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Comparing Microsoft Teams free vs. paid plans
IT leaders evaluating Microsoft Teams must carefully consider which collaboration features are most important before deciding whether a free or paid version is the best option.
Today's fast-paced marketplace demands that organizations remain in constant communication. Companies rely on a variety of tools to help their employees keep in touch with one another; a growing percentage have opted to use Microsoft Teams for messaging, file sharing and audio/video conferencing. Yet organizations need to proceed cautiously as they evaluate the platform. The features and capabilities companies get from their Teams subscription depend on the plan or license they purchase. Those with little experience with collaboration platforms have several factors to consider when evaluating Teams.
Let's focus on Teams free versus paid subscriptions. Like many collaboration services, Microsoft offers a free version of Teams -- albeit without certain capabilities that some companies might find critical. Individuals and smaller organizations may still be satisfied with the features offered; others may consider upgrading.
The primary differences between the free and paid versions of Teams include cost, time limitations and collaboration tools. If these features are crucial to your organization, consider one of the more capable paid subscriptions.
Note that Microsoft supports bundling Teams with other products to provide one-stop shopping for individuals and organizations. Additionally, Microsoft offers many variations of these products, leading to confusion and an overwhelming list of options. Your organization may also select Teams as part of a larger Microsoft product deployment.
Get to know Microsoft Teams Free features
While it may appear that Teams Free offers limited features, in reality, it provides ample support for many communication and collaboration needs. Microsoft Teams Free includes the following features:
- Support for group meetings for up to 100 participants for 60 minutes.
- Support for unlimited one-on-one meetings up to 30 hours.
- Task planning, polling, screen sharing and other collaboration features.
- Unlimited chat with team members and external users.
- Data encryption for meetings, chats, calls and files.
- 5 GB of cloud storage per user.
With its support for chat, video calls and large meetings, Teams Free can be an ideal option for organizations starting their collaboration journey. However, it is mainly oriented toward personal use. Organizations taking this route need only a strong adoption strategy that includes training and proper configuration. Many individual users will already have access to the more feature-rich tiers through Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family subscriptions.
It's easy to upgrade from Teams Free to paid through the Teams Free app.
Understand Microsoft Teams paid plan features
The paid version of Teams is offered at several pricing tiers, each with various capabilities. Some of these plans are also included with Microsoft 365 licenses The more advanced Teams tiers include Business, Enterprise and Education.
Substantial differences exist, even within the tiers. For example, the Business tier includes three subscription levels offering various features, storage capabilities and bundled apps designed to support SMBs; the options are almost countless.
The Enterprise tier of Microsoft Teams offers the following capabilities:
- Unlimited group meetings for up to 30 hours.
- 10 GB of cloud storage per user.
- Unlimited chat.
- 24/7 phone and web support.
- Advanced collaborative apps and features, including file sharing, scheduling, recording and transcripts.
- Advanced security, administration and compliance capabilities.
- Data encryption for meetings, chat, calls and files.
These features exceed those offered by the Teams Free and Business plans.
In addition to the higher-tier plans, Microsoft offers various Teams add-ons. These additional services include more advanced capabilities typically found in unified communications (UC) suites. Some companies may find these more advanced features essential, so the ability to append them to an existing Teams deployment is beneficial. Yet, they also add to the confusion when selecting the right tier, subscription level and add-ons.
Comparing Microsoft Teams free vs paid versions
Using either a free or paid version of Microsoft Teams depends on your use case. Smaller organizations can save money by deploying the free version; its communications features are likely sufficient. The same is true for individuals who only require basic functionality. Many organizations, however, will quickly bump into the limitations, justifying the modest additional cost of one of the many paid versions.
Benefits of Teams Free
The free plan provides essential chat, video, and collaboration features that most users and small businesses need. It also integrates with other Microsoft 365 products, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. And, of course, it's free!
Challenges of Teams Free
Using a free plan does have its limitations. Group video meetings are limited to 60 minutes, which may hamper some meetings and discussions. Advanced collaboration features are not available, and users only have access to 5 GB of cloud storage.
Benefits of Teams for Business and Enterprise
Choosing a paid plan offers more advanced collaboration, task management, and file-sharing features. Both Business and Enterprise plans offer enhanced security, compliance, governance and administration capabilities. The plans also offer greater cloud storage capacity, depending on the tier, and integrate with a wider suite of Microsoft 365 products.
Challenges of Teams for Business and Enterprise
Of course, the downside to these plans is that they're not free! They also offer more administration features and complex configuration options than smaller organizations require. Additionally, multiple subscription options can make selecting one cumbersome.
Microsoft Teams pricing
In addition to features, pricing is a crucial factor when selecting the best version. Use the following pricing information as a guide:
- Personal (aka Teams Free): $0
- Business (for SMBs up to 300 users):
- Microsoft Teams Essentials: $4 per user, per month.
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6 per user, per month.
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50 per user, per month.
- Enterprise:
- Microsoft Teams Enterprise: $8.55 user/month.
- Microsoft 365 E3: $36.00 per user, per month.
- Microsoft 365 E5: $57 per user, per month.
Microsoft offers many integration options for Teams, including Teams Phone, Teams Rooms and Microsoft Copilot. Combining these products changes the pricing, often adding significant value.
Microsoft also offers an educational version of Teams, which reduces the financial burden on these participants.
When to upgrade to a paid Microsoft Teams plan
The primary differences between Teams Free and paid plans are cost, meeting time limits and collaboration features. It's also important to evaluate the number of users supported and enhanced security and management capabilities -- especially for those companies with more complex needs or who must meet regulatory compliance requirements. Ensure that key stakeholders work with IT to evaluate which components the organization requires to select the best plan. Organizations that require more features than what's available in their bundled plan can select add-on licenses that boost certain capabilities, such as calling and security.
Because Microsoft offers the ability to bundle Teams with Microsoft 365 subscriptions, your organization likely already has access to the collaboration platform. IT teams can then begin exploring administration features and security options to ensure privacy, availability and compliance. Carefully evaluate your options and select the right plan. Whether free or paid, Microsoft Teams may provide all the collaboration features your organization needs.
Editor's note: This article was updated to reflect updates to Microsoft Teams plans and improve the reader experience.
Damon Garn owns Cogspinner Coaction and provides freelance IT writing and editing services. He has written multiple CompTIA study guides, including the Linux+, Cloud Essentials+ and Server+ guides, and contributes extensively to TechTarget Editorial, The New Stack and CompTIA Blogs.
