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Webinars · head to head

Microsoft Teams Live Events vs Totara

Microsoft Teams Live Events logo

Microsoft Teams Live Events

Webinars

Enterprise live event and webinar platform by Microsoft

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Totara logo

Totara

LMS

Open source learning, performance and collaboration platform derived from Moodle and sold through partners

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Microsoft Teams Live Events has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Microsoft Teams Live Events teams live events retired on June 30, 2026, and only events scheduled before that date remain supported through February 28, 2027; Totara you cannot buy from the vendor. Every purchase runs through a partner who sets its own hosting, services and support pricing, so identical platforms are quoted at materially different totals and buyers must run a partner comparison as well as a product comparison.
  • They diverge on capability: Microsoft Teams Live Events covers Live Q&A, Totara covers Organisational hierarchies.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Microsoft Teams Live Events and Totara actually diverge.

Attributes where Microsoft Teams Live Events and Totara differ
AttributeMicrosoft Teams Live EventsTotara
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, Mac, IOS, Android, WebWeb, iOS, Android, Linux
CategoryWebinarsLMS
Founded1975Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Microsoft Teams Live Events

  • Live Q&A
  • Attendee engagement
  • RTMP support
  • Recording
  • Microsoft 365 integration
  • Microsoft 365
  • Azure
  • SharePoint

Only in Totara

  • Organisational hierarchies
  • Compliance and certification
  • Totara Perform
  • Totara Engage
  • Self-hosting
  • Programs and learning plans

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Microsoft Teams Live Events

  • One to many broadcast of company town halls to large internal audiencesnot Totara
  • Streaming an externally produced RTMP feed from a hardware encoder to Teams viewersnot Totara

Totara

  • Health services and government bodies that must evidence mandatory training by job role across a large hierarchynot Microsoft Teams Live Events
  • Organisations with data residency rules that require the platform to run on their own infrastructurenot Microsoft Teams Live Events
  • Moodle users who need appraisal, competency and compliance features the academic product does not carrynot Microsoft Teams Live Events
  • Buyers who want exit rights over the platform code rather than dependence on a single hosted vendornot Microsoft Teams Live Events

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Microsoft Teams Live Events

  • Teams live events retired on June 30, 2026, and only events scheduled before that date remain supported through February 28, 2027
  • Microsoft directs users to the separate unified Teams events experience instead
  • Organizers must use the Teams web client to schedule a live event; scheduling is not available in the desktop client
  • Users cannot schedule meetings or live events when offline or running with limited bandwidth
  • Keeping internal broadcast traffic off the corporate network requires an eCDN, either Microsoft's own or a certified partner such as Hive, Kollective or Ramp

Totara

  • You cannot buy from the vendor. Every purchase runs through a partner who sets its own hosting, services and support pricing, so identical platforms are quoted at materially different totals and buyers must run a partner comparison as well as a product comparison.
  • Open source does not mean cheap. Subscription plus partner hosting plus implementation and version upgrade services commonly lands near commercial system cost, and the saving is in control and exit rights rather than in the invoice.
  • The administrative interface carries its Moodle lineage and is dense, so administrator training is a real project cost rather than an afterthought.
  • Major version upgrades are projects, especially where a partner has customised the deployment, and organisations that customise heavily find upgrades slower and dearer over time.
  • The learner facing experience is functional rather than engaging, and organisations wanting a consumer grade learning experience usually front it with something else.

Pricing, plan by plan

Microsoft Teams Live Events

Free
  • Microsoft Teams FreeFree
    • Up to 300 participants
    • Live events
  • Microsoft 365 Business Basic$6/month
    • Enhanced live events
    • 10000 attendees
  • Microsoft 365 Business Standard$12.5/month
    • Advanced features
    • Unlimited events

Totara

On request
  • Totara subscription via partner$undefined/year
    • Sold only through distribution partners
    • Partner sets hosting, implementation and support pricing
    • Source available under the GPL, but subscription required for supported releases

Which should you pick?

Choose Microsoft Teams Live Events if

  • You need live q&a.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Mac, IOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want attendee engagement.
Microsoft Teams Live Events review

Choose Totara if

  • You need organisational hierarchies.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Linux.
  • You also want compliance and certification.
Totara review

Questions people ask

Is Microsoft Teams Live Events or Totara better?
Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Teams Live Events starts at Free and Totara at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Teams Live Events or Totara?
Microsoft Teams Live Events has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Microsoft Teams Live Events and On request for Totara.
Does Microsoft Teams Live Events or Totara run on more platforms?
Microsoft Teams Live Events runs on Windows, Mac, IOS, Android, Web. Totara runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux.
Can I use Microsoft Teams Live Events for free?
Yes. Microsoft Teams Live Events has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Totara starts at On request.
What is Microsoft Teams Live Events best used for?
Microsoft Teams Live Events is most often used for one to many broadcast of company town halls to large internal audiences, streaming an externally produced rtmp feed from a hardware encoder to teams viewers. Of those, one to many broadcast of company town halls to large internal audiences and streaming an externally produced rtmp feed from a hardware encoder to teams viewers are not what Totara is typically brought in for.
What can Microsoft Teams Live Events do that Totara cannot?
Microsoft Teams Live Events covers Live Q&A, Attendee engagement, RTMP support, Recording. Totara covers Organisational hierarchies, Compliance and certification, Totara Perform, Totara Engage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Totara: Is Totara free because it is open source?

No. The source is available under the GPL, but supported releases require a subscription, and it is sold through partners who add hosting, implementation and support costs.

Totara: How is it different from Moodle?

Moodle is built around courses and academic delivery. Totara adds organisational hierarchies, role based automatic assignment, recurring certification and appraisal, which is what workplace compliance reporting needs.

Totara: Can we host it ourselves?

Yes. Self hosting is a genuine option and is one of the main reasons regulated and public sector buyers choose it over a hosted only competitor.

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Related pages

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