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Communication · head to head

Microsoft Teams vs Sessions

Microsoft Teams logo

Microsoft Teams

Communication

Meet, chat, call, and collaborate in just one place

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
S

Sessions

Communication

Meetings and webinars with a prepared agenda, interactive blocks and a recorded outcome

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Microsoft Teams resource-heavy application; slow to load and consumes significant CPU/memory compared to alternatives; Sessions it will not replace Microsoft Teams or Google Meet for everyday internal calls, so most buyers end up paying for two conferencing tools and asking staff to know which one to open.
  • They diverge on capability: Microsoft Teams covers Chat & channels, Sessions covers Agenda blocks.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Microsoft Teams and Sessions actually diverge.

Attributes where Microsoft Teams and Sessions differ
AttributeMicrosoft TeamsSessions
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer user per month
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOS, iOS, AndroidWeb
Founded1975Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Communication).

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

  • Chat & channels
  • Video conferencing
  • Screen sharing
  • File collaboration
  • Office integration
  • Live events
  • Phone system
  • Apps & workflows

Only in Sessions

  • Agenda blocks
  • Embedded apps
  • Webinars and registration
  • Recording and transcript
  • Resource library
  • Breakout rooms
  • Scheduling links
  • Browser-based

What people use each for

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

Microsoft Teams

  • Remote meetingsnot Sessions
  • Team collaborationnot Sessions
  • Document sharingnot Sessions
  • Project managementnot Sessions
  • Webinarsnot Sessions

Sessions

  • A sales team running the same product demo dozens of times a month that wants the agenda, the deck, the poll and the follow-up questions to be one reusable object rather than rebuilt each time.not Microsoft Teams
  • A trainer delivering a recurring workshop where breakouts, exercises and materials need to run in a fixed order without the host juggling tabs live.not Microsoft Teams
  • A customer success team running onboarding sessions that must produce a consistent record of what was covered and what the customer asked.not Microsoft Teams
  • A small company running public webinars that needs registration, reminders, attendance data and a recording without buying a separate webinar platform alongside its meeting tool.not Microsoft Teams

Where each one falls short

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

Microsoft Teams

  • Resource-heavy application; slow to load and consumes significant CPU/memory compared to alternatives
  • Limited channel structure; maximum of 200 public and 30 private channels per team
  • Cannot invite guest users to specific channels; guest access grants full team visibility
  • Unable to chat during screen sharing; limits real-time collaborative communication
  • Limited customization options for branding and interface; cluttered UX compared to Slack
  • Channels cannot be moved between teams; requires manual replication for reorganization

Sessions

  • It will not replace Microsoft Teams or Google Meet for everyday internal calls, so most buyers end up paying for two conferencing tools and asking staff to know which one to open.
  • The vendor is small and European, competing directly against Zoom and Microsoft, so any team standardising a customer-facing process on it should keep an exit plan and export recordings regularly.
  • The preparation model that makes it good is also overhead; a meeting nobody had time to structure runs no better in Sessions than anywhere else, and teams that will not prepare get no benefit from the licence.
  • Lifetime deals sold through AppSumo mean a segment of the user base pays nothing recurring, which shapes support priorities and has previously produced friction when plan terms changed.
  • It is browser-only, which keeps participation frictionless but leaves it more exposed to browser and network conditions than a native client, and there is no desktop application to fall back on when a call misbehaves.

Pricing, plan by plan

Microsoft Teams

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited chat
    • 100 participants in meetings
    • 5GB file storage
  • Microsoft Teams Essentials$4/month
    • 300 participants in meetings
    • 10GB cloud storage
    • Phone & web support
  • Microsoft 365 Business Basic$6/month
    • Everything in Essentials
    • 1TB OneDrive storage
    • Web & mobile Office apps
  • Microsoft 365 Business Standard$12.5/month
    • Everything in Basic
    • Desktop Office apps
    • Webinar hosting

Sessions

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Meetings with agenda blocks
    • Limited participants and storage
    • Basic recording
  • Solo$undefined/month
    • For a single host
    • Longer meetings and higher attendee limits
    • Registration pages
  • Business$undefined/month
    • Multiple hosts and shared resource library
    • Higher attendee limits
    • Branding and custom registration
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited participants
    • Custom integrations
    • White labelling

Which should you pick?

Choose Microsoft Teams if

  • You need chat & channels.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android.
  • You also want video conferencing.
Microsoft Teams review

Choose Sessions if

  • You need agenda blocks.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want embedded apps.
Sessions review

Questions people ask

Is Microsoft Teams or Sessions better?
Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Teams starts at Free and Sessions at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Teams or Sessions?
Microsoft Teams starts at Free and Sessions at Free.
Does Microsoft Teams or Sessions run on more platforms?
Microsoft Teams runs on Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android. Sessions runs on Web.
Can I use Microsoft Teams for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Microsoft Teams best used for?
Microsoft Teams is most often used for remote meetings, team collaboration, document sharing, project management. Of those, remote meetings and team collaboration are not what Sessions is typically brought in for.
What can Microsoft Teams do that Sessions cannot?
Microsoft Teams covers Chat & channels, Video conferencing, Screen sharing, File collaboration. Sessions covers Agenda blocks, Embedded apps, Webinars and registration, Recording and transcript.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Microsoft Teams: Does Microsoft Teams have a free tier?

Yes. Microsoft Teams offers a free Home tier with unlimited chat, 60-minute group meetings for up to 100 people, 5GB cloud storage, and basic file sharing, though limits are restrictive for growing teams.

Source
Sessions: Is Sessions still operating?

Yes. It is an active Bucharest-based company with a New York presence, founded in 2020, still shipping product in 2026.

Microsoft Teams: What are Microsoft Teams' paid plans?

Microsoft Teams Essentials costs $4/user/month (chat, calling, meetings, 10GB storage). Microsoft 365 Business Basic costs $7/user/month (includes desktop Office apps, 1TB storage). Premium plans with Copilot start at $23.50/user/month.

Source
Sessions: Does it replace Zoom?

For structured external calls, demos, workshops and webinars, yes. For everyday internal meetings most teams keep Teams or Meet alongside it.

Microsoft Teams: What are Microsoft Teams' primary features?

Teams provides real-time chat, video and voice calling, meetings with up to 300 participants, file sharing and storage integration with OneDrive, recording and transcripts, and deep integration with Microsoft 365 apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).

Sessions: Is there a free plan?

Yes, with limits on participants, meeting length and storage. Paid plans are published on the vendor site and billed annually.

Microsoft Teams: What integrations does Teams support?

Microsoft Teams integrates with calendar apps (Outlook, Google Calendar), project management tools (Trello), and works with Zapier for custom workflow automation. Teams also has native connectors to many Microsoft 365 apps and third-party services.

Sessions: Who funded it?

Roughly 9 million euros in total, about half from the founder personally, with EarlyBird, LAUNCHub and Stride making up the rest.

Sessions: Can participants join without installing anything?

Yes, it runs in the browser with no client install for attendees.

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