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Cisco Jabber vs Skype for Business comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Jabber
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Unified Communications (6th)
Skype for Business
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Virtual Meetings (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Jabber and Skype for Business aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco Jabber is designed for Unified Communications and holds a mindshare of 8.5%, up 7.7% compared to last year.
Skype for Business, on the other hand, focuses on Virtual Meetings, holds 13.2% mindshare, up 8.6% since last year.
Unified Communications
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

CM
Shows other's availability and status, offers powerful chat features, and integration across platforms is strong
The most valuable feature for me is that it shows who is available and who is not, as well as what their current status is. When I want to check in with someone, I first have a look to see what they're up to and then I can throw in a question or engage in chat with them. The UI is okay and I am quite pleased with it. The options that I have for moving things around the screen during calls are good. It is also modern looking and not clunky at all. The power of the chat function is good in terms of sharing, pasting, and the like, as it is very full-featured. The integration across platforms is really strong. The speed and availability are very good. There is also room for lots of customization built-in, which is a big plus.
Markus Schweizer - PeerSpot reviewer
Has good telephone integration but technology is outdated
We use the product for conference calls.  The tool's most valuable features are its audio and chat functions. They help us save time and have good telephone integration.  The solution's functionality needs to be moved to Microsoft Teams. Its technology is outdated.  I have been using the tool…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature for me is that it shows who is available and who is not, as well as what their current status is."
"It works fine feature-wise. The Cisco Jabber features that we use work okay."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to talk with people in real-time, instead of sending texts."
"I like the seamless integration to local telecommunications."
"Video conferencing to hold virtual meetings helps to prevent employee displacement, where everyone can now enjoy the comfort of their own offices."
"File sharing and email invitations for a conference. I can have a meeting with people at the opposite end of the Earth, sharing documentation; it is quite easy."
"The ability to mute everyone else is pretty useful when there is a large audience."
"The product helps me make international calls."
"It's a good product, we like using it."
"You can do meetings of up to two hundred people in a single conversation."
"I rate the solution's stability a nine on a scale where one is not stable and ten is very stable...I rate the solution's initial setup a nine on a scale where one is difficult, and ten is easy."
 

Cons

"Cisco Jabber is not a collaborative tool."
"I presume that very small businesses would have a tough time justifying the investment."
"There are issues in switching from one type of communication system to another. When I connect my wired earphone or Bluetooth earphone, Cisco Jabber doesn't switch automatically. There are some user experience issues that need to be fixed."
"The solution lacks to provide reporting functionality, and I would like to see the solution provide that feature."
"The inability to integrate Skype with other products is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"We have had trouble with scalability when trying to host large meetings."
"Sometimes Skype is slow, and we cannot use other elements of our devices while using the Skype solution."
"Skype for Business could improve the interface. It could be easier to use. Additionally, it's hard to find the people or add people you want to communicate with."
"The solution isn't connected to Microsoft Teams, and I feel like there is better communication on that particular solution. The group capabilities are a bit less than Teams."
"Lacks a zoom-in feature for whoever is presenting."
"The user experience during long sessions could be improved to avoid issues like intermittent disconnections or login failures."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"When it comes to the pricing of the solution, I rate it as a five out of ten. It falls somewhere in the middle between being cheap and expensive."
"We had a license for every one of our users to use Skype for Business. The license we used was part of an overall Microsoft license package."
"The cost of Skype for Business is incorporated into our Office 365 licenses."
"The pricing is really good. It is quite affordable because it came with our Office 365. It is on a per-user license, which is nice. I quite like that they have made it very granular with all of their licensing."
"The licensing is billed on a yearly basis."
"It may be slightly costly, but the features are awesome."
"It may be considered costly for certain markets, such as in India."
"We have been able to save money by moving our conferencing solution to Skype for Business Conferencing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Healthcare Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
10%
Educational Organization
89%
Financial Services Firm
2%
Computer Software Company
1%
Government
1%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Skype for Business?
Skype for Business is affordable and has decent pricing. The video quality is a bit lower than Teams or Zoom, but it remains a good solution overall.
What needs improvement with Skype for Business?
The video quality could be improved, possibly due to internet connection issues. However, there is no significant weakness in Skype for Business.
 

Also Known As

Jabber
Skype for Business Plan 1, Skype for Business Plan 2, Lync Server
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Odeabank, Eagle Investment Systems, Pella Corporation, The Republican National Convention, avodaqAG
EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services,LA Fitness, MedcoEnergi International, Tampa General Hospital, and HopewellHoldings Limited.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, 3CX, Kamailio and others in Unified Communications. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.