Skype has been a staple of the digital communications landscape for years, and now, its run of over 20 years has come to an end. Microsoft has officially discontinued it, marking the end of an era in global online communication.
Before Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams, Skype had been a pioneer in internet-based calling and video conferencing. Founded by Estonian developers Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis in 2003, at a time when international phone calls remained costly and constrained by traditional telecom infrastructure, Skype provided a cost-effective, user-friendly alternative that allowed users to make audio and video calls across the globe, often for free.
In its peak years, Skype amassed a user base exceeding 300 million and became synonymous with online calling. The application was widely adopted not only by casual users but also by businesses and professionals who leveraged its simple interface and accessibility. It was especially instrumental for people maintaining long-distance relationships and for companies managing global teams, and played a major role in making internet calling mainstream, building public acceptance for video conferencing as a viable communication method.
Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion, a purchase that was then the company’s largest acquisition. Initially, Microsoft invested in expanding Skype’s capabilities and integrating it with its suite of services. However, over time, the platform began to fall out of step with evolving user demands. Skype suffered from interface overhauls that were not always well-received, stability issues during large group calls, and delays in adapting to mobile-first usage patterns. Things were further complicated with the advent of the likes of MS Teams, Google Meet, and Zoom, which swift captured the attention of users across the globe (and their usage reached new peaks during the years of the pandemic).
As for Microsoft, the company’s communication strategy has shifted decisively in favor of Teams, which has become its flagship collaboration platform. Teams now serves over 300 million monthly users, far surpassing Skype’s dwindling user base, which had fallen to approximately 36 million by 2023. In the lead-up to Skype’s closure, Microsoft encouraged remaining users to migrate to Teams, which comes with features such as one-on-one and group calls, messaging, file sharing, and integrations with tools such as SharePoint, OneDrive, and Office 365.
Skype users can transfer their contacts and chat history to Teams by signing in with their Skype credentials, and will have until January 2026. Microsoft has provided tools to export Skype data for those choosing not to transition. Subscriptions and Skype Numbers will remain accessible until early 2026, and account holders will retain the ability to use their Skype credit for calling via Teams’ web-based platform. However, it should be noted that chats between Skype users and Teams work or school accounts, as well as private and bot-based messages, will not transfer, nor will the company refund all unused credits. Microsoft maintains that Skype for Business, a separate enterprise-grade version of the platform, will continue to operate for the foreseeable future.
