Microsoft Teams vs Zoom

Microsoft Teams is a collaboration tool designed to streamline internal communication. Zoom began as a tool dedicated to high-quality video conferencing, but recent updates have added new communication and collaboration features.

Microsoft Teams is a popular choice for businesses that use Office 365 products. It is packaged in with the Office 365 suite and syncs up well with other Microsoft technologies. Zoom is primarily used by companies that need high-quality video conferencing with minimal setup for both employees and external users. Some companies use both Microsoft Teams and Zoom: Microsoft Teams for its chat features and Office 365 integrations, and Zoom for web conferencing.

Microsoft Teams is used mostly by mid-sized companies and large enterprises, likely due to its inclusion with the Office 365 suite. Zoom, on the other hand, is popular with businesses of all sizes, likely due to its low barrier to entry and emerging ubiquity as a go-to video chat solution.

Features

Microsoft Teams and Zoom both provide web conferencing and chat features, but they still have unique distinctions that set them apart from each other.

Microsoft Teams’s collaboration features benefit greatly from the software’s Office 365 integration. For example, multiple users can simultaneously view or edit Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Visio files within Microsoft Teams. Recent updates have added more privacy, usability, and administration features to the platform’s video conferencing. Granular lobby control, increased meeting capacity, customizable video backgrounds, improved support for in-browser meetings, and virtual whiteboard tools help make Microsoft Teams a more robust option for remote workplaces and large virtual meetings.

Zoom’s simple, high-quality video and audio conferencing is its core feature. Zoom makes for easy conferencing even with users that are not part of the company account. Zoom also provides features such as multiple screen sharing to support web-based presentations. Recent updates have added more features to round out the software, such as a channel-based chat interface (similar to applications like Slack) and a calendar pane that integrates with both Google and Office 365 calendars.

Limitations

Microsoft Teams and Zoom both provide strong features in their area of expertise, but they also have some limitations that can impact their effectiveness.

Microsoft Teams loses some of its utility if a business is not using the Microsoft suite of office software. This is important to consider as Microsoft Teams also lacks many third-party integrations. Microsoft Teams can also suffer from a clunky UI and a steep learning curve, leading to frustration if users aren’t properly trained on how to use the software.

Zoom has powerful web conferencing features but is missing some of the collaboration features that Microsoft Teams has, such as live document editing. Zoom also experiences some performance issues with international conferences if the connection is less than perfect. Some platforms, such as Chromebook, may be lacking polish or feature parity with other versions of Zoom. Lastly, the free pricing plan for Zoom has a time limit of 40 minutes on group conferences.

Pricing

Both Microsoft Teams and Zoom offer a free version of their software with limited functionality.

Microsoft Teams is included in Office 365, which has three tiers of pricing. The Business Basic tier is $5.00 per user per month and includes a small number of Office services including Teams and SharePoint. The Business Standard plan costs $12.50 per user per month and includes the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, etc.). Lastly, the Office 365 E3 plan costs $20.00 per user per month and includes advanced security protection and support for hosting online events with up to 10,000 attendees. All Microsoft Team’s plans require a one year commitment.

Zoom’s Basic pricing tier is free and allows unlimited one-on-one meetings and 40-minute group meetings with up to 100 participants. The Pro pricing tier costs $15.00 per license per month and allows meetings as long as 24 hours. The Business tier costs $20.00 per license per month and includes custom branding and SSO options, with group meetings of up to 300 participants. Lastly, the Zoom United Business tier costs $30.00 per license per month and requires at least 10 licenses. This plan includes unlimited cloud storage and phone features.

Which is Right For You?

Microsoft Teams is a good choice for organizations that already use the Office 365 suite. Microsoft Teams easily integrates with Microsoft’s office suite of products as well as other software such as SharePoint. Lastly, Microsoft Teams is great for businesses that can make use of the collaboration features such as the live chat function.

Zoom is ideal for businesses that want the best quality audio and video conferencing available. Additionally, Zoom might be preferable for businesses that conference with people outside the company network frequently, as it is simple to set up outside audio/video meetings. Zoom may also be a good choice for small businesses that can make best-use of its free version.