Zoom excels as a dedicated meeting platform with superior video quality and easier external access, while Microsoft Teams integrates deeply into workplace workflows with better chat, collaboration, and Office 365 ecosystem connectivity. The choice depends on whether meetings are your primary need (Zoom) or part of a broader collaboration suite (Teams).
Zoom vs Microsoft Teams — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Both platforms are robust and excel in different contexts. Zoom dominates for webinars, client meetings, and situations requiring quick external access with superior video quality. Microsoft Teams wins for organizations deeply embedded in Office 365 ecosystems seeking unified communication, persistent chat channels, and document collaboration. Choose Zoom if meetings are discrete events; choose Teams if meetings are one node in ongoing workspace collaboration.
Real-time video conferencing platform with enterprise meeting and webinar capabilities
Unified communications platform integrated with Microsoft 365, combining chat, calls, and meetings.
Zoom vs Microsoft Teams — Comparison Data
Structured comparison data for Zoom vs Microsoft Teams with 265 attributes.
Enterprise Deployment Adoption (500+ seat orgs)
3-Year TCO Advantage for 1,000 Users with M365
Average Setup Time for New Recording/Meeting
AI Transcription Support (Standard Tier)
Auto-Generated Captions Languages Supported
Enterprise Plan Starting Price (Monthly)
Free Tier Group Video Call Duration Limit
Maximum Group Call Participants (Free Tier)
Maximum Webinar Participants (Paid Plan)
Maximum Free Tier Group Meeting Duration
Advanced Chat Features (Channels, Threading, Workflows)
3-Year Total Cost of Ownership (1,000 users)
Annual Subscription Cost (Pro, 100 users)
Free Tier Meeting Duration for Group Calls
Global Enterprise Video Conferencing Market Share (2024)
Monthly Subscription Cost (Pro/Standard)
Annual TCO (1,000 users, 3-year average)
Maximum Video Conference Participants (Free)
Zoom vs Microsoft Teams — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Zoom vs Microsoft Teams.
Is Zoom or Microsoft Teams better for external meetings?
Zoom is generally better for external meetings because guests can join with one click — no Microsoft account required. Teams external participants sometimes need to install an app or create an account, creating friction that Zoom eliminated early on.
For organizations fully on Microsoft 365, Teams can replace Zoom for internal meetings while offering Office file integration and persistent channels. However, many companies use both: Teams for internal collaboration and Zoom for external webinars and cross-company calls where simplicity and guest access matter.
Which supports more meeting participants — Zoom or Teams?
Zoom supports up to 1,000 interactive participants and 10,000 webinar viewers on enterprise plans. Teams supports up to 1,000 interactive participants with town halls up to 20,000. Both are sufficient for most enterprise use cases; Zoom edges ahead for very large webinars.
Microsoft Teams has a free tier with basic video meetings (60-minute limit for groups, 100 participants). Full Teams functionality with unlimited meetings, 1TB storage, and Microsoft 365 integration requires a Microsoft 365 Business Basic subscription ($6/user/month minimum).
Which has better AI features in 2025 — Zoom or Teams?
Both offer AI meeting summaries, transcription, and action item extraction. Microsoft's Copilot in Teams integrates more deeply with the Microsoft 365 document graph (surfacing related files, email context), but requires an additional $30/user/month license. Zoom AI Companion is included with paid Zoom plans at no extra cost.