Zoom vs Skype: Which video conferencing app should you use

There’s a handful of video conferencing apps to choose from, and each offers similar yet different features. Here’s a look at how Zoom and Skype compares with each other.

. On Zoom, users can share screens, record meetings, have team chats, share files and search history. (REUTERS)

People around the world are now very dependent on video conferencing apps to communicate, work from home and conduct online classes. User activity and downloads of these apps have also seen a huge surge since the Covid-19 lockdowns began.

Video conferencing apps like Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Skype are a popular choice among users. Each app has a similar functionality but offers different features. We've already compared Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams. Here, we'll compare Zoom with Skype.

Zoom

Zoom is undoubtedly the most popular video conferencing app right now and it recently garnered 200 million daily users. Zoom is pretty easy to use which is why it's preferred by many users and it also allows up to 100 people in the free version itself. It also comes with paid features like supporting up to 1,000 participants, and 49 videos on one screen. On Zoom, users can share screens, record meetings, have team chats, share files and search history. It also lets users add custom backgrounds to meetings.

Skype

Microsoft's Skype isn't as happening as Zoom but it's got some pretty useful features. Skype allows up to 50 people in a single call, allows call recording in the free version. It also offers captions and subtitles, file sharing, caller ID and voicemail. There's also a split view mode, and users can schedule calls in the app. Skype recently added "Meet Now" which lets users create a meeting link without the need of an account.