Polycom RealPresence Clariti vs Skype for Business comparison

Polycom RealPresence Clariti vs. Skype for Business

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Polycom RealPresence Clariti

Ranking in Virtual Meetings

11th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Skype for Business

Ranking in Virtual Meetings

5th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of Polycom RealPresence Clariti is 1.8%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Skype for Business is 4.8%, down from 11.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Virtual Meetings Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Skype for Business	4.8%
Polycom RealPresence Clariti	1.8%
Other	93.4%

Virtual Meetings

Featured Reviews

Norm Hubert

Network Technical Advisor at a government with 10,001+ employees

The ability to track call flow and history simplifies call management while bridging issues persist

I find the ability to follow the calls, the call flow, the ability to look at the history, and more on the fault-finding tools to be valuable. It improved from a support model perspective. It simplified the licensing, reduced administration since it's based on calls, not based on users. It's about managing the calls and verifying we have enough space as opposed to always adding licenses for endpoints or users.

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reviewer1854369

Executive at a government with 201-500 employees

Relying on dependable communication features for efficient collaboration

I work with Microsoft Exchange. We use Microsoft Azure, though I am not involved with the back-end operations. I work with Microsoft Exchange and ServiceNow for the service desk. I do not work with Cloud Observability or Automation Engine. We use Microsoft Copilot with Teams. We do not use Microsoft Security Copilot as it is not cloud-based. We have moved from Skype for Business to Teams recently, though some of us still use Skype for Business because it is convenient. Skype for Business is particularly useful for remoting onto people's devices. I prefer Skype for Business over Teams for screen sharing. Sometimes there are compatibility issues when running Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business together. Phone calls in Teams might ring and then go silent, or the microphone might not detect calls from either application. I rate Skype for Business a 9 out of 10 because it works effectively with minimal issues.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Some proprietary Polycom features include speaker tracking, acoustic fencing, noise cancellation, active noise cancellation, and noise cancellation AI."

"It simplified the licensing, reduced administration since it's based on calls, not based on users."

"It's on-prem, which is great."

"I find the ability to follow the calls, the call flow, the ability to look at the history, and more on the fault-finding tools to be valuable."

"It does a good job of integrating with other software."

"The product increases the ability of Teams in cases when we need to collaborate with whiteboards or specific video-coms or audio-coms to install a meeting presence room."

"The solution is stable, there are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn't crash or freeze."

"The most valuable feature is its integration with solutions like Zoom and Teams for endpoints. The picture quality is high, and the conference sessions are stable."

"It has benefited my organization because I can use it on the phone, I can use it on a laptop, wherever I want. The communication channel is very easy now and I can call and chat. It's experienced. Together, my team manages everything. It's very easy."

"The most valuable feature of Skype for Business is overall it is an okay solution."

"We like the tools our administrator can use to identify which calls had quality issues and why. This makes troubleshooting our user experience somewhat easier."

"The conversation history feature in Skype for Business is particularly useful because it links with Outlook, and it is beneficial to access conversations with colleagues from six months ago through Skype for Business."

"Skype for Business and video conferencing makes it easier to work from home."

"Scalable communication tool that's easy to install. Even old people are using it, because of its ease of use."

"I would recommend Skype for Business to others, because it's good."

"The most valuable feature of Skype for Business is overall it is an okay solution."

More Skype for Business pros

Cons

"I'd like to see a wider range of use cases for this product."

"The only issue we have is with some of the bridging stuff, particularly with respect to DTMF and outgoing calls."

"The idea of the Clariti 2.0 is good, however, they're still moving too slowly."

"The only issue we have is with some of the bridging stuff, particularly with respect to DTMF and outgoing calls."

"Could have a wider range of use cases."

"The customer needs this platform to be a little bit more customized."

"Polycom RealPresence Clariti is very bad when moving towards the cloud."

"The most valuable feature is its integration with solutions like Zoom and Teams for endpoints. The picture quality is high, and the conference sessions are stable."

"Whenever someone is using a messaging platform, the messages needs to be stored. In Skype for Business, the message will not be seen later on if you're not online. It isn't useful, in my opinion."

"There have been a few issues working with vendor."

"The solution isn't connected to Microsoft Teams, and I feel like there is better communication on that particular solution."

"Sometimes Skype is slow, and we cannot use other elements of our devices while using the Skype solution."

"I am not familiar with all of the features or whether they can hold conferences because we use Zoom for that. But, in my opinion, if they can do something similar to what Zoom is doing, it will be a complete solution."

"The user experience during long sessions could be improved to avoid issues like intermittent disconnections or login failures."

"Lacks a zoom-in feature for whoever is presenting."

"The video quality could be improved, possibly due to internet connection issues."

More Skype for Business cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Polycom RealPresence Clariti is definitely more expensive than others in the market because of its high quality."

"Our company pays for a license for us to use the solution."

"It may be slightly costly, but the features are awesome."

"It may be considered costly for certain markets, such as in India."

"The pricing is really good. It is quite affordable because it came with our Office 365. It is on a per-user license, which is nice. I quite like that they have made it very granular with all of their licensing."

"We had a license for every one of our users to use Skype for Business. The license we used was part of an overall Microsoft license package."

"We negotiated a fair price with Microsoft. It is definitely worthwhile to negotiate with them for the best price for your solution."

"To realize value from the purchase of Skype Business, you need to take advantage of all the important functions of the program."

"Previously, I did not use another solution."

More Skype for Business pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Marketing Services Firm

15%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Construction Company

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	18
Midsize Enterprise	19
Large Enterprise	27

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Polycom RealPresence Clariti?

They are discontinuing the product and they are moving over to Pexip. The only issue we have is with some of the bridging stuff, particularly with respect to DTMF and outgoing calls. That's our big...

What is your primary use case for Polycom RealPresence Clariti?

We use it both nationally and internationally with our partners, however, it's used in a closed environment.

What advice do you have for others considering Polycom RealPresence Clariti?

I would recommend it, however, it depends on the environment. We have a lot of users but not a lot of usage, so the price model is really good for that environment. Overall, I would give it a nine ...

What do you like most about Skype for Business?

The solution’s video quality is fine.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Skype for Business?

Skype for Business is affordable and has decent pricing. The video quality is a bit lower than Teams or Zoom, but it remains a good solution overall.

What needs improvement with Skype for Business?

I cannot think of many ways in which Skype for Business could improve in general. It works fairly efficiently for our purposes with Skype for Business. There is one issue regarding the audio settin...

Cisco TelePresence vs Polycom RealPresence Clariti

Comparisons

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Webex Meetings with AT&T vs Polycom RealPresence Clariti

Compared 18% of the time

Zoho Meeting vs Polycom RealPresence Clariti

Compared 14% of the time

Blackboard Collaborate vs Polycom RealPresence Clariti

Compared 14% of the time

Microsoft Teams vs Polycom RealPresence Clariti

Compared 13% of the time

More Polycom RealPresence Clariti Competitors

Zoom Workplace Business vs Skype for Business

Compared 15% of the time

TeamViewer vs Skype for Business

Compared 13% of the time

Webex vs Skype for Business

Compared 9% of the time

GoToMeeting vs Skype for Business

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Teams vs Skype for Business

Compared 8% of the time

More Skype for Business Competitors

Product Reports

Virtual Meetings

Download Polycom RealPresence Clariti product report

Skype for Business

Download Skype for Business product report

Also Known As

RealPresence Clariti, Clariti

Skype for Business Plan 1, Skype for Business Plan 2, Lync Server

Overview

RealPresence Clariti is simple, powerful, cloud-ready collaboration infrastructure software for businesses of all sizes that connects people with HD voice, video, content and web collaboration.

Poly

Skype for Business offers features including presence, IM, voice and video calls, online meetings, conferencing, and telephony solutions that support enterprise-level collaboration requirements. Skype for Business Record meetings, share your screen, and annotate PowerPoint for real-time collaboration with up to 250 people and use whiteboard, polls, Q&A, and built-in IM during your business meetings to make them more productive. Skype for Business provides new client experience, Skype for Business Server provides several new features to improve manageability of on-premises servers and hybrid solutions. Skype for Business also supports the Lync client experience so that you can choose a phased upgrade approach to the new client experience for users. Skype for Business is also an integral part of Microsoft Office 365, providing PSTN Conferencing, Cloud PBX, PSTN Calling, and Skype Meeting Broadcast capabilities to Office 365 users.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Baptist Health Corbin, North Carolina Central University

EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services,LA Fitness, MedcoEnergi International, Tampa General Hospital, and HopewellHoldings Limited.

Polycom RealPresence Clariti vs. Skype for Business