These days, many teams rely on video conferencing tools to stay connected. But how can you choose one that works best for your team?
Zoom and Microsoft Teams are two of the most popular options available, both offering powerful features. However, they cater to different business needs so you'll need to carefully consider each one before making your decision.
In this blog, we'll weigh in on the Zoom vs. Microsoft Teams debate by comparing their key features, pricing, security, and more.
Zoom vs. Microsoft Teams: An Overview
Zoom is a communications platform that enables teams to connect through online meetings, phone calls, and live chat.
Businesses can leverage Zoom's advanced—yet user-friendly—features to set up high-quality video calls. Apart from enhancing the virtual meeting experience, this platform also empowers teams to collaborate effortlessly across locations.
On the other hand, Microsoft Teams (or Teams for short) is an all-in-one collaboration app. It allows teams to host online meetings, send messages, make calls, share files, and work together in real time.
Teams integrates with multiple Microsoft 365 apps (including Outlook, Word, and Excel) to create smoother workflows and boost productivity.
Overall, teams can use both platforms to streamline their communication and work more efficiently.
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Zoom vs. Microsoft Teams: Core Features
Zoom and Microsoft Teams may have similar feature sets, but there are some notable differences.
The table below breaks down how they compare across key features.
Zoom vs. Microsoft Teams: Detailed Comparison
Let's take a closer look at five important factors to consider before choosing between these two tools:
- Pricing
- User interface
- Integrations
- Security
- Customer support
1. Pricing
Zoom and Teams both offer various pricing plans that suit different team needs and sizes.
Zoom
Zoom offers a free plan that gives you access to basic features.
You can host unlimited meetings on this plan, but each one can only last for 40 minutes. The maximum number of participants per meeting is 100.
Though most features of this plan are limited, its users can still:
- record meetings
- access whiteboards
- use the team chat functionality
- share their screens
- get automated captions
Zoom also offers multiple paid plans including:
- Pro: Priced at $15.99/user/month (or $13.33/user/month billed annually). Pro allows you to host meetings for up to 30 hours. The participant limit is also 100 per meeting. There are 7 and 14-day free trial options for this plan.
- Business: Costs $21.99/user/month (or $18.32/user/month billed annually. Meetings on this plan can last for up to 30 hours with a maximum of 300 participants. Note that the Business plan requires a minimum of 10 users. It includes special features like meeting transcripts (only in English) and access to Zoom Scheduler.
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- Enterprise: The Enterprise plan allows up to 1,000 participants. Additional features include unlimited cloud storage, webinars, translated captions, and visitor management. You'll need to contact Zoom's team for this plan's pricing information.
Microsoft Teams
Teams comes as a part of Microsoft 365 subscription plans. Like Zoom, it offers a free plan that allows meetings for up to 60 minutes with 100 participants.
Teams' free plan users can also enjoy:
- Unlimited chat
- 5GB of cloud storage
- Live captions
- Screen sharing
- Free calls
- Access to Word, OneNote, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook
Microsoft Teams' paid tiers fall under two categories:
Home
- Free
- Personal: Costs $9.99/month (or $99.99/year billed annually). Meetings hosted on this plan can last for 30 hours with a maximum of 300 participants.
- Family: Costs $12.99/month (or $129.99/year billed annually). It mostly offers the same features as the Personal plan but with additional perks like 6TB of cloud storage.
Business
- Essentials: Costs $4.80/user/month (or $4/user/month billed annually).
- Business Basic: Priced at $7.20/user/month ($6/user/month billed annually). There's a one-month free trial available for this plan.
- Business Standard: Costs $15/user/month ($12.50/user/month billed annually). It comes with a one-month free trial.
Verdict: Both platforms offer relatively affordable plans. However, Teams' free plan is more generous than Zoom's. Plus, Teams may be a more convenient choice if your organization already uses Microsoft 365.
2. User-friendliness
Microsoft Teams and Zoom generally offer easy-to-navigate interfaces and intuitive features.
Customer reviews of both platforms in this category are generally positive.
According to G2, when compared side by side, Zoom outperforms Teams in ease of use, setup, and administration.
Overall, reviews on G2 report that Zoom offers:
- a simpler user interface
- better video streaming quality
- an easier meeting recording process
- more intuitive collaboration tools
On the flip side, these reviews claim that Teams excels in its instant messaging capabilities and integrations (especially with other Microsoft apps.)
Although reviews are mostly encouraging, some users of both platforms have complained about:
- Minor audio/video glitches
- Occasional crashes
- Slow performance on older devices
- Internet connectivity issues
- Resource intensiveness
- A slight learning curve (particularly in Teams)
On another reviews platform, Capterra, Zoom's user satisfaction rating is slightly higher than that of Teams.
Verdict: Although Zoom and Teams offer solid user experiences, the former stands out for its simplicity and ease of use.
3. Integrations
Currently, Zoom integrates with 2,590 third-party apps including:
- Collaboration software like Slack and Google Workspace
- Note-taking tools like Fireflies
- CRM systems like Salesforce
- Project management tools like ClickUp
It also allows users to create custom integrations through its App Marketplace.
On the other hand, Teams offers integrations with over 60 Microsoft apps, such as Dynamics 365, Copilot, OneNote, Planner, and SharePoint.
In addition to this, the platform connects with 2,449 partner apps. Some categories of these apps include:
- Productivity tools like Todoist
- Project management software such as Trello and Asana
- CRM tools like Pipedrive
Verdict: Both platforms provide a broad range of integrations. However, Teams' seamless integration capabilities with other Microsoft products may be more appealing if you already use them in your workflow.
4. Security
Although it's previously had multiple security issues, Zoom has put strong measures in place to protect its users' data.
For starters, it provides meeting hosts with security capabilities like:
- Creating waiting rooms for attendees
- Adding audio signatures
- Using passcode protection for meetings
- Locking meetings
Some other Zoom security features include:
- Encryption of meeting, webinar, and messaging content using 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
- Optional end-to-end encryption
- Authentication methods like SAML and OAuth
- Two-factor authentication (2FA)
- GDPR compliance
It also provides a Legal & Compliance Center where users can check for Terms of Service and other privacy resources.
Microsoft Teams, on the other hand, is one of the most secure business collaboration platforms. It provides strong admin controls and policies for meeting safety.
Teams also protects sensitive and confidential information thanks to its integrated data loss prevention and sensitivity label policies.
More security features of Teams include:
- Protection against malicious software hidden in files with Microsoft Defender for Office 365
- Data encryption at rest and in transit
- Enforced multifactor authentication
- Advanced auditing and reporting
- Single sign-on to all Microsoft 365 apps and services
- Assessments of organizations' security postures using Secure Score
It also has a Trust Center where you can check how Microsoft protects your privacy and ensures compliance.
Verdict: Both platforms have established strong measures that safeguard their customers' data. However, Teams' extensive security capabilities give it the edge in this area.
5. Customer support
Let’s check out the support options available for both Zoom and Teams users.
Zoom
Zoom provides comprehensive self-help resources including:
- A detailed knowledge base
- A chatbot
- A Community where users can find solutions to their issues and assist others
- A learning center with free on-demand courses and short videos
You can contact one of Zoom's customer service reps by filling out a form or calling their phone number.
Only paid plan users can submit web tickets, access live chat & phone support, and meet with agents on video calls.
According to reviews on G2, Zoom offers helpful customer support although some users claim there's room for improvement.
Microsoft Teams
Teams provides detailed guides and troubleshooting articles through Microsoft’s support center.
More support features include:
- A Community where users can find answers to questions
- Short video training courses
- Live chat with a support agent
- Customer service phone numbers for various countries/territories
Many reviewers on G2 deem Teams' customer service fast and reliable.
Verdict: Both platforms offer ample customer support options, although Zoom's is more robust. However, judging by user reviews, Teams wins in terms of customer responsiveness.
So, Which Should You Choose?
This answer ultimately boils down to your specific business needs, team size, budget, and integration requirements.
Both platforms provide impressive capabilities, but they each excel in different areas.
If you prioritize ease of use and high-quality meetings, Zoom is your best bet. Teams may be a better choice if you're already using Microsoft 365 and are seeking more advanced collaboration tools.
