Microsoft Teams is a trusted chat-based platform for communication and collaboration that brings all stakeholders and employees together in one place. It speeds up conversations, meetings, file sharing, and a lot of other things that happen at work. It lets you use SharePoint, OneNote, OneDrive for Business, and other Office 365 apps right away. It lets you make, share, and change documents right inside the apps. It lets people plan meetings and conferences and join them.
Users can also get to it from their desktops, laptops, smartphones, and web browsers. Skype used to be the best app for free voice, video, and text messaging across all devices and multiple platforms. Skype is a great way to stay in touch with friends, family, and coworkers who are far away. Skype is one of Microsoft’s best-known products. It has a wide range of features that can be expanded with a paid version. Skype was used by small businesses to chat, make phone calls (both audio and video), share documents, and send links.
Skype vs Microsoft Teams Pricing
Both Microsoft Teams and Skype can be used for free, but some features cost money. Skype is free and doesn’t have a paid version, but if you want to call a landline, you have to pay. You can buy a monthly plan that lets you make a certain number of landline calls with Skype, or you can just pay per minute. Calls between two Skype users are free.
Microsoft Teams has a free plan that gives each user video calls, file sharing, and 5GB of storage. For bigger businesses, Microsoft Teams has paid plans with more video call hours, webinar features, and 1TB of storage per user. The Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan is the most advanced way to use Microsoft Teams.
It also comes with the rest of the Microsoft Office 365 suite. This plan costs $12.5 per user per month. If you run a large business, this might seem like a lot, but the Microsoft 365 subscription is well worth the price.
Skype vs Microsoft Teams: Comparison Table
| Feature | Skype | Microsoft Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Video conferencing | Supports video calls for up to 50 people | Supports video calls for up to 250 people |
| Screen sharing | Yes | Yes |
| Instant messaging | Yes | Yes |
| Group chat | Yes, for up to 300 people | Yes, for up to 10,000 people |
| File sharing | Yes | Yes, with integrated file storage in Microsoft OneDrive |
| Integration with Microsoft Office apps | Limited | Extensive |
| Third-party app integration | Limited | Extensive |
| Presence indicator | Yes | Yes |
| Voicemail | Yes | Yes |
| Calling to landlines and mobile phones | Yes, with paid subscription | Yes, with paid subscription |
| Collaboration features | Limited | Extensive, with the ability to collaborate on documents in real-time |
| Price | Free for basic features, paid subscriptions for additional features | Included with Microsoft Office 365 subscriptions or available as a standalone product with paid subscriptions for additional features |
| Official link | Visit Website | Visit Website |
Skype vs Microsoft Teams: User interface
Skype is easy to use because its interface is simple and clear. The main screen shows recent conversations, and users can easily start a new one by choosing a contact and clicking on the “message” or “call” icon. Skype users can also change their status and profile picture, and they can change how they get notified.
Microsoft Teams has a more complicated user interface that is meant to help people work together as a team. The main screen shows channels, which are organized by topic or project. Users can easily switch between channels to see different conversations and files. Teams also has a navigation bar on the left side of the screen that lets users get to their chat, calls, calendar, and files. Users can also change the look of the Teams interface by pinning channels and apps they use often to the navigation bar.
Skype vs Microsoft Teams Features
One of the best things about Skype is that it lets people record and save calls for up to 30 days after a meeting is over. The ability to add live captions to video calls is another feature that users are sure to like. Live translation is also available for up to 10 languages spoken at the same time. There is also an in-call chat window, and users can make polls, add files from OneDrive or their computer, and even share music from Spotify.
Since Skype for Business doesn’t exist anymore, it’s not clear if Microsoft will keep adding features to Skype for consumers or if that version will also be shut down at some point. If that happens, Skype users will probably also be asked to use Teams.
If you are thinking about making the switch, Teams already has a lot of useful features for you. These include the ability to chat, set up channels and teams, have audio conferences, and use the phone as if it were a regular phone. Over the past year or so, Microsoft has also been adding new features to Teams on a regular basis, so you can expect more updates in the future.
Skype vs Microsoft Teams Video and Voice Calls
Skype can host voice or video calls for up to 100 people at once. On Microsoft Teams, the free plan also only lets 100 people join, but if you pay for a plan, that number goes up to 300. Microsoft Teams also has a feature for calls and conferences that lets people only listen and watch.
This lets up to 20,000 people join the call. No one but the original 300 members will be able to talk on the call, but everyone else will be able to see and hear it in full. Both Microsoft Teams and Skype have ways to record the call or meeting so that you can use it later. Live captions and custom backgrounds can also be used with video calls on Microsoft Teams and Skype.
Skype vs Microsoft Teams Security
Skype’s voice and video calls, instant messages, and file transfers are all safe because of end-to-end encryption. This means that the communication is encrypted on the sender’s device and decrypted on the recipient’s device, so no one in between can read or intercept the messages. But you can’t use this level of encryption for group calls or messages.
Microsoft Teams also uses end-to-end encryption for private calls and messages, but for group calls and messages, it uses transport layer security (TLS). TLS is a protocol that allows for safe communication over a network and makes sure that messages are encrypted while they are being sent. Teams also has high-tech security features like multi-factor authentication, conditional access, and protection against data loss.
Skype vs Microsoft Teams Support
Teams gives its users a lot of ways to get help, like step-by-step guides for setting up the program, online webinars software, and training videos. Live chat support and a customer call-back line may be able to help with more complicated technical issues, and an active community forum is always there if you need more help.
Skype has a similar wide range of support options, such as a large section of its website with answers to frequently asked questions. But since Skype for Business is no longer available, there is no longer a special phone number for business customers to call for help. This means that getting help might take longer for them than for Teams users.
Skype: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Up to 50 people can join a video call.
- There is a way to share your screen.
- There is a way to share files.
- Basic things are free.
Cons
- The collaboration is limited.
- Fewer ways to connect with other apps
- Not enough safety features
Microsoft Teams: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Video calls for up to 250 people are possible.
- Lots of ways to work together, including sharing documents in real time. Lots of ways to connect with other Microsoft Office apps.
Cons
- Extra features require a paid subscription.
- Some users have a hard time getting used to it.
Which one should you consider?
Skype is easy to use and has a lot of extra conferencing features that you can use for free. Skype lets individuals and smaller teams make as many video calls as they want, and it gives them a lot of control over how they look.
But Microsoft Teams will be more appealing to larger businesses and corporations that want more ways to work together. Microsoft Teams is also a much better solution for businesses in terms of security, and it offers dedicated and detailed support.
FAQs
In the end, both platforms have great deals on a variety of plans. Skype’s core communication and collaboration features are free for single users and small teams on a tight budget. Larger teams and organizations can get more out of Microsoft Teams because it has a lot of features and doesn’t cost a lot.
Skype has end-to-end encryption and a good name for keeping systems safe. For real-time content, all Zoom plans include TLS encryption and AES-256 encryption.
