Communication · pricing
Microsoft Teams pricing
Microsoft Teams publishes 4 tiers. Below is each one, what it adds over the tier beneath it, and where the ladder stops being worth climbing for most people.
As of 30 August 2026, Microsoft Teams pricing is free, then $4/month across 4 published tiers. Figures are the vendor's list prices as recorded on this page's last check; the vendor's site is the final word.
- Entry price
- Free, then $4/month
- Model
- Subscription
- Tiers
- 4
- Free tier
- Yes
Microsoft Teams plans, side by side
Every published tier in ascending order of price, with the number of features each one lists. An absence here means the record does not itemise it, not that the tier lacks it.
| Plan | Price | Features listed | Step up from the tier below |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 5 | Entry tier |
| Microsoft Teams Essentials | $4/month | 5 | +$4/month, 5 more features |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | $6/month | 5 | +$2/month, 5 more features |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | $12.5/month | 5 | +$6.5/month, 5 more features |
What each tier adds
The set difference between each tier's feature list and the one beneath it. Where a tier lists nothing new, the vendor has either stopped repeating the inherited list or the tier raises limits rather than adding capability, the record does not distinguish the two, so this page does not either.
Free
FreeThe entry tier. It covers unlimited chat, 100 participants in meetings, 5gb file storage, screen sharing, together mode.
Microsoft Teams Essentials
$4/monthOver Free, this tier adds:
- 300 participants in meetings
- 10GB cloud storage
- Phone & web support
- Meeting recordings
- Whiteboard
Microsoft 365 Business Basic
$6/monthOver Microsoft Teams Essentials, this tier adds:
- Everything in Essentials
- 1TB OneDrive storage
- Web & mobile Office apps
- Email hosting
- SharePoint
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
$12.5/monthOver Microsoft 365 Business Basic, this tier adds:
- Everything in Basic
- Desktop Office apps
- Webinar hosting
- Attendee registration
- Customer bookings
Where Microsoft Teams stops being free
Free, Free
- Unlimited chat
- 100 participants in meetings
- 5GB file storage
- Screen sharing
- Together mode
Microsoft Teams Essentials, $4/month
The first thing you pay for:
- 300 participants in meetings
- 10GB cloud storage
- Phone & web support
- Meeting recordings
- Whiteboard
What the product covers
The full Microsoft Teams feature record, grouped as the catalogue groups it. This is the product as a whole; the record does not map every feature onto a specific tier.
Other
- Chat & channels
- Video conferencing
- Screen sharing
- File collaboration
- Office integration
- Live events
- Phone system
- Apps & workflows
Integrations
- Office 365
- SharePoint
- OneDrive
- Outlook
- Power BI
- Planner
- OneNote
- Third-party apps
Security
- SOC2
- ISO27001
- HIPAA
- FedRAMP
- Multi-factor auth
Deployment
- Cloud deployment
- Hybrid deployment
Platform
- Web support
- Windows support
- Macos support
- Linux support
- Ios support
- Android support
Localization
- 50+ languages language support
People bring Microsoft Teams in for remote meetings, team collaboration, document sharing, project management, webinars. If that is not the job you are buying for, the alternatives to Microsoft Teams are worth a look before you commit to a tier.
How that compares in Communication
Too few communication tools in this directory publish a starting price to quote a meaningful median, so the table below is a like-for-like list rather than a ranking.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Rated | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Teams (this page) | Free, then $4/month | subscription | - | |
| Free | Free to download, transaction fees on payments | - | vs Microsoft Teams | |
| Messenger | Free | Free, funded by Meta's advertising business | - | vs Microsoft Teams |
| KakaoTalk | Free | Free to download, paid emoticons, gifting and business messaging | - | vs Microsoft Teams |
| Line | Free | Free to download, paid stickers and business messaging tiers | - | vs Microsoft Teams |
| Viber | Free | Free to download, paid business messaging and out calls to landlines and mobiles | - | vs Microsoft Teams |
| Disciple | £599/month | Per month, flat fee with no transaction charge | - | vs Microsoft Teams |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry, they are not reviews hosted on Softwr. How each figure is used is set out on the Microsoft Teams badges page.
Before you pay for Microsoft Teams
Three things this page cannot tell you, and all three change the bill. The record carries a price and a billing period but not the unit - per-seat and flat-rate pricing are indistinguishable in this data, so a five-person team may be looking at five times the figure above. It carries no annual rate, so any discount for paying yearly is not something this page can quote. And it carries no trial length.
What it can tell you is the shape of the ladder: 4 tiers between Free and $12.5/month, with the jump itemised above. Because there is a free tier, the cheapest way to answer the rest is to use it before paying anything.
Microsoft Teams runs on web, windows, macos, ios, android, and is published by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, WA. The full record is on the Microsoft Teams review, and the rest of the category is under best communication tools.
Microsoft Teams pricing questions
- How much does Microsoft Teams cost?
- Microsoft Teams publishes 4 tiers, from Free for Free up to $12.5/month for Microsoft 365 Business Standard. The entry tier costs nothing.
- Does Microsoft Teams have a free plan?
- Yes. The Free tier costs nothing and covers unlimited chat, 100 participants in meetings, 5gb file storage. Paying starts at $4/month for Microsoft Teams Essentials.
- What is the difference between Free and Microsoft Teams Essentials on Microsoft Teams?
- Microsoft Teams Essentials costs $4/month against Free, and adds 300 participants in meetings, 10gb cloud storage, phone & web support, meeting recordings.
- Is the Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan on Microsoft Teams worth it?
- That depends entirely on whether you need what it adds, which on the published record is everything in basic, desktop office apps, webinar hosting, attendee registration. It costs $12.5/month against $4/month for Microsoft Teams Essentials. Softwr has not used either tier, so this page can tell you what changes, not whether it is worth the difference to you.
- Which communication tools can I use without paying?
- 7 of the 8 communication tools listed alongside Microsoft Teams have a free tier: WeChat, Messenger, KakaoTalk, Line, Viber.
- What am I actually paying for with Microsoft Teams?
- The record lists 30 features across 6 areas: other, integrations, security, deployment, platform, localization. In practice it is brought in for remote meetings, team collaboration, document sharing.
- Does Microsoft Teams charge per user?
- The record carries a price and a billing period for each of its 4 tiers, but not the unit that price is charged in. Per-seat and flat-rate billing look identical in this data, so check the vendor's page before budgeting for a team.
- Are these Microsoft Teams prices current?
- They are what the catalogue entry holds, refreshed when the entry is. Vendors change pricing without notice and nobody at Softwr re-verifies each tier by hand, so treat this as a structured summary and the vendor's own pricing page as the authority.
- What should I compare Microsoft Teams against before paying?
- The closest communication tools in this directory are WeChat, Messenger, KakaoTalk, Line. Each has a side-by-side comparison with Microsoft Teams covering price, platforms and features.