Microsoft Teams is a cloud-based collaboration software that allows its users to message, call, share documents, and conduct video meetings all in one place. Many businesses worldwide consider Microsoft Teams the best collaboration platform for on-site, hybrid, and remote work environments.
As of 2021, Teams has garnered over 200 million users. Businesses especially liked the features that made remote work during the Covid-19 pandemic much more efficient such as video conferencing and team collaboration right from the app itself.
Microsoft Teams has a lot to offer in making your work easier. But it doesn’t come free unless you’re willing to give up some great features.
If you’re reading this article, you must be looking into implementing Microsoft Teams throughout your organisation. But you’re mostly worried about the cost and what features you can get that will fit into your budget. But don't worry, your friendly neighbourhood business IT support provider will guide you to the right Teams plan for you.
To start, it’s essential to realise that every company’s needs are unique. Before you delve deep into the best Microsoft Teams pricing, it’s best to outline why your company needs Teams and which features you'll be using for the long haul. And once you’re ready, feel free to look into the five Microsoft Teams pricing plans with their features to see which pricing option is the right choice for your company that can lead you to success.
Free
Overview
The free Microsoft Teams plan only has the most basic functionalities like chat, calls, and file sharing. This plan is perfect for businesses that only want to communicate and collaborate with team members without the added extra features.
Small businesses usually go for the free version of Microsoft Teams. Although the free version is already great enough as it is, take note that it also has its limitations, such as the number of users you can have at a meeting and how long you can conduct group meetings.
As your business grows, you will eventually need more out of the free version of Teams. Paid plans offer more extensive features that you will most likely use as you grow.
Price
Free (No commitment)
Features
- Conduct group meetings for up to 60 minutes
- Maximum 100 users per online meeting
- File/screen sharing
- Real-time collaboration in Office
- Web access to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
- Microsoft Teams data encryption
- Up to 5GB of file storage per user
- Up to 2GB file attachments in chat per user
Office apps and services
- Microsoft Teams
Essentials
Overview
Microsoft Teams Essentials is a new subscription plan specifically for small businesses that want more than the basic functionalities.
Essentials offer longer meeting durations, higher cloud storage, and customer support. The downside is it doesn’t include meeting recordings and transcripts, webinar hosting functions, desktop access to Microsoft 365, and access to Teams integrated apps and services.
The Microsoft Teams Essentials plan focuses only on the meeting and collaboration functionalities that make remote work more efficient. It is a great alternative for businesses that rely on cloud-based video conferencing platforms like Zoom for private and group meetings.
Price
AU $5.50 per user/month (annual subscription)
Features
- Conduct group meetings for up to 30 hours
- Maximum 300 users per online meeting
- File/screen sharing
- Real-time collaboration in Office
- Web access to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
- Microsoft Teams data encryption
- Up to 10GB of file storage per user
- Up to 2GB file attachments in chat per user
- 24/7 phone and web support
Office apps and services included
- Microsoft Teams
Business Basic
Overview
In the Microsoft Teams Business Basic plan, you get all the benefits included in Essentials with access to more collaborative features, productivity apps, and higher storage capacity.
The Microsoft Teams Business Basic plan can cater to up to 300 participants per meeting, record, transcribe, and schedule meetings right from the app, with higher file storage capacity per user. You’ll also have web and mobile app access to Microsoft 365 Apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint.
The Business Basic plan is ideal for companies that require higher collaboration and security functions, especially if they switched most (if not all) of their business operations online. This pricing plan is best for companies that require features that will let users access business resources all in one place.
Price
AU $8.20 per user/month (annual subscription)
Features
- Conduct group meetings for up to 30 hours
- Maximum 300 users per online meeting
- Record meetings
- Schedule meetings
- Create breakout rooms
- Up to 1TB of file storage per user
- Access 200+ apps and services for Teams
- Access to Microsoft 365 apps
- Enable multi-factor authentication
- Microsoft Teams uptime guarantee
- 24/7 phone and web support
- Custom business email address
Office apps and services included
- Microsoft Teams
- Exchange
- OneDrive
- SharePoint
- Outlook
- Work
- Excel
- PowerPoint
Business Standard
Overview
The Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan is the best option for companies working at a much larger capacity. Although the first three Microsoft Teams pricing has merits, they don’t have certain features like webinar hosting, higher file storage, and desktop access to Microsoft 365 apps.
Although the Business Standard plan is more expensive than the first three, large remote teams will benefit greatly from this because they’ll have full access to Microsoft’s amazing productivity apps.
Price
AU $17.20 per user/month (annual subscription)
Features
- Conduct group meetings for up to 30 hours
- Maximum 300 users per online meeting
- Host and record webinars w/ reporting tools
- Record meetings
- Schedule meetings
- Create breakout rooms
- Up to 1TB of file storage per user
- Access 200+ apps and services for Teams
- Access to Microsoft 365 desktop apps
- Enable multi-factor authentication
- Microsoft Teams uptime guarantee
- 24/7 phone and web support
- Custom business email address
- Organise appointments with Microsoft Bookings
Office apps and services included
- Microsoft Teams
- Exchange
- OneDrive
- SharePoint
- Outlook
- Work
- Excel
- PowerPoint
- Publisher (PC Only)
- Access (PC Only)
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Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Overview
Business Premium is the most powerful (and expensive) Microsoft Teams pricing plan. At AU $30.20 per user per month, you get a variety of powerful features on top of what Business Standard offers. This package is perfect for companies that take data security to the next level.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium offers great threat protection features not found in other plans, such as Microsoft Defender, Azure Information Protection, Azure AD Premium P1, and Azure Virtual Desktop. Business Premium also offers PC and mobile device management that gives system administrators control over devices for security reasons.
Price
AU $30.20 per user/month (annual subscription)
Features
- All features available in Business Standard
- Data access control
- Remote & endpoint security
- Threat detection
- Protection from cyber threats
- Advanced multi-factor authentication
- Advanced data encryption
- Desktop app access to Microsoft 365
Office apps and services included
- Microsoft Teams
- Outlook
- OneDrive
- Word
- Excel
- PowerPoint
- SharePoint
- Exchange
- Publisher (PC only)
- Access (PC Only)
- Intune
- Microsoft Defender
- Azure Information Protection
- Azure AD Premium P1
- Azure Virtual Desktop
Which Microsoft Teams pricing plan is the best one for your business?
We’ve seen too many companies either get overboard with their Microsoft Teams plan or settle with cheaper options even if it doesn’t do enough for their needs.
This is where outlining your company's needs come into the picture.
Companies can evaluate which features they need, assess which functionalities to remove, and how many users will need Teams. Use this information to determine which Microsoft Teams pricing plans best fit your needs.
Now that you have a general idea of how much Microsoft Teams costs and the features they incorporate, you can decide which pricing plan is the best fit for your company.
Still unsure which Microsoft Teams pricing plan to get? Office Solutions IT is here to the rescue!
Drop us a line, and we’ll be happy to talk to you about the different Microsoft Teams packages and help you set up the best option plans for your business.
