Simplified Licensing: Microsoft Teams Phone, Calling, and Audio Conferencing

Apr 01 2024 - Navigating licensing and making the right selection for calling and audio with Microsoft Teams.

23 min read

You’re interested in using Microsoft Teams for your business phones and now you’re swimming in details to figure out what to buy. While there are many options and Microsoft pricing is intended to help tailor a wide range of scenarios, we’re going to take a very simple approach and set of recommendations.

NOTE: Pricing on this page is based on public information from Microsoft as of 4/2/2024 and does not include any available discounts. Pricing is based on US pricing within commercial/global tenants.

For now, we’re going to focus on providing Phone services for users that can dial in and out, as well as audio conferencing support. We’re not going to dive into scenarios such as Teams Rooms, Shared Devices, Operator Connect, etc.

Quick Recommendations
What you need to know
Licensing Matrix
Summary
More Details per Plan

Quick Recommendations

The following recommendations are based on common Microsoft licensing, US Domestic call plan, and you want phone, calling plan, and audio conferencing.

What you have: This is the core licensing you have assigned per user
Phone + Calling Plan: What you need to add for Call Control and Dial in/out
Audio Conferencing: Dial in/out of or into Microsoft Teams meetings

What you have	Phone + Calling Plan	Audio Conferencing
Microsoft 365 Business Basic Microsoft 365 Business Standard Microsoft 365 Business Premium	Microsoft Teams Phone with Calling Plan	Microsoft Teams Audio Conferencing with dial-out to USA/CAN
Office 365 E1 Office 365 E3	Microsoft Teams Phone with Calling Plan	Microsoft Teams Audio Conferencing with dial-out to USA/CAN
Office 365 E5 without Audio Conferencing	Microsoft Teams Domestic Calling Plan (Teams Phone included in what you have)	Microsoft Teams Audio Conferencing with dial-out to USA/CAN
Microsoft 365 F1 Microsoft 365 F3	Microsoft Teams Phone Standard FLW	Microsoft Teams Audio Conferencing with dial-out to USA/CAN
Microsoft 365 E3	Microsoft Teams Phone with Calling Plan	Microsoft Teams Audio Conferencing with dial-out to USA/CAN
Microsoft 365 E5	Microsoft Teams Phone with Calling Plan (Teams Phone included in what you have)	None (included with what you have)
Microsoft 365 E5 without Audio Conferencing	Microsoft Teams Phone with Calling Plan (Teams Phone included in what you have)	Microsoft Teams Audio Conferencing with dial-out to USA/CAN

NOTE: If you’re in Microsoft 365 GCC High, then this pricing isn’t for you. Also, Microsoft does not have call plans in the GCC High environment. You’ll still need a call plan but you’ll need a third-party for PSTN and Audio Conferencing or deploy an Session Broker Controller (SBC) in your Azure Government subscription.

What you need to know

There are a few key terms that you need to understand to help determine what you need an understand the pricing.

Teams Phone (aka Call Control)

Teams Phone is the capability within Microsoft Teams that provides Call Control. Call Control is the ability of acting as the phone itself. Users with a license for this will be able to accept calls and dial out calls from within the Teams application both on desktop and on mobile devices.

Some of the plans from Microsoft that you already have, or plan to purchase, include Teams Phone within it (e.g. Office 365 E5 and Microsoft 365 E5).

Calling Plan & PSTN

The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is the global method of voice communication from a house and mobile phone to Voice over IP (VoIP) with Microsoft Teams. In Microsoft commercial/global, this is available via Calling Plans. It’s also possible to still use Microsoft Teams as your phone system (Teams Phone) but use another method for your PSTN connectivity using Direct Routing.

When deciding on a calling plan, there are options for domestic and international calling. International calling is the ability to call out to international phone numbers. Having a domestic plan does not prevent international users from calling those users with only domestic calling plans.

There are pays as you go plans as well. While there is still a base cost to this, you’ll then need to purchase communication credits as well.

You’ll also notice references to calling plan zones. Here is a quick reference pulled from Microsoft (Microsoft can change this, so go to the link to get the latest):

Domestic Calling Plan Zone-1 US: For users in the United States and Puerto Rico
Domestic Calling Plan Zone-1 Canada/UK: For users in Canada and the United Kingdom
Domestic Calling Plan Zone-2: For users in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland

Audio Conferencing

Microsoft Teams by itself can host online meetings with video, voice and more without additional Audio-Conferencing support. However, in order to dial out to a PSTN phone number or for participants join via a phone number, you’ll need Audio Conferencing. You only need this for users that will schedule and manage those meetings that need it.

Subscription length (aka monthly or annual commitment)

For many licensing subscriptions from Microsoft (not all), customers have a choice to commit to a monthly or annual subscription for a service. If there is a monthly subscription option, the per month price is usually higher than the annual option. This is a good option if you’re just trying out a specific service and you don’t want to commit to it yet. However, the annual pricing should be used when you’re ready to move forward within your business.

Billing frequency

For most licensing subscriptions, you can have an annual commitment, but decide to pay for it monthly. Usually, there isn’t a discount for paying annually when billing directly through Microsoft.

Licensing Matrix

The following graphic and HTML table are used to help summarize the licensing options and requirements. Both have the same information.

Teams Pricing Matrix

Click for High Res Image

HTML Version: Use the scroll bars to navigate around.

Microsoft Products	Monthly Commit/per month	Annual Commit/per month	Phone System	Calling Plan	Audio Conferencing	Microsoft 365 Business Basic	Microsoft 365 Business Standard	Microsoft 365 Business Premium	Microsoft 365 E3	Microsoft 365 E5	Microsoft 365 E5 without Audio Conferencing	Microsoft 365 F1	Microsoft 365 F3	Microsoft Teams Domestic Calling Plan	Microsoft Teams Essentials	Microsoft Teams Essentials with Phone	Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account	Microsoft Teams Phone Standard	Microsoft Teams Rooms Pro	Microsoft Teams Shared Devices	Office 365 E1	Office 365 E3	Office 365 E5 without Audio Conferencing	Teams Essentials and Teams Phone with domestic calling	Teams Essentials and Teams Phone with international calling	Teams Essentials and Teams Phone with pay-as-you-go calling (country zone 2)	Teams Phone with Calling Plan (country zone 1 - US)	Teams Phone with international calling	Teams Phone with pay-as-you-go calling (country zone 1 - US)
Microsoft 365 Audio Conferencing	$ 3.00	$ 2.50			Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y		Y	Y					Y	Y	Y
Microsoft 365 International Calling Plan	$ 14.40	$ 12.00		Y										Y		Y											Y
Microsoft Teams Audio Conferencing with dial-out to USA/CAN	Free	Free			Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y		Y						Y	Y	Y
Microsoft Teams Calling Plan pay-as-you-go	-	$ 3.00		Y						Y						Y	Y	Y	Y	Y			Y
Microsoft Teams Domestic and International Calling Plan	$ 28.80	$ 24.00		Y						Y	Y					Y	Y	Y	Y	Y			Y
Microsoft Teams Domestic and International Calling Plan (Mexico)	-	$ 24.00		Y						Y	Y					Y	Y	Y	Y	Y			Y
Microsoft Teams Domestic Calling Plan	$ 14.40	$ 12.00		Y						Y	Y						Y	Y	Y	Y			Y
Microsoft Teams Domestic Calling Plan (120 min)	$7.20	$ 6.00		Y						Y	Y						Y	Y	Y	Y			Y
Microsoft Teams Domestic Calling Plan (Mexico)	-	$ 16.00		Y						Y	Y						Y	Y	Y	Y			Y
Microsoft Teams Essentials	$ 4.80	$ 4.00
Microsoft Teams Essentials and Microsoft Teams Phone with Domestic Calling	$ 24.00	$ 20.00	Y	Y
Microsoft Teams Essentials and Microsoft Teams Phone with International Calling	$ 43.20	$ 36.00	Y	Y
Microsoft Teams Essentials and Microsoft Teams Phone with Pay as you go Calling (country zone 1 - US)	-	$ 15.00	Y	Y
Microsoft Teams Essentials and Microsoft Teams Phone with Pay as you go Calling (country zone 2)	-	$ 15.00	Y	Y
Microsoft Teams Essentials with Phone	$ 14.40	$ 12.00	Y
Microsoft Teams International Calling Plan (for SMB)	$ 14.40	$ 12.00		Y										Y				Y									Y
Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account	Free	Free								Y						Y		Y		Y			Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Microsoft Teams Phone Standard	$ 9.60	$ 8.00	Y			Y	Y	Y	Y			Y	Y		Y						Y	Y
Microsoft Teams Phone Standard FLW	$ 4.80	$ 4.00	Y			Y	Y	Y	Y			Y	Y		Y						Y	Y
Microsoft Teams Phone with Calling Plan	$ 18.00	$ 15.00	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y			Y	Y		Y	Y					Y	Y
Microsoft Teams Phone with International Calling	$ 38.40	$ 32.00	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y							Y	Y
Microsoft Teams Phone with Pay as you go Calling (country zone 1 - US)	-	$ 11.00	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y							Y	Y
Microsoft Teams Phone with Pay as you go Calling (country zone 2)	-	$ 11.00	Y	Y

Summary

For many, the details above are enough to decide and get going.

That’s it. Simple!

But if you need more details, you can keep reading and get more information on the plans.

More Details per Plan

The following provides a bit more information by plan and is the basis of the information provided in the above Licensing Matrix.

Microsoft 365 Audio Conferencing
- Description
  - Enables users to dial-in a number to join meetings, or dial-out to bring participants into the meeting. There are base pre-requisites required to purchase this offering.
- Pricing
  - 1 month - ‎$3.00‎ ‎license‎/month
  - 1 year - ‎$2.50‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$30.00‎ ‎license‎/year
  - 3 years - ‎$30.00‎ ‎license‎/year, ‎$90.00‎ ‎license‎/3 years
- Prerequisites
  - Microsoft Teams Essentials
  - Microsoft Teams Essentials with Phone
  - Microsoft 365 Business Basic
  - Microsoft 365 Business Standard
  - Microsoft 365 Business Premium
  - Office 365 E1
  - Office 365 E3
  - Office 365 E5 without Audio Conferencing
  - Microsoft 365 F1
  - Microsoft 365 F3
  - Microsoft 365 E3
  - Microsoft 365 E5 without Audio Conferencing
Microsoft 365 International Calling Plan
- Description
  - Add-on to Microsoft 365 Enterprise Voice that includes international calling minutes.
- Pricing
  - 1 month - ‎$14.40‎ ‎license‎/month
  - 1 year - ‎$12.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$144.00‎ ‎license‎/year
  - 3 years - ‎$144.00‎ ‎license‎/year, ‎$432.00‎ ‎license‎/3 years
- Prerequisites
  - Teams Phone with Calling Plan (country zone 1 - US)
  - Microsoft Teams Domestic Calling Plan
  - Microsoft Teams Essentials with Phone
Microsoft Teams Audio Conferencing with dial-out to USA/CAN
- Description
  - Enables users to dial-in a number to join meetings, or dial-out to bring participants into the meeting. There are base pre-requisites required to purchase this offering.
- Pricing
  - Free for ‎1 month‎
  - Free for ‎1 year‎
  - Free for ‎3 years‎
- Prerequisites
  - Microsoft Teams Essentials
  - Microsoft 365 Business Basic
  - Microsoft 365 Business Standard
  - Microsoft 365 Business Premium
  - Office 365 E1
  - Office 365 E3
  - Office 365 E5 without Audio Conferencing
  - Microsoft 365 F1
  - Microsoft 365 F3
  - Microsoft 365 E3
  - Microsoft 365 E5
Microsoft Teams Calling Plan pay-as-you-go
- Description
  - Enables online users to place and receive calls through the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). There are base pre-requisites required to purchase this offering.
- Pricing
  - 1 year - ‎$3.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$36.00‎ ‎license‎/year
- Prerequisites
  - Office 365 E5 without Audio Conferencing
  - Microsoft 365 E5
  - Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account
  - Microsoft Teams Phone Standard
  - Microsoft Teams Shared Devices
  - Microsoft Teams Rooms Pro
  - Microsoft Teams Essentials with Phone
Microsoft Teams Domestic and International Calling Plan
- Description
  - Enables online users to place and receive Domestic and International calls through the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). There are base pre-requisites required to purchase this offering.
- Pricing
  - Microsoft Teams Domestic and International Calling Plan
    - 1 month - ‎$28.80‎ ‎license‎/month
    - 1 year - ‎$24.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$288.00‎ ‎license‎/year
    - 3 years - ‎$288.00‎ ‎license‎/year, ‎$864.00‎ ‎license‎/3 years
  - Microsoft Teams Domestic and International Calling Plan (Mexico)
    - 1 year - ‎$24.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$288.00‎ ‎license‎/year
- Prerequisites
  - Office 365 E5 without Audio Conferencing
  - Microsoft 365 E5
  - Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account
  - Microsoft Teams Phone Standard
  - Microsoft Teams Shared Devices
  - Microsoft Teams Rooms Pro
  - Microsoft Teams Essentials with Phone
Microsoft Teams Domestic Calling Plan
- Description
  - Enables online users to place and receive Domestic calls through the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). There are base pre-requisites required to purchase this offering.
- Pricing
  - Microsoft Teams Domestic Calling Plan
    - 1 month - ‎$14.40‎ ‎license‎/month
    - 1 year - ‎$12.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$144.00‎ ‎license‎/year
    - 3 years - ‎$144.00‎ ‎license‎/year, ‎$432.00‎ ‎license‎/3 year
  - Microsoft Teams Domestic Calling Plan (120 min)
    - 1 month - ‎$7.20‎ ‎license‎/month
    - 1 year - ‎$6.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$72.00‎ ‎license‎/year
    - 3 years - ‎$72.00‎ ‎license‎/year, ‎$216.00‎ ‎license‎/3 years
  - Microsoft Teams Domestic Calling Plan (Mexico)
    - 1 year - ‎$16.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$192.00‎ ‎license‎/year
- Prerequisites
  - Office 365 E5 without Audio Conferencing
  - Microsoft 365 E5
  - Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account
  - Microsoft Teams Phone Standard
  - Microsoft Teams Shared Devices
  - Microsoft Teams Rooms Pro
Microsoft Teams Essentials
- Description
  - Microsoft Teams Essentials is a paid Teams standalone MSA based SKU for small businesses and consumers. It includes secure meetings, chat, and cloud storage to power teamwork from anywhere at any time at an affordable price.
- Pricing
  - 1 month - ‎$4.80‎ ‎license‎/month
  - 1 year - ‎$4.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$48.00‎ ‎license‎/year
  - 3 years - ‎$48.00‎ ‎license‎/year, ‎$144.00‎ ‎license‎/3 years
- Prerequisites
  - None
Microsoft Teams Essentials and Microsoft Teams Phone with Domestic Calling
- Description
  - Get Microsoft Teams Essentials, Microsoft Teams Phone, and a Domestic Calling Plan to power all your collaboration and communication needs.
- Pricing
  - 1 month - ‎$24.00‎ ‎license‎/month
  - 1 year - ‎$20.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$240.00‎ ‎license‎/year
- Prerequisites
  - None
Microsoft Teams Essentials and Microsoft Teams Phone with International Calling
- Description
  - Get Microsoft Teams Essentials, Microsoft Teams Phone, and an International Calling Plan to grow your customers around the world.
- Pricing
  - 1 month - ‎$43.20‎ ‎license‎/month
  - 1 year - ‎$36.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$432.00‎ ‎license‎/year
- Prerequisites
  - None
Microsoft Teams Essentials and Microsoft Teams Phone with Pay as you go Calling
- Description
  - Get Microsoft Teams Essentials, Microsoft Teams Phone, and a Pay As You Go Calling Plan so you can set up your company for success.
- Pricing
  - Teams Essentials and Teams Phone with pay-as-you-go calling (country zone 1 - US)
    - 1 year - ‎$15.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$180.00‎ ‎license‎/year
  - Teams Essentials and Teams Phone with pay-as-you-go calling (country zone 2)
    - 1 year - ‎$15.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$180.00‎ ‎license‎/year
- Prerequisites
  - None
Microsoft Teams Essentials with Phone
- Description
  - Microsoft Teams Essentials (AAD identity) is a paid Teams standalone AAD based SKU for small and medium businesses. It includes secure meetings, chat, and cloud storage to power teamwork from anywhere at any time at an affordable price. For organizations that need call management capabilities (make, receive and transfer calls) in the cloud and use the Office 365 admin center to manage users.
- Pricing
  - 1 month - ‎$14.40‎ ‎license‎/month
  - 1 year - ‎$12.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$144.00‎ ‎license‎/year
- Prerequisites
  - None
Microsoft Teams International Calling Plan (for SMB)
- Description
  - Add-on to Microsoft 365 Business Voice that includes international calling minutes.
- Pricing
  - 1 month - ‎$14.40‎ ‎license‎/month
  - 1 year - ‎$12.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$144.00‎ ‎license‎/year
  - 3 years - ‎$144.00‎ ‎license‎/year, ‎$432.00‎ ‎license‎/3 years
- Prerequisites
  - Teams Phone with Calling Plan (country zone 1 - US)
  - Microsoft Teams Phone Standard
  - Microsoft Teams Domestic Calling Plan
Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account
- Description
  - This provides Teams Phone resource accounts to enable voice apps (auto attendants and call queues) at an organizational level
- Pricing
  - Free for ‎1 month‎
  - Free for ‎1 year‎
  - Free for ‎3 years‎
- Prerequisites
  - Microsoft 365 E5
  - Microsoft Teams Essentials with Phone
  - Microsoft Teams Phone Standard
  - Microsoft Teams Shared Devices
  - Office 365 E5 without Audio Conferencing
  - Teams Phone with Calling Plan (country zone 1 - US)
  - Teams Phone with pay-as-you-go calling (country zone 1 - US)
  - Teams Essentials and Teams Phone with pay-as-you-go calling (country zone 2)
  - Teams Essentials and Teams Phone with domestic calling
  - Teams Essentials and Teams Phone with international calling
  - Teams Phone with international calling
Microsoft Teams Phone Standard
- Description
  - For organizations that need call management capabilities (make, receive and transfer calls) in the cloud and use the Office 365 admin center to manage users.
- Pricing
  - Microsoft Teams Phone Standard
    - 1 month - ‎$9.60‎ ‎license‎/month
    - 1 year - ‎$8.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$96.00‎ ‎license‎/year
    - 3 years - ‎$96.00‎ ‎license‎/year, ‎$288.00‎ ‎license‎/3 years
  - Teams Phone Standard FLW (NOTE: Front Line Worker — No Prerequisites)
    - 1 month - ‎$4.80‎ ‎license‎/month
    - 1 year - ‎$4.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$48.00‎ ‎license‎/year
- Prerequisites
  - Microsoft Teams Essentials
  - Microsoft 365 Business Basic
  - Microsoft 365 Business Standard
  - Microsoft 365 Business Premium
  - Office 365 E1
  - Office 365 E3
  - Microsoft 365 F1
  - Microsoft 365 F3
  - Microsoft 365 E3
Microsoft Teams Phone with Calling Plan
- Description
  - A cloud-based calling solution that enables users to make and receive PSTN calls in Microsoft Teams. It includes a phone system and domestic calling plan.
- Pricing
  - 1 month - ‎$18.00‎ ‎license‎/month
  - 1 year - ‎$15.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$180.00‎ ‎license‎/year
- Prerequisites
  - Microsoft Teams Essentials
  - Microsoft Teams Essentials with Phone
  - Microsoft 365 Business Basic
  - Microsoft 365 Business Standard
  - Microsoft 365 Business Premium
  - Office 365 E1
  - Office 365 E3
  - Microsoft 365 F1
  - Microsoft 365 F3
  - Microsoft 365 E3
Microsoft Teams Phone with International Calling
- Description
  - Add Microsoft Teams Phone with International Calling to grow your customers around the world.
- Pricing
  - 1 month - ‎$38.40‎ ‎license‎/month
  - 1 year - ‎$32.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$384.00‎ ‎license‎/year
- Prerequisites
  - Microsoft Teams Essentials
  - Microsoft Teams Essentials with Phone
  - Microsoft 365 Business Basic
  - Microsoft 365 Business Standard
  - Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Microsoft Teams Phone with Pay as you go Calling
- Description
  - Add Microsoft Teams Phone with Pay As You Go Calling. Clear voice and video calling integrated with Microsoft Teams.
- Pricing
  - Teams Phone with pay-as-you-go calling (country zone 1 - US)
    - 1 year - ‎$11.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$132.00‎ ‎license‎/year
  - Teams Phone with pay-as-you-go calling (country zone 2)
    - 1 year - ‎$11.00‎ ‎license‎/month, ‎$132.00‎ ‎license‎/year
- Prerequisites
  - Microsoft Teams Essentials
  - Microsoft Teams Essentials with Phone
  - Microsoft 365 Business Basic
  - Microsoft 365 Business Standard
  - Microsoft 365 Business Premium