Microsoft Teams Pricing: How Much Does Teams Cost?

How Teams Pricing Works

Microsoft Teams is not sold as a standalone product for most business users — it is included in Microsoft 365 subscriptions. The price you pay for Teams depends on which Microsoft 365 plan you choose, what features you need, and whether you require PSTN calling capability (Teams Phone).

For UK businesses, Microsoft 365 is priced per user per month on annual or monthly commitment. The four main tiers that include Teams are:

• Microsoft 365 Business Basic — £4.60/user/month
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard — £9.40/user/month
• Microsoft 365 Business Premium — £17.60/user/month
• Microsoft 365 E3 — £30.20/user/month (enterprise)
• Microsoft 365 E5 — £47.80/user/month (enterprise)

Microsoft Teams Free

A free version of Teams is available to anyone with a personal Microsoft account (Outlook.com, Hotmail, etc.) and to small businesses that haven't yet committed to a Microsoft 365 subscription. The free version provides:

• Chat and group messaging
• Audio and video calling
• Group meetings with a 60-minute limit per session
• 5GB of OneDrive file storage per user
• Collaboration on files via Office web apps

The free version is suitable for very small teams testing Teams or for ad-hoc collaboration. For businesses relying on Teams as their primary communication platform, the 60-minute meeting limit is a practical constraint, and the absence of recording, transcription and meeting scheduling integrations makes it unsuitable for professional use.

Microsoft 365 Business Basic — £4.60/user/month

Business Basic is the entry-level paid plan and includes Teams with the full set of meeting features:

• Teams chat and meetings (unlimited duration)
• Meeting recording and transcription
• Breakout rooms and webinar hosting
• Exchange Online mailbox (50GB)
• 1TB OneDrive storage per user
• Office web apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint in browser)

Business Basic does not include desktop Office applications. If your staff need Word, Excel and Outlook installed on their computers, this plan is not sufficient.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard — £9.40/user/month

Business Standard adds everything in Basic plus desktop Office app installations on up to 5 devices per user. This is the most popular plan for UK SMEs — it provides the full Teams experience alongside installed Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. It also includes Teams Webinars for external event hosting.

Microsoft 365 Business Premium — £17.60/user/month

Business Premium adds advanced security to the Standard plan, including:

• Microsoft Defender for Business (endpoint protection)
• Azure AD Premium P1 (conditional access, MFA policies)
• Microsoft Intune (device management)
• Microsoft Purview information protection and DLP

For businesses handling sensitive data or operating in regulated sectors, Business Premium is the appropriate plan. The added security tools are not available on Basic or Standard.

Teams Phone: Calling Costs

Teams Phone (making and receiving calls to and from standard telephone numbers) is not included in any Microsoft 365 Business plan by default. It requires either a Calling Plan add-on or Operator Connect (using your existing phone number provider via Teams).

Microsoft's domestic calling plan for the UK costs approximately £8-12/user/month depending on the bundle (domestic only vs. international). Operator Connect pricing varies by provider but can be more cost-effective for businesses with existing SIP trunking or hosted PBX contracts.

AMVIA provides Teams Phone and calling plan configuration as part of our Microsoft Teams service, including number porting from existing providers.

Teams Essentials — £3.40/user/month

Microsoft offers a Teams Essentials plan at approximately £3.40/user/month that provides longer meeting limits (30-hour maximum) and 10GB storage per user, without the full Microsoft 365 suite. This is suitable for organisations that only need Teams and don't require Exchange email or Office applications. It's relatively uncommon for UK businesses as the jump to Business Basic provides significantly more value for a modest additional cost.

Enterprise Plans (E3 and E5)

For larger organisations, E3 (£30.20/user/month) and E5 (£47.80/user/month) provide unlimited Teams usage alongside enterprise-grade compliance, security, analytics and voice features. E5 includes Teams Audio Conferencing and Phone System licences, reducing the need for separate calling plan add-ons.

Choosing the Right Plan

For most UK SMEs, the decision is between Business Standard (full Office apps needed) and Business Basic (web apps sufficient). Business Premium is appropriate where security is a priority — particularly post-Cyber Essentials or where staff handle sensitive client data.

AMVIA advises on Microsoft 365 licensing as part of our managed IT support service. We can review your current licences and ensure you're on the right plan for your size and requirements — avoiding overspend on unused features or gaps in your security posture.