Skype for Business vs Zoom comparison

Microsoft and Zoom Video Communications are both solutions in the Virtual Meetings category. Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.7, while Zoom Video Communications is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.3. Microsoft holds a 13.4% mindshare in VM, compared to Zoom Video Communications’s 11.1% mindshare. Additionally, 79% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Zoom Video Communications users who would recommend it.

Skype for Business

Read 62 Skype for Business reviews

2,218 Views
904 Comparison Views

79% willing to recommend

Zoom

Read 209 Zoom reviews

5,977 Views
1,083 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Skype for Business

Zoom

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

Skype for Business and Zoom are direct competitors in the video conferencing and communication software category. Zoom appears to have the upper hand due to its user-friendly interface, ease of use, and fewer technical requirements, making it more accessible for rapid deployment.

Features: Skype for Business offers comprehensive integration with Microsoft products, support for a variety of devices, and seamless scheduling through Microsoft Outlook. It is known for its VoIP and advanced conferencing capabilities. Zoom is praised for its intuitive high-quality video conferencing, screen sharing, and recording capabilities, making it suitable for both business and educational purposes.

Room for Improvement: Skype for Business struggles with high bandwidth use during video calls and limited third-party interoperability, requiring additional gateways for efficient collaboration. Improvement is needed in addressing connectivity issues and inconsistent audio quality. Zoom requires enhancements in security features, user interface improvements, and better collaboration tools. Users also hope for longer meeting durations in its free version and improved screen sharing for smoother meetings.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Skype for Business is typically deployed on-premises, although it supports hybrid and public cloud options. Users have reported configuration challenges across different locations. Microsoft provides effective technical support and account management. Zoom, primarily used in public cloud environments, is praised for simple deployment. While its technical support is generally rated well, users note areas for improvement, such as support for custom configurations and multi-user functionalities.

Pricing and ROI: Skype for Business, integrated with Office 365, offers cost-effective solutions for large enterprises through Microsoft's licensing efficiencies. ROI can be quickly realized with its diverse features. Zoom provides a free version with limited meeting times, drawing attention from personal users and small businesses. Its tiered pricing can be expensive for additional features but remains competitive compared to solutions like Cisco Webex, offering potential savings and robust collaborative capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed Skype for Business vs. Zoom Report (Updated: February 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Skype for Business vs. Zoom

February 2025

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Helped 842,767 peers since 2012

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

3rd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Zoom

Ranking in Virtual Meetings

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

209

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of Skype for Business is 13.4%, up from 8.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zoom is 11.1%, down from 14.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Virtual Meetings

Featured Reviews

Magdalena Teodorczuk

Senior at Krajowy Depozyt Papierów Wartosciowych S.A.

Offers great audio and video quality for virtual meetings

I like the instant messaging feature in the product since I prefer to use the chat functionalities provided by the solution. It is easy to integrate the product with some of the other solutions in the market. I rate the integration capabilities of the product a ten out of ten. The product's user interface is user-friendly. I use the product at a personal level, so I can't speak about the support it provides for the maintenance part. I rate the overall tool a ten out of ten.

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Kallol Chaudhuri

Principal Consultant at Oracle

Helped us tremendously in collaborating with each other and getting our work done and offers the breakout rooms feature.

We are a team located across various locations. Not in the same geographic location. We are distributed. And it's not possible to physically travel and meet people. Sometimes it's simply not possible. But Zoom has helped us tremendously in collaborating with each other and getting our work done. Without Zoom, it would have been very, very difficult. The breakout rooms feature is also helpful. For example, I have a meeting attended by hundreds of people and want to create subgroups. I typically use it for different role-play scenarios during training if we are trying to conduct some training on presentation skills. So there's a large group, which is initially trained by an instructor. Then you get instructions that the room will be split into smaller breakout rooms. I'll give you a topic, and you'll practice in these smaller groups. That's one way I use it. So it's like a simulation of a real brainstorming session I'd have in a physical space.

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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

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

"We like the easy provisioning of Skype for Business Conferencing."

"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."

"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 Microsoft tech support are very good. They get back to you. I log a support call, and I usually have someone on the phone within a half an hour, so it is pretty good."

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

"The product helps me make international calls."

"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."

More Skype for Business pros

"Zoom is a scalable solution, we have 150,000 people using it in my organization."

"I have found the product to be scalable."

"The biggest advantage with Zoom, compared to other similar products, is the simplicity."

"It was easy to use for screen sharing or sharing applications."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to connect to and conduct meetings."

"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."

"It's pretty easy to connect to anybody through a scheduled meeting."

"It always works, and they try to appeal to what the user wants. They added features like background music for those people who use Zoom for online church services. They try to make the solution more useful for the user. For example, I tried to sell WebEx to a church, but I also gave them Zoom for a trial. They were impressed with that because that was the feature they were looking for."

More Zoom pros

Cons

"We need a feature where you can virtually raise your hand to silently let the presenter know that you have a question."

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

"It would be ideal if the solution could make instant messages more permanent. Currently, if you close the conversation, you lose the instant messages that you shared during the meeting. If those could last beyond the meeting, that would be a great addition, due to the fact that frequently, people give each other key details, important information, or email addresses, etc., during the meeting. If you don't write it down during the meeting, after the meeting closes, it's gone forever. That can be quite frustrating."

"If one of the users has a poor internet connection, this failure will compromise the meeting, causing delays and distortions in the communications."

"The solution's functionality needs to be moved to Microsoft Teams. Its technology is outdated."

"The solution requires deployment on a Microsoft server and its performance is heavy because it consumes too many resources from the RAM."

"We overcame the audio quality issues by asking users to use the 'Call Me' feature with their desk phone."

"There are issues with the bandwidth, particularly for external meetings,"

More Skype for Business cons

"In addition to Zoom, I frequently utilize Slack, and I particularly appreciate its huddle functionality. What I find appealing about Slack is the ability to simultaneously chat and have video capabilities. It would be beneficial if Zoom offered similar features integrated with some form of channel system, although I acknowledge that I am not involved in the product management aspect. Personally, I believe this integration would make Zoom even more compelling and engaging for users like myself."

"The platform's feature for screen sharing needs improvement."

"Compared to Skype and Teams, Zoom is missing one feature, and that's the ability to call people. In Teams, I can call anyone I want. It's like a telephone. I can do the same on Skype, but I have to send a link in Zoom."

"It's a heavy application that requires a lot of bandwidth. I would like to see Zoom incorporate those features where you can share documents and form teams while still maintaining efficiency."

"Excessive software updates can sometimes disrupt my experience."

"I found it very confusing to set up a meeting."

"The video quality of the free version might not be as good as the enterprise edition."

"Issues such as stability, particularly when many people are involved, may arise due to bandwidth rather than Zoom itself. However, Zoom could benefit from enhancements to manage large participant volumes."

More Zoom cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"A license is required to use the solution."

"The solution is priced fairly."

"We are using the subscription-based version of Skype for Business. There is a free version of the solution."

"Previously, I did not use another solution."

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

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

"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."

More Skype for Business pricing and cost advice

"We have subscribed to a package for Zoom and it is a monthly payment."

"We purchased a license for Zoom."

"I use the free version of Zoom."

"The personal version that I was using is available free of charge."

"Zoom is free."

"As an organization, we are paying a license fee for Zoom. Personally, I use the free version."

"Zoom is free."

"I am not paying any licensing costs for the solution."

More Zoom pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

93%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Government

Educational Organization

92%

University

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Skype for Business?

The solution’s video quality is fine.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Zoom?

The product is scalable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zoom?

There is a concern about the free version's forty-five-minute limit. For education use, having more affordable access through institutions would be beneficial.

See all answers

Comparisons

Webex vs Skype for Business

Compared 28% of the time

Cisco Unified Communications vs Skype for Business

Compared 27% of the time

TeamViewer vs Skype for Business

Compared 15% of the time

GoToMeeting vs Skype for Business

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Jabber vs Skype for Business

Compared 4% of the time

More Skype for Business Competitors

Webex vs Zoom

Compared 34% of the time

GoToMeeting vs Zoom

Compared 10% of the time

TeamViewer vs Zoom

Compared 9% of the time

ON24 Platform vs Zoom

Compared 6% of the time

Zoho Meeting vs Zoom

Compared 5% of the time

More Zoom Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Skype for Business

March 2025

Download Skype for Business product report

Buyer's Guide

Zoom

March 2025

Download Zoom product report

Also Known As

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

No data available

Overview

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

Zoom helps businesses and organizations bring their teams together in a frictionless environment to get more done. Our easy, reliable cloud platform for video, phone, content sharing, and chat runs across mobile devices, desktops, telephones, and room systems. Message me to learn more about how Zoom can help your business or organization Visit zoom.com and follow @zoom_us.

Zoom Video Communications

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

Buyer's Guide

Skype for Business vs. Zoom

February 2025

Free Report: Skype for Business vs. Zoom

Find out what your peers are saying about Skype for Business vs. Zoom and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.

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