DingTalk vs Microsoft Teams (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Microsoft Teams: it is second in our ranking of team communication apps, and it grades higher too, 3.0 against 2.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
DingTalk grades higher on the free plan. Microsoft Teams grades higher on value for money, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
DingTalk
Chat, meetings, docs and approvals in one work platform
Microsoft Teams
Chat, video meetings and calling tied into Microsoft 365
Which one is for you
Pick DingTalk if
- Fits if a small company wants chat, meetings and approvals in one account
- Works for teams that want a free tier for up to 10 people
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if store ratings matter to you, as the iOS app averages 1.4 from about 14,000 ratings
- Tight if you are over 10 people on Free, or over 300 on Basic
- Tight if you hold long meetings on Free, as they stop at 40 minutes
- Watch out: the lower price is assumed to be the annual rate, so confirm it
- Watch out: only an iOS app was confirmed, and no other platforms are named
Pick Microsoft Teams if
- Fits if your company already pays for Microsoft 365, because Teams usually comes with it
- Works for teams who want chat and meetings at $4.00 a person and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files together
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your team runs Linux, because Microsoft says Teams is no longer supported there
- Tight if you're hoping for a free team chat, since the free version is for one person and group calls stop at 60 minutes
- Pricey if you need webinars, which start on Business Standard with Copilot at $23.50, or Phone and Premium at $10.00 each
- Not for you if a slow, busy app drives you mad, going by Hacker News and App Store reviews
- Watch out: the one-month trial needs a card and turns into a paid plan, and the lower-priced plans stop at 300 users
How we grade them
| 2.0GPADingTalkFair | 3.0GPAMicrosoft TeamsVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBasic is $4 per user a month at the annual rate ($4.80 monthly), just above the $3.50 that marks the cheaper quarter of team-chat tools. The middle is $7. | BTeams Essentials is $4.00 a user a month paid yearly, the low end of the category: 300-person meetings of up to 30 hours, recordings with transcripts, 10 GB each. Business Basic at $7.00 adds Office and business email. Webinars, Phone and Copilot cost extra. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree covers up to 10 users with 100 GB of storage, 40-minute meetings, 300 AI speech-to-text minutes per user and 180 days of chat history. A small team could use it, and paid plans get a free month. | CMicrosoft's own page says the free version is for one person, so it won't run a team. Chat is unlimited, but group calls stop at 60 minutes and 100 people with 5 GB of storage. The one-month trial of the paid plans wants a card and turns into a subscription on its own. |
| Features | BChat, meetings, docs, drive, mail, calendar, AI minutes, an AI table, approvals and attendance. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core chat job. | BIn one window: chat and channels, 300-person meetings with breakout rooms and noise suppression, recordings with transcripts, shared Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, and Teams Phone if you want the office line in here too. Webinars, Phone, Premium and Copilot are all priced separately. |
| Ease of use | FThe App Store listing shows 1.4 from about 14,000 ratings, and the recent reviews shown date from 2020. | A4.8 on the App Store from about 3.4 million ratings, and for most people it's already installed and signed in by work. Chat, meetings, calls and files are in one window, so there's no second app to learn. Hacker News regulars still call it slow and bloated. |
| Platforms and integrations | COnly an iOS app was confirmed from the listing, and the English pages name no other platforms. No API or integration list is shown. | BWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. No Linux desktop app: Microsoft says the Linux client is no longer supported and points you at a web app. The integrations on record are all Microsoft's own, Loop, OneNote, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Whiteboard, Exchange and Copilot. |
| Best for | a chat, meetings and approvals suite for a small company | offices that already pay for Microsoft 365 |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: DingTalk and Microsoft Teams. How we grade
Price against what you get
DingTalk starts at $4 a month for each person and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Microsoft Teams starts at $4 a month for each person and scores 3.3.
Microsoft Teams scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other team communication apps on the chart, 14 score higher than DingTalk for less, and 1 scores higher than Microsoft Teams for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- DingTalk also covers meeting notes and calendar.
- Microsoft Teams also covers noise cancellation, whiteboard and file sharing.
At a glance
| DingTalk | Microsoft Teams | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $4.00 per user / month, annual rate ($4.80 billed monthly) | $4.00 per user / month, paid yearly |
| Free plan | Free plan for up to 10 users: 100 GB storage, HD video meetings up to 40 minutes, 300 AI speech-to-text minutes per user a month, and 180 days of chat history. | Microsoft Teams (free) is for one person: unlimited chat, group calls of up to 60 minutes and 100 participants, and 5 GB of cloud storage. |
| Free trial | Free 1-month trial on paid plans | One-month free trial of the paid plans; a credit card is required and it converts to a paid subscription. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | DingTalk (Singapore) Private Limited | Microsoft |
| Price read from | dingtalk.com | microsoft.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
DingTalk
- The pricing page was read through a Monthly or Annually toggle; the lower price is assumed to be the annual rate and a person should confirm it.
- Free is capped at 10 users and 40-minute meetings, and Basic stops at 300 users.
- Only an iOS app was confirmed from the App Store listing; the English pages name no other platforms.
- The App Store listing shows a 1.4 average from about 14,000 ratings, and the most recent reviews shown are from 2020.
Microsoft Teams
- The free version is built for one person: group calls stop at 60 minutes and 100 participants, with 5 GB of cloud storage.
- Teams Essentials and the Microsoft 365 Business plans stop at 300 users; larger organizations need Teams Enterprise or Microsoft 365 E3 or E5.
- There is no Linux desktop app: Microsoft points Linux users to a progressive web app and says the Linux client is no longer supported.
- Webinar hosting is left out of Teams Essentials and Business Basic, and phone service, Teams Premium and Copilot are separately priced add-ons.
Key features
DingTalk
- Chat with long retention
- Messaging history is kept for 180 days on Free, 2 years on Basic, 10 years on Standard and 20 years on Premium.
- Video meetings
- Meetings run in HD on Free and Full HD on paid plans, with limits of 100, 300 or 500 participants depending on the plan.
- AI Minutes
- Speech-to-text and AI-generated meeting summaries are metered per user each month: 300 minutes and 5 summaries, or 1,500 and 50 on Premium.
- AI Table
- Spreadsheet-style tables for building business apps with automations, with row limits from 2,000 to 50,000 per sheet and monthly automation runs.
- Docs, drive, mail and calendar
- The same suite includes cloud docs, a drive with per-user storage, mail with attachment limits and a calendar.
- Approvals and attendance
- The English download page lists clock-in, clock-out and leave approval features, and the Chinese site lists approval and attendance products.
Microsoft Teams
- Chat and channels
- Chats and channels hold conversations, shared files, Loop and OneNote pages and third-party apps. Paid plans include unlimited chat messages, file attachments and search.
- Video meetings
- Business plans allow meetings of up to 300 participants and 30 hours, with screen sharing, breakout rooms, custom backgrounds, Together mode and noise suppression.
- Recordings, transcripts and captions
- Paid plans record meetings with transcripts. Live captions cover more than 30 languages on the Microsoft 365 business plans and English only on Teams Essentials.
- Webinars
- Webinar hosting with attendee registration and reporting comes with Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot and the enterprise suites, not with Business Basic or Essentials.
- Teams Phone
- A cloud phone system added to a Teams license. Teams Phone Standard is $10.00 per user / month paid yearly, and US bundles that add a calling plan start at $13.00.
- Copilot and Teams Premium
- Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams Premium are add-ons. Teams Premium costs $10.00 per user / month paid yearly and needs a plan with a Teams Enterprise license.
Plans
DingTalk
Free$0.00
Up to 10 users, 100 GB storage, 100 participants per meeting and chat retained for 180 days.
Basic$4.00
per user / month, annual rate ($4.80 billed monthly)
Up to 300 users, 2 TB plus 5 GB per user, Full HD meetings up to 24 hours and chat retained for 2 years.
Standard$8.00
per user / month, annual rate ($9.60 billed monthly)
From 3 users with no upper limit, 300 meeting participants, 500 GB mailboxes and chat retained for 10 years.
Premium$15.00
per user / month, annual rate ($18.00 billed monthly)
500 meeting participants, 1,500 AI speech-to-text minutes per user, 5 TB mailboxes and chat retained for 20 years.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams (free)$0
For one person: unlimited chat, group calls of up to 60 minutes and 100 participants, tasks and polling, and 5 GB of cloud storage.
Microsoft Teams Essentials$4.00
per user / month, paid yearly
Teams on its own for up to 300 users: meetings of up to 300 people and 30 hours, recordings with transcripts, and 10 GB of storage per user.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic$7.00
per user / month, paid yearly
Suite plan that includes Teams, plus web and mobile Office apps, custom business email and 1 TB of cloud storage per user. Up to 300 users.
Microsoft Teams Enterprise$8.55
per user / month, paid yearly
Teams on its own for organizations of more than 300 people, with recordings, transcripts and 10 GB of cloud storage per user.
M365 Business Standard with Copilot$23.50
per user / month, paid yearly
Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot: Teams with webinar hosting, desktop Office apps and Copilot in the apps. Up to 300 users.
Microsoft 365 E3$39.00
per user / month, paid yearly (annual commitment)
Enterprise suite for any size that includes Teams with webinars, desktop Office apps and added security. Microsoft 365 E5 is $60.00.
Ways to pay less
DingTalk
- Annual discount
About 17% off with annual billing
The pricing section shows annual rates roughly 17% below the monthly figures, for example $4.00 against $4.80 for Basic.
Microsoft Teams
- Nonprofit
75% off Microsoft 365 Business Premium for nonprofits
Eligible nonprofits can get Microsoft 365 Business Premium, a suite that includes Microsoft Teams, at a 75% discount after registering and confirming eligibility.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, DingTalk or Microsoft Teams?
As of Nov 12, 2026, they start at the same price. DingTalk starts at $4.00 per user / month, annual rate ($4.80 billed monthly), and Microsoft Teams starts at $4.00 per user / month, paid yearly.
Which has a free plan, DingTalk or Microsoft Teams?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both DingTalk and Microsoft Teams have a free plan.
Which platforms do DingTalk and Microsoft Teams run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Microsoft Teams lists a web app and macOS, Windows and Android apps. Both list an iOS app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.