Microsoft Teams vs Zoom

Microsoft Teams is a unified communication and collaboration platform bundled with Microsoft 365, combining chat, video meetings, and file sharing built directly on top of SharePoint and OneDrive. It is the default hub for meetings and internal messaging at organizations already standardized on Microsoft 365. Teams organizes work into teams and channels similar to other chat platforms, but is distinguished by tight integration with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Planner, allowing documents to be co-authored directly inside a channel without leaving the app. Meetings support up to thousands of attendees with features like live captions, together mode, and background noise suppression, making Teams a common choice for both daily standups and large all-hands meetings.

Zoom is a video communications platform known for reliable, low-latency video calls that scale from one-on-one meetings to large webinars and virtual events. It became a household name during remote-work adoption and remains a default choice for external client calls and conferences. Beyond core meetings, the Zoom Workplace suite bundles team chat, whiteboarding, and Zoom Phone for VoIP calling, positioning it as a broader collaboration platform rather than just a meetings app. AI Companion, Zoom's built-in assistant, provides meeting summaries, smart chapters, and follow-up task suggestions automatically after calls end.

• Deep Office 365 integration
• Scales to very large meetings
• Strong enterprise admin controls
• Included with many M365 plans

• Very reliable connection quality
• Simple, familiar interface
• Strong webinar features
• Good screen sharing and annotation

• Interface can feel cluttered
• Can be resource-heavy on older machines
• Channel organization less intuitive than competitors

• Free plan 40-minute limit on group calls
• Additional cost for Phone and Webinar add-ons
• History of past security/privacy scrutiny