Skype Stops Selling Skype Credit In Favor of Monthly Subscriptions

Skype has quietly discontinued the ability for users to purchase Skype Credit in the app. Skype Credit can be used to make calls to mobiles and landlines and send SMS text messages with affordable rates, but the app is now inviting users to pay for monthly subscriptions instead.

A Hacker News user (via iGeneration) spotted on Skype’s website the following message: “Skype Credit is no longer available. For new purchases, check out the monthly subscriptions or make a free Skype call to anyone anytime.”

While I still have some Skype credit on my account, the app no longer shows me an option to purchase more credit, and the toggle for auto-recharging my credit when it falls below €2 doesn’t work anymore. However, the app does show a list of subscriptions for calling phone numbers in India, the US, and other countries.

With a Skype subscription, I can pay €3,60/month for unlimited minutes with mobiles and landlines in the US, or €15,60/month for unlimited minutes with mobiles and landlines in 63 destinations around the world. However, this is still less flexible than the pay-as-you-go option previously available with Skype Credit.

As the world has moved on to WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and other popular messaging apps, it wouldn’t be surprising if Skype no longer sees its “Skype to Phone” features as important as they were a decade ago. The app also no longer lets its users pay for a Skype number, a feature most users probably didn’t know about.