Skype vs. Zoom: Comparison of Video Call PPrograms

Thanks to video calls we can feel much closer to our friends and loved ones, or carry out business meetings and conferences without the need to all be in the same office. On the Internet we can find a large number of programs to make video calls. Some of these programs are designed primarily for work environments, and others allow us to make free video calls with family and friends. Two of the most popular programs in this area are Zoom and Skype . However, do we know their differences? Which is better?

skype vs zoom

Skype Zoom
Video calls Yes Yes
Voice calls Yes, on the Internet, to landlines and mobiles Yes
Chat Yes Yes
Quality HD up to 1080p HD up to 720p
Maximum users fifty 100 free / 1000 paid
Coordination functions No Yes
Share screen Yes Yes
Requires account No No
Main advantage Ease Features and tools
When to use Personal use and SMEs Large companies with frequent meetings
Price Free / Bonuses for landline and mobile telephony Free with limitations / 14 euros per month

Skype vs Zoom: target audience

Zoom, ideal for companies

Captura Zoom Zoom , as it sells itself on its website, is a leading solution for meetings and video conferencing. Some of the main activities that we can carry out with this program are:

  • Conduct online meetings and provide technical support.
  • Manage marketing events and open forums.
  • Build collaboration-enabled conference rooms.
  • Build a state-of-the-art business phone system.
  • Have a messaging and file sharing platform.

This is one of the most advanced programs especially for large companies and platforms that have to carry out very frequent meetings with a large number of users, workers or clients. It is the easiest way to create rooms and organize all these meetings.

Skype, to walk around the house

Configurar micro webcam Skype - 1 Skype escapes enough from the business field to be able to position itself as an alternative for personal and professional use. Skype is primarily an instant messaging platform with voice calling and video calling features.

It doesn’t have as many meeting coordination and organization options as Zoom, but instead it allows us to carry out all kinds of voice calls much faster and easier. Among its most interesting functions we can highlight:

  • Possibility of sharing the screen of any participant.
  • Allows you to record video calls.
  • Subtitles and instant translation.
  • It allows creating individual or group chat rooms.

In addition to being able to make all kinds of calls and video calls over the Internet for free, it has bonuses that we can buy to make cheap calls to landlines and mobiles around the world, being a much cheaper alternative to make international calls.

Difference of users and price between Skype and Zoom

Both Skype and Zoom allow us to make free video calls over the Internet. However, there are some important differences to keep in mind. To begin with, Skype is a totally free program, where the only payment functions are found when making calls to landlines and mobiles through the Internet.

The maximum number of participants in video calls that allows us to host Skype is 50 people, and all of them can participate in real time without cuts or quality or performance problems. Zoom, on the other hand, has a free modality that allows us to mount video calls of up to 100 participants.

Zoom 1 to 1 meetings are unlimited, but group meetings can only be 40 minutes in the free mode. Payment methods increase the number of participants (up to 1000 at the same time) and eliminate the limitations of the basic version. These modalities can range from 13.99 euros per month to 18.99 euros per month, depending on the number of users and participants.

If we do not have a microphone or camera, Zoom allows us to communicate in real time with all the participants of the video call through their chat.

Which is better or which one should we choose?

The two programs share many of the essential functions and features. However, Zoom is a much more complete, powerful and expensive platform than Skype . This makes us recommend Zoom as a much more complete solution than Skype for large companies and for people who make professional videoconferences more often.

However, if we are going to make video calls with family or friends , or we have a small company that does sporadic meetings, Skype is the best option we can choose. Although it requires us to have a user account, Skype is much faster and easier to use, in addition to allowing unrestricted, high-quality video calls of up to 50 people.

In addition, we remember that Zoom has shown to have serious privacy problems in its infrastructure, even going so far as to endanger Windows user accounts. Therefore, if the functions of this platform are too big for us, the best alternative to Zoom that we can choose is, without a doubt, Skype.