Skype sure made an indelible mark in the global international call service market with its revolutionary approach to enhancing personal and corporate communication.
It was a tad sad to see Microsoft announce that it’s shutting it down permanently on May 5, 2025. And that announcement left over 27 million daily active users asking, “What next?”
What are the best Skype alternatives for international calls? Is there an equally affordable alternative to Skype for international landline calls?
For most of the users bothered by these and similar questions, the answers are in more flexible platforms like BOSS Revolution, which offer even more competitive services amplified by zero-fee international calls.
But before we get into the features and benefits of these Skype alternatives for phone calls, let’s take a quick look at why Microsoft is letting go of Skype.
The End of Skype and Its Impact on Users
Skype made its mark by being an undeniably affordable platform that offers high-quality international calling and video calls to users worldwide, a promise it made when it launched as a premier VoIP service in 2003 and committed to until the end.
Now, you might ask, if that was the case, why is it shutting down permanently?
Well, it’s mostly a business decision.
At its peak, Skype had 405 million active users. Compare that to its 2024 count of 27+ million, and you’d acknowledge that the platform has seen a steep drop.
There were many things at play.
But one key thing was the technological shifts that led to the development and influx of newer and more competitive platforms, each targeting a niche and taking a bite from a market that Skype once dominated unopposed.
Following the platform’s performance during and after the pandemic, it was clear that Skype might not be making a comeback, not at the rate anyone would have projected.
Therefore, Microsoft shut it down permanently to focus on other products and services.
For the millions of users, it is time to move on and find Skype alternatives and keep things going.
Let’s now explore the best Skype alternatives for phone calls with your loved ones from across the globe.
BOSS Revolution
BOSS Revolution is simply one of the best alternatives to Skype. It offers similar services and even more, including mobile top-ups at low to no cost.
Since 2008, BOSS Revolution has proven to be a strong competition for Skype despite being initially developed to focus on providing high-quality, affordable international calls to immigrants.
Over time, BOSS Revolution employed advanced technologies to become an everyday app, expanding beyond immigrant communities to become a go-to international calling service for people worldwide.
BOSS Revolution’s modern technological adoptions positioned it to offer more useful features than Skype did, including:
- International mobile top-ups: Mobile top-ups for your loved ones in over 100 countries—across 270+ networks.
- Zero-fee international calls: International calls, including video calls and voice calls, when you call app-to-app with BOSS Revolution.
- International calling on mobile phones and landlines: One of Skype’s top selling points is its affordable international calls to landlines. BOSS Revolution beats that offer, making it the undisputed alternative to Skype for international landline calls.
- Always-stable connection: Where call quality matters, you can count on BOSS Revolution to deliver. Thanks to its proprietary technology that keeps calls clear, even with drastically poor internet connection.
BOSS Revolution has a great, user-friendly interface while staying lightweight. Add those to its competitive pricing, always-stable features, and free calling options, and you’d agree that BOSS Revolution is infinitely better than other Skype alternatives for international phone calls.
As a result, families and individuals (including expats, immigrants, international students, etc.) in need of a reliable international calling service, including in areas with very poor internet services, turn to BOSS Revolution to meet their needs.
Following BOSS Revolution, WeChat is another close alternative to Skype for international calling.
It is a robust platform that covers some of the essential features Skype offered, including:
- Free app-to-app international calls with family, friends, and business partners.
- Group messaging, accommodating up to 100 persons.
Like BOSS Revolution, you can also use your WeChat to top up a mobile phone number. But this is only applicable to Chinese phone numbers.
Generally, WeChat is not particularly focused on facilitating international calls to mobile phones and landlines.
However, “WeChat Out”, a location-limited feature, allows eligible users in 12 countries (China not included) to call mobile phones and landlines through their WeChat app.
The downside to this is that the platform is not flexible or very clear on how and how much it charges for WeChat-Out calls. Even if a call lasts for only a second, WeChat charges you for a minute, at an unspecified amount.
That aside, WeChat is a good Skype alternative for keeping in touch with people abroad, especially in China. As a result, it is popular among Chinese immigrants and international students.
Telegram
Telegram is popular for being a lightweight yet very robust app that offers a wide array of features for international calls, including group calls.
One could argue that in terms of call service features, Telegram offers more than what Skype had to offer.
That would have been a solid argument if, like Skype, Telegram offers international calling services from Telegram to mobile numbers and landlines. As it stands, it doesn’t, and there’s no show of intention to do so anytime soon.
Despite this significant drawback for international calling, Telegram remains a strong contender as a Skype alternative if the person(s) you’d like to communicate with abroad are also Telegram users.
If that is the case, Telegram allows you to access:
- Free app-to-app international calls.
- Large file sharing, up to 2 GB. For larger files, you’d have to subscribe to Telegram Premium for $5 per month.
- Messaging features like secret chats and a self-destruct timer.
Generally, Telegram mostly serves as a messaging app that majorly targets young adults but can serve as an app for international voice and video calls.
Conclusion
Skype has paid its dues. It surely deserves all the recognition it gets for being a revolutionary platform that defined and set the pace for most of the services in the international calling services market today.
However, Microsoft has let it go, and it is time to move on to better, more reliable, and more affordable international calling platforms like BOSS Revolution.
