

While Skype's Meet Now offers a grid view, Zoom lets you see up to 49 people at once, in pairs of large 5x5 grids (trying to figure it out? Here's how to see everyone on Zoom). Zoom is the more impressive voice chat service.

If you need more than that, you'll have to upgrade to Zoom Pro, the $15 per month service with a 24-hour meeting cap. By contrast, Zoom group meetings, aka calls with 3 or more people, have a 40 minute time limit.

When I'm looking to see my friends and family for a video call, I often need at least both my parents, or two friends, so I might opt for Skype Meet Now, which doesn't seem to have a time limit. Skype will even store a recording of your meeting for up to 30 days.Īnd if you don't want to download or install software - or simply cannot, as your company regulates anything you want to install - you can just use Skype Meet Now over the web (which Zoom also offers). Just keep in mind that this feature isn't available in the web app. This isn't as cool as having a custom background in Zoom, but it's still going to help you out on privacy, so your family or roommates don't have to be involved with your call as they walk by. Skype Meet Now also lets you blur your background. Skype became a standard for these kinds of calls because Skype is already everywhere, with apps for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS. Well before quarantines and sheltering in place, I've used Skype for interviews for job applications, recording podcasts and other various needs. Another reason people might prefer Skype for their video conference calls is that they already have it - whereas Zoom may be new for a lot of folks.
