Microsoft Teams cost depends on how you buy it. Teams is included in Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard and Premium, sold on its own as Teams Essentials, and offered in a limited free version. Calling, Teams Premium and Teams Rooms are separate per-user or per-room add-ons, and phone numbers, calling plans, devices and management are never in the Teams price.
This guide walks through each way to pay for Teams, what the add-ons do, what Microsoft leaves out, and a worked licensing count for a 10, 25 and 50 person business. The licensing rules below come from Microsoft Learn, checked on November 7, 2026. Microsoft's pricing pages did not load from our network when we checked them the same day, so where a price appears below it is the Microsoft list price we recorded on this site in October 2026, labeled with that date and linked to Microsoft's page so you can confirm it before you buy. Where the site has no October figure (Teams Essentials, Teams Premium, Teams Shared Space), the price is linked, not quoted. Our Microsoft Teams Phone licensing FAQ is where the Teams Phone figures were checked.
Is Microsoft Teams included in Microsoft 365?
For a business with up to 300 users, yes, if you buy the version of the plan that includes it. Microsoft sells Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Business Standard and Business Premium in versions with and without Teams, and its Teams add-on licensing page on Microsoft Learn (checked on November 7, 2026) says the Business suites and the Frontline worker suites remain available both ways. The Teams you get is the same product in all three plans: chat, channels, meetings, file sharing through SharePoint and OneDrive, and the admin controls in the Teams admin center. What changes between Basic, Standard and Premium is everything else in the bundle: desktop Office apps on Standard, and Intune, Entra ID P1 and Defender for Business on Premium.
Enterprise plans work differently. Since April 1, 2024, Microsoft Learn says, new Enterprise customers who want Teams with Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 or Office 365 E1, E3 or E5 buy two licenses: the "no Teams" suite plus Teams Enterprise, a standalone Teams license. Customers who already held a suite that included Teams before that date can keep renewing it. So for an Enterprise buyer, the Teams cost is a visible separate line; for a Business buyer it is folded into the suite price.
The Business plans with Teams list at $7.00 for Business Basic, $14.00 for Business Standard and $22.00 for Business Premium per user per month on an annual subscription (Microsoft list price, checked on the site in October 2026; confirm on Microsoft's Microsoft 365 for business comparison). Enterprise suite and Teams Enterprise prices are on Microsoft's Enterprise plans and pricing page.
What does Teams Essentials cost?
Teams Essentials is Teams sold on its own, without the Office apps, for a business that keeps its email and documents elsewhere. It is the cheapest paid way into Teams and the price per user per month is on Microsoft's Teams Essentials page, together with the meeting length, participant and storage limits it carries. Two licensing facts matter when you compare it with Business Basic. First, Microsoft's add-on licensing table lists "Teams Essentials with Microsoft Entra ID" as a qualifying base for Teams Phone, so an Essentials shop can add calling. Second, Essentials has no Exchange mailbox, so a company that also wants Microsoft email usually ends up on Business Basic, which includes Teams anyway. Price the two side by side before choosing.
Is there a free version of Microsoft Teams?
Yes. Microsoft offers a free version of Teams for personal and very small group use, with limits on group meeting length, participants and storage that Microsoft lists on that page. For a business the free version has three costs that do not show up as dollars: there is no company tenant, so nobody can remove a leaver or recover their chats; there is no admin center, retention or data loss prevention; and it is not a base for add-ons. Microsoft's licensing table names Teams Essentials with Entra ID and the Microsoft 365 Business, Enterprise and Frontline plans as the subscriptions that can take Teams Phone, and the free version is not on that list. It is fine for a trial. It is not a phone system or a records system.
How much do Teams Phone add-ons cost?
Teams Phone turns Teams into a business phone system, and it is always an add-on to one of the licenses above (Microsoft 365 E5 and Office 365 E5 are the exception: Microsoft's table lists them only under the "separate PSTN connectivity" option because the phone system is already in those suites). Microsoft describes each piece on the add-on licensing page (checked on November 7, 2026). The two prices a small office usually needs: Teams Phone Standard at $10.00 per user per month and Teams Phone with Calling Plan at $17.00 for a US user, both paid yearly (Microsoft list price, checked on the site in October 2026; confirm on Microsoft's Teams Phone page). Calling Plans and carrier options are priced on the same page or by the carrier.
| Add-on | What it does | What it does not include |
|---|---|---|
| Teams Phone Standard | The phone system itself: cloud voicemail, call forwarding and transfer, auto attendants, call queues, caller ID. Per user per month. | Any way to reach outside numbers. On its own it makes Teams-to-Teams calls only. |
| Microsoft Calling Plans | Microsoft as your carrier. Domestic, International and Pay-As-You-Go plans, added to Teams Phone Standard where Calling Plans are sold in your country. | Minutes beyond the plan, toll-free numbers and some international calls, which draw on Communication Credits. |
| Teams Phone with Calling Plan bundle | Teams Phone Standard and a Microsoft Calling Plan in one license: the usual choice for a small office that wants Microsoft to supply the numbers. | Desk phones, headsets, number porting work and configuration. |
| Operator Connect, Direct Routing, Teams Phone Mobile | Teams Phone Standard plus a carrier you choose. Operator Connect carriers plug into the Teams admin center; Direct Routing uses a certified Session Border Controller; Teams Phone Mobile uses a participating mobile carrier. | The carrier's own charges, which are billed by the carrier, not Microsoft. |
| Communication Credits | A prepaid pool of minutes for calls that fall outside a Calling Plan, including toll-free numbers for auto attendants and queues. | Nothing: it is purely usage. |
| Teams Phone Resource Account license | Required for every auto attendant and call queue. Microsoft Learn says there is no longer any cost for these licenses, though you still place a zero-dollar order. | A Calling Plan, which the resource account needs only if it must dial out. |
| Teams Shared Space (formerly Teams Shared Devices) | The license for common-area phones, bookable-desk docks and Teams panels, so a lobby phone does not consume a full user license. | The handset. |
A worked example of how those lines combine, with the carrier choices compared, is in our Teams Phone licensing FAQ. If you are weighing Teams against a standalone VoIP provider, our VoIP phone system FAQ for small business covers what to compare, and NetSys's Microsoft Teams Phone service handles licensing, carrier selection, call flows and number transfer.
What does Teams Premium cost, and who needs it?
Teams Premium is a per-user add-on that sits on top of a Teams license; Microsoft Learn's Teams Premium licensing page (checked on November 7, 2026) is explicit that it does not replace the Teams license, so a user needs both. It adds meeting protection (watermarks, end-to-end encryption for meetings, limits on who can record), branded meeting templates and backgrounds, live translated captions and recaps, advanced Bookings, and the Queues app for managing call queues inside Teams, which also needs a Teams Phone license. The same page notes that as of April 1, 2026 some features that used to need Teams Premium are included with Teams Enterprise. The price per user per month is on Microsoft's Teams Premium page.
Before buying, use the trials Microsoft Learn describes: an admin can take a zero-cost 30-day trial with 25 licenses from the Microsoft 365 admin center, and individual users can start a 60-day self-service trial. Most small businesses find that only the people who run client-facing meetings or the phone queue need it, and the license is assigned per user, so you do not have to buy it for everyone.
What do Teams Rooms licenses cost?
A conference room device signs in with its own resource account and needs a Teams Rooms license, not a user license. Microsoft Learn's Teams Rooms licensing page (checked on November 7, 2026) says per-user Microsoft 365 suite licenses are not authorized on shared meeting devices. There are two licenses:
- Teams Rooms Basic is provided at no additional cost for an organization that buys a certified Teams Rooms system, up to 25 Basic licenses per organization. It covers scheduling, one-touch join, content sharing, Whiteboard and basic management. You must still add the license in the admin center and provide payment details, though Microsoft says no charge is made. Prices checked on November 7, 2026: $0.
- Teams Rooms Pro is the paid per-room license. Microsoft Learn lists Teams Phone Standard, Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Entra ID P1 and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 inside it, along with remote management, front row, dual screens, intelligent audio and video and the ability to pair a Teams panel. Rooms beyond the 25th, and any Teams panel, need Pro. It lists at $40 per room per month, paid yearly (Microsoft list price, checked on the site in October 2026; confirm on Microsoft's Teams Rooms plan comparison).
The license is the small number in a room budget. The certified camera, speaker, console, compute module, display and installation cost more than years of Pro. Our guide to Teams Rooms Basic vs Pro for a small office explains when Pro earns its price.
What is not included in the Microsoft Teams price?
These are the lines that turn a tidy per-user figure into a real monthly bill, and they belong on any Teams cost comparison:
- Phone numbers and porting. A Calling Plan or a carrier supplies the numbers. Moving your existing numbers is a project with the losing carrier, and someone's time.
- Calling itself. Teams Phone Standard does not reach outside numbers. You add a Microsoft Calling Plan or pay a carrier through Operator Connect or Direct Routing, plus Communication Credits for toll-free and overage minutes.
- Taxes and regulatory fees. Calling services carry telecom taxes and 911 fees that are billed on top of the license; Microsoft's Teams Phone page describes how they appear on its plans.
- Devices. Headsets, certified desk phones, common-area handsets and every piece of room hardware are separate purchases, and common-area devices need their own Teams Shared Space license.
- Teams Premium and Teams Rooms Pro. Both are add-ons; neither is inside any Microsoft 365 Business plan.
- Setup, management and support. Tenant configuration, call flows, emergency calling addresses, retention and DLP policies, device enrollment, and the help desk that answers "my call dropped" are labor, whether in-house or from a provider such as NetSys's Microsoft 365 management service.
What does a 10, 25 and 50 person business actually pay?
Count the licenses, then multiply. The example below assumes every employee gets a Microsoft 365 Business plan with Teams and a direct phone number through the Teams Phone with Calling Plan bundle, one auto attendant and one call queue, and a Teams Rooms Basic license for each conference room. The totals use the Microsoft list prices checked on this site in October 2026 ($7.00, $14.00 and $22.00 for Business Basic, Standard and Premium; $17.00 for Teams Phone with Calling Plan; all per user per month, paid yearly), so confirm them on Microsoft's pages before you budget. Change the counts to match your business; the structure stays the same.
| License line | Price used (October 2026) | 10 people | 25 people | 50 people |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic with Teams, one per person | $7.00 | 10 = $70.00 | 25 = $175.00 | 50 = $350.00 |
| or Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Teams | $14.00 | 10 = $140.00 | 25 = $350.00 | 50 = $700.00 |
| or Microsoft 365 Business Premium with Teams | $22.00 | 10 = $220.00 | 25 = $550.00 | 50 = $1,100.00 |
| Teams Phone with Calling Plan, one per person with a direct number | $17.00 | 10 = $170.00 | 25 = $425.00 | 50 = $850.00 |
| Teams Phone Resource Account license (auto attendant, call queue) | $0 (Microsoft Learn, checked November 7, 2026) | 2 = $0 | 2 = $0 | 3 = $0 |
| Teams Rooms Basic, one per conference room (up to 25) | $0 (Microsoft Learn, checked November 7, 2026) | 1 = $0 | 2 = $0 | 3 = $0 |
| Monthly license total on Business Basic | $24.00 per person | $240.00 | $600.00 | $1,200.00 |
| Monthly license total on Business Standard | $31.00 per person | $310.00 | $775.00 | $1,550.00 |
| Monthly license total on Business Premium | $39.00 per person | $390.00 | $975.00 | $1,950.00 |
The totals use October-checked prices (Microsoft list prices recorded on this site in October 2026; confirm on Microsoft's Microsoft 365 for business comparison and its Teams Phone page). They leave out telecom taxes and 911 fees on the calling line, any Teams Shared Space license for a common-area phone (price on Microsoft's Teams Phone page), Teams Premium, Teams Rooms Pro at $40 per room if a room needs it, and every device, port fee and hour of setup.
Three things the table makes visible. The Microsoft 365 plan is usually the larger of the two per-person lines, so the choice between Basic, Standard and Premium moves the total more than the phone decision does: a 25-person office pays $375.00 a month more on Premium than on Basic for the same phones. The free lines are real: a small office with two meeting rooms and an auto attendant pays nothing extra for the room licenses and the resource accounts, as long as it buys certified room hardware. And a 10-person business on Business Standard with everyone on a direct number lands at $310.00 a month in Microsoft licenses before taxes, fees, devices and setup.
Is Teams cheaper than Slack for a business on Microsoft 365?
Usually, because the Teams license is already inside the Microsoft 365 plan the company pays for, while Slack is a second per-user subscription with its own identity, admin console and compliance stack. Slack still earns its place for Slack-native companies, firms whose clients expect Slack Connect, and teams that do not run Microsoft 365. Our Teams vs Slack for business comparison goes through licensing, external collaboration, calling and retention side by side.
How NetSys helps with Teams licensing and cost
NetSys sorts out which users need which licenses, which calling model fits your carrier contracts, and what the rooms and common-area phones should carry, then runs the Teams Phone rollout: licensing, carrier selection, call flows, emergency calling and number transfer. After launch, the tenant and the phone system are supported under a month-to-month agreement, with a help desk staffed seven days a week from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern and monitoring and emergency service 24/7. On-site work covers New York City, Long Island, Westchester, the Hudson Valley, North Jersey and Fairfield County, CT; elsewhere the work is remote. Book a call with an engineer and bring your current Microsoft 365 invoice and phone bill.
Frequently asked questions
Is Microsoft Teams free?
A free version exists, with the meeting length, participant and storage limits Microsoft lists on its free Teams page. It has no company tenant, no admin controls and cannot take Teams Phone or other add-ons, so for a business it is a trial, not a platform. Paid Teams comes inside Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard and Premium or as Teams Essentials.
Is Teams included in Microsoft 365 Business Standard?
Yes, in the version of Business Standard that includes Teams. Microsoft sells Business Basic, Standard and Premium both with and without Teams, so check the plan name on the invoice. The "with Teams" version includes chat, meetings, channels and file sharing; calling is still a Teams Phone add-on.
Why do the Enterprise plans say "no Teams"?
Because since April 1, 2024 Microsoft requires new Enterprise customers to buy the Microsoft 365 or Office 365 suite without Teams and add Teams Enterprise as a separate license, according to Microsoft Learn. Organizations that already held a suite with Teams before that date can keep renewing it. Business plans for up to 300 users were not changed and remain available with Teams.
How much does Teams Phone cost per user?
It is two lines: Teams Phone Standard, the phone system, and a way to reach outside numbers, either a Microsoft Calling Plan (sold bundled as Teams Phone with Calling Plan) or a carrier through Operator Connect or Direct Routing. Teams Phone Standard lists at $10.00 and Teams Phone with Calling Plan at $17.00 per user per month for a US user, paid yearly (Microsoft list price, checked on the site in October 2026; confirm on Microsoft's Teams Phone page). Taxes, 911 fees, devices and setup are extra.
Do I need Teams Premium?
Only for users who need what it adds: meeting watermarks and end-to-end encryption, branded meeting templates, live translated captions and recaps, advanced Bookings, or the Queues app for a phone queue. It is assigned per user on top of a Teams license, so buy it for the organizers and queue managers who use those features and run the 30-day admin trial first.
Is Teams Rooms Basic really free?
Yes. Microsoft Learn says Teams Rooms Basic is provided at no additional cost for organizations that buy a certified Teams Rooms system, up to 25 licenses per organization, and that you must still add the license and provide payment details even though nothing is charged. Rooms beyond 25, Teams panels and remote management need the paid Teams Rooms Pro license.
What does the Microsoft Teams price not include?
Phone numbers and porting, calling minutes beyond your plan, telecom taxes and 911 fees, headsets and desk phones, room hardware, common-area device licenses, Teams Premium, Teams Rooms Pro, and the labor to configure and support all of it. Count those lines before comparing Teams with another phone or chat product.
Can a 10-person business run Teams Phone without a full IT department?
Yes. A 10-person office typically needs ten Microsoft 365 licenses, ten Teams Phone with Calling Plan licenses, no-cost resource account licenses for an auto attendant and a call queue, and a no-cost Teams Rooms Basic license for its meeting room: $240.00 a month on Business Basic or $310.00 on Business Standard at the October 2026 list prices, before taxes, fees and devices. The setup work is the part most small businesses hand to a provider: emergency calling addresses, call flows and the number port have to be right the first time.
Sources
Checked on November 7, 2026.
- Microsoft Teams add-on licenses, Microsoft Learn: Business suites with and without Teams, the April 1, 2024 Enterprise change, Teams Phone, Calling Plans, Communication Credits, Teams Premium, Teams Rooms and Teams Shared Space.
- Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account licenses, Microsoft Learn: no cost, required for every auto attendant and call queue.
- Microsoft Teams Rooms licenses, Microsoft Learn: Basic at no additional cost for up to 25 rooms, Pro inclusions, shared-device rule.
- Microsoft Teams Premium licensing, Microsoft Learn: requirements, the April 1, 2026 change, 30-day and 60-day trials.
- Microsoft pricing pages, linked where each price is mentioned: Compare Microsoft Teams business options, Teams Phone, Teams Premium and Teams Rooms plans. These pages did not load from our network on November 7, 2026. The figures quoted above ($7.00, $14.00 and $22.00 for the Business plans; $10.00 and $17.00 for Teams Phone Standard and Teams Phone with Calling Plan; $40 for Teams Rooms Pro) are the Microsoft list prices recorded on this site in October 2026 in our Business Basic vs Standard comparison, Teams Phone licensing FAQ and Teams Rooms Basic vs Pro guide.
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