Compare · Skype
Your Skype Number is gone. Here's what takes its place.
For years a Skype Number was the easy way to hold a US phone number from anywhere in the world. Microsoft has retired Skype, ended the Skype Number subscriptions and closed port-outs. Here is what Microsoft's own pages say, and what to do about the accounts that still send codes to that number.
By the Cleat team · Updated September 17, 2026
What Microsoft says
Everything below is quoted from the two pages Microsoft still publishes about the retirement. Microsoft has taken its older Skype Number and Skype SMS help articles down, so nothing else about what a Skype Number could do is quotable today, and nothing else is claimed here.
Microsoft Support
“All Skype Number subscriptions have ended in May 2026. Skype Number port-out requests are no longer available.”
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/skype-is-retiring-in-may-2025-what-you-need-to-knowMicrosoft Support
“As of May 5th, 2025, Skype is retired. This change will impact both free and paid Skype users, but not Skype for Business.”
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/skype-is-retiring-in-may-2025-what-you-need-to-knowMicrosoft Support
“The following services are no longer available starting May 5, 2025: SMS, Call forwarding, Voicemail, Skype Credit gifting, and Caller ID setup.”
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/skype-is-retiring-in-may-2025-what-you-need-to-knowMicrosoft Support
“Your current caller ID setup will be shut down on Feb 15th 2026. We will delete any number connected to caller ID and your account.”
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/skype-is-retiring-in-may-2025-what-you-need-to-know
Read the first two lines together
The same Microsoft page that says “Skype Number port-out requests are no longer available” also still tells you, further down, “To transfer or port your Skype Number to a new carrier, please reach out to your new carrier directly to start the porting process” (Microsoft; Microsoft). The banner at the top is the newer of the two. If you are reading that older instruction and wondering why no carrier will take the number, that is why. Treat the number as closed and plan for a new one.
What Skype did better
- It was a phone, not an inbox. Microsoft's own page describes “subscriptions that allow you to make and receive international and domestic calls” (Microsoft). A Cleat line only receives. It has no dial pad, no outbound texts and no 911.
- It was one app for everything. Chat, video, calls and the number lived behind a single login. Cleat is a phone number and an inbox, and nothing else.
- It was cheaper. We can't quote you a figure, because Microsoft no longer sells one and we won't invent a price from memory. But most people paid less for a Skype Number than $24.99 a month.
- It wasn't only the United States. Cleat is US numbers only. If what you need is a number in another country, Cleat is not it, and there is no point pretending otherwise.
What a Cleat line is
One real US mobile number, in a web inbox. Not VoIP: it's a mobile line, which is the thing most services check for before they send a code. How line-type checks work. It stays yours while you subscribe, and if billing ends we hold it for 30 days before releasing it. Every line belongs to a person who verified their identity with a government ID. Codes reach you by live inbox, email, Telegram, webhooks or the REST API, and your team can share the inbox for free.
Side by side
| Skype Number | Cleat Line | |
|---|---|---|
| Status today | “All Skype Number subscriptions have ended in May 2026” | On sale, $24.99 a month or $249.90 a year |
| Keeping your existing number | “Skype Number port-out requests are no longer available” | Not possible either: Cleat assigns a new number and cannot port one in |
| Line type | Not stated on the pages Microsoft still publishes | Real US mobile line, not VoIP |
| Outgoing calls and texts | Ended with the service | None. Receive only, and no 911 |
| Countries | Not stated on the pages Microsoft still publishes | United States |
| Where codes arrive | The Skype app, until it was retired | Live inbox, email, Telegram, Slack, Teams, webhooks and the REST API |
| Who else can see them | Whoever had the Skype login | Everyone you invite to the shared inbox, free |
| Owner | The Skype account holder | A person verified with a government ID and a selfie, or ID-only reviewed by a person |
Where Cleat is the wrong answer
- You want your old number back. Nobody can give it to you, Cleat included. You will be changing the number on every account either way.
- You need to call or text out. Get a real phone plan. A Cleat line receives; it doesn't send, and it can't reach emergency services.
- You need a number outside the United States. Cleat has none.
- You only need one code, once. A month of Cleat is poor value for a single signup. A throwaway second-line app is cheaper for that.
Moving the accounts that still point at Skype
- List them. Bank, brokerage, card, tax portal, PayPal, the marketplace you sell on, anything that has ever texted you a code.
- Sign up, verify your identity and subscribe. Your US number is live straight away.
- Change the number on the account that matters most first, and log out and back in to confirm a code actually arrives.
- Work down the list. Connect Telegram or email so the codes find you wherever you are.
- Where a service offers an authenticator app or passkeys instead, take it. One fewer account depending on any phone number at all.
Coming from a second-line app rather than Skype? See Hushed next to Cleat and Burner next to Cleat. Already abroad? See keeping a US number when you move, Cleat for expats and non-residents, or see pricing.
Questions
Can I still keep my Skype Number?
No. Microsoft's retirement notice says “All Skype Number subscriptions have ended in May 2026. Skype Number port-out requests are no longer available.”
Can I move my Skype Number to Cleat?
No, and not because of Cleat: Microsoft has closed port-out requests, so no provider can take the number. Cleat also assigns you a new US number and cannot port an existing number in.
Will a Cleat line get the codes my Skype Number used to get?
Often, but nobody can promise it. A Cleat line is a real US mobile line, and most services that turn away internet numbers accept one. Test the accounts that matter to you in your first month.
I don't live in the US. Can I still use it?
Yes. There's no SIM to install, and texts reach you anywhere you have internet. Cleat from your country.
Sources
Facts about other companies come from their own pages, checked in September 2026.
- Microsoft Support, Skype is retiring in May 2025: what you need to know https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/skype-is-retiring-in-may-2025-what-you-need-to-know
- Microsoft Support, questions about Skype retirement https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/contact-skype-overview/questions-about-skype-retirement
- Twilio, Lookup Line Type Intelligence https://www.twilio.com/docs/lookup/v2-api/line-type-intelligence