question that Zoom is better than Skype. This has occurred in an array of ways. Simply put, Zoom offers more features, more flexibility in terms of its pricing and plans, and greater access for individuals who are looking to make a quick video call without paying. Skype’s lack of a freemium option puts it at a major competitive disadvantage when compared to Zoom.
