Skype is a VOIP Service which is now owned by Microsoft. Skype is used on a very large scale on a daily basis for voice, video and also textual chat. Released in 2003, Skype has gained popularity over a large section of the netizens and is currently owned by Microsoft since 2011. Skype has more than 700 million registered users and the skype software is available in various platforms including Ubuntu (Linux) and Mac OS.

It has numerous features, but change of taste is an old habit of users over the internet. Here, we bring you Top 10 Best Alternatives to Skype which stand neck to neck with it in the internet market for VOIP voice, video communication and other features. So, lets have a look if you wanna try a new app in place of skype :

VBuzzer is a service that lets you do calls through your PC to different devices, i.e. PC to Mobile phones, which obviously is paid, then you have free PC to PC calls, and also Instant Messaging service. This service uses a different protocol as compared to that of Skype that is XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) and also SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), a totally different protocol, worth a try!

There has been Skype for mobile phones, way better than which we have Viber. So all the smartphone users out there, lets Viber! Viber allows you to make free Viber to Viber calls, share pictures, files etc using GPRS or Wifi service and it even allows free voice and video chat. Available for Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows Phones, Bada and even Nokia, we can say that Viber can be found it the stores of any smartphone today.

Compared to Skype, Tinychat is a great application for multi-user video chats. It requires no login details and upto 12 users can simultaneously video chat at once. While skype charges for multi-video calling, this application proves to be a very good alternative for video calling among various users. You can connect using Facebook, Twitter or even login as a Guest user to access this service.

If you are a proud owner of an Apple product, and you wish to video chat with another apple device, then this is probably the best app for you! FaceTime provides great interface for video calling among Apple users, be it a Mac, an iPhone, an iPod or an iPad, FaceTime works flawlessly and is widely used by Apple users. It works on Macs and any iOS device with a forward-facing camera, supporting up to 720p resolution on more recent Macs. HD video chat, not bad!

Owned by aol.com (American Online), this is one of the oldest VOIP and chat applications used globally. Started in 1997 AIM provides numerous facilities for various platforms and devices. Supports Windows, MAC, Android, iOS and is also available for various tablets, AIM stands as a good competitor to Skype for a lot of years now. Now chat with friends, or collaborate on a project — AIM gives you a beautiful platform to talk and interact with your loved ones and have a totally different experience.

Here comes the newest great thing by Google :  Google+ Hangout. Hangouts let you catch up with friends and family. Up to 10 people can join a single hangout at a time, and it’s easy to invite specific friends or circles. So you can now share your thoughts and resources around, as if you are using a social network and side by side you can get a totally different skype-like experience. Hangouts also allow you to host big conferences or broadcasts.

ooVoo is a good service for video chatting and is a good competitor to skype too. You can have 12 people to chat with on video at a time Other than video, there is voice and Instant messaging service too. You can also call on mobile phone using ooVoo, provided you agree to pay certain bucks.

Good news is  that we can video chat on facebook by not just Skype but also ooVoo. So, this comes as a good news for all those who are fed up with the skype window opening all the time they use Facebook video call option!

Yahoooooooo! The era old messenger service of yahoo is the favorite of many users worldwide even today. Features like Instant Messaging, Voice and Video chats, broadcasts, sharing, personal one-to-one chats, and the most amazing feature : the chat room service. Yahoo! Messenger is provided free of charge and can be downloaded and used with a generic “Yahoo! ID” which also allows access to other facilities like e-mail notifications etc.

There are other beautiful features of Y! Messenger like :  IMVironments, address-book integration with your gmail or Facebook contacts and Custom Status Messages. History reveals that Yahoo Messenger was the one to introduce the BUZZ!!! feature where you can in a way poke the person you are chatting with.

Alongside of Skype, Microsoft also possesses its traditional Windows Live Messenger which has come a long way and now has various great features that let you connect with the people you care about most. You can import friends from other services like Facebook, Gmail, or LinkedIn. There is no need to re-create your contact list as the sync feature does it all by itself. You can personalize Messenger with a photo and background theme that reflect your style, and badges that represent great causes. Express your moods with emoticons. And the best part, you can sign in to Messenger right from your Hotmail inbox and chat with your friends. You can even chat with multiple people simultaneously.

Google Talk (GTalk) is a free Windows and web-based application for instant messaging and voice over internet protocol (VOIP). It lets you send instant messages, share files you want to, and have conference calls with a lot of people at once. Additionally, you can also make voice and video calls within Gmail, orkut, etc. Google voice and video chat also allows you to talk with people you wish to and share your recent on goings the way you like. It lets you interact as if the person is sitting right in front of you as it provides full screen size video and voice interface, a beautifully built up platform and makes your chat experience a great one!

To sum up, we can say that YES! there are a lot of substitutes of Skype and as per our requirements, we can have really good applications and services serving the purposes of our needs and not to forget the specialized apps that are efficient in some task or the other. Hence, we can bid adieu to skype if we are too bored with it and say hello to the above discussed awesome apps.