Skype vs. Zoom: Which Is the Better Tool for Conferencing and Collaboration?

Branda Klein 2021-01-26

Zoom and Skype have always been the most preferred choices for companies looking forward to communicating to the next level.

Skype vs. Zoom: Which Is the Better Tool for Conferencing and Collaboration?

Zoom and Skype have always been the most preferred choices for companies looking forward to communicating to the next level. Nonetheless, choosing between the two applications is never a walk in the park. Soon after the coronavirus pandemic breakout, most organizations decided to revamp their communication strategy by holding meetings online.

Guess what? Most of these companies ended up being confused regarding the ultimate choice between Skype and Zoom. It’s for this reason that Zoom and Skype are the most sought-after apps on the internet. Perhaps you’re also in the dilemma of picking between Skype and Zoom as the two have become the best conferencing and collaboration tools.

Well, the two applications have similar features that aren’t identical. Read on to find more about their differences.

What’s Zoom?

Merely put, it’s a cloud-based communication software that lets people stay connected. The users can communicate with one another via video conferencing, online chats, among other features. The app enhances collaboration amongst employees and assists them in boosting their work plus general productivity. Zoom is easy to use and offers an ideal environment for specialists to communicate and share their info safely.

What’s Skype?

Skype is Microsoft’s telecommunication application. It offers the users the flexibility to get in touch with team members over voice calls, text messages and video calls. Skype has been in the business for over 15 years, and that perhaps the reason it has a broad user base.

Conferencing Abilities

Zoom

Zoom is made to support high-quality video and audio calls plus screen sharing. With this platform, you can easily invite your team members to join a group video conferencing or audio call. Besides, during a call, you can opt to share your screen and deliver the presentations in the best way possible. Moreover, the meeting host has the privilege to mute all meeting participants or even control their screens.

Skype

Skype provides various web conferencing functionalities to make your meetings successful and productive. In simple terms, Skype comes with four types of conferencing for your team: screen sharing (web conferencing), video and audio conferencing, instant messaging and dial-in conferencing. Compared to Zoom, Skype lets you record your meetings in the cloud storage.

Number of Participants

Zoom

When it comes to choosing an online communication platform for holding meetings, the participant limit is an essential aspect to consider. For Zoom’s basic plan, the maximum participant limit is 100. Nonetheless, you can upgrade to other premium plans, like Zoom Pro, Zoom Business or even Zoom Enterprise, to increase the participants’ limit. With the Enterprise version, you can hold a meeting of over 500 members.

Skype

Skype’s basic plan comes with a participants’ limit of 50. So, if you want to increase this limit, you’ve to buy the premium plans of Microsoft Teams. When it comes to Skype, the maximum number of participants attending a meeting concurrently is 250.

User Interface

Zoom

Zoom incorporates an intuitive yet easy to use interface. You’ll be able to familiarize yourself with the platform within a short period. You can comfortably initiate a meeting instantly with your attendants or even schedule it for a later date. You don’t necessarily need special technical skills to explore the features of this application.

Skype

The clean and minimalistic interface incorporated in Skype makes it simple for all users. Hosting meetings, making audio calls and sending text messages requires just a couple of clicks. You can easily navigate through the platform to perform the needed tasks.

Business Suitability

Zoom

Well, Zoom is scalable. What this means is that it can meet the requirements of businesses regardless of their type and size. The platform incorporates several subscription plans that organizations can select according to their needs.

Skype

Large, medium and small organizations can utilize Skype to keep their members connected. In addition to being a great communication platform for businesses, Skype is ideal for freelancers and individuals.

Supported Devices

Zoom

Zoom is usable on all popular devices, like laptops, PCs and smartphones. Zoom’s application is designed to be used on popular platforms, such as Mac, Windows, iOS and Android. The broad list of supported platforms and devices makes it possible to get in touch with your colleagues expediently from any location around the world.

Skype

Just like Zoom, Skype is available across several platforms, like Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android. You only need to install it on your device and you’re ready to go.

Zoom pros

Excellent user interface
Reliable customer service
Integrates with third-party apps, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, Google Calendar and Salesforce

Cons

Security woes
Poor video quality on a slow internet connection

Skype Pros

It’s robust
Affordable and easy to use
It offers international calling at cheap rates

Cons

Unreliable support
Outage and technical problems are common

Final Words

Both Skype and Zoom give premium solutions made to take business communications to the next level. Generally, the enhancements on Zoom’s basic and premium plans gives it a slight edge over Skype.

Written and edited by Branda Klein

Branda is addicted to playing games and apps.