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Microsoft Teams

by Microsoft · Platform · also known as Teams

Microsoft's chat, meetings and calling hub integrated with Microsoft 365, SharePoint and Entra ID, extensible through Microsoft Graph and Teams apps

ProprietaryFreemiumPaidEnterpriseCloud
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Link verified Nov 2, 2026

Overview

Microsoft Teams is Microsoft's collaboration hub combining persistent chat in teams and channels, video meetings and webinars, calling, file sharing backed by SharePoint and OneDrive, and tabs that embed Office documents, Planner, Loop components and third-party apps. It is licensed as part of Microsoft 365 suites or as a standalone plan, with a free tier for small groups, and it inherits identity, compliance, retention and data-loss policies from Microsoft 365 and Entra ID, which is why large organisations and universities standardise on it. Developers build bots, message extensions and tabs with the Teams platform, Bot Framework and Microsoft Graph APIs. Clients cover Windows, macOS, Linux (web), iOS, Android and browsers. The application is often criticised for client performance and interface complexity, external collaboration is more constrained than in Slack Connect, and it is cloud-only with administrative settings that can block integrations.

Capabilities

  • Teams and channels with threaded posts and chat
  • Meetings, webinars and town halls with recording and transcription
  • Calling and PSTN through Teams Phone
  • Files in SharePoint and OneDrive with co-authoring
  • Tabs, bots and message extensions via the Teams platform and Graph
  • Compliance, retention and identity from Microsoft 365

Typical workflows

  1. Run a course team with channels, assignments and recorded lectures
  2. Post alerts to a channel through an incoming webhook or Graph

Strengths

  • Bundled with Microsoft 365 licences
  • Enterprise identity and compliance built in

Limitations

  • Client performance and interface complexity
  • External collaboration more constrained than some rivals
  • Cloud-only and admin-gated integrations

Prerequisites

  • Microsoft account or Microsoft 365 tenant

Who it is for

  • Organisations on Microsoft 365
  • Universities and public bodies
  • IT administrators

Alternatives & comparison

Slack has a more open integration culture and cross-company channels; Zoom is stronger as a standalone meeting product; Google Workspace offers Chat and Meet with the same bundled logic for Google-centric organisations. Discord is community-focused and free.

  • Discord

    Community chat platform with servers, text and voice channels, video, forums and a bot API, free to use with optional Nitro subscriptions

    ProprietaryFreemium
  • Google Workspace

    Google's hosted productivity suite: Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, Chat and Calendar with admin controls, Gemini features and developer APIs

    ProprietaryPaid
  • Microsoft 365

    Microsoft's subscription suite of Office desktop and web apps, Exchange email, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams with Copilot and Graph APIs

    ProprietaryPaid
  • Moodle

    Open-source learning management system used by universities and schools for courses, assignments, quizzes, grading and forums, self-hosted or via MoodleCloud

    Open sourceOpen source
  • Slack

    Channel-based team messaging platform from Salesforce with threads, huddles, canvases, workflow automation and an extensive bot and app API

    ProprietaryFreemium
  • Zoom

    Video meetings and webinar platform, now packaged as Zoom Workplace with team chat, phone, whiteboard, AI Companion and developer APIs and SDKs

    ProprietaryFreemium
Compare Microsoft Teams with its alternatives →

Sources & verification

Primary sources consulted for this record. Claims are tied to the fields each source supports; the automated link checker re-verifies every URL on a schedule.

  • Official documentation
    Microsoft Teams documentation

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams

    Supports: capabilities, integrations

    checked Nov 1, 2026
  • Official documentation
    Teams developer platform

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/platform

    Supports: interfaces

    checked Nov 1, 2026
  • Official site
    Microsoft Teams

    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software

    Supports: name, summary

    checked Nov 1, 2026
  • Pricing page
    Compare Microsoft Teams options

    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/compare-microsoft-teams-business-options

    Supports: pricing_model

    checked Nov 1, 2026
Confidence
High
Reviewed
Nov 1, 2026
Links
Broken · Nov 2, 2026

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