Skype is gone. The way you used it doesn't have to be.
ChromePing does the job Skype Credit used to do: dial any mobile or landline in the world straight from your browser, and pay per minute with credit — no app to install, no subscription, no Microsoft account. And it adds something Skype users lost for good when Skype retired: the call can translate itself, live, in both directions.
Works in the browser you’re reading this in. Pay as you go. No subscription.
Quick recap, in case you missed a step — because Microsoft's replacement doesn't replace the part you used.
Microsoft shut Skype down after 23 years and pointed users to Microsoft Teams Free.
Teams Free covers meetings and chat. It was never built for the thing many of us actually used Skype for: cheap calls to real phone numbers abroad.
Contacts and history that weren't exported are gone, and Skype Credit is no longer sold. During the wind-down, existing balances could be used up through a limited dial pad while the service was retired.
So if you’ve been hunting for “the new Skype” and only finding video-meeting apps and mobile apps — you’re not doing it wrong. The specific thing you want, calling a phone number from a computer, mostly disappeared from the market. That’s the thing ChromePing does.
An honest map, including the things we don't do. ChromePing replaces Skype's calling-real-phone-numbers side, not its video-meeting side.
| Feature | What you did in Skype | How you do it in ChromePing |
|---|---|---|
| Call mobiles and landlines abroad | Called real phone numbers with SkypeOut | Dial any mobile or landline worldwide, straight from the browser dialer |
| Pay per minute | Paid per minute with Skype Credit | Pay-as-you-go packs, with per-minute rates by country on a live rate index |
| Call from your computer | Ran the Skype desktop app | Works in a browser tab on any device — nothing to install, not even a desktop app |
| Keep a contact list | Kept Skype contacts | Saved contacts in your account |
| Check call history | Checked your Skype history | Call history in your dashboard, behind sign-in |
| Receive incoming calls | Took calls in Skype | Incoming phone calls ring right in your browser, with real caller ID |
| Translate the call | Used Skype Translator | Live two-way translation on real phone calls, with captions in your browser — you speak your language, they hear theirs |
| Group video calls | Ran Skype video meetings | Not offered — ChromePing is for phone calls; for group video, Teams Free, Zoom, or Google Meet do that job well |
| Instant messaging | Chatted in Skype threads | Not offered — ChromePing isn't a messenger |
| Free Skype-to-Skype calls | Called other Skype users free | Not offered — every ChromePing call is a real phone call, billed per minute |
Create an account right in the tab. There's no download, no setup wizard, no linking your phone. Desktop or mobile browser both work.
Pick a flat pay-as-you-go pack. Before you dial anywhere, check the live rate index to see the per-minute price for that country.
Type it like you always did — country code, number, call. The person you're calling just answers their phone. They don't need an app, an account, or even internet. Want the call translated? Turn on live translation and talk normally.
Skype needed a download; most “Skype alternatives” are mobile apps. ChromePing runs in the browser tab you already have open — on a desktop at home or a borrowed laptop abroad. And the person you call needs nothing at all. A village landline works.
This is the part nothing else replaced. Speak your language; the other side hears theirs, and their words come back in yours — on a real phone call, with live captions in your browser so you can read along. If they switch into your language mid-call, ChromePing can pass their real voice straight through instead of translating. Works across a growing set of major languages, including English, Spanish, Japanese, and Hungarian.
The way Skype Credit worked: buy a pack, spend it per minute, top up when you choose. No subscription, no auto-renewing plan, no “unlimited” bundle you'll forget to cancel. The per-minute price for every destination is published on the live rate index before you call, and your balance never expires.
When Microsoft shut Skype down, its translation feature went with it — and nothing mainstream took its place on the desktop. ChromePing picks that thread back up, on real phone calls: you call your cousin’s mobile in Guadalajara or a landlord’s landline in Budapest, you talk in English, and they hear their own language spoken back. Their reply reaches you in yours.
While you talk, live captions run in your browser — both what was actually said and the translation — so a call to a bank, a clinic, or an embassy leaves you with something you can read, not just something you half-remember.
You speak your language. They hear theirs. Nobody downloads anything.
“Hi! So nice of you to call.”
Maria · Spanish → English
“Quería preguntar por el sábado.”
You · English → Spanish
“Of course, see you Saturday!”
Maria · original voice passed through — she switched into English
Most lists of Skype replacements are full of video apps or mobile-only calling apps. Here's the honest picture for the specific job of calling real phone numbers from a computer.
| Feature | ChromePing | Skype (retired May 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Available today | Yes — call from any modern browser, desktop or mobile | Retired; Skype Credit is no longer sold |
| Calls real phone numbers | Any mobile or landline worldwide | SkypeOut did — but the service has shut down |
| App required | No — it runs in a browser tab | Needed the Skype app or desktop client |
| Pricing | Pay-as-you-go, no subscription; balance never expires | Skype Credit was pay-per-minute, now withdrawn |
| Live call translation | Two-way, on real phone calls, with live captions | Skype Translator retired along with Skype |
Buy a pack, call until it runs out, top up when you want. That's the whole model.
Basic
$10.00
about 4 hours to Mexico
Popular
$50.00
about 21 hours to Mexico
Pro
$100.00
about 42 hours to Mexico
Per-minute rates vary by country — check the live rate index for yours before you buy. No subscription, no auto-renew, and your balance never expires.
Ten years of Sunday calls to a landline abroad shouldn't end because a company retired an app. Open a browser tab, add credit, and dial the number you know by heart.
No download. No subscription. The person you call just picks up their phone.