Microsoft is shutting down Skype in an effort to push users towards its platform, Microsoft Teams.
Existing Skype users can migrate to Teams, which offers similar core features but lacks phone call functionality.
Skype paid users will receive limited features within Teams, and Microsoft 365 subscribers can still use similar functionalities.
For a long, long time, the term “video calling apps” was practically synonymous with Skype. The communication platform was launched in 2003, but its craze eventually died down, which could practically be because Microsoft acquired it in 2011 for $8.5 billion. While Microsoft continued improving Skype even after they acquired it, their efforts simply weren’t working.
The surge of other video calling platforms, especially free alternatives, like Apple’s FaceTime, Zoom, Google Meet, and Telegram, didn’t help either. Combine that with Microsoft adding countless features (that no one really asks for), and Skype was just bound to fade away at some point or the other.
After decades and countless efforts on Microsoft’s side to push Skype, the company finally announced at the end of February that the video conferencing platform is officially closing its doors for good. The end is here, and Skype is officially shutting down in a few hours from now. But don’t worry just yet, Microsoft has the perfect solution for you, and chances are you won’t like it.
Skype is shutting down today, and its replacement is exactly what you think it is
As shared on Microsoft’s Support blog (and first spotted by XDA Developers), Skype is shutting down for good in May 2025 for both free and paid users. Microsoft’s article notes that this change won’t affect Skype for Business users.
During the time Microsoft was adding new features to Skype (even though no one was really using it), the tech giant had a genius solution: just introduce another app that does the exact same thing — Microsoft Teams. If you somehow haven’t used it yet, Teams is a collaboration and communication platform designed for businesses and organizations. Microsoft launched it in 2017 to compete with the likes of Slack. Since then, the company has been working tirelessly to push users toward the app.
The company’s solution for what Skype users should do once it closes its doors for good is exactly the same — just switch over to Teams. In fact, a quick glance at Skype’s X (formerly Twitter) account shows how Microsoft has been pushing that agenda onto users.
Microsoft says that existing Skype users will be able to migrate to Teams’ free version. While the free tier does offer many of the “core features” that kept people stuck to Skype for so long, like one-to-one and group calls, messaging, file sharing, and calendar integration, it lacks a significant feature: phone-call functionality and the ability to receive phone calls with a Skype phone number.
Skype’s Dial Pad will remain available to Skype Paid users from the web portal within the Teams free tier. Unfortunately, the 70-minute Skype Calls feature will be removed from Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family subscriptions starting March 2026.
The good news is that Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers will still be able to use roughly the same kind of functionality, since Teams Free allows you to talk for up to 30 hours with up to 300 people.
Nonetheless, Skype is going away, and it’s never coming back. But hey, Microsoft Teams has got your back!
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