Alternatives
A Skype alternative for calling landlines and mobiles
Skype retired on 5 May 2025. Existing paid users can still use the Skype Dial Pad in Teams Free, but new users cannot buy paid calling. If you need to call an ordinary number now, use a current calling service instead.
Use Teams
You used Skype for chat, meetings, or calls between Skype accounts.
Use Airlophone
You used Skype Credit to call an ordinary landline or mobile.
Why Skype ended and what replaced it
01The closure
What actually happened
Skype was retired on 5 May 2025. Microsoft stopped new purchases of Skype Credit, subscriptions and Skype Numbers. Existing paid users can still use remaining credit or an active subscription through the Skype Dial Pad in Teams Free.
That matters more than it sounds. Skype had been the default answer to “how do I phone a landline in another country from my computer” for two decades. The chat half of it had plenty of replacements. The phone-number half did not.
02What replaced it
What Skype did, and what replaces each part
Skype was several products in one. They did not all go the same way, and only one of them is what this is for.
| What you used it for | What happened to it | Here |
|---|---|---|
| Calling a landline or mobile | No new paid calling after 5 May 2025 | Any number in 221 countries, from a browser tab |
| Skype Credit | No new purchases. Remaining credit still works for eligible users | Prepaid balance, pay as you go, no subscription |
| Working the phone menu once you are through | Available only through the Skype Dial Pad for eligible paid users | Keypad stays live mid-call |
| Knowing the price before you dial | Rates page went with the product | Every rate published, resolved from the number's own digits |
| A Skype Number people could ring you on | All subscriptions ended in May 2026 | Rent a US or Canadian number, $5 a month. It rings your browser, or forwards to your own phone |
| Skype-to-Skype calls, chat and video | Moved to Microsoft Teams | Not offered. Teams, WhatsApp and FaceTime all do this free |
The last row is the honest one. If Skype-to-Skype was what you used, nothing here helps and Teams already carries it. This is for the half that went away: dialling an actual phone number.
03Teams
Why Microsoft Teams is not the replacement
Teams Free does not sell paid calling plans to new users. Eligible existing Skype paid users can still use its Dial Pad there. New business calling to ordinary phone numbers needs Teams Phone, a paid per-user add-on.
04For Business
A Skype for Business alternative is a different question
Skype for Business was never the same product as consumer Skype. The online version was retired on 31 July 2021 and Microsoft moved those customers to Teams; the on-premises server is a separate thing again, still run by organisations that keep their own. The consumer app is the one that closed on 5 May 2025.
If you are replacing the phone system, we are not it.
Presence, meetings, an auto attendant, call queues, extensions and federation are what Skype for Business was doing inside the company. Teams Phone with a calling plan is the direct successor, and the other business phone systems are the alternatives. Nothing on this page replaces a PBX and it is not trying to.
If it is the international line on the bill, that is one line and it is separable.
PSTN calling in Teams is licensed per user per month on top of everything else, so every person with a login is paid for whether or not they called anybody. A prepaid balance the team shares has no per-person charge, and somebody who made no calls this month costs nothing.
The two can run side by side, and usually should.
Keep Teams for the internal calling, the meetings and the presence, and use a browser tab for the outbound international calls to ordinary numbers. There is nothing to install and nothing to migrate, so trying it costs a first minute rather than a project.
The per-seat comparison in full, including what a shared balance does not do: every business phone system compared, or how a shared team account works.
05Checklist
What to look for in a replacement
Can it dial a real phone number?
Messaging apps (WhatsApp, FaceTime, Signal, Telegram) only reach people using the same app. That is a different job.
Is the rate published before you pay?
A headline "from" price with no full card behind it usually means the destination you care about costs more.
How is a partial minute billed?
Most providers round a partial minute up to a whole one, ours included. What varies is whether they say so on the pricing page or leave you to find out on the bill.
Does it need anything installed?
On your side and, more importantly, on theirs.
Does the keypad work mid-call?
If you are calling an institution, you will meet a phone menu before you meet a person.
06Airlophone
What Airlophone replaces
Browser-based calling to landlines and mobiles in 221 countries. Nothing to install on either side, and the person you call needs no app, no account and no internet: their phone simply rings.
- The exact rate appears before you sign up or dial.
- The keypad stays live, so phone menus work.
- Credit does not expire. There is no subscription.
Sample rates: $0.03 a minute to a US number, $0.09 to a UK landline. Every other country is priced per band, and they vary a great deal, so check the full card for yours. Carrier roaming for the same calls typically runs $0.25 to $5.00 a minute.
07Try it
Try it
Type a number and the exact price appears before anything dials.
Calls to United States from $0.03 a minute for landline and toll-free. Basic rate.
Rates from a US caller ID. Your selected caller ID is priced before calling.
Sign up when you press Call.
Other options and important limits
08Other options
Other options worth considering
We are not the only replacement, and for some cases we are not the right one. Prices change often enough that quoting them here would be stale within weeks, so check each vendor directly.
- Viber Out
- A large existing user base and subscription plans that suit heavy calling to one country.
- Rebtel
- Routes calls via local access numbers, so it can work when your internet connection is poor. If your problem is bad wifi rather than price, this approach beats any browser-based service, including ours.
- BOSS Revolution
- Strong in the US immigrant market, with local access numbers and a long track record on diaspora corridors.
- Google Voice
- Free calls within the US and Canada and a real number, but it requires a US number to set up and its calling is limited outside the US.
09Limits
What none of these can do
None of them reach emergency services. Airlophone also lets you set up Verified Caller ID with an eligible number you own.
The dialer confirms before you call when a route cannot present your number. Most institutions also reject internet phone numbers for two-factor codes. Keep an ordinary phone for emergency services and two-factor codes.
10Questions
Common questions
What happened to Skype?
Microsoft retired Skype on 5 May 2025. New customers cannot buy Skype Credit, subscriptions or Skype Numbers. Existing paid users can still use remaining credit or an active subscription through the Skype Dial Pad in Teams Free, but Teams Free does not sell paid calling plans.
What is the best alternative to Skype for Business?
It depends which half you are replacing. Skype for Business Online was retired on 31 July 2021 and Microsoft's own successor is Teams with Teams Phone, which is what to look at if you need presence, meetings, an auto attendant and call queues. If the part that actually hurts is the international calling licensed per user per month, that is one line and it can be separated: a shared prepaid balance charges per minute with no per-person fee, and it runs alongside Teams rather than replacing it. Note that Skype for Business is a different product from consumer Skype, which closed on 5 May 2025.
Can Microsoft Teams call a landline or a mobile?
Teams Free does not sell paid calling plans to new customers. Existing Skype credit or an active subscription can still use the Skype Dial Pad in Teams Free. For new business calling to ordinary phone numbers, Microsoft sells Teams Phone as a paid per-user add-on.
What is the closest replacement for Skype Credit?
A browser-based pay-as-you-go calling service is the closest equivalent: you buy a balance, dial an ordinary phone number, and the person you call needs no app and no account. Airlophone works this way, with published per-minute rates, no subscription, and credit that does not expire.
Does the person I call need to install anything?
No. The call arrives over the ordinary phone network, so their phone rings exactly as it would from any other phone. They do not need an app, an account, or an internet connection. This is the difference between a calling service and a messaging app like WhatsApp or FaceTime, which only reach other people using the same app.
Can I keep my old Skype number?
No. Microsoft says all Skype Number subscriptions ended in May 2026 and new port-out requests are no longer available. Airlophone cannot accept a ported Skype number, so you would need to rent a new one.
Call the number Skype used to reach
Type it in full and the exact price appears before anything dials. No subscription.