Top 5 Skype Alternatives (Video Conferencing Software)

Skype is 1 of the best free video conferencing software available. You can do free skype video chat, audio chat with other skype users, low cost phone calls etc. 

Recently there are many instances when user is not able to log in, low audio-video quality and sometimes you hear stranger’s voice. So there is need to think beyond skype and start using alternatives. You can below 5 awesome replacements which you can use for video conference, video chat on windows 7/ 8 / XP / vista.

Skype Alternatives

(1) OoVoo: oovoo.com

OoVoo is a free video conference utility to connect with your friends, family around the world. Using OoVoo, you can make free voice calls to other Oovoo users, video calls upto 12 people and low cost phone calls. You can record your video calls for the later use. Other useful functionalities include sending files up to 25mb to other users, Screen sharing, instant text and video messaging and watching youtube videos with all group chatting users. It is available for MAC, Windows phone, Android, iOS users too.

(2) ICQ: icq.com

It is an instant messaging computer program developed by Mirabilis. It is available since 1996 and free to download. It provides features like offline messaging, multi-user chats, file transfers, multi-player games and greeting cards. It is considered among best skype alternatives.

(3) Vsee: vsee.com

It provides best quality and absolute clarity 720px high definition video during video chat. You can share your screen in continuation with your call with other participant. You can also do file transfer between 2 workstations by dragging it from you screen and dropping to other participant's pc. VSee also claims that it uses 50% less bandwidth than its competitors like Skype, Polycom, Tandberg, Cisco, etc. It is also secure, scalable and enterprise friendly. It is emerging as 1 of the best video conferencing software because of its user friendly features and UI.

(4) Viber: viber.com

One of the best voice calls messaging app for smart phones like android, iOS, windows phone, and blackberry is now available on desktop and computer. Using Viber for computer, we can get features like high definition (HD) calls without any interference, video calls, text-sticker-photo messages and synchronization between your mobile and PC app.

(5) Google Hangouts: plus.google.com/hangouts
And Facebook Messenger: Facebook.com

70-80% people using the internet on earth have google and facebook accounts. So advantage is that you can use video conferencing service without downloading any additional software. You just have to download plug ins required to support video chats on your computer. 1 of them can be used as skype alternative when you don’t have software installation right and still wants to do video conferencing through web. create the hangout, invite the ones with which you want to do video chat.

For Facebook messenger, you can see Camera icon when you open the messenger windows for any particular person. You can click on it to get started.


Softwares like GNU telephony, Ekiga, Blink, Empathy, Jitsi, Pidgin can be used as Skype Alternative for all linux based OS. You can use it in Ubuntu, Fedora, Cent OS, Linux Mint, Debian, Red hat, PC Linux OS. You can able to see above software in Software center, you can choose the best according to reviews and start using it on your linux OS. Above all softwares are open source and also free to use for Windows and Linux OS.