# Microsoft Teams

> Chat, calls and video meetings; sold standalone for businesses as Teams Essentials, and included in Microsoft 365 business plans.

Microsoft Teams combines chat, calls, video conferencing and real-time collaboration with file sharing. Teams Essentials is the standalone business plan; Teams is also included in Microsoft 365 business plans (see the Microsoft 365 entries).

- Vendor: Microsoft
- Website: https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-teams
- Category: productivity_suite
- Free plan: no
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-16
- Canonical: https://onelesstool.com/tools/microsoft-teams
- JSON: https://onelesstool.com/api/v1/tools/microsoft-teams

## Plans

| Plan | USD | Unit | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams Essentials | $4 (annual billing) | seat/month | verified 2026-10-15 | https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/compare-microsoft-teams-business-options |

## Capabilities

| Capability | Fit | Plans | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hold video meetings (`video-conferencing`) | native | all | Teams Essentials includes 10 GB of cloud storage per user |

## Why people pay for it

- Meeting recordings with transcripts and live captions
- Chat, calls and file sharing for the team

## Reasons to keep paying

- Meeting links, chats and recordings tied to the Microsoft tenant

## Risks

- **vendor_lock_in** (low): Meetings and chats are tied to the Microsoft account/tenant.

Data portability: moderate — Chats, files and recordings are stored in the organization's Microsoft account; moving to another tool means exporting them and re-sharing meeting links.

## Sources

- Microsoft Teams business plans (US): https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/compare-microsoft-teams-business-options (accessed 2026-10-15)