This is a comparison of voice over IP (VoIP) software used to conduct telephone-like voice conversations across Internet Protocol (IP) based networks. For residential markets, voice over IP phone service is often cheaper than traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN) service and can remove geographic restrictions to telephone numbers, e.g., have a PSTN phone number in a New York area code ring in Tokyo.
For businesses, VoIP obviates separate voice and data pipelines, channelling both types of traffic through the IP network while giving the telephony user a range of advanced abilities.
Softphones are client devices for making and receiving voice and video calls over the IP network with the standard functions of most original telephones and usually allow integration with VoIP phones and USB phones instead of using a computer's microphone and speakers (or headset). Most softphone clients run on the open Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) supporting various codecs. Skype runs on a closed proprietary networking protocol but additional business telephone system (PBX) software can allow a SIP based telephone system to connect to the Skype network.[1]Online chat programs now also incorporate voice and video communications.
No limit (limited only by server bandwidth and memory)
Chat with (limited) embedded HTML, Automatic Gain Control, very low latency, Access Control Lists for user management, Customizable In-Game Overlay for OpenGL and DirectX, Directional Audio, Plugin Support, Nested Channels, Echo cancellation for headset free use, Global Public Server List, Logitech G15 support, Push-To-Talk and Voice-Activation
Signal also allows users to send text messages, files, voice notes, pictures, GIFs, and video messages over a Wi-Fi or data connection to other Signal users on iOS, Android and a desktop app. The app also supports group messaging, read receipts and typing indicators, both of which can be disabled.
32 unlicensed, 512 with Non-Profit License (available until September 2018), up to 1024 (Gamer License), 2000
Simultaneous server conferencing with tabs, 3D sound effects, scalable permissions system, firewall friendly file transfers, in-game overlay for DirectX & OpenGL games, global public server list, plugin system
Voice, video, Instant messaging, group chat, photo and video sharing, SMS and MMS, native and social network contacts integration, incoming call/IM push notifications.
End-to-end encryption by default for everything, instant messaging, video call, video group call, file sharing, GIF sharing, push to talk, edit message, delete message (on both side), timed messages, doodling, identity verification, screen sharing (desktop only)
↑ It is possible to connect by SIP to the Skype network via additional "Skype Connect" PBX software and alternative (SIP) client software/hardware. Neither the Skype software nor the Skype network supports SIP directly[1]
1 2 3 Viber must be first installed on a mobile phone to function on a desktop operating system[34][35]
Complete PABX Service, based on Asterisk and PHP 5.6; provides a full replacement for a legacy non-VoIP phone system; under current and active development
Scales from Raspberry PI (3 users) to multiple parallel clusters (10K+ simultaneous calls)
The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a signaling protocol used for initiating, maintaining, and terminating communication sessions that include voice, video and messaging applications. SIP is used in Internet telephony, in private IP telephone systems, as well as mobile phone calling over LTE (VoLTE).
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for voice calls for the delivery of voice communication sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet.
Skype is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, debit-based calls to landline and mobile telephones, and other features. It is available on various desktop, mobile, and video game console platforms.
The landscape for instant messaging involves cross-platform instant messaging clients that can handle one or multiple protocols. Clients that use the same protocol can typically federate and talk to one another. The following table compares general and technical information for cross-platform instant messaging clients in active development, each of which have their own article that provide further information.
Skype for Business Server is real-time communications server software that provides the infrastructure for enterprise instant messaging, presence, VoIP, ad hoc and structured conferences and PSTN connectivity through a third-party gateway or SIP trunk. These features are available within an organization, between organizations and with external users on the public internet or standard phones.
Gizmo5 was a voice over IP communications network and a proprietary freeware soft phone for that network. On November 12, 2009, Google announced that it had acquired Gizmo5. On March 4, 2011, Google announced that the service would be discontinued as of April 3, 2011.
QuteCom was a free-software SIP-compliant VoIP client developed by the QuteCom community under the GPL-2.0-or-later license. It allows users to speak to other users of SIP-compliant VoIP software at no cost. It also allows users to call landlines and cell phones, send SMS and make video calls. None of these functions are tied to a particular provider, allowing users to choose among any SIP provider.
ZRTP is a cryptographic key-agreement protocol to negotiate the keys for encryption between two end points in a Voice over IP (VoIP) phone telephony call based on the Real-time Transport Protocol. It uses Diffie–Hellman key exchange and the Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP) for encryption. ZRTP was developed by Phil Zimmermann, with help from Bryce Wilcox-O'Hearn, Colin Plumb, Jon Callas and Alan Johnston and was submitted to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) by Zimmermann, Callas and Johnston on March 5, 2006 and published on April 11, 2011 as RFC 6189.
Linphone is a free voice over IP softphone, SIP client and service. It may be used for audio and video direct calls and calls through any VoIP softswitch or IP-PBX. Linphone also provides the possibility to exchange instant messages. It has a simple multilanguage interface based on Qt for GUI and can also be run as a console-mode application on Linux.
Moxie Marlinspike is an American entrepreneur, cryptographer, and computer security researcher. Marlinspike is the creator of Signal, co-founder of the Signal Technology Foundation, and served as the first CEO of Signal Messenger LLC. He is also a co-author of the Signal Protocol encryption used by Signal, WhatsApp, Google Messages, Facebook Messenger, and Skype.
Sipdroid is a voice over IP mobile app for the Android operating system using the Session Initiation Protocol.
Viber, or Rakuten Viber, is a cross-platform voice over IP (VoIP) and instant messaging (IM) software application owned by Japanese multinational company Rakuten, provided as freeware for the Google Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, Apple macOS and Linux platforms. Users are registered and identified through a cellular telephone number, although the service is accessible on desktop platforms without needing mobile connectivity. In addition to instant messaging it allows users to exchange media such as images and video records, and also provides a paid international landline and mobile calling service called Viber Out. As of 2018, there are over a billion registered users on the network.
Whisper Systems was an American enterprise mobile security company that was co-founded by security researcher Moxie Marlinspike and roboticist Stuart Anderson in 2010. The company was acquired by Twitter in November 2011. Some of the company's software products were released under open-source licenses after the acquisition. An independent group called Open Whisper Systems later picked up the development of this open-source software, which led to the creation of the Signal Technology Foundation.
Acrobits is a privately owned software development company creating VoIP Clients for mobile platforms, based in Prague, Czech Republic.
TextSecure was an encrypted messaging application for Android that was developed from 2010 to 2015. It was a predecessor to Signal and the first application to use the Signal Protocol, which has since been implemented into WhatsApp and other applications. TextSecure used end-to-end encryption to secure the transmission of text messages, group messages, attachments and media messages to other TextSecure users.
Open Whisper Systems was a software development group that was founded by Moxie Marlinspike in 2013. The group picked up the open source development of TextSecure and RedPhone, and was later responsible for starting the development of the Signal Protocol and the Signal messaging app. In 2018, Signal Messenger was incorporated as an LLC by Moxie Marlinspike and Brian Acton and then rolled under the independent 501c3 non-profit Signal Technology Foundation. Today, the Signal app is developed by Signal Messenger LLC, which is funded by the Signal Technology Foundation.
Wire Swiss GmbH is a software company with headquarters in Zug, Switzerland. Its development center is in Berlin, Germany. The company is best known for its messaging application called Wire.
Signal is an encrypted messaging service for instant messaging, voice, and video calls. The instant messaging function includes sending text, voice notes, images, videos, and other files. Communication may be one-to-one between users or may involve group messaging.
In cryptography, the Double Ratchet Algorithm is a key management algorithm that was developed by Trevor Perrin and Moxie Marlinspike in 2013. It can be used as part of a cryptographic protocol to provide end-to-end encryption for instant messaging. After an initial key exchange it manages the ongoing renewal and maintenance of short-lived session keys. It combines a cryptographic so-called "ratchet" based on the Diffie–Hellman key exchange (DH) and a ratchet based on a key derivation function (KDF), such as a hash function, and is therefore called a double ratchet.
The Signal Protocol is a non-federated cryptographic protocol that provides end-to-end encryption for voice and instant messaging conversations. The protocol was developed by Open Whisper Systems in 2013 and was first introduced in the open-source TextSecure app, which later became Signal. Several closed-source applications have implemented the protocol, such as WhatsApp, which is said to encrypt the conversations of "more than a billion people worldwide" or Google who provides end-to-end encryption by default to all RCS-based conversations between users of their Google Messages app for one-to-one conversations. Facebook Messenger also say they offer the protocol for optional Secret Conversations, as does Skype for its Private Conversations.
↑ Brad Chacos, Brad. "Hands on with Viber's new desktop app: It's no Skype". www.pcworld.com. IDG Consumer & SMB. Archived from the original on 2014-07-25. Retrieved 15 November 2014. If you don't have Viber on your phone and try to install the service on your PC, the app will redirect you to its website and ask you to install Viber on your phone first.
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