Microsoft Teams
Microsoft's chat, meetings and calling hub inside Microsoft 365
Microsoft Teams is a team communication tool for Enterprise and Small businesses, offered as freemium ($4/mo). Founded in United States in 2017. Popular alternatives include Google Workspace.
About Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is Microsoft's workplace chat, meetings and collaboration app. It launched in 2017, replaced Skype for Business Online in 2021 and took over Skype's users when Skype shut down in May 2025. Bundled with most Microsoft 365 business licences, it is the default tool in many companies.
Teams combines persistent channels and chats, video meetings with recording, transcription and live captions, webinars and town halls, optional cloud phone calling, and file collaboration backed by SharePoint and OneDrive. Microsoft 365 Copilot adds meeting recaps and drafting; Teams Premium adds advanced meeting protection. A free personal version exists, Teams Essentials is the cheapest business option, and most companies get Teams through Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard or Premium.
Teams fits organisations already on Microsoft 365, especially those that need Outlook, Office documents, Entra ID and compliance tooling in one place. Slack is faster and friendlier for chat-heavy and developer teams with a richer app ecosystem, Zoom still has the edge for large external meetings and webinars, and Google Meet is simpler for Google Workspace shops. Teams can feel heavy, and file permissions follow SharePoint's logic.
Buying tip: on 1 July 2026 Microsoft raised Business Basic from $6 to $7 and Business Standard from $12.50 to $14 per user, while standalone Teams prices were not part of that change. Under commitments the European Commission made binding in September 2025, Microsoft 365 suites are also sold without Teams, so compare both variants.
Key features of Microsoft Teams
- Persistent channels, group chats and threaded conversations
- Video meetings with recording, transcription and live captions
- Webinars and town halls for large internal and external audiences
- Microsoft 365 Copilot recaps, chat summaries and drafting
- Real-time co-editing of Word, Excel and PowerPoint files in chats
- Teams Phone add-on for cloud PBX calling
- Thousands of apps, bots and Power Automate workflows
- Enterprise compliance with eDiscovery, retention and DLP policies
Pros and cons
Pros
- Included in most Microsoft 365 business plans at no extra cost
- Deep integration with Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive and Office
- Strong security, compliance and identity management via Entra ID
- Cheap standalone option with Teams Essentials
Cons
- Heavier and slower than Slack for fast chat
- File and permission model follows SharePoint and can confuse users
- Best features such as Copilot and Premium cost extra
- Microsoft 365 suite prices rose in July 2026
Microsoft Teams pricing
Microsoft Teams uses a freemium model. A 30-day free trial is available.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Teams (free) | $0 | Personal use; 60-minute group calls, up to 100 people |
| Teams Essentials | $4 / user/mo | Annual commitment; standalone meetings and chat |
| M365 Business Basic | $7 / user/mo | Annual commitment; Teams plus web Office, email, 1 TB |
| M365 Business Standard | $14 / user/mo | Annual commitment; adds desktop Office apps, webinars |
| M365 Business Premium | $22 / user/mo | Annual commitment; adds Intune and advanced security |
Source: www.microsoft.com · checked on Oct 20, 2026
How Microsoft Teams compares in Team communication
- Rank by votes
- #1 / 25
- Starting price
- $4
- Free alternatives
- 5
0 votes from members
59% below the category median ($10/mo)
Free or open-source tools in Team communication
Microsoft Teams ranks #1 of 25 team communication tools by community votes and is priced below most tools in the category.
Common use cases
- 1Company-wide chat and meetings for a Microsoft 365 organisation
- 2Quarterly town hall streamed to thousands of employees
- 3Project channel co-editing Word and Excel files with partners
- 4Replacing a desk phone system with Teams Phone
- 5Getting Copilot meeting recaps and action items after calls
Best for
Organisations already standardised on Microsoft 365 that want chat, meetings and files in one governed platform.
Not ideal for
Startups and developer teams that prefer fast chat and a large third-party app ecosystem, or Google Workspace users (Slack, Google Meet).
Integrations
- Outlook
- SharePoint
- OneDrive
- Microsoft Planner
- Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Salesforce
- Jira Cloud
- Asana
Our take
If your company runs on Microsoft 365, Teams is effectively already paid for and is the sensible default. Choose Slack only if chat speed and integrations matter more than cost, and budget separately for Copilot or Teams Premium if you want AI meeting features.
FAQ
- What is Microsoft Teams?
- Microsoft Teams is a Team communication tool: Microsoft's chat, meetings and calling hub inside Microsoft 365.
- How much does Microsoft Teams cost?
- Microsoft Teams uses a Freemium model; paid plans start at $4 per month.
- What are the best alternatives to Microsoft Teams?
- Community-listed alternatives to Microsoft Teams include Google Workspace.
- Does Microsoft Teams have a free trial?
- Yes, Microsoft Teams offers a 30-day free trial.
- What does Microsoft Teams integrate with?
- Microsoft Teams integrates with Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive, Microsoft Planner, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Salesforce and more.
- Which platforms does Microsoft Teams support?
- Microsoft Teams is available on web, macos, windows, ios, android.
- Who is Microsoft Teams for?
- Organisations already standardised on Microsoft 365 that want chat, meetings and files in one governed platform.
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