Best alternative to Skype now that it doesn't exist anymore?

I used to rely on Skype all the time while traveling, especially for making quick calls to book restaurants, deal with travel emergencies, or sort out stuff like car rentals when local numbers wouldn’t work from my mobile.

Now that Skype’s basically dead, I’m scrambling to find a solid alternative. I’m not talking about Zoom-style video meetings or Whatsapp, which of course I use, I mean something simple that lets me call real phone numbers internationally without needing a local SIM every time.

Ideally looking for:

Pay-as-you-go or affordable rates
Works from both laptop and phone
No complicated setup

Anyone found a good replacement that actually works well while on the road? Would love your recs!

3 upvotes2 replies

Replies

Irene Wang

Ahh I feel this so much!! I was in the same boat when the news came out.

I needed something super simple just to call real phone numbers when travling, especially for stuff like last-minute bookings or sorting out messes on the road.

Not sure if they might work for you too, but here are a few options that worked well for me:

Google Voice: it's only available if you have a US number to set it up, but once that’s sorted, the international rates are pretty decent and you can call from both phone and desktop. Super handy if you're already in the Google ecosystem.
Talkatone it's anothere one. If you're US-based, lets you call regular numbers and works well over wifi, but I’ve had mixed results depending on the country.
TextNow: you get free US/Canada number and calls, and international rates are pretty low. Works on both laptop and mobile. You do need to watch a few ads sometimes, but it’s surprisingly reliable.
Localphone: it's not the prettiest app, but it’s got killer pay-as-you-go rates for international calls, and it works from your browser or their app. Super minimal setup.

Still finding the perfect solution as Skype was sooooo good. Let's see what others say as I'm pretty curious myself of other alternatives in the market 🙌

1 upvotes

Layne Tisdel Martin

I replaced Skype with Google Voice and Zoom years ago. Bummer this only works for Americans though.

0 upvotes

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