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Cell–cell communication is a fundamental process that shapes biological tissue. Historically, studies of cell–cell communication have been feasible for one or two cell types and a few genes. With the emergence of single-cell transcriptomics, we are now able to examine the genetic profiles of individual cells at unprecedented scale and depth. The availability of such data presents an exciting opportunity to construct a more comprehensive description of cell–cell communication. This review discusses the recent explosion of methods that have been developed to infer cell–cell communication from non-spatial single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, two promising technologies that have complementary strengths and limitations. We propose several avenues to propel this rapidly expanding field forward in meaningful ways.