EmailBest Reviewed
VoIP
- Best voice quality and reliability Cable-company VoIP *Est. $40
- Most VoIP features Vonage *Est. $25
- Hardware VoIP with no monthly fee Ooma *Est. $215
- Free VoIP software Skype *Est. $0
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Free VoIP software
- Calls to other Skype users are free
- Video conferencing
- Cheap rates to call land lines
- Cheap international calling
- Variable voice quality
- No 911 service
- Computer must be on to make calls
- Scant technical support
Professional reviewers and users alike love Skype because it allows you to have free PC-to-PC VoIP calls or video calls with what most say is decent but not great sound quality. Some experts say Skype isn't VoIP per se, but something different – peer-to-peer technology that requires a special headset and microphone or a dedicated Skype phone. If you want to call landline phones, you'll need to subscribe to Skype's pay service (about 2 cents per minute or $3 per month for unlimited calls in the U.S. and Canada). Reviews recommend Skype for free international calls to other Skype users, as well as for very inexpensive international calls to landline and cell phones. Skype isn't designed, however, to be the sole telephone for the household, mainly because it can't make 911 calls. Hardware-based VoIP services such as Vonage (*Est. $25 per month) offer 911 service, and your computer doesn't need to be on to make calls -- but you'll need a back-up battery or cell phone in case the electricity goes out.
ConsumerReports.org ranks nine VoIP providers, including Skype, in its report on bundled services, and also provides a single-product review of Skype. A more recent but smaller comparison review at SpotCoolStuff.com compares Skype with Vonage, MagicJack and Ooma, as does a review in The New York Times. PCMag.com surveys readers about the quality of tech support, and finds most Skype users say they don't need tech support. We found a handful of user reviews at DSLReports.com. The comparison review at TopTenReviews.com doesn't document its testing procedures, but provides ample details about Skype features.
Our Sources
1. ConsumerReports.orgDetails/Subscribe
Skype is among those listed in the separate chart on phone services in this report about bundled services. Nine VoIP and VoIP-type services are ranked among the standard and cable phone services. However, the ratings chart is available only to subscribers.
Review: Internet, TV, Phone: Bundling Can Cut Bills, Editors of ConsumerReports.org, Feb. 2008
This review compares Skype with two other popular VoIP services, Vonage and MagicJack --based on tests of call quality as well as other factors. (Comparisons with Ooma follow in a March 2009 article.) Skype is recommended for its inexpensive international calls, but Vonage provides more consistently good call quality.
Review: MagicJack vs. Vonage vs. Skype, Editors of SpotCoolStuff.com, Feb. 2009
This overview of long-distance calling options tests Skype and MagicJack, also comparing both with Vonage and Ooma. Call quality on Skype is judged "spotty."
Review: Talk Is Cheap, If You Ask, Eric A. Taub, April 29, 2009
While Skype PC-to-PC and Skype PC-to-phone sit at the bottom of the chart in this service and reliability survey focusing on tech support, it's worth noting that few Skype users say they need tech support.
Review: The Best (and Worst) Tech Support in America: VoIP, Sascha Segan and Eric Griffith, July 29, 2008
5. ConsumerReports.orgDetails/Subscribe
This brief report gives a good rundown of Skype but warns there is no 911 service and that you should also have a landline to be safe.
Review: Skype: A Totally Free Phone Service but with Drawbacks, Editors of ConsumerReports.org, Oct. 2007
Tests here find that challenger Gizmo (also free) outperforms Skype for call quality. However, since this review was published, Skype has updated to a newer version, Skype 4.
Review: Wired Magazine Test: VoIP Services, Aoife M. McEvoy, Oct. 2007
Over two dozen users review and rate Skype here, where it earns lower average ratings for reliability and call quality than several award-winning VoIP providers. Technical support also gets a low average rating.
Review: Skype Reviews, Editors of and Contributors to DSLReports.com
This older customer-satisfaction poll from PCMag.com calls Skype "a different animal" and removes it from the VoIP rankings, but notes that customer satisfaction is better than average compared against standard VoIP service (at least back in 2006).
Review: Readers' Choice: VoIP, Editors of PCMag.com, Sept. 20, 2006
PCMag.com does a basic run-through of a Skype update for PCs (still in beta at the time) that allows for a larger, but customizable, window for video conferencing. Reviewer Michael Muchmore says the buttons stopped working, but "the adventurous" can download and try it themselves.
Review: Hands On: Skype Releases Version 4 Beta 2, Michael Muchmore, Oct. 1, 2008
Skype ranks second among 19 VoIP providers that get detailed reviews and ratings here, and earns a Silver award from TopTenReviews. Testing is not documented.
Review: Skype, Editors of TopTenReviews.com
VoIP Runners Up:
6 picks including: Calling-Plans.com, My Rate Plan…
3 picks by top review sites.
2 picks by top review sites.
2 picks by top review sites.
2 picks by top review sites.
