Is the $10 Microsoft Teams Phone license enough to call regular phone numbers?
Summary
No. Teams Phone Standard at $10 per user per month is the phone system only. To reach the public phone network you add a Microsoft calling bundle ($13, $17, or $34 per user per month in the US, paid yearly) or bring a carrier through Operator Connect or Direct Routing. Every route also needs a separate Teams license, so a company starting from nothing typically pays $21 per user: $4 for Teams Essentials plus $17 for Teams Phone with Calling Plan.
What each price buys
| Offer (US, per user/month, paid yearly) | Price | Outside calling |
|---|---|---|
| Teams Phone Standard | $10 | None until you add a calling plan, Operator Connect, or Direct Routing |
| With pay-as-you-go calling | $13 | Phone number, metered outbound minutes |
| With Calling Plan | $17 | Phone number, 3,000 outbound domestic minutes |
| With domestic and international calling | $34 | Phone number, 3,000 domestic or 600 international outbound minutes |
All four are annual subscriptions that renew automatically. The minute counts apply to the US, UK, and Canada; elsewhere the domestic allowance is 1,200 minutes. Microsoft notes that calling rates are subject to change monthly.
The Teams license underneath
Every card says a separate Microsoft Teams license is required. Microsoft Learn lists the qualifying base licenses, including Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, and Premium; Office 365 E1 and E3; Teams Enterprise; and Teams Essentials with Microsoft Entra ID.
The catch for existing Microsoft customers is that since October 2023 some Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites no longer include Teams, and subscribers to those plans have to buy Teams separately. Office 365 E5 and Microsoft 365 E5 are the exception in the other direction: they already include the phone system and audio conferencing.
In practice, domestic calling costs $17 per user on top of a plan that already includes Teams, and $21 for a company that starts with Teams Essentials at $4.
What "taxes included" covers
The calling bundles say the price includes communication taxes and fees. The footnote narrows that. Only the domestic calling plan component is sold inclusive of taxes and fees, 911 fees among them. The phone system component is tax-exclusive, and US sales tax on it appears as a separate charge. In Canada, GST/HST, PST/RST, and QST are billed on top.
Other ways to connect
Microsoft Learn describes four PSTN options that can be mixed in one tenant:
- Calling Plan, with Microsoft as the carrier and a 99.999% reliability SLA.
- Operator Connect, where a certified carrier supplies numbers, support, and the SLA.
- Direct Routing, which uses any carrier through a session border controller you or a partner manage.
- Teams Phone Mobile, which makes a user's mobile number their Teams number.
Options 2 through 4 need a contract with a third-party provider, and Direct Routing also needs the SBC.
Trial terms
Teams Phone Standard has a one-month free trial. It requires a credit card and converts to a 12-month paid subscription if you don't cancel during the trial. The three calling bundles show only a Buy now button.
Sources
- microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/microsoft-teams-phone
- microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/essentials
- learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/teams-phone-licensing
- learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/teams-add-on-licensing/microsoft-teams-add-on-licensing
- learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/pstn-connectivity
Related on this site
- Is Teams Phone or Google Voice still cheap once you count the license underneath?
- How do the big cloud phone services differ on price and features?
- What does a year of business phone service cost for a 10-person team?
- Do you need the caller's consent to record business calls?
- Microsoft Teams Phone pricing data
- Teams Phone alternatives
Written by Kaz (pen name). Figures are copied from providers' published pricing pages on the dates shown. We have not used these products. Corrections: contact form.