Does Microsoft Teams or Zoom have a free plan?

Both do. Microsoft Teams and Zoom each offer a free tier, so you can try either without paying.

Which is easier to use, Microsoft Teams or Zoom?

In VERILO's editorial assessment Zoom is the easier of the two, scoring 5 out of 5 against 3 for Microsoft Teams. That is a judgement about how quickly a new team gets productive, not a measured benchmark.

Microsoft Teams vs Zoom

A side-by-side look at Microsoft Teams and Zoom: what each costs to start, whether there is a free plan, how easy they are to pick up, and which features and integrations they cover.

Which should you choose?

Choose Microsoft Teams if

Organisations already paying for Microsoft 365
Teams that want chat, meetings and files under one licence and one administrator
Companies that need guest and external-user collaboration inside the same tool

Visit Microsoft Teams

Choose Zoom if

Teams that host external meetings, sales calls or classes with guests
Organizations that need webinars and large events on the same platform
Companies wanting AI meeting summaries without a third-party notetaker

Visit Zoom

Cheapest to start

Not confirmed

Free plan

Microsoft Teams, Zoom

Highest editor rating

Zoom · 4.4

Comparison of Microsoft Teams and Zoom
Compare	Microsoft Teams Visit site	Zoom Visit site
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial	No	No
Starting price	From $4/mo	From $15.99/mo
Editor rating	4.1	4.4
Ease of use	Moderate (3/5)	Very easy (5/5)
Category	Communication	Communication
Pricing model	Microsoft Teams Free is available at no cost. Teams Essentials, the standalone small-business plan, is listed at $4.00 per user per month paid yearly, and Microsoft 365 plans that include Teams start around $7.00 per user per month paid yearly for Business Basic. Microsoft sells its Business and Enterprise suites in separate versions with and without Teams. List prices for annual billing; they vary by region and billing term.	Free Basic plan with a 40-minute cap on group meetings; Pro is $15.99 per user per month ($13.33 billed annually), Business $21.99 ($18.33 annually); Business Plus costs more and Enterprise is custom.
Plans	Microsoft Teams Free — Free Microsoft Teams Essentials — $4/user/mo Microsoft 365 Business Basic (with Teams) — $7/user/mo Microsoft Teams Enterprise (standalone) — Custom	Basic — Free Pro — $15.99/user/mo Business — $21.99/user/mo Enterprise — Custom
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, API	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Browser extension, API
Integrations	Microsoft 365, Outlook	Calendly, Google Workspace, HubSpot, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Salesforce, Slack, Zapier
Best for	Organisations already paying for Microsoft 365 Teams that want chat, meetings and files under one licence and one administrator Companies that need guest and external-user collaboration inside the same tool	Teams that host external meetings, sales calls or classes with guests Organizations that need webinars and large events on the same platform Companies wanting AI meeting summaries without a third-party notetaker
Pros	Deeply integrated with Microsoft 365: a new team also creates a SharePoint site, an Exchange mailbox and a OneNote notebook Chat, meetings, webinars, town halls and VoIP calling in one product Standard, private and shared channels, so external collaboration does not need a separate tool Guests and external users can join meetings without their own licence Third-party app platform and a documented development platform	Reliable audio and video quality, including on weak connections Clients for every major platform plus browser joining for guests AI Companion meeting summaries and recordings included on paid plans Team Chat, Whiteboard and Notes bundled with meetings First-party calendar add-ins and Slack, Teams and CRM integrations
Cons	Most of its value depends on already paying for Microsoft 365 Since April 2024 Microsoft sells suites with and without Teams, so the plan you expect may not include it Telephony requires a separate Teams Phone add-on and a PSTN connection Heavier and slower to learn than a chat-only tool	Free plan ends group meetings after 40 minutes Webinars, large meetings, Phone and Rooms are paid add-ons or separate products Admin settings are extensive and can be hard to navigate Bundled chat and whiteboard are lighter than dedicated tools
AI assistant	No	Yes
API access	Yes	Yes
Channels & threads	Yes	Yes
Desktop app	Yes	Yes
Guest & client access	Yes	No
Meeting recording & transcripts	Yes	Yes
Mobile app	Yes	Yes
Real-time collaboration	Yes	No
Roles & permissions	Yes	No
Screen sharing	Yes	Yes
SSO / SAML	Yes	Yes
Two-factor authentication	No	Yes
Video calls	Yes	Yes
Webhooks	No	Yes
Webinars	Yes	Yes

Common questions

Does Microsoft Teams or Zoom have a free plan?: Both do. Microsoft Teams and Zoom each offer a free tier, so you can try either without paying.
Which is easier to use, Microsoft Teams or Zoom?: In VERILO's editorial assessment Zoom is the easier of the two, scoring 5 out of 5 against 3 for Microsoft Teams. That is a judgement about how quickly a new team gets productive, not a measured benchmark.

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