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Skype for Business vs Zoom comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

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

Skype for Business
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zoom
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
222
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of Skype for Business is 13.2%, up from 8.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zoom is 11.2%, down from 13.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

Markus Schweizer - PeerSpot reviewer
Has good telephone integration but technology is outdated
We use the product for conference calls.  The tool's most valuable features are its audio and chat functions. They help us save time and have good telephone integration.  The solution's functionality needs to be moved to Microsoft Teams. Its technology is outdated.  I have been using the tool…
Luiz Kazan - PeerSpot reviewer
Utilizing versatile features for efficient personal and work meetings
Zoom offers a number of interesting and valuable features. One of the most interesting is the ability to share only audio and provide ambient music without sharing a screen. The breakout room feature is much more developed than other solutions, allowing users to stay in the same meeting and move to different rooms and back to the main room. The sharing features are great for projecting people who should be in focus. Another valuable feature is the virtual entrance, which uses a username and password recognized by the Zoom system, showing the person's full name and ID. Additionally, the use of video and a good fixed background improves visibility compared to other applications. These features differentiate Zoom from others.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Using Skype allows us to connect with external agencies when a Skype call is set up and aids in sharing large files efficiently."
"I think Skype for Business is scalable. However, I believe Microsoft is discontinuing the Skype platform altogether, so I don't think it's super-relevant."
"File sharing and email invitations for a conference. I can have a meeting with people at the opposite end of the Earth, sharing documentation; it is quite easy."
"The solution is stable and scalable."
"The solution is scalable and is capable of working on every appliance on every operating system."
"One of the best features of Skype for Business is that you can set it up on mobile phones, and you can set it up on laptops. You can connect to the tool from anywhere."
"The most valuable feature of Skype for Business is that it has many other tools that you can be integrated with it. It makes the meetings more interactive."
"There are free versions of the solution available."
"The screen sharing feature is valuable. It is easy to set up a meeting if you are on a call with a non Teams user if you need to do screen sharing."
"As a technical support guy, I think it's crucial to be able to connect with people remotely. Zoom is simple to use because they can share the screen and talk. The user can walk me through the issue they are facing."
"The quality of the connection from Zoom is very good. There are many functions and features available. I am only a basic user and it has more than I will ever use. It has lower bandwidths than other products that we have used and has worked well. It is important to have good quality sound and video than anything else."
"I'm not a really technologically sophisticated user. From my point of view, if I can use it, it's likely very straightforward."
"The most valuable feature is how stable Zoom is. Compared to other collaboration tools, I haven't seen Zoom crash often. Zoom is also better in terms of security. From a usability perspective, a user's perspective, the overall experience of using Zoom is very good. It's a simple, fast, very seamless solution, and pretty lightweight."
"I've never had to use tech support for it. It just works."
"It is a stable solution."
"The Zoom software is complete and effective, light and secure."
 

Cons

"Skype for Business could improve the interface. It could be easier to use. Additionally, it's hard to find the people or add people you want to communicate with."
"We need a feature where you can virtually raise your hand to silently let the presenter know that you have a question."
"I feel that the whole look and feel of Skype should be improved, including its user-friendliness. It should also improve its scalability."
"We have found that there is a lag because it cannot integrate with the internal landline."
"The cost of Skype for Business has room for improvement."
"The solution should improve the chat and add more flexibility to make a call."
"The solution requires deployment on a Microsoft server and its performance is heavy because it consumes too many resources from the RAM."
"Going forward, I would like to see better call quality and reliability."
"Maybe the UI could be improved a bit."
"The performance could be better."
"Could be more flexible for individuals that do not have the economic capacity."
"I don't know whose product is at fault, however, if you've ever had to go from Zoom to Teams to WebEx, it really messes around with your device settings."
"Nothing extraordinary about this application, as its main use is for connecting with people on the other side of the cloud, but other users could find other Zoom features valuable."
"In the past, there were some sound connectivity issues where I would get sound and no picture, and then picture and no sound."
"The stability of Zoom could be improved. I would rate its stability as a seven out of ten."
"The solution needs to have a feature that allows you to take over another person's screen. right now, that's not possible. This is important for our purposes due to the act that we are often using the solution to troubleshoot issues for our clients. If we could just take over their screen and go in and fix issues, it would make troubleshooting infinitely easier."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost of Skype for Business is incorporated into our Office 365 licenses."
"We purchased an open license."
"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."
"When it comes to the pricing of the solution, I rate it as a five out of ten. It falls somewhere in the middle between being cheap and expensive."
"I am using a corporate account for which I have not made any payments."
"We have been able to save money by moving our conferencing solution to Skype for Business Conferencing."
"To realize value from the purchase of Skype Business, you need to take advantage of all the important functions of the program."
"We negotiated a fair price with Microsoft. It is definitely worthwhile to negotiate with them for the best price for your solution."
"The personal version that I was using is available free of charge."
"There is a licensing fee and although the price is fair, it can be a little cheaper."
"Zoom is licensed as a subscription model and it is available on a monthly or yearly basis."
"There is some basic functionality that's free but if you want to host longer meetings and have more participants, then there is a licensing fee."
"Zoom is a very cheaply priced video conferencing solution, and using this product has saved our business a lot of expense."
"I use the free version that is available, so I'm not sure what the licensing prices are."
"We pay a yearly licensing fee for Zoom, which is expensive in our part of the world."
"The pricing is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
88%
Financial Services Firm
2%
Computer Software Company
2%
Government
2%
Educational Organization
90%
University
2%
Financial Services Firm
1%
Computer Software Company
1%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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?
The video quality could be improved, possibly due to internet connection issues. However, there is no significant weakness in Skype for Business.
LucidChart vs LucidSpark for brainstorming sessions over Zoom
Hi @Krista Thompson ​ - Yes, LucidSpark is a much more nimble and, in some ways, user-friendly tool than LucidChart. LucidSpark is designed to do a better job managing multiple users participating ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zoom?
Zoom offers a free version for up to forty minutes.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Skype for Business Plan 1, Skype for Business Plan 2, Lync Server
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services,LA Fitness, MedcoEnergi International, Tampa General Hospital, and HopewellHoldings Limited.
Fortinet, Veeva, Proofpoint, Box, Ticketmaster, Trend Micro, Caesars Entertainment, Santa Clara University, Pandora, Stanford Continuing Studies
Find out what your peers are saying about Skype for Business vs. Zoom and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
852,764 professionals have used our research since 2012.