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Cisco Jabber vs Skype for Business comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Cisco Jabber
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Unified Communications (7th)
Skype for Business
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Meetings (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Jabber and Skype for Business aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco Jabber is designed for Unified Communications and holds a mindshare of 3.5%, down 8.6% compared to last year.
Skype for Business, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Meetings, holds 5.2% mindshare, down 11.5% since last year.
Unified Communications Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Jabber3.5%
Cisco Unified Communications9.6%
3CX Live Chat7.2%
Other79.7%
Unified Communications
Virtual Meetings Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Skype for Business5.2%
Zoom Workplace Business8.6%
Webex6.8%
Other79.4%
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer912129 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Manager at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Stable, easy to set up, and works fine
Everyone in our company uses Cisco Jabber for phone calls and internal chat. We have around 1,000 users. For features like video conferences, schedules, and presentations, we use Microsoft Teams.  It works fine feature-wise. The Cisco Jabber features that we use work okay. There are issues in…
reviewer1854369 - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature for me is that it shows who is available and who is not, as well as what their current status is."
"It works fine feature-wise. The Cisco Jabber features that we use work okay."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to talk with people in real-time, instead of sending texts."
"The GUI is very user-friendly."
"The most valuable features of the solution are that it is quick and easy to use. It is a good tool for group calls."
"There are free versions of the solution available."
"The quality of the meetings is very good."
"Using this solution has helped us to cut long distance calls, as well as video services from third parties."
"What is most valuable about Skype for Business is that almost everyone knows about it and almost everyone has it. You will be able to reach a large number of people."
"It's a good product, we like using it."
"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."
 

Cons

"I presume that very small businesses would have a tough time justifying the investment."
"Cisco Jabber is not a collaborative tool."
"There are issues in switching from one type of communication system to another. When I connect my wired earphone or Bluetooth earphone, Cisco Jabber doesn't switch automatically. There are some user experience issues that need to be fixed."
"The initial setup could be simplified."
"The solution lacks to provide reporting functionality, and I would like to see the solution provide that feature."
"We overcame the audio quality issues by asking users to use the 'Call Me' feature with their desk phone."
"This service could be improved by adding some missing features. It lacks integration with Teams, which is a feature I would like to see in the next release."
"I don't recall coming across any big missing features."
"The cost of Skype for Business has room for improvement."
"There is one issue regarding the audio settings. The application tends to select the internal microphone on devices rather than detecting external headphones."
"We have found that there is a lag because it cannot integrate with the internal landline."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"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."
"To realize value from the purchase of Skype Business, you need to take advantage of all the important functions of the program."
"Our company pays for a license for us to use the solution."
"The cost of Skype for Business is incorporated into our Office 365 licenses."
"The solution is priced fairly."
"We purchased an open license."
"We negotiated a fair price with Microsoft. It is definitely worthwhile to negotiate with them for the best price for your solution."
"A license is required to use the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
13%
University
10%
Government
8%
Marketing Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Performing Arts
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise27
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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...
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Odeabank, Eagle Investment Systems, Pella Corporation, The Republican National Convention, avodaqAG
EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services,LA Fitness, MedcoEnergi International, Tampa General Hospital, and HopewellHoldings Limited.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, 3CX, Digium and others in Unified Communications. Updated: January 2026.
881,565 professionals have used our research since 2012.