The browser-based Skype replacement I built after losing my pay-per-minute calls | Hacker News Reader

The browser-based Skype replacement I built after losing my pay-per-minute calls

3 pointsandybady4 comments

My name’s Alex Chen. For years I ran international workshops and client calls exclusively on Skype’s pay-per-minute service—until one morning in May 2025, when Skype quietly killed classic outbound/inbound calling. My bank verifications, customer support sessions, and late-night demos all ground to a halt.

Frustrated by endless app installs and confusing subscription bundles, I set out to build a simple browser-only dialer that does everything Skype did—and a bit more:

  •  **Outbound calls** to any mobile or landline in 200+ countries, from $0.02/min  
  •  **Inbound calls** via local virtual numbers (DIDs) you can buy in-app—ring and answer right in your browser  
  •  **Zero setup**: no downloads, no plugins, just WebRTC in Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari  
  •  **Pay-as-you-go**: no contracts, no hidden fees, credit never expires

Ubophone is live at https://ubophone.com. I’d love to hear: how’s the UX? any hiccups in calling or ringing? feedback much appreciated!

> ...all ground to a halt.

This sounds melodramatic :) because you must have moved your business over to something else. I get it's valuable as a pitch but sometimes the severity of a problem someone solves can come off poorly. It's okay to say, 'this mildly inconvenienced me enough to make a replacement others might find useful too.'

Feedback:

* Great idea; I used Skype for calling phones too, always overseas. For me this is use case #1, calling a bank in my home country. Argh. Bad enough due to their call service, much worse now there's no good consumer-not-B2B-product way to call them at all after Skype went.

* Seriously: something working and working well in this space would be nice. I myself would use it once every few months, but I get that others will use it a lot more

* Making it usable by relatives would be key for one of my use cases (where Facebook Messenger's video call UI can be observed to have confusing UX -- we used to use Skype)

* Browser-based is _exactly wrong_. Skype was an app I could use on my desktop and phone.

* I tried clicking the phone number area and typing something and nothing happened. Maybe I need to sign up first. But the UX first impression is, 'this doesn't work.' EDIT: I have to click the number buttons! I thought I could press the number keys on my keyboard. Ok, got it, but this is awkward - I'd want to type, paste, etc.

Another UX idea: you have a three-step process: sign up -> add credits -> call anywhere.

IMO you could simplify this to two-step: add credits -> call anywhere.

The key insight is that adding credits (the first time) _is_ or _includes_ signup -- you'll create and validate someone's identity or payment there. If you make it require minimal enough information (email address or phone for a verification code) it could be very smooth.

Thanks for your suggestion, brother, I will optimize it step by step!

I'm getting a bad gateway error.

What provider do you use, to bridge over to the POTS network?

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