Microsoft Teams Phone System is the solution offered by Microsoft to connect the Microsoft 365 cloud environment and Microsoft Teams to the Public Switched Telephone Network. Introduced to help Teams earn its position as one of the market-leading UCaaS solutions on the market, the Phone System ensures you can stay connected through external and internal voice and video.
As today’s companies continue to evolve rapidly, moving into a world of hybrid work, embedding phone functionality into Teams provides staff with an all-in-one environment for collaboration. With PSTN connectivity, business leaders can ensure their team members can access crucial calling features in the same landscape where they share files and host meetings.
While Microsoft’s range of options for phone system connectivity is designed to make a single-pane-of-glass communication and productivity environment accessible to anyone, there are still many companies that don’t understand the solution’s pricing structure.
Here’s what you need to know about Microsoft Teams Phone pricing.
What Do You Need to Access Microsoft Teams Phone System?
Microsoft offers companies a range of ways to leverage calling within Microsoft Teams, regardless of whether you want to stick with your current provider or move everything into Microsoft.
To access phone functionality within Microsoft Teams, you need two crucial things:
Calling Plans
You can either access a calling plan from Microsoft Teams or leverage the calling plan provided by your Direct Routing or Operator Connect provider. The cost of your calling plan will depend on several factors, including whether you’re looking for international or domestic calling packages.
You can get a quote for your calling plans from Microsoft by contacting the company directly. You can also speak to your PSTN carrier about their calling deals if you’re using Operator Connect or Direct Routing. Calling plans are added to your Microsoft Teams subscription, so it’s essential to calculate the costs of both subscriptions when budgeting.
A Microsoft 365 Subscription with Microsoft Teams
You’ll need a Microsoft 365 subscription with Microsoft Teams including accessing Microsoft Teams Phone. There are multiple packages available depending on the functionality you need. The two types of calling plan packages likely to appeal to most companies are Microsoft’s Business and Enterprise plans.
Microsoft 365 Business plans include:
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6 per month/user on an annual subscription: Premium web and mobile versions of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, video calling and meetings, chat, a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and around-the-clock support.
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50 per month/user for all the features of Basic, plus Microsoft Access, Publisher, webinar functionality, and desktop versions of the Microsoft productivity apps.
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium: $22 per month/user for all the features of Business Standard, plus Advanced threat protection, PC and mobile device management, and in-built email and calendaring functionality.
Microsoft Teams Apps is not suitable for Phone System access as it doesn’t come with access to Microsoft Teams. With the Microsoft 365 Business plans, you’ll need to purchase Audio Conferencing as a separate add-on. This add-on is available for a custom price, charged based on your specific internal and external conferencing needs.
Microsoft 365 packages are also available with custom pricing for government and education groups leveraging the Microsoft Phone System.
Other Costs
Remember that you may also need to pay for “Communications Credits” if you want to use toll-free numbers with Microsoft Teams. Communications Credits are also required for any calling minutes outside your calling plan or audio conferencing subscription.
Additional costs include:
- Extended dial out: Virtually unlimited dial-out minutes available with a custom quote
- Audio conferencing: Starting at $4 per user per month for audio conferencing in Teams. You may be able to access audio conferencing for free for a limited time if you have an existing Microsoft 365 plan.
Microsoft Enterprise Phone System Packages
Aside from buying a calling plan from Microsoft and a Microsoft 365 subscription, you can also purchase one of Microsoft’s Premium E5, G5 or A5 packages. Microsoft’s “Enterprise level” packages come with access to a Phone System already built-in and audio conferencing, so you can conduct and call into meetings from your phone.
Microsoft 365 E5 and accompanying packages also come with full access to Microsoft’s top Windows 11 apps for the web, mobile, Outlook, and Exchange. Companies already using one of the Business plans from Microsoft can upgrade at a discounted price by reaching out to their Microsoft sales representative.
The Microsoft 365 E5 package for Enterprise currently costs $57 per user/month with an annual commitment and includes:
- Access to all productivity apps (PowerPoint, OneNote, Excel, Word, Publisher, and Access)
- Email and calendaring through Outlook, Bookings, and Exchange
- Meetings through Teams and Teams Phone System
- Device and app management through any device
- Social apps (Yammer, SharePoint, and Viva Connections)
- File and content management through OneDrive, Stream, Visio, Forms, Lists, and Sway.
- Work management apps like Planner, Power Automate, Power Apps, and Power Virtual Agents.
- Advanced analytics with Viva Insights and Power BI Pro
- Identity and access management
- Information protection and sophisticated security management
- Compliance management features
Custom Pricing for Microsoft Teams Phone System
Understanding Microsoft Teams Phone system pricing can be a little complex because of various ways to connect your PSTN to Teams. Your calling plans will differ depending on whether you’re accessing calling functionality directly from Microsoft Teams or a Direct Routing or Operator Connect provider.
After you’ve dealt with calling plan functionality or PSTN connectivity, you’ll also need to consider the costs of your Microsoft 365 plan and whether you need basic business functionality or Enterprise access with various advanced security and compliance tools built in.
Microsoft offers insights into the kind of standard subscription and pay-per-minute call rates you’re likely to pay by country or region here. You can also contact Microsoft Teams to add Phone functionality to an existing Microsoft 365 E1 or E3 plan for a custom price.
