Over the past two years, video conferencing software has skyrocketed in utilization. Being able to stay in contact with your team members is more important than ever now that so many people are out of the office.

Zoom and Microsoft Teams are two options that are dominating the market at this time. Both collaboration platforms offer video chat functions and audio conferencing. However, they are radically different types of programs. 

Here are some of the pros and cons for both so that you can decide which video chat software is better for your enterprise.

How Are Zoom and Microsoft Teams Similar?

The primary similarity between the two services are: 

1. They both offer video conferencing options. 
2. Both allow users to communicate through a high-quality video chat with a number of conferencing features such as whiteboards and hand raising. 
3. Both also have paid tiers that allow you to add more features to the base version.
4. Both services are also very flexible when it comes to integration with other applications, allowing you to use multiple apps with these programs. 

To the average person who is just trying to have a video call with their family, these programs would run very similarly. 

The differences arise when you look into the extra features that Zoom and Teams lean into. Both apps are attempting to do very different things, meaning that your needs will determine which one is better. 

Zoom vs. Microsoft Teams: Price

Winner: Tie

Zoom offers a business plan and a pro plan for $14.99 or $19.99, respectively. The highest tier plan for your subscription can net you over 100 licenses and allows you to increase your number of participants to up to 1,000. The time limit for these higher-tier plans is 30 hours. 

Microsoft Teams offers an essential subscription for four dollars per user per month. This includes: 

• Unlimited group meetings for up to 30 hours
• An increased participant limit
• Cloud storage
• Phone and web support

Users can also purchase the six-dollar Microsoft 365 basic service or the standard service for $12.50. This includes the rest of the Microsoft 365 suite in addition to Teams itself.

Both services offer free versions as well. So on the low end, Zoom and Teams are equivalent in their free plans, and they are comparable for their enterprise plans as well.

Zoom vs. Microsoft Teams: Team Management Features

Winner: Microsoft Teams

The primary difference between Microsoft Teams and Zoom is that Zoom exists explicitly for video conferencing, while Microsoft Teams is a full-on communications platform. 

Zoom Team Management

Zoom does not offer many features outside of video conferencing, as any work done with Zoom is meant to be done on camera. You can save transcriptions of your meetings, screen share, and send messages, but the primary function of Zoom lies within video conferencing.

Microsoft TeamsCollaboration Features

Teams, on the other hand, has many collaboration tools, with video conferencing just being one of them. Teams has chat forums where team members can communicate outside of meetings, plus the ability to create subgroups within each organization. 

Files can be shared, and work can be done apart from video conferences. This makes Teams a useful tool even if you never end up turning on your camera.

Teams also integrates the entire Microsoft office 365 suite, making collaboration using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and more incredibly simple. Teams is meant to be used 24/7 as a way to keep organizations connected, while Zoom is meant to assist in setting up individual meetings. 

Zoom vs. Microsoft Teams: Participant Number

Winner: Zoom

Teams has a ton of features outside of their video conferencing tools, but when it comes to meetings on camera, Zoomexcels. Teams can accommodate up to 300 meeting participants, while Zoom can accommodate up to a thousand.

The average user will not have a use for numbers that high, but many organizations that want to run large meetings or webinars will always go with Zoom due to the high participant volume. 

When people set up events, Zoom is a great option, especially given that Teams is catered more to people who will continue to be in contact after the video conference is over.

Zoom vs. Microsoft Teams: Security Options

Winner: Microsoft

Zoom has TLS encryption, and it has had some notable security issues in the last few years. Due to multiple breaches early in the pandemic, the team behind Zoom has worked hard to add increased security measures to the service. These include all-inclusive end-to-end encryption and password protection for waiting rooms and attendees. 

Microsoft Teams, on the other hand, is known for its fantastic security features. Teams utilizes rest and in-transit data encryption plus multi-factor authentication. With fewer breaches in its history, Teams is trusted to store files and keep important data secure. While Zoom has improved its practices over the years, Microsoft has a much more prestigious pedigree when it comes to security. 

Zoom vs. Microsoft Teams: Which Is Better?

For Straight Video Conferencing: Zoom

For Work Collaboration: Microsoft Teams

The question of which service is better comes down to what exactly you plan to use them for. If you are looking at straight video conferencing, Zoom is a clear winner. It has more features catered specifically to video conferencing, such as breakout rooms, and it has a much simpler layout. If you are trying to set up a call that might have more than 300 people, then Zoom is the best option for you.

If you are trying to connect a team and maintain productivity in an era of remote work, Teams is the way to go. It allows users to collaborate and keep track of one another easily, with a ton of extra productivity features that Zoom does not have. Plus, if security is one of your primary concerns, then Teams is the better option. 

On top of all this, Teams has cheaper high-tier options, and you get a lot for your money, given the usefulness of the Microsoft Suite. Both options are free, so there is no reason not to get both, but Microsoft Teams does have more options for people that go beyond video conferencing. 

Conclusion: Choose Microsoft Teams

Keeping your team connected is important, and while Zoom has a lot going for it, Microsoft Teams is the service that will do the most for you in that department. Because Microsoft Teams requires phone numbers, Dialed is an effective tool to help you manage your team members more efficiently.

Dialed is a service that allows you to manage your contact list and fully separate your work life from your home life. Dialed provides you with a work number on your personal device, where you can set office hours and specialized voicemail messages. 

You can use this number for your Microsoft Teams account to easily manage your team’s scheduling and communication needs without letting the digital workplace impact your personal life. Dialed is a great way to keep your team together no matter where in the world everyone is.

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Sources:

Zoom Video Communications Plans & Pricing | Zoom

Basic Pricing | Microsoft Teams

Zoom Encryption | Zoom