--- source_url: "https://checkthat.ai/brands/microsoft-teams/pricing" title: "Microsoft Teams Pricing 2026: Plans & True Costs - Microsoft Teams" mirrored_at: 2026-08-22T03:02:53.695Z host: checkthat.ai cited_in_42a: true mirror_canonical: "https://index.42a.ai/checkthat.ai/brands/microsoft-teams/pricing" --- > **Original source:** https://checkthat.ai/brands/microsoft-teams/pricing [Microsoft](https://checkthat.ai/brands/microsoft) 365 subscriptions include Teams; it's not sold separately as a business product. Budget accordingly: you're buying a full productivity suite, not just a collaboration tool. ### [Copied to clipboardCore Plans Comparison](#core-plans-comparison) Plan Monthly Price User Limit Storage Key Differentiators **Business Basic** $6/user 300 10 GB OneDrive Web Office apps only; no desktop apps **Business Standard** $12.50/user 300 1 TB OneDrive Desktop Office apps; email hosting **Business Premium** $22/user 300 1 TB OneDrive Advanced security; device management **Enterprise E3** $36/user Unlimited 1 TB OneDrive eDiscovery; advanced compliance **Enterprise E5** $57/user Unlimited 1 TB OneDrive Audio Conferencing included; Power BI Pro _Prices reflect annual commitment billing. Monthly billing adds approximately 5%._ ### [Copied to clipboardPremium Add-Ons](#premium-add-ons) Beyond base subscriptions, two add-ons frequently appear in enterprise deployments. **Teams Premium** at [$10/user/month](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/premium) adds AI-powered meeting recaps, live translation across 40+ languages, custom branding, and watermarking for sensitive content. Town hall events supporting 20,000 attendees require an additional add-on. **Teams Phone** starts at $10/user/month for the base system but requires calling plans ($13-$34/user/month additional) for external PSTN connectivity. Total voice deployment typically runs $23-$44/user/month. ### [Copied to clipboardWhat Every Paid Plan Includes](#what-every-paid-plan-includes) Regardless of tier, all paid Microsoft 365 plans with Teams provide: - **Unlimited chat** with message search and 250-person conversation limits - **Video meetings** supporting 300 interactive participants and 10,000 view-only attendees - **Screen sharing and meeting recordings** (stored in OneDrive/SharePoint) - **Guest access** for external collaboration - **Mobile apps** for iOS and Android - **Basic security** including TLS encryption and support for HIPAA/GDPR compliance The differentiation happens in storage allocation, Office app access, security features, and compliance tooling. Teams pricing follows a cumulative model where each tier builds on the previous one. Here's what distinguishes each plan. ### [Copied to clipboardBusiness Basic ($6/user/month)](#business-basic-6usermonth) Entry-level option for organizations with minimal investment budgets. Best suited for frontline workers, seasonal staff, or small teams with minimal document collaboration needs. Business Basic's 10 GB OneDrive storage limit per user (compared to 1 TB for all other paid tiers) makes it unsuitable for organizations requiring file collaboration or meeting recording storage. **What's included in Business Basic:** - Unlimited chat and video meetings (300 participants, unlimited duration) - Web and mobile versions of Word, [Excel](https://checkthat.ai/brands/excel), PowerPoint - 10 GB OneDrive storage per user - SharePoint team sites **What's NOT included in Business Basic:** - Desktop Office applications (available in Business Standard, Business Premium, and Enterprise plans) - Email hosting (requires separate Exchange Online license) - Teams Phone capabilities (included in Business Premium and Enterprise E3/E5) **The verdict:** At $72/user/year, it's the cheapest path to Teams, but most organizations quickly outgrow the 10 GB storage cap. ### [Copied to clipboardBusiness Standard ($12.50/user/month)](#business-standard-1250usermonth) The sweet spot for growing organizations under 300 users. This tier adds desktop Office apps, making it a complete productivity solution rather than just a collaboration add-on. **What's included (beyond Basic):** - Full desktop Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) - Exchange email with custom domain - 1 TB OneDrive storage per user - Webinar hosting capabilities (Business Standard and above) - Microsoft Loop for collaborative workspaces **Best for:** Organizations that need a complete productivity suite with professional email and substantial storage. The $6.50 premium over Basic bundles 1 TB storage and desktop Office apps: $10-15/month in standalone value. **The verdict:** Business Standard represents strong value for organizations already committed to Microsoft 365 licensing. ### [Copied to clipboardBusiness Premium ($22/user/month)](#business-premium-22usermonth) Security-focused tier for organizations in regulated industries or those handling sensitive data. The $9.50 premium over Standard buys enterprise-grade protection. **What's included (beyond Standard):** - Microsoft Intune for device management - Azure Information Protection for data classification - Microsoft Defender for Business (endpoint protection) - Conditional access policies - Advanced threat protection for email **Best for:** Healthcare, financial services, legal firms, and any organization subject to compliance audits. **The verdict:** The cost jump reflects compliance features that regulated industries cannot skip. For organizations without compliance mandates, the security premium may exceed actual risk reduction value. ### [Copied to clipboardEnterprise E3 ($36/user/month)](#enterprise-e3-36usermonth) The baseline recommendation for mid-market organizations (200+ users). E3 provides unlimited user capacity and includes governance tools essential for larger deployments. **What's included in Enterprise E3 (beyond Business Premium):** - Unlimited user scaling - Advanced eDiscovery and legal hold - Data loss prevention (DLP) policies - Information barriers for ethical walls - Unlimited archive mailboxes - Configurable OneDrive storage (up to 5 TB per user on request) **Best for:** Organizations requiring audit trails, legal discovery capabilities, or information governance across departments. **The verdict:** E3 should be the starting point for enterprise evaluation. The $14 premium over Business Premium provides advanced security features and compliance capabilities that mid-market organizations often underestimate. ### [Copied to clipboardEnterprise E5 ($57/user/month)](#enterprise-e5-57usermonth) Enterprise E5 bundles advanced security features, analytics capabilities, and voice features. E5 makes financial sense when you'd otherwise purchase multiple expensive add-ons separately. **What's included in E5 (beyond E3):** - **Audio Conferencing:** Included in E5; E3 requires add-on - **Teams Phone System:** Included in both E3 and E5 - **Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 2:** E5 enhancement over E3 - **Power BI Pro:** E5 addition for advanced analytics - **Advanced compliance:** E5 enhancement over E3 (Communication Compliance, Insider Risk Management) **Best for:** Large enterprises replacing legacy phone systems, organizations with significant dial-in conferencing needs, or those requiring advanced threat protection. **The verdict:** E5's $21 premium over E3 includes Audio Conferencing ($4-6/month value) and advanced compliance features. Organizations needing both audio conferencing and advanced security/compliance capabilities achieve better economics with E5 than E3 plus add-ons. The base subscription covers collaboration features. Voice capabilities and enhanced meeting intelligence require additional licensing. ### [Copied to clipboardTeams Premium ($10/user/month)](#teams-premium-10usermonth) Teams Premium costs **$10.00/user/month in the United States**, with regional pricing variations reflecting local market conditions. In the United Kingdom, Teams Premium costs [£7.70/month](https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-teams/premium) (~$9.60 USD equivalent), in Germany [€8.70/month](https://www.microsoft.com/de-de/microsoft-teams/premium) (~$9.20 USD equivalent), and in Australia [AU$15.00/month](https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/microsoft-teams/premium) (~$9.50 USD equivalent). **Teams Premium capabilities:** - **AI meeting intelligence:** Intelligent meeting recaps and live translation in 40+ languages - **Custom branding:** Organization-specific meeting templates and backgrounds - **Content protection:** Watermarking for screen shares and recordings - **Advanced meeting options:** Town halls supporting 20,000 attendees **Who actually needs it:** Organizations hosting frequent large meetings (300+ participants), companies with multilingual workforces, or those sharing sensitive content requiring watermarking. ### [Copied to clipboardTeams Phone: The Complete Cost Picture](#teams-phone-the-complete-cost-picture) Teams Phone pricing creates the most confusion because it involves multiple licensing layers. **Layer 1: Teams Phone System ($10/user/month)** Provides cloud PBX functionality: voicemail, call transfer, auto attendants, call queues, and call forwarding. Base license alone does not enable external calling; requires separate Calling Plan ($13-34/user/month) for PSTN connectivity. **Layer 2: Calling Plans (required for PSTN connectivity)** Plan US Price What's Included Pay-As-You-Go $13.00/user/month Per-minute billing for all calls Domestic Calling $17.00/user/month 3,000 pooled minutes (US/Canada/PR) International $34.00/user/month 3,000 domestic + 600 international minutes (196 countries Zone A) **Total voice deployment costs:** Scenario Monthly Per-User Cost Teams Phone + Pay-As-You-Go $23 ($10 base + $13 calling) Teams Phone + Domestic Calling $27 ($10 base + $17 calling) Teams Phone + International $44 ($10 base + $34 calling) **Critical regional variation:** US and UK Domestic Calling plans include 3,000 minutes per user monthly. EU markets receive only 1,200 minutes on the same plan tier, a 60% smaller allocation at comparable prices. **Alternative: Direct Routing** Organizations with 200+ users and existing telecom relationships can implement Direct Routing, which requires only the $10 Teams Phone base license (no Microsoft calling plans). You'll need a Session Border Controller ($2,000-$50,000) plus carrier costs. ROI typically reaches break-even within 18-24 months. Published per-user pricing tells only part of the story. Organizations consistently underestimate these additional cost categories. ### [Copied to clipboardCalling Plans: The Overlooked Multiplier](#calling-plans-the-overlooked-multiplier) The Teams Phone base license alone doesn't enable external calls. Organizations frequently budget $10/user for Teams Phone, then discover they need an additional $13-$34/user/month for calling plans to achieve PSTN connectivity. **Common pitfall:** A 500-user organization budgets $60,000 annually for Teams Phone ($10 × 500 × 12). Actual cost with Domestic Calling Plans: $162,000 annually (2.7x the initial estimate). ### [Copied to clipboardImplementation & Migration](#implementation-migration) Microsoft provides migration tooling, but most organizations require consulting partner assistance. Organization Size Implementation Cost (Midpoint) 100 users [~$109,000](https://skyterratech.com/microsoft-365-migration-cost) 500 users [~$435,000](https://skyterratech.com/microsoft-365-migration-cost) 2,000 users [~$1,535,000](https://skyterratech.com/microsoft-365-migration-cost) A [Forrester study](https://cdn-dynmedia-1.microsoft.com/is/content/microsoftcorp/microsoft/final/en-us/microsoft-brand/documents/The-TEI-of-Microsoft-365-For-Business-Study-2025.pdf) found organizations spending less than $50/user on training achieve under 60% adoption rates. Those investing $75-150/user typically exceed 85% adoption. Internal IT staff involvement (1,000-4,000 hours at ~$60/hour) adds $60,000-$240,000 in often-unbudgeted expense. ### [Copied to clipboardAdvanced Feature Add-ons](#advanced-feature-add-ons) Base licensing rarely covers everything enterprises need: - **Power BI Pro:** $14/user/month (increased from $10/user/month in 2025; included in E5; required add-on for E3) - [**Microsoft Copilot**](https://checkthat.ai/brands/microsoft-copilot) **for M365:** $30/user/month on top of base licensing - **Advanced eDiscovery:** Included in E5; premium add-on for lower tiers (pricing varies by configuration) A 500-user E3 organization adding Copilot for M365 and Teams Premium sees per-user costs jump from $36 to $76/month, a 111% increase. ### [Copied to clipboardStorage & Recording Overages](#storage-recording-overages) **SharePoint pooled storage formula (all tiers except Business Basic):** 1 TB base + (10 GB × licensed users) A 500-user organization receives 6 TB total pooled SharePoint storage. Exceeding this organizational quota triggers $0.20/GB/month overage charges, or worse, read-only mode that halts business operations until resolved. **Meeting recordings create storage pressure.** At approximately 400 MB per hour of video, a 500-user organization with 10 hours/user/week meeting activity generates 8 TB monthly in recordings. Without retention policies, annual recording storage reaches 96 TB (far exceeding any standard allocation). **Mitigation:** Implement automatic retention policies (120-180 days typical) and selective recording practices. ### [Copied to clipboardDeployment Scenarios: Real TCO Examples](#deployment-scenarios-real-tco-examples) **Scenario 1: 100-User SMB on Business Standard** - Annual licensing: $15,000 - Implementation (midpoint): $53,000 - Training: $4,000 - **First-year total:** $72,000 ($720/user) - **3-year TCO:** $103,500 ($345/user/year) **Scenario 2: 500-User Mid-Market on E3 with Teams Phone** - Annual licensing: $228,000 - Teams Phone + Domestic Calling: $162,000 - Implementation (midpoint): $82,500 - Training: $50,000 - **First-year total:** $522,500 ($1,045/user) - **3-year TCO:** $1,325,300 ($883/user/year) **Scenario 3: 2,000-User Enterprise on E5 with Copilot** - Annual licensing: $1,368,000 - Copilot add-on: $720,000 - Implementation (midpoint): $195,000 - Training: $137,500 - **First-year total:** $2,420,500 ($1,210/user) - **3-year TCO:** $6,733,300 ($1,122/user/year) Value depends entirely on your starting point and requirements. **Strong value: Organizations with existing Microsoft 365 investment** If you're already licensed for M365 E3 or higher, Teams adds collaboration at a fixed price delta of $8.55/user/month through at least November 2032. The native Office integration (real-time co-authoring, Outlook calendar sync, SharePoint document management) delivers value that standalone collaboration tools require additional investment to match. **Justified premium: Enterprises standardizing communication** Organizations replacing legacy phone systems, consolidating multiple collaboration tools, or requiring enterprise compliance find Teams' comprehensive approach cost-effective. A [Forrester study](https://cdn-dynmedia-1.microsoft.com/is/content/microsoftcorp/microsoft/final/en-us/microsoft-brand/documents/The-TEI-of-Microsoft-365-For-Business-Study-2025.pdf) found organizations implementing Teams Phone can achieve 45-60% savings compared to traditional PBX systems. **Potential overpay: Small teams with basic needs** A 50-person startup needing only chat and video might find Slack Pro ($7.25/user/month) or even [Discord](https://checkthat.ai/brands/discord) sufficient at lower cost. If you don't need Office apps, email hosting, or enterprise compliance, Teams' bundled approach forces you to pay for capabilities you won't use. **TCO comparison for 500-user organization (3-year, licensing only):** Platform Stack Annual Cost 3-Year Total Teams (E3) $228,000 $684,000 Slack Business+ + [Zoom](https://checkthat.ai/brands/zoom) Business ~$150,000 ~$450,000 [Google Workspace](https://checkthat.ai/brands/google-workspace) Enterprise Std ~$168,000 ~$504,000 When organizations add equivalent security, compliance, and productivity tools to Slack or Google Workspace stacks, Teams' cost advantage becomes less pronounced. Platform Starting Price Free Tier Email Included Voice Included Best For [**Microsoft Teams**](https://checkthat.ai/brands/microsoft-teams) $6/user/month (Business Basic) Limited (60-min calls) ✓ (Business Standard+) Add-on required ($10 Teams Phone + $13-34 calling plans) Microsoft ecosystem organizations **Slack** $7.25/user/month (Pro) Generous ✗ ✗ Async-first teams; developer workflows **Google Workspace** $14/user/month (Business Standard) ✗ ✓ Add-on required Google-native organizations **Webex** $22.50/user/month (Business Suite) Limited ✗ ✓ (included in Business Suite) Meeting-centric enterprises **Zoom** $14.99/user/month (Pro) Generous (40-min group calls) ✗ Add-on required Video-first organizations **Slack** at $7.25/month (Pro, annual billing) suits async-first teams but requires separate productivity and voice licensing, increasing total cost. **Google Workspace** Business Standard ($14/month) offers 2 TB storage per user and includes Gemini AI at entry tiers (better AI value than Teams' $10 Premium add-on). Strong alternative for organizations not committed to Microsoft. **Webex** excels at enterprise video conferencing with end-to-end encryption for meetings and unlimited cloud recording storage. Best for organizations prioritizing meeting security. **Zoom** at $14.99/month focuses on video conferencing with a 30-hour monthly limit for group meetings. Organizations must supplement with separate solutions for chat, email, and productivity applications.