Microsoft is officially shutting down Skype (RIP). Even if you haven’t used the app in years, it’s possible Skype was your introduction into modern video chats. The app made it easy to call friends and family via video no matter where in the world you all were. As long as you had a stable internet connection, you could Skype.
Once Microsoft pulls the plug on Skype for good, legacy users will need a new platform to turn to. Microsoft will encourage you to switch to Teams, and you can. But there are better alternatives out there.
The goal (and challenge) of choosing a video calling platform is to convince other people to join you. The last thing you want is to pick an app that no one uses, then force everyone in your circle to adopt that choice. The less friction, the better. That’s why platforms that work with people’s existing accounts and platforms are best here: There are some great options out there, from Viber to Signal, that offer good video calling features, but you’ll have a lot more luck calling your friends if you meet them where they are. I’ve focused this list with that in mind.
Google Meet
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If your goal is to find the easiest video call solution for the average person in your contacts list, my go-to would be Google Meet. In 2025, chances are high the person you’re trying to reach has a Google Account—even if it isn’t their platform of choice.
Because many of us have Google Accounts already, it doesn’t really matter what devices or platforms you’re working from. Whether one of you has a Mac, another a PC, or you’re on competing ends of the iOS versus Android debate, Google Meet works on just about any device. It free, of course, but you do get some perks if you pay—including higher quality video.
My main issue with Google Meet, though, is it’s not all that intuitive. The service seems designed more for business and professional use than casual conversation, so it isn’t necessarily as ideal as Skype was in its heyday. (Just the fact that Google calls the default option “meetings” on the web app makes me feel like I’m working, instead of calling a friend or family member.) Plus, there’s a 60 minute limit on calls at a time for free users: That’s fine for shorter calls, but if you tend to sit on video chats for hours, you’ll be picking up the phone a number of times.
If your friend has their Google Account properly set up, though, calling them is as easy as it was on Skype—or about as easy as opening the traditional phone app. However, if their Google Account isn’t setup for calls, you need to share the call link with them instead, which is fine, but adds some friction to what should be a simple experience. Again, though, you’re not going to find a perfect video call solution if the other person isn’t already using that platform.
If you’re on your computer, you can use the Google Meet web app for most purposes. If you prefer video chatting on mobile, there are apps for both iOS and Android—though Meet may already be installed on your Android device.
Google Meet supports video calls with up to 100 participants, as many as Skype did.
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Like Google, WhatsApp is insanely popular around the world. If you’re not using WhatsApp, someone you know is, which makes it a close second on this list (if not tied for first).
WhatsApp’s standardization gives it the same advantage as Google Meet: There is a very good chance the person you want to video call has an account. I don’t use WhatsApp, but I have a WhatsApp account. Better yet, the app doesn’t have a time limit for calls, so you can talk as long as you want.
Like Google Meet, WhatsApp is available just about everywhere you access the internet. You can use it on an iPhone or Android device, or access it via the web app. WhatsApp even has a desktop app, unlike Google Meet, which potentially makes it the better Skype replacement. I personally used Skype on my Mac back in the day, and the experience of calling someone on WhatsApp using the app is a bit more reminiscent of that experience than Google Meet’s web app is.
WhatsApp doesn’t support as many participants as Skype did: The app will let you hold calls with up to 32 other people, which, while far less than 100, is still a lot of people for video calls.
Facebook Messenger
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If not one Meta app, why not another? Messenger has been the go-to option for Facebook users for years, simply because it’s built right into Meta’s flagship social network. But in recent years, the company’s efforts to spin the app into a dedicated messaging service have been successful. I don’t use many Facebook account these days, but I do check my Messenger app more often than not.
Again, you have the built-in user base here. Facebook might be the largest network of the three mentioned so far. You might have to add your friend before giving them a ring, but seeing as the social media platform contains more than 35% of the world’s population, you shouldn’t be shocked if the person you want to call is a member.
I quite like Messenger’s video calling experience, especially on desktop. The Mac app definitely offers a video chat interface that veteran Skype users will enjoy. However, it’s a little frustrating you can’t start a video call without already having a chat thread going first. If the person or group you want to call already has a conversation going, great: just hit the video call icon to start a chat. However, if not, you’ll need to send a message to your friend or friends first, then call them. I suppose it’s nice to give them a heads up, but, again, friction!
Facebook Messenger used to support video calls of up to 50 people through a feature called “Rooms,” but Meta has since discontinued that option. There are no time limits on Messenger calls.
FaceTime
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If you have an Apple account and the person you’re trying to chat with also has an Apple account, just FaceTime them. The service is easy to use, end-to-end encrypted, and comes with a number of features you might expect from a more business-facing platform than FaceTime—like screen sharing and remote screen controlling. There’s hardly anything easier than hitting the FaceTime button on an iMessage thread, or tapping your friend’s name in the FaceTime app: seconds later, you’ll be chatting.
Things get trickier though when you consider the friends who don’t have iPhones—especially those who live outside your country. It’s suddenly not so easy when you try to call a friend who doesn’t have their international number tied to their Apple Account.
Still, that doesn’t mean you should count out FaceTime entirely. Apple lets you create a FaceTime link that anyone can use to join a call—even those on Android or PC. It’s adds an extra hurdle than if you were calling another Apple user, but it still works, which makes this method perhaps the easiest for those of us with iPhones or Macs: Forget about the other apps, just make a FaceTime link, send it to your friends, and wait for them to join your call.
FaceTime supports the same number of callers as WhatsApp, 32, with no time limits. Perhaps its biggest drawback is the lack of a native text chat feature: Google Meet supports a native chat, like Skype, while WhatsApp and Messenger are built out of chat apps, so you can send messages there as well. FaceTime, however, is its own entity: If you’re all on Apple devices, you can continue the conversation on iMessage, but it isn’t quite the same.
Teams
So work focused.
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Microsoft, unsurprisingly, wants you to switch from Skype to Teams. In some ways, that makes sense: The company owns both platforms, so moving from Skype to Teams should be the simple answer. However, Teams is so obviously built with work conferencing in mind (hence the name), that if you’re looking for a standard app for casual video calling, this one could be a bit overkill. (It’s not like I’d recommend to switch to Slack for casual video calls, either.)
If your callers are all Windows users with corresponding Microsoft Accounts, Teams might work. The app does support up to 100 people, and you can chat for 60 minutes at a time. (One-on-one chats are available for 30 hours at a time.) You can also access Teams on a number of different devices—not just Windows machines. If your device has a camera, you can probably use Teams for video calls. The addition of a built-in chat function is helpful, as well.
Still, personally, I’d suggest trying one of the other options over Teams.
Zoom (not recommended)
Many of us in the working world (as well as those of us who jumped on video chats during the pandemic) are quite acquainted with Zoom. The app is perhaps one of the first you think of when you consider video calls, though it’s not necessarily one you pick up for casual use.
Zoom does offer large video calls—up to 100 participants—for free, but that comes with some limits. While many free video calling platforms end after 60 minutes, Zoom’s free calls end at 40 minutes. Unless you’re already paying for the service, it really isn’t a convenient option for those times you want to catch up with friends or family on video.
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