Years prior to my transition to being a location-independent worker, a service emerged that transformed the capability to work from anywhere globally using a laptop. Nowadays, people tend to overlook how revolutionary it was, but Skype significantly altered the communication landscape. However, the service is now defunct, another victim of a corporate acquisition: in May 2025, it was merged into the cumbersome paid platform Microsoft Teams. So, what Skype substitutes are available for making free or inexpensive international calls these days?
Regrettably, there’s a gap in the market and surprisingly, no one has truly emerged as a viable Skype substitute that can effortlessly substitute that 22-year-old innovation. This indicates to me that providing free voice-over-IP calls is not a very lucrative business model, which likely explains Microsoft’s decision to terminate it. If only a tiny fraction of users are paying for it to support the others, then you either need to clutter the app/website with advertisements or devise a method to consistently upsell users to another paid service.
It appears that it would have been wise for a company like T-Mobile to introduce a similar service and utilize it as a loss leader to attract customers away from Verizon or AT&T. Or for a corporation like Expedia or Booking to do likewise merely to enhance their customer email list for promoting travel deals. But hey, nobody consulted me.
Consequently, we are left with “almost” alternatives falling into three categories. None will fully replace Skype, but they can come close. Most individuals would prefer to use two of these in tandem if they’re remote workers, if only to have a backup for when one fails.
– Free video call platforms instead of voice, usually requiring scheduled appointments.
– Truly free international calling systems that typically function over Wi-Fi or your home cellular network.
– Paid VoIP services that have existed even longer than Skype, necessitating a monthly subscription or metered calls.
I personally subscribed to Skype for nearly two decades to obtain an additional US phone number and make international calls to businesses, so for me, there’s no significant shift to pay someone in scenario #3.
If you hold a business VoIP plan, you’ll benefit from features such as automated responses and multiple phone numbers, each providing unlimited calling. For $10 to $20 per month, you can have a system that operates like those used by Fortune 500 companies, just scaled down for fewer users.
Here are all the current options if you need to make international phone calls occasionally. Keep in mind that most eSIM plans are data-only—they do not include phone calls—so if you find yourself on the street or on a bus in the countryside needing to return an urgent call, you’ll require one of the paid options to connect, not the free ones (which was also the case with Skype).
We’re the Jetsons: Free Video Calls
Skype was exceptional because it was available on all your devices, had a browser version, and would automatically recharge your balance if your account hit zero during a call to a landline or mobile phone. On the completely free front, it was fantastic because you could call Skype to Skype on any device (if you had Wi-Fi or a cellular signal) and it wouldn’t cost anything. Many long-distance relationships thrived thanks to Skype.
Now, the contemporary equivalent of that is video calls. As internet bandwidth has improved for those not in extremely rural areas, almost anyone can initiate a video call for free, allowing two individuals or a group to see each other in real time. Utilizing Google Meet, Zoom, or other free services available, you can converse for 40 minutes to an hour at no cost, which is typically sufficient unless you’re conducting webinars or courses. If you need greater duration or large group options, you simply upgrade.
That usually necessitates a scheduled appointment, so what if you just want to return a call or contact your mother?
Free International Calls With Apps
If you’re in your home country with a standard cellular plan, returning a call or checking if your best friend can meet you for coffee is straightforward. In some carrier cases, being in a neighboring country is treated the same as being at home. Just place a regular phone call and it won’t incur any costs.
Your landline is likely VoIP now if included in your internet package, and sometimes they’ll cover calls to Canada, the USA, and Mexico at least.
Otherwise, you’ll need an app on your phone or laptop that the other person also has, where phone calls are an option, and you need to be connected to a free signal. Therefore, these app options only function on your standard cellular network or a reliable Wi-Fi connection. Not outside in a foreign country without a local voice plan.
This option is probably already available on your smartphone, whether you utilize it or not. The choices include Whats
