Zoom vs Microsoft Teams in 2023: Who Reigns Supreme?

Zoom vs MS Teams: Which is Better in 2023?

Zoom and Microsoft Teams are cloud-based video conferencing applications. Both allow screen sharing, admitting external guests and recording meetings. So, if you're thinking of switching from one application to the other, or if you're just starting out with video conferencing tools and can’t decide which to go with, you've come to the right place. We've done most of the research for you, so keep reading as we find out which video conferencing tool is best in 2023.

                  

Pricing: Free vs Paid

The choice between MS Teams versus Zoom can be a tough one. Both leading video conferencing tools offer free and paid plans, but how do they compare? Let’s begin by comparing the available features for each based on plan tier:

Microsoft

First, let’s take a look at some popular Microsoft features and pricing tiers. Note that Microsoft 365 Business Basic and Microsoft 365 Business Standard includes other Microsoft 365 apps and services.

Features	Microsoft Teams (Free)	Microsoft Teams Essentials	Microsoft 365 Business Basic	Microsoft 365 Business Standard
Pricing	Free (No commitment)	$48/year/user	$72/year/user	$150/year/user
Online meetings (calling and video)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Participant capacity	100 participants	300 participants	300 participants	300 participants
Maximum group meeting duration	60 minutes	30 hours	30 hours	30 hours
Maximum one-on-one meeting duration	30 hours	30 hours	30 hours	30 hours
Screen sharing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Customized backgrounds	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Together mode	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Scheduled meetings	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Meeting recordings	-	-	Yes	Yes
Transcripts	Yes - English only	Yes - English only	Yes	Yes
Live Captions	Yes - English only	Yes - English only	Yes	Yes
Breakout rooms	-	-	Yes	Yes
Microsoft Whiteboard	-	Available with Azure Active Directory identity	Yes	Available with Azure Active Directory identity
Polling	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Join meetings without an account	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Team Chat	Yes- up to 100 participants	Yes- up to 300 participants	Yes- up to 300 participants	Yes- up to 300 participants
Unlimited chat messages and search in Teams	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Collaborative annotations	-	Available with Azure Active Directory identity	Yes	Available with Azure Active Directory identity
Microsoft Teams data encryption at rest and in transit	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
User management	-	-	Yes	Yes
Support	-	24/7 phone and web support	24/7 phone and web support	24/7 phone and web support

 

Zoom

Now, let’s look at some popular Zoom features and the pricing tiers.

Features	Basic	Pro	Business	Business Plus	Enterprise
Pricing	Free (No commitment)	$149.90/year/user	$199.90/year/user	$250.00/year/user	Contact Zoom for pricing information
Online meetings (calling and video)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Participant capacity	100 participants	100 participants	300 participants	300 participants	500-1,000 Participants
License count	1	1-9	10-99	10-99	>250
Maximum group meeting duration	40 minutes	30 hours	30 hours	30 hours	30 hours
Maximum one-on-one meeting duration	40 minutes	30 hours	30 hours	30 hours	30 hours
Screen sharing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Customized backgrounds	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Together mode	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Scheduled meetings	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Meeting recordings	Local	Local & 5 GB cloud (per license)	Local & 5 GB cloud (per license)	Local & 10 GB cloud (per license)	Local & Unlimited cloud
Transcripts	-	-	Yes	Yes	Yes
Live Captions	Yes - English only	Yes - English only	Yes - English only	Yes - English only	Yes - English only
Breakout rooms	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Zoom Whiteboard	3	3	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
Polling	-	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Join meetings without an account	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Team Chat	Yes- up to 100 participants	Yes- up to 100 participants	Yes- up to 300 participants	Yes- up to 300 participants	Yes- up to 500 participants with optional add-ons
Unlimited chat messages and search	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Collaborative annotations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
End-to-end encryption for Zoom Meetings	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
User management	-	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Support	24/7 web support	Phone support	Phone support	Phone support	Dedicated Customer Success Manager

Key Takeaway for Pricing:

Microsoft comes in at a lower price per user but Zoom offers several capabilities at lower tiers compared to Teams. For example, you can record meetings and take advantage of breakout rooms with the free version of Zoom.

Both platforms have similar meeting durations, screen sharing, and recording capabilities. However, Teams has some advantages when it comes to integration with Microsoft's suite of tools, such as OneDrive and SharePoint. Microsoft also boasts more advanced chat, file sharing, and security features.

On the other hand, Zoom has more advanced features for hosting webinars and large meetings. Additionally, Zoom offers better support, even for the unpaid version. Ultimately, the choice between the two applications will depend on the specific budget and feature preferences for your organization.

Ease of Use and Accessibility: Zoom or Microsoft Teams

Both tools offer accessibility features to maximize your organization's experience. Let’s compare the two.

Accessibility features in Microsoft Teams include the following:

• Live captions in Teams meetings
• Screen reader support
• The ability to view historical meeting transcriptions
• The ability to identify participants in meetings with Teams Intelligent Speaker
• Option for Text Telephone (TTY) users who have hearing loss or are speech impaired
• The ability to control Teams with your voice using Cortana
• The ability to add alt text to images and visuals in Teams chat

Accessibility features in Zoom include the following:

• Live captions in meetings
• Screen reader support
• Keyboard accessibility
• The ability to view historical meeting transcriptions
• The ability to identify participants
• The ability to pin users (ideal for sign language interpreters)

Video & Audio Quality: Zoom or Microsoft Teams

When it comes to video and audio quality, both Zoom and Teams offer high-quality experiences. However, there are some differences between the two platforms that are worth noting.

Video quality-wise, Teams and Zoom are on par with each other because they both support HD 1080p at 30 frames per second. Microsoft suggests a 2Mbps connection at a minimum, whereas Zoom suggests 3Mbps for this resolution. It's also important to note that, unlike Teams, the default video quality in Zoom is 720p rather than 1080p. Users may, of course, adjust these settings as they see fit. You can read instructions on changing Zoom settings on their Zoom Support page. For more information on Microsoft Team’s video settings, you can visit their official documentation.

Users likely won’t notice a difference with audio since this is largely dependent on individual internet connections. Visit Microsoft’s official documentation for more information about audio features on Teams.

Ultimately, both Zoom and Teams offer excellent video and audio quality, and the choice between the two will likely come down to personal preference.

Feature Lists: Zoom and Microsoft Teams

Both platforms boast an array of abilities, but let's focus on a comparison of the ones that businesses and organizations would find most relevant:

 

Features	Microsoft Teams	Zoom
Screen Sharing	●       Screen sharing for all versions ●       Whiteboard available on paid plans	●       Screen sharing and whiteboards for all versions
Webinar hosting	●       Attendees can be invited to an event without being part of the team ●       Users who aren’t part of the team may have a more difficult time joining a call	●       Great for external webinars because users can join a webinar by simply clicking the shared link ●       Zoom has more advanced abilities for large meetings
Max Participants	●       100 video meeting attendees for free plan ●       300 video meeting attendees for paid plans	●       100 video meeting attendees for free and Pro plans ●       300 video meeting attendees for other paid plans ●       500-1000 video meeting attendees for Enterprise plans
Chat Capabilities	●       100 chat participants for free version. ●       300 chat participants for paid versions ●       Individual and group chats ●       Chat in channels ●       Chat in meetings	●       100 chat participants for free and Pro versions. ●       300 chat participants for other paid versions. ●       500-1000 chat participants for Enterprise version. ●       Chat with participants in meeting or privately ●       Host can turn off chat options ●       Chat feature is only accessible during a video call
File Sharing	●       1 TB per organization ●       10 GB per license	●       5-10 GB per license ●       Unlimited file storage on Zoom’s Enterprise plan
Meeting Recordings	Available on Microsoft 365 Business Basic and Microsoft 365 Business Standard	Available on all versions
Breakout Rooms	Available on Microsoft 365 Business Basic and Microsoft 365 Business Standard	Available on all versions
Scheduling an Inviting Contacts	Available on all versions	Available on all versions
Integrations and Extensions	●       Advanced integration options with Microsoft Office tools ●       700+ integrations with non-Microsoft tools (Adobe, ClickUp, Github, etc.) ●       Basic Microsoft tool integrations are available to free versions	●       Marketplace has 2500+ integrations for free and paid versions
Mobile Apps	●       Available mobile app for both video calls and chats	●       Available mobile app for both video calls and chats ●       Zoom Team Chat available for more streamlined chat options
Support	●       24/7 web and phone support for paid users	●       24/7 web support for all users ●       24/7 phone support for paid users ●       Dedicated Customer Success Manager for Enterprise users

 

For a full comparison, be sure to check the full Zoom feature list as well as the full Microsoft Teams feature list.

Security: Zoom and Microsoft Teams

Here is a comparison of the security features offered by Zoom and Teams:

Zoom:

• Encrypted meetings and chats
• Password protection for meetings
• Waiting rooms to control who can join meetings
• Host controls to manage participants, such as mute/unmute and remove
• Option to lock meetings once all participants have joined
• End-to-end encryption for paid Zoom plans
• Compliance with various security standards, such as HIPAA, for healthcare organizations

Microsoft Teams:

• Encrypted meetings and chats
• Password protection for meetings
• Waiting rooms to control who can join meetings
• Host controls to manage participants, such as mute/unmute and remove
• Option to lock meetings once all participants have joined
• Multi-factor authentication
• Compliance with various security standards
• Built-in data loss prevention policies to protect sensitive information
• Integration with Microsoft's Endpoint Manager for device management and security

Measures like encryption, password protection, and separate waiting areas are standard on both Zoom and Teams. Multi-factor authentication and data loss prevention policies are just two of the features that set Teams apart. Microsoft may also be preferable for businesses operating in regulated sectors due to the company's compliance with a wide range of security regulations.

Key Differences

Here are some of the key differences between Zoom and Microsoft Teams:

• Integration: Teams stands out because of its seamless integration with other Microsoft products like OneDrive and SharePoint. Zoom integrates with a variety of third-party apps, including Dropbox and Google Drive, but it doesn't work quite as well with Microsoft Office.
• Collaboration: Microsoft Teams is a superior option for businesses that need to work closely together on projects due to its emphasis on collaboration, which includes capabilities like co-authoring and file sharing. While both Teams and Zoom provide collaboration tools, businesses will benefit from the advanced options offered by Microsoft Teams.
• Webinars: When it comes to webinars and large external meetings, Zoom’s capabilities, such as breakout rooms, hand raising, and polling, are invaluable. Because of these additions, it is a superior option for businesses that need to conduct large or external meetings. This also makes Zoom ideal for hosting classes with several participants.
• Security: Both systems provide encryption and password protection. Microsoft Teams offers multi-factor authentication and data loss protection procedures. Microsoft's security requirements may also be a better choice for businesses with more regulations to follow.
• Pricing: Both applications have multiple pricing tiers, each with different levels of services and features offered. While Teams is included in many Microsoft 365 subscriptions, Zoom's unpaid plan has more capabilities than the unpaid version of Teams. For organizations that already use Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams is a more cost-effective option. However, some organizations may benefit from the lower-tiered plans offered by Zoom that have more capabilities.

Conclusion

In summary, both Zoom and Microsoft Teams are great video conferencing tools for businesses. Zoom captured 50% of the global video conferencing market in 2021, indicating that the company holds the spot for the highest popularity among consumers. However, both Microsoft Team and Zoom are excellent platforms. Regarding core functionality, Zoom and Microsoft Teams have a lot in common, and neither is necessarily better than the other. The choice of MS Teams vs Zoom comes down to personal preferences and how the features will best suit your company's needs.