Skype alternatives in 2026: what replaces Skype's free calls and Skype Credit

What replaces each part of Skype?

No single service does everything Skype did. It handled three jobs: free calls between Skype users, paid calls to landlines and mobiles with Skype Credit or a calling subscription, and Skype Numbers for incoming calls. Microsoft moved the first job to Teams (free) and ended the other two ^[1]. So the right replacement depends on which of the three you actually used.

From Microsoft Support and the operators' own pages, read on November 1, 2026.

Where your old account and chat history went is covered in my timeline of how Skype was retired. The rest of this page is about the replacements.

Skype alternatives side by side

These are the seven services I would look at first: who they can call, what they cost, who may sign up, what sign-up asks for and whether calls can come in. Three are free but connect only people inside the same app. Four reach ordinary phone numbers, though Google Voice and TextNow serve only North America.

On a phone, scroll the table sideways to see every column.

The rows follow my home-page ranking, where every service I compared sits side by side, scored for a reader in the US; this page gives no ranks. Outside the US and Canada the first two rows drop out: personal Google Voice accounts are US-only ^[14], and TextNow is for US and Canada residents ^[10].

Free Skype alternatives for app-to-app calls

If you mostly used Skype to talk to other Skype users, the free replacements are Teams (free), WhatsApp Web and Google Meet, and all three work in a browser tab. Each connects only people inside the same service, so the choice depends on what the other person already has: a Microsoft account, WhatsApp on their phone, or a Google account.

Microsoft Teams (free)

Teams (free) is where Microsoft sent Skype users. You sign in with your Skype account and your contacts and chats move across on their own ^[1]. One-to-one calls between Teams users can last up to 30 hours, group meetings up to 60 minutes with up to 100 people, and guests can join a meeting link without a Teams account ^[25].

teams.live.com runs in the browser with nothing to install, and when I opened it the page offered to start a meeting for free ^[31]. Microsoft's browser list is written for work and school Teams; I found none for the free version ^[32]. What Teams (free) lacks is any route to phone numbers: Microsoft points small businesses to Teams Essentials, $4 per user a month on a yearly plan, paired with Teams Phone ^[25][1].

WhatsApp Web

WhatsApp Web gained voice and video calls in the browser on July 28, 2026, free, end-to-end encrypted and with no time limit ^[2]; the help centre still says it is rolling out gradually ^[3]. You need an account registered with a current mobile number ^[27], while a guest can join a call link from a computer browser once admitted ^[33].

It cannot replace Skype Credit: every calling page I read describes calls to WhatsApp contacts only ^[26], so landlines and mobiles outside WhatsApp are out of reach. Supported browsers and setup are in how WhatsApp Web calling works in each browser.

Google Meet

A personal Google account gets free one-to-one calls of up to 24 hours and group meetings of up to 60 minutes, in current Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari ^[24]. Meet calls phones only in meetings organised through a Google Workspace account ^[22]. Zoom's free plan is tighter: meetings of up to 40 minutes ^[34], and phone numbers only with a paid Zoom Phone licence ^[35].

Skype alternatives for calling landlines and mobiles

This was Skype Credit's job, and no free Microsoft product does it now. From a browser tab, Yolla and TwinPhone call landlines and mobiles in most countries on prepaid credit, Google Voice does it for US residents, and TextNow for people living in the US or Canada. Free web dialers exist too, but with daily caps and caller IDs the person you call may not recognise.

Yolla

Yolla Web places outbound calls to mobiles and landlines from Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Edge, with nothing to install ^[19]. Top-ups start at $4, the rate shows before each call and there is no connection fee ^[21]. The people you call see your own number ^[8].

Its limits: no incoming calls in the browser ^[19], and the app asks for your phone number and checks it by SMS or a call ^[21]. The service lives at yollacalls.com; when I opened yolla.com it showed a domain-for-sale page instead ^[36].

TwinPhone

TwinPhone sponsors this site, so here are both sides. It calls landlines and mobiles from a tab in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave or Safari, and signs you up with an email or Google account, with no phone number and no card ^[17]. That suits someone who wants Skype's old call-a-number-from-the-computer habit without handing over a mobile number. A rented US, Canadian or Puerto Rico number, from $3.19 a month, takes incoming calls in the tab ^[37][17].

The downsides: no free tier or trial credit, and a smallest top-up of $10 ^[38][39]. UK mobiles cost $0.12 and India $0.08 a minute, above Yolla's 'from' rates of $0.10 and $0.0239 ^[6][40][5]. Reach is given as 145+ countries on one page and 165 destinations on the rates page ^[17][6]. Without a rented number, the person you call sees a shared number that can't be called back; showing your own mobile costs $1 a month ^[41].

Google Voice and TextNow

For US residents, Google Voice costs nothing for most domestic calls: calls from the US to almost all US and Canadian numbers are free ^[13], but a new number needs a text code sent to a phone you already have and a government-ID check ^[42][15]. TextNow gives a free US or Canadian number paid for by ads ^[43][44], only to residents of those two countries ^[10]. If neither will take you, I compare services that stand in for Google Voice outside North America on a separate page.

Free web dialers

PopTox, Call2Friends and Globfone ring real numbers for free, within tight limits: PopTox shows one shared number, 218-414-1141, on every call ^[45], Call2Friends allows one or two free calls a day per IP address ^[46], and Globfone wants a verified phone number and a payment card first ^[47]. They suit a short test, not daily use.

What replaced Skype Credit?

Prepaid credit at another calling service. Microsoft stopped selling Skype Credit and Teams (free) has no paid calling plans ^[1]. Credit you already hold can still be spent through the Skype Dial Pad, on the Skype web portal or inside Teams (free), though automatic top-up is gone ^[1]. For new credit, the rules differ as much as the rates.

Read on November 1, 2026. Rebtel and Talk360 are apps, listed for readers who also called from a phone.

If your Skype calls came with Microsoft 365 Personal or Family, those 60 Skype minutes were removed starting March 2026 ^[1], so you need one of the services above as well.

Skype alternative for international calls

For calls abroad to someone with a smartphone, the free apps above cost nothing but data. To reach a landline, or a mobile without internet, compare the rate for the country you call most. On the rate pages I read, Google Voice was cheapest for US residents, Yolla's 'from' rates were below TwinPhone's on all four routes below, and Rebtel, which has no browser calling, undercut both to the UK.

Per minute, lowest published rate on the date checked. Scroll sideways on a phone.

How to read the table: Yolla's figures are 'from' prices ^[40], TwinPhone's are the lowest published rate for each country ^[6], and Google Voice's UK mobile rate covers EE, O2, Vodafone and Three, with other UK mobiles at $0.28 a minute ^[4]. Free US calls on Google Voice apply when you call from the US ^[13].

If an app is acceptable, Rebtel lists UK numbers from $0.024 and India from $0.029 a minute ^[58][59], but sign-up needs a mobile number checked by SMS and calls don't run in a browser ^[60]. Dialling formats and more destinations are in my rates by country.

What replaces a Skype Number?

A number rented from another provider. All Skype Number subscriptions ended in May 2026 and port-out requests are no longer accepted ^[1], so unless you moved your number earlier, people who dial it will not reach you. Which replacement fits depends on the country the new number has to be in.

• US, for US residents: Google Voice gives a free number that rings in the browser while the tab is open ^[16][14].
• US, Canada or Puerto Rico, from elsewhere: TwinPhone rents numbers from $3.19 a month, with incoming calls at $0.02 a minute ^[37][18].
• Other countries: Sonetel sells numbers in 69 countries from $2.00 a month ^[61][62] and Zadarma in 110 ^[63]. Both are built for businesses, and Sonetel's terms limit use to your own business purposes ^[64].

Yolla offered no rented numbers on the pages I read, and its web client takes no incoming calls ^[19]. What to tell your contacts, and how to claim a refund for a cancelled Skype subscription, is in my guide to life after a Skype Number.

A Skype alternative for seniors

For an older relative, the simplest replacement often needs no app on their side at all: a browser dialer rings their ordinary landline or mobile, and they just pick up. If they do use a tablet or laptop, a free video call by link avoids new accounts and passwords. Whatever you choose, make sure the call shows a number they will recognise and answer.

1. Start from what they already have. A landline or basic mobile means a paid dialer on your side; a smartphone with WhatsApp means free calls from WhatsApp Web.
2. Check which number they will see. Yolla shows your own number ^[8], PopTox one shared number for everyone ^[45], and TwinPhone a shared number unless you rent one or verify your mobile ^[41]. Tell them which number to expect.
3. For video, send a link. A Teams (free) meeting link works without a Teams account for up to 60 minutes ^[25], and a WhatsApp call link opens in a computer browser once they type a name and you admit them ^[33].
4. Do a practice run while you can help: Chrome may ask before a site uses the microphone, and a site that was blocked has to be switched back to Allow in Chrome's settings ^[65].
5. To call abroad from their own landline, Rebtel describes an account opened on its website and a personal local number per contact, billed by their operator as a local call, in the countries Rebtel lists ^[53].

I have not tried this set-up with an older user; the steps follow each service's own pages.

In this guide

• Services

  Is Skype still a thing? What happened after Skype shut down in May 2025

  Is Skype still a thing? No: it shut down on May 5, 2025. I traced what came next: the move to Teams (free), the data deadlines, Skype Credit and Skype Numbers.

• Services

  Your Skype Number after Skype: what ended, what you can claim, what replaces it

  Skype Numbers ended in May 2026 and can't be ported now. I read Microsoft's pages on refunds, leftover credit and deadlines, and compared replacement numbers.

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