Zoom Phone vs Teams Phone in 2026: pricing per user, the second Microsoft license every Teams Phone tier requires, and which one can text a customer
Zoom Phone US and Canada Unlimited is $16 per user per month billed annually and Microsoft Teams Phone Standard is $10 billed yearly, so Teams Phone looks cheaper by $6. Two things from Microsoft's own plan cards change that. Every Teams Phone tier prints "A separate license for Microsoft Teams is required", and the cheapest of those is Teams Essentials at $4. Teams Phone Standard at $10 also includes no phone number and no calling minutes, so it cannot place a call on the public network without a calling plan on top. The cheapest Teams stack that can actually dial out is Teams Essentials at $4 plus Teams Phone with Calling Plan at $17, which is $21 per user per month, against $16 at Zoom. Zoom's $16 tier is Zoom Phone added to Workplace Basic, which is Zoom's free tier, so there is no second paid license underneath it. The gap widens if you text customers: Zoom carries domestic SMS and MMS on all four of its plans, while Teams Phone supports SMS only with a Microsoft Calling Plan license, supports no MMS at all, and cannot text from a toll-free number. Teams wins on a published 99.999 percent uptime commitment and on quoting prices that already include communication taxes and fees. Phoner sits alongside both at $15 to $29 per user billed yearly ($19 to $35 month to month), with no seat minimum and no second license.
The full ranked field is in the guide to the best VoIP for small business, entry pricing for every provider sits yearly against monthly in the business phone system comparison, and Phoner's plans are listed in plain dollars on the pricing page.
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Where Zoom Phone or Microsoft Teams Phone is genuinely strong
Both of these are serious products and the choice usually comes down to which suite you already pay for. Microsoft Teams Phone is built for an organization that has already standardized on Microsoft 365, and the argument for it is real: calls, chat, meetings and files live in one application your staff already has open, administration happens in the Teams admin center alongside everything else, and Microsoft publishes a 99.999 percent uptime commitment. It is also unusually honest about the invoice, printing that the $13, $17 and $34 rates already include communication taxes and fees, which is not something most of this category does. Zoom Phone is a standalone cloud phone system that does not require another paid subscription underneath it. Its entry rate is Zoom Phone added to Workplace Basic, Zoom's free tier, so one line item buys a working business line. It carries domestic SMS and MMS in the United States and Canada on every plan, includes 50 pages of domestic online fax on the lower tiers and unlimited on Business Plus, and it publishes both a metered plan at $10.50 and an unlimited one at $16 so you can match the plan to how much your team actually talks.
Where Phoner fits
Phoner is worth pricing here if what pushes you off Teams Phone is discovering it needs a second Microsoft license and a calling plan before it can dial a number, and what pushes you off Zoom is that you do not want a phone system welded to a meetings platform you may not use. Phoner Team at $29 per user includes a visual IVR phone menu you can inspect before you pay, ring groups written as readable rules, business texting with no monthly message cap on the plan, voicemail to text, call recording with consent announcements, and toll-free and vanity numbers at a flat $5 each. Every tier is month to month with no seat minimum, and there is no second license underneath it.
In practice the deciding features are usually the business texting and IVR phone menus.
Zoom Phone vs Teams Phone pricing per user, and the license each price assumes
Read the third column, because it is the one that decides this comparison and almost no published table prints it. Zoom Phone rates are billed annually and Zoom does not publish monthly rates, so we do not state any. Microsoft bills all four Teams Phone tiers yearly on an auto-renewing annual subscription. Both vendors' figures were read from their own pricing pages on September 8, 2026.
| Plan | Published rate | Second license required | What the price includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoom Phone US and CA Metered | $10.50 per user | None, added to Workplace Basic | A number, domestic SMS and MMS, 50 fax pages, metered domestic calling billed per minute |
| Zoom Phone US and CA Unlimited | $16 per user | None, added to Workplace Basic | Unlimited domestic calling, domestic SMS and MMS, 50 fax pages, 40 minute meetings |
| Zoom Phone Pro Plus | $20.50 per user | None, bundled with Workplace Pro | Adds 30 hour meetings, 100 participants, 10 GB cloud recording, unlimited AI note taking |
| Zoom Phone Business Plus | $24.50 per user | None, bundled with Workplace Business | Adds 300 participants, 15 GB cloud recording, unlimited online fax, up to 250 licenses |
| Teams Phone Standard | $10 per user | Yes, from $4 | The calling software only. No phone number and no minutes, so it cannot place a call on the public network |
| Teams Phone with pay as you go calling | $13 per user | Yes, from $4 | Adds a number and pay as you go outbound calling billed per minute. Taxes and fees included |
| Teams Phone with Calling Plan | $17 per user | Yes, from $4 | Adds 3,000 outbound domestic minutes for the US and Canada and SMS eligibility. Taxes and fees included |
| Teams Phone domestic and international | $34 per user | Yes, from $4 | Adds 1,200 international minutes. Taxes and fees included |
| Phoner Starter | $15 per user | None | A business number, voicemail to text, the apps |
| Phoner Team | $29 per user | None | Adds the visual IVR menu, ring groups, business texting, recording |
Swipe sideways for the full table
Read from each vendor's own pricing page on September 8, 2026 and subject to change · Microsoft prints "a separate license for Microsoft Teams is required" on all four Teams Phone plan cards · The cheapest qualifying Microsoft licenses are teams essentials at $4 and Microsoft 365 business basic at $7 · Zoom publishes no monthly rates for Zoom Phone so we state none · Zoom caps license count at 99 on the first three plans and 250 on business plus · We found no published toll-free allowance on either vendor's page so we leave that row out rather than guess · Verify before buying
What you actually pay for one line that can dial out and text a customer
A phone system is only worth its price if it can place a call on the public network and reach a customer, so this table prices that outcome rather than the headline license. The Teams Phone rows add the cheapest Microsoft license that satisfies the requirement printed on Microsoft's own plan cards. The texting column matters more than it looks: Microsoft supports SMS only on numbers carrying a Microsoft Calling Plan, so the $10 and the third-party-carrier routes cannot text at all.
| What you are buying | Zoom Phone | Microsoft Teams Phone | Difference per user |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan that can dial out | $10.50 metered, no second license | $4 Teams Essentials plus $13 pay as you go, so $17 | $6.50 in Zoom's favor |
| Cheapest plan with unlimited or bundled domestic minutes | $16, unlimited | $4 plus $17, so $21 for 3,000 pooled minutes | $5 in Zoom's favor |
| Second paid subscription required underneath | No, the entry tier sits on free Workplace Basic | Yes, on every one of the four tiers | Zoom needs one line item, Microsoft needs two |
| Send and receive SMS | All four plans, US and Canada | Only with a Microsoft Calling Plan license assigned | Zoom on every plan, Microsoft on two of four |
| Send or receive MMS and picture messages | All four plans, US and Canada | Not supported at all | Zoom only |
| Text from a toll-free number | Not published either way | Not supported, 10 digit long codes only | Neither is a safe assumption, Microsoft rules it out |
| Included SMS messages before overage | Not published as an allowance, see Zoom rates | 0 on pay as you go, 100 on Domestic 120, 200 on Domestic | Microsoft publishes the allowance, Zoom publishes rates |
| Registration required before texting works | Yes, additional registration needed | Yes, brand and campaign approval with The Campaign Registry | Both, this is a US carrier rule not a vendor choice |
| Published uptime commitment | Not stated on the pricing page | 99.999 percent | Microsoft |
| Taxes and fees in the quoted price | Not stated | Included on the $13, $17 and $34 tiers | Microsoft |
Swipe sideways for the full table
Teams Phone license requirement and prices read from Microsoft's own plan cards on September 8, 2026 · SMS licensing, allowances and limitations read from Microsoft learn, planning for SMS in Microsoft Teams, document dated May 29, 2026 · Zoom feature placement read from its own compare all features matrix on September 8, 2026 · Where a vendor publishes nothing either way we say so rather than guess
What actually separates Zoom Phone and Teams Phone once you have both rate cards open
The $10 plan is not a phone line, and Microsoft says so on the card
Teams Phone Standard at $10 per user is the cheapest number on either vendor's page, and it is the reason most comparisons call Microsoft the budget option. Read what it includes. It is the calling software native to Teams, and it ships with no phone number and no calling minutes. Public network calling has to come from somewhere else: a Microsoft Calling Plan, Operator Connect, or Direct Routing through a carrier you contract separately. So the $10 tier cannot ring an outside number on its own at any price. That is not a gotcha we dug out of a footnote, it is the structure of the product, but it does mean the headline figure people compare against Zoom's $16 is not a comparable thing. Once you add the cheapest Microsoft calling plan that includes a number, $13 for pay as you go, and the Teams license the card requires, the smallest working Microsoft configuration is $17 per user per month.
Every Teams Phone tier requires a second Microsoft license, and it is printed four times
Microsoft prints the same line under all four Teams Phone plan cards: a separate license for Microsoft Teams is required. This is the same shape as Google Voice requiring a Google Workspace plan billed separately, and it has the same effect on the invoice. The cheapest license that satisfies it is Microsoft Teams Essentials at $4 per user per month. Microsoft 365 Business Basic is $7 and Business Standard with Copilot is $23.50, both read on September 8, 2026. If your company already pays for one of those, the second license is not an incremental cost and the honest comparison is Microsoft's $17 against Zoom's $16, which is close to a tie. If it does not, you are adding $4 per user per month to every Teams Phone figure you have seen quoted, and the cheapest working line becomes $21 against $16.
Zoom's entry price genuinely has nothing underneath it
It would be easy to assume Zoom plays the same game, because Zoom does sell Phone as an addition to its Workplace tiers. Check which tier the $16 plan attaches to and the answer is Workplace Basic, which is Zoom's free plan. So the $16 buys a working business line as a single line item, with unlimited domestic calling, a number, SMS and MMS, and 50 pages of fax. The two higher plans, Pro Plus at $20.50 and Business Plus at $24.50, are Zoom Phone bundled with paid Workplace tiers, and there the meetings product is what you are paying the difference for: 30 hour meetings instead of 40 minute ones, 100 or 300 participants, cloud recording, unlimited AI note taking. If you do not need Zoom for meetings, the $16 plan is the whole product and the higher tiers are not a phone upgrade.
Texting is where the two products stop being comparable
This is the sharpest practical difference and it runs strongly in Zoom's favor. Zoom lists domestic SMS and domestic MMS as available in the United States and Canada on all four Zoom Phone plans, including the $10.50 metered one. Microsoft's own documentation is more restrictive in three separate ways. First, licensing: SMS requires Teams, Teams Phone and a Microsoft Teams Calling Plan, all three, so a business using Operator Connect or Direct Routing with a third-party carrier cannot text from Teams at all. Second, MMS is not supported, along with attachments, emojis, stickers and GIFs, and SMS works only in one-to-one chat rather than group conversations. Third, Teams Calling Plans do not support toll-free numbers, short codes or alphanumeric sender IDs for messaging, so the number that appears on your marketing cannot be the number a customer texts. If any real part of how you deal with customers happens over text or picture message, this is the whole decision.
Microsoft publishes the SMS allowance, Zoom publishes the rate card
Where Microsoft is better than Zoom is disclosure of what messaging costs. Its documentation states included message thresholds per calling plan: zero on pay as you go, 100 on Domestic 120, and 200 on both the Domestic and Domestic plus International plans. Those allowances count inbound plus outbound together and are pooled at the tenant level across users on identical calling plans, so a hundred people on Domestic share 20,000 messages rather than each being capped. Overage in the United States and Puerto Rico is $0.0075 per message segment in each direction, plus a carrier surcharge. A segment is 160 standard characters, so a 240 character message bills as two. Zoom points to a rates page rather than publishing an included allowance on the pricing page, so budget from actual volume at either vendor rather than from the plan card.
Both make you register before a single text sends, because the carriers require it
Zoom marks SMS and MMS with "additional registration needed" and Microsoft devotes most of its SMS documentation to the same requirement, so it is worth being clear that neither vendor invented this and switching will not avoid it. United States carriers route business messaging over the 10DLC network, and access is gated by The Campaign Registry, which approves a Brand, meaning your company identity including business ID, legal address and website, and separately a Campaign, meaning your use case, opt in and opt out wording, an SMS privacy statement and terms. Microsoft states plainly that this applies to businesses sending individual messages even when it is not marketing, and that no number can be enabled for SMS until both are approved. Microsoft also notes approval times are running longer than usual. Budget calendar time for this at any provider including us, and note that one brand and one campaign per tenant covers 49 numbers by default at Microsoft.
If you already pay Microsoft, the honest answer changes
We should be direct about the case where Teams Phone wins, because for a lot of American businesses it is the likely one. If every employee already has Microsoft 365 Business Basic or better, the Teams license requirement costs nothing extra, and adding Teams Phone with Calling Plan is a $17 line item on a bill you already receive, from a vendor you already have a contract with, inside an application your staff already keeps open. That is $1 more than Zoom, and it avoids introducing a second application, a second admin console, a second support relationship and a second procurement cycle. Microsoft also publishes a 99.999 percent uptime commitment and states that its $13, $17 and $34 rates already include communication taxes and fees, which removes a genuine source of invoice surprise. The case for Zoom is strongest when you are not already an M365 shop, when you text customers, or when your call volume is low enough that metered beats unlimited.
Neither published rate is the whole invoice, though Microsoft comes closest
Most providers in this category add regulatory and E911 line items on top of the plan rate, and we do too. The largest is the federal universal service pass-through, currently at a record level: the FCC set the fourth quarter 2026 contribution factor at 42.0 percent in Public Notice DA 26-946, released September 14, 2026. That percentage applies only to the interstate and international portion of your service rather than the whole bill, which is the detail most articles about phone fees get wrong, and interconnected VoIP providers may use the FCC 64.9 percent interim safe harbor, so a realistic pass-through lands near 27 percent of the service charge. Microsoft is the exception worth noting here, because it states that communication taxes and fees are already inside the $13, $17 and $34 prices. E911 fees are statutory and typically run about $0.20 to $3.00 per line per month. Ask for a quote with fees included before you compare anything.
Who should pick which
Pick Zoom Phone or Microsoft Teams Phone if
Pick Teams Phone if your company already pays for Microsoft 365 and every employee lives in Teams all day, because the marginal cost of adding calling to a license you already buy is $17 rather than $21 and you avoid running a second application. Pick Zoom Phone if you want a phone system that stands on its own without a second paid subscription, if you text or send picture messages to customers, or if your call volume is low enough that the $10.50 metered plan beats paying for unlimited minutes you will not use.
Their list price: Zoom Phone $10.50-24.50/user, billed annually · Teams Phone $10-34/user plus a Teams license
Pick Phoner if
Pick Phoner if you want a working business line without a second license underneath it and without a meetings platform attached: Team at $29 per user with a visual IVR builder, ring groups, business texting, recording with consent announcements, and toll-free numbers at $5, month to month with no seat minimum.
Phoner: $15-29/user/mo yearly, $19-35 monthly
Leaving Zoom Phone or Microsoft Teams Phone does not mean a new number
Your number is yours and moves with you. Phoner's free number porting takes about 1-2 weeks, and the line keeps ringing on Zoom Phone or Microsoft Teams Phone until the moment it switches over. Set up your phone menu and ring groups in Phoner while you wait, then the cutover is invisible to callers.
Port order · Zoom Phone or Microsoft Teams Phone → Phoner
Sign up for Phoner and submit the port with a recent Zoom Phone or Microsoft Teams Phone bill.
Keep answering on Zoom Phone or Microsoft Teams Phone. The number never goes dark.
In 1-2 weeks calls ring your Phoner apps. Cancel the old account.
Porting fee: $0 · Downtime: None
Compare Zoom Phone or Microsoft Teams Phone against a specific competitor
This page weighs Zoom Phone or Microsoft Teams Phone against Phoner. If you are choosing between two other vendors instead, these pages put both of their rate cards in one table.
Zoom Phone alternatives
What all four Zoom Phone plans cost, why Zoom publishes no monthly rates, and the vendors worth pricing against it.
Google Voice vs RingCentral
The other comparison where a suite license billed separately underneath changes which of the two is actually cheaper.
Ooma vs Nextiva
A price-led suite against a plain phone company, and the nine features Nextiva marks as paid add-ons on its $15 entry plan.
RingCentral vs Dialpad
Two per-seat platforms at $20 and $15, where the seat minimum and the recording tier decide more than the headline rate.
Common questions about switching
Is Zoom Phone cheaper than Teams Phone?
For a business not already paying Microsoft, yes. Zoom Phone US and Canada Unlimited is $16 per user with no second license, against $21 for the cheapest Teams stack that can dial out, which is Teams Essentials at $4 plus Teams Phone with Calling Plan at $17. If you already pay for Microsoft 365, the Teams license costs nothing extra and the comparison becomes $17 against $16.
Does Teams Phone require a separate Microsoft Teams license?
Yes. Microsoft prints "A separate license for Microsoft Teams is required" on all four Teams Phone plan cards, read on September 8, 2026. The cheapest license that satisfies it is Microsoft Teams Essentials at $4 per user per month. Microsoft 365 Business Basic is $7 and Business Standard with Copilot is $23.50. If your company already buys one of these, there is no incremental cost.
How much does Microsoft Teams Phone cost per user?
Microsoft publishes Teams Phone Standard at $10 per user per month, with pay as you go calling at $13, with a Calling Plan at $17, and with domestic and international calling at $34, all paid yearly on an auto renewing annual subscription. Each of those requires a separate Teams license underneath, from $4. Microsoft states the $13, $17 and $34 rates already include communication taxes and fees.
How much does Zoom Phone cost per user?
Zoom publishes US and Canada Metered at $10.50 per user per month, US and Canada Unlimited at $16, Pro Plus at $20.50 and Business Plus at $24.50, all billed annually and read on September 8, 2026. Zoom does not publish monthly rates for Zoom Phone, so treat annual billing as the assumption. License count is capped at 99 on the first three plans and 250 on Business Plus.
Can Teams Phone send text messages?
Only with a Microsoft Calling Plan. Microsoft requires three licenses for SMS, Teams plus Teams Phone plus a Microsoft Teams Calling Plan, so a business using Operator Connect or Direct Routing with an outside carrier cannot text from Teams. MMS, attachments, emojis and GIFs are not supported, messaging works only in one to one chat, and toll-free numbers and short codes cannot be used. Zoom Phone carries SMS and MMS on all four plans.
Why can the $10 Teams Phone plan not make calls?
Teams Phone Standard at $10 is the calling software rather than a phone service. It includes no phone number and no calling minutes, so public network calling has to be added through a Microsoft Calling Plan, Operator Connect, or Direct Routing with a carrier you contract separately. The cheapest Microsoft route that includes a number is Teams Phone with pay as you go calling at $13, which bills outbound calls per minute.
Which is better for a small business, Zoom Phone or Teams Phone?
Under about twenty five people who are not already standardized on Microsoft 365, Zoom Phone is the simpler buy: one line item at $16, no second license, and texting on every plan. If everyone already has Microsoft 365 and lives in Teams, Teams Phone with Calling Plan at $17 avoids a second application and a second vendor. Price the tier that carries the one feature you are actually buying for, then add fees.
Do Zoom Phone or Teams Phone include a toll-free number?
Neither publishes a toll-free allowance on its pricing page, so we do not state one. Microsoft does document that toll-free and additional minutes are funded through a prepaid wallet it calls Communications Credits, and that Teams Calling Plans do not support texting from toll-free numbers. Ask both vendors for the toll-free line item in writing before comparing totals, because it is not in either headline rate.
Can I keep my number if I switch from Zoom Phone or Teams Phone?
Yes. Under FCC local number portability rules you keep your numbers when you change providers in the same area, and a carrier cannot refuse to release a number because of an unpaid balance. Toll-free and vanity numbers port the same way local ones do. Check any annual agreement for early termination charges first, since both vendors bill annually. Porting into Phoner is free and usually takes 1 to 2 weeks, with the old line ringing until cutover.
Is there a better alternative to both Zoom Phone and Teams Phone?
It depends which compromise you are avoiding. Phoner at $15 to $29 per user billed yearly ($19 to $35 monthly) is month to month at every tier, with no seat minimum and no second license underneath: a visual IVR builder, ring groups, business texting, recording with consent announcements, and toll-free and vanity numbers at $5 each. Quo, formerly OpenPhone, suits text heavy teams. Grasshopper bills flat per account if you would rather not pay per seat at all.
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