Microsoft Teams Phone Alternatives for Small Teams

Short answer: Teams Phone makes sense for companies that already run on Microsoft 365, at $10 per user per month plus a Teams license and a calling option ($17 per user with a US Calling Plan). Small teams that want built-in texting, month-to-month terms or no stacked licenses usually do better with Callata ($99 per month including five users, then $20 per extra user), Zoom Phone ($18 per user monthly), Dialpad ($27 monthly, $15 annually), RingCentral ($30 monthly, $20 annually), Google Voice ($10 per user plus Workspace) or 8x8 (quote).

Prices are from each vendor's pricing page, checked October 1, 2026, and exclude taxes and fees.

How Teams Phone is priced

Option	Price per user/month (paid yearly)	Microsoft number	Outbound minutes
Teams Phone Standard	$10	No (bring your own via a provider)	Not included
With pay-as-you-go calling (US)	$13	Yes	Metered
With Calling Plan (US)	$17	Yes	3,000 domestic
With domestic and international calling	$34	Yes	3,000 domestic or 600 international

All four are annual subscriptions and require a separate Microsoft Teams license per user.

Why small teams look elsewhere

• Stacked licenses. Teams license plus Teams Phone plus a calling plan.
• Annual subscriptions. No month-to-month option on Microsoft's listed prices.
• Minute allowances. Calling Plans include set minutes rather than unlimited calling.
• Texting. Microsoft's Teams Phone page centers on calling; small businesses that text customers often need another tool.
• Setup. Teams Phone is configured in the Microsoft admin center, which suits an IT team better than an owner-operator.

Alternatives at a glance

Provider	Entry price	Unlimited US calling	Business texting	Contract
Teams Phone + Calling Plan (baseline)	$17/user + Teams license	3,000 minutes	Not part of core offer	Annual
Callata	$99/mo incl. 5 users, +$20/extra user	Unlimited inbound; 1,500 pooled outbound US and Canada minutes per user, then $0.01/min	Shared inbox after 10DLC	None
Zoom Phone + Workplace Basic	$18/user monthly, $16 annual	US and Canada	SMS and MMS	Monthly available
Dialpad Standard	$27/user monthly, $15 annual	Yes	Included	Monthly available
RingCentral RingEX Core	$30/user monthly, $20 annual	Yes	25 SMS/user/mo	Monthly available
Google Voice Starter	$10/user + Workspace	US	Included	Monthly
8x8	Quote	By package	By package	Negotiated

1. Callata

Callata is $99 per month including five users, plus $20 per month for each additional user, with up to three local numbers, unlimited inbound calling and a pooled allowance of 1,500 outbound US and Canada minutes per user per month (then $0.01 per minute). It includes a shared texting inbox (after a one-time $49 carrier registration), call recording with AI summaries, voicemail transcription with urgency triage, ring groups, extensions, business-hours routing and E911. AI agents answer and place calls at $0.25 per minute. Setup is done by the owner in a browser.

Versus Teams Phone: no stacked licenses, no annual subscription, texting included. Teams' US Calling Plan includes more outbound minutes per user (3,000 against Callata's pooled 1,500). Gaps: no Teams integration; calls happen in the Callata browser app or on your cell. See Callata vs Microsoft Teams Phone.

2. Zoom Phone

Zoom Phone with Workplace Basic costs $18 per user monthly ($16 annually), with unlimited US and Canada calling, SMS and MMS, recording and post-call summaries.

Versus Teams Phone: unlimited domestic calling and texting at a similar per-user price, with monthly billing. See Zoom Phone pricing explained.

3. Dialpad

Dialpad Connect Standard is $27 per user monthly or $15 annually, with calling, messaging, video and AI transcription and summaries.

Versus Teams Phone: AI on every call and its own meetings, so it can stand alone. See Dialpad pricing explained.

4. RingCentral

RingEX Core is $30 per user monthly or $20 annually, with a large integration catalog.

Versus Teams Phone: a full platform that can coexist with Microsoft tools for chat and documents. See RingCentral pricing explained.

5. Google Voice

Google Voice Starter is $10 per user (up to 10 users), Standard $20, plus Google Workspace from $7 per user.

Versus Teams Phone: the equivalent choice for companies on Google Workspace. See Google Voice pricing explained.

6. 8x8

8x8 sells unified communications and contact center products by quote and offers an integration that adds its calling to Microsoft Teams.

Versus Teams Phone: a route to keep Teams as the interface while using a dedicated telephony provider. See Callata vs 8x8.

Total cost for five users

Setup	Monthly cost for 5 users
Teams Phone + US Calling Plan	$85 plus five Teams licenses (annual)
Zoom Phone + Workplace Basic (monthly)	$90, meetings included
Dialpad Standard (monthly)	$135, meetings included
RingCentral Core (monthly)	$150
Google Voice Starter + Workspace Business Starter	$85, email and docs included
Callata	$99

At five users, Zoom Phone ($90) and Google Voice with Workspace ($85) list for less than Callata's $99, and Teams Phone's $85 excludes the Teams licenses. The fair comparison depends on what else you are paying for. If you already buy Microsoft 365 licenses that include Teams for everyone, Teams Phone's incremental cost is $17 per user, and staying inside Microsoft may be simplest.

When Teams Phone is the right answer

If your staff already spend the day in Teams, your IT team manages Microsoft 365, and you value one interface for chat, meetings and calls, Teams Phone is a sensible choice. Its minute allowances (3,000 domestic minutes per user per month on the Calling Plan) are generous for most office workers. Microsoft's security, compliance and identity management also extend to calling, which matters to regulated organizations with an existing Microsoft 365 setup.

When an alternative is better

• You do not have Microsoft 365 or Teams licenses for everyone who answers calls.
• You want month-to-month terms.
• You need business texting with customers.
• You want unlimited calling without minute pools (Zoom Phone, Dialpad and RingCentral list it; Callata pools 1,500 outbound minutes per user).
• An owner, not an IT department, will set up and run the phones.

A middle path: keep Teams, move the main line

Some businesses keep Teams Phone for internal staff who mostly call each other and partners, and move the main customer-facing number to a system built around customer calls and texts. The front desk, sales or service team then works from a shared inbox and ring groups, while everyone else keeps calling from Teams. If you go this route, document which number customers should use and make sure after-hours routing on the main line is covered, by voicemail, a person or an AI agent.

Switching checklist

• Check when your Teams Phone and Calling Plan subscriptions renew.
• Identify numbers held by Microsoft versus a third-party provider.
• Register for texting with the new provider; carrier approval usually takes several business days.
• Port numbers and update Teams policies so calls stop routing there after cutover.

Related: Microsoft Teams Phone pricing explained and the best phone system for remote teams.

Try Callata

If you want a phone system your team can use without stacking Microsoft licenses, Callata covers up to five users for $99 per month ($20 per additional user) with texting, recording and AI summaries. Create your Callata account.