Skype is arguably one of the most widely used VoIP applications around the globe for audio and video communication. It provides multiple features such as High definition video calls, chats and crisp audio calls. Apart from Skype, there are a lot more applications that allow you to communicate online for free with people around the world.
Some of the best alternatives for Skype for Linux are discussed in this tutorial.
Discord
Discord is a free and open source messaging app that can be used on Linux. It was originally designed for the gaming community but is now popular among other online communities.
Discord allows you to create a server, which is a chat room to which you may invite people. You will use a link to invite individuals to the server where they can text or voice chat with other individuals. Each server can be divided into “channels,” or small places, to facilitate further communication. Discord can be installed on your system or used in a web browser.
Zoom
Zoom is a hugely popular video conferencing platform. It supports virtual meetings where users can connect via video and audio. Participants can use additional capabilities such as file sharing, screen sharing, and text chat within the meeting or privately with others in the meeting. Zoom is a cross platform tool and can be installed on Linux or accessed via the browser.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft officially launched a Teams client for Linux. Teams is a collaboration tool that allows users to communicate through text, video or voice calls. Teams isn’t just for instant messaging; it also allows users to collaborate within the app.
Simply visit the Microsoft Teams website to obtain the most recent package for your Linux distribution. You’ll need to download the Microsoft Teams installer depending on your Linux distribution.
Viber
Viber is a cross-platform chat and messaging application that runs on nearly all major desktop and mobile platforms. You can communicate via text, audio and video chats and also file sharing. It offers end to end encryption making it a secure channel. Its main features include instant messaging, picture sharing and group messaging. The Viber Linux client is quite stable and works well with Linux desktop environments.
Google Hangouts
Google Hangouts is a video chat application that comes included with the free version of Gmail. Anyone with a Google account, paid or free, can talk with you. Google hangouts can be accessed easily through google applications such as Gmail. You can connect with people via group messaging, text, video or audio calls. On Linux, you can use hangouts from the browser or install YakYak, an unofficial Linux client for Google Hangouts.
Slack
Slack is a powerful instant messaging platform that allows individuals and business users to interact conveniently and securely. It’s designed for teams and workplaces, and works on a variety of platforms. It also has robust features that allow group messaging, file sharing and integration with other apps and services.
You can download the slack desktop application for Linux from the Slack official site.
Jitsi
Jitsi is an emerging cross platform VoIP application based on WenRTC . It is open-source and free to use. No onboarding is required With Jitsi and all of your data is routed through your server, and an end-to-end TLS encryption ensures that your conversation remains secure. You can be rest assured that your personal information will remain private.
Conclusion
We’ve looked at some of the finest Skype alternatives. If you wish to ditch Skype, one of these apps is likely to satisfy your call and messaging needs on Linux.
Karim Buzdar holds a degree in telecommunication engineering and holds several sysadmin certifications including CCNA RS, SCP, and ACE. As an IT engineer and technical author, he writes for various websites.
