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Skype vs Viber: What are the differences?
Developers describe Skype as "Voice calls, instant messaging, file transfer, and video conferencing". Skype’s text, voice and video make it simple to share experiences with the people that matter to you, wherever they are. On the other hand, Viber is detailed as "*Free and secure calls and messages *". It is a cross-platform instant messaging and voice over IP application provided as freeware for the Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS platforms.
Skype can be classified as a tool in the "Web and Video Conferencing" category, while Viber is grouped under "Phone".
Some of the features offered by Skype are:
- Calling- Make free Skype to Skype calls or call mobiles and landlines home and abroad at low rates.
- Video- Catch up face to face or get a whole group together on a video call.
- Messaging- You're always in the loop with instant messaging, voice messaging and sending texts.
On the other hand, Viber provides the following key features:
- Send texts, photos, videos and more
- Make HD-quality calls and switch to video easily
- Record quick-sending voice and video messages
Hi, I am helping teachers in my kid's schools to set up distance learning and wanted to see what is better between Webex, Zoom, and Skype (although only putting this one in as most parents probably have it). The children are 8-9, so they won't be using it on their own and the parents have no experience using Webex or Zoom.
The main use will be for the teacher to explain what they will be covering in the week and enable some social interaction between the kids.
I need to be easy to use for about 20-25 people.
Thanks for your advice, Lisa
I consider Skype dead. Even Microsoft strongly neglected it. Webex is more corporate-oriented. So for your use case, I recommend Zoom. It is easy to set up, and the quality is very good. Zoom became such a household name that the average person heard about it. Moreover, any person probably has friends who may have used it. So it will be easier for people to get some community help.
We've been using Zoom for about a half a year and it's stability is unbeatable. We have all-hands on Fridays with 100+ participants. The free tier can easily handle the requirements, the only limitation is that max meeting length is 40 minutes. After that you can immediately restart the meeting, but the pro option is also very affordable. It also features screen sharing and whiteboard sharing out of the box. I also appreciate that it's not mandatory to register an account to attend a meeting.
From my experiences I feel like Zoom is a pretty intuitive program to teach kids, however Skype might be more common amongst them already.
I am a big fan of Microsoft Teams.
They all do the same pretty much but Teams I find the bells and whistles are easier to find, like custom backgrounds... creating groups for topic discussions that remain there until you want to change/edit or delete. Easy to share files.
Hi, Lisa,
I haven't used Skype in a long time. I have I lot of experience with Zoom and Webex. Both for me are very good tools, especially if you have money to pay for (to unlock more features, like more people in a video conference - Zoom).
Nowadays, I've used more Webex with my undergraduate students, I'm using the free account. Cloud recording is a features very useful, especially while using the free account (thanks Cisco!). Webex has control features very useful (e.g., mute, raise hand etc).
Kind regards,
Pros of Skype
- Free, widespread258
- Desktop and mobile apps147
- Because i have to :(110
- Low cost international calling57
- Good for international calls56
- Best call quality anywhere, generally10
- Beautiful emojis5
- Chat bots4
- Translator2
- Skype for business integration with Outlook2
- United kingdom1
- Not the Best, but get the job done1
Pros of Viber
- Free5
- Easy to use2
- Free calls and chats1
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Cons of Skype
- Really high CPU utilization during video/screenshare5
- Not always reliable3
- Outdated UI3
- Birthday notifications are annoying3
- The worst indicator noises of any app ever3
- Finding/adding people isn't easy2
Cons of Viber
- Lack of interaction with new people1
- No servers, only group chats1
- Ad supported1