Microsoft Teams vs Threema Work (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 2.4.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Microsoft Teams grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Microsoft Teams
Chat, video meetings and calling tied into Microsoft 365
Threema Work
Encrypted business messenger from Switzerland
Which one is for you
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
Pick Threema Work if
- Fits if your company wants chat with servers in Switzerland and no phone number needed
- Makes sense if you want central user management for up to 200 people
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you have more than 200 users, as Core stops at 200
- Pricey if you want broadcast, automation or the API, which need Professional at $5
- Watch out: syncing users with Azure AD costs extra
- Watch out: the page converts CHF and EUR figures one-to-one into USD
- Watch out: self-hosting (OnPrem) is sold through sales with no published price
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAMicrosoft TeamsVery good | 2.4GPAThreema WorkFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | BCore is $3.00 per user a month billed annually, inside the cheapest quarter of team-chat tools, which starts at $3.50. Professional is $5.00. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | DA 30-day free trial is offered, but the page doesn't say whether it needs a card. There is no free plan. |
| Features | 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. | BUser management, calls and group chats, broadcast messaging, automation and an API. Nothing in the listing shows a missing core piece, though broadcast and API need Professional. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo store rating on record. An admin has to set up users, so there is some setup. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, plus an API on Professional and an Azure AD link. No desktop app is listed in the data. |
| Best for | offices that already pay for Microsoft 365 | encrypted team messaging hosted in Switzerland |
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: Microsoft Teams and Threema Work. How we grade
Price against what you get
Microsoft Teams starts at $4 a month for each person and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Threema Work starts at $3 a month for each person and scores 2.7.
Microsoft Teams scores higher, and starts $1 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other team communication apps on the chart, 1 scores higher than Microsoft Teams for less, and 2 score higher than Threema Work 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
- Threema Work is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Microsoft Teams also covers transcription, noise cancellation and whiteboard.
At a glance
| Microsoft Teams | Threema Work | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $4.00 per user / month, paid yearly | $3.00 per user / month, billed annually |
| Free plan | 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. | None |
| Free trial | One-month free trial of the paid plans; a credit card is required and it converts to a paid subscription. | 30-day free trial |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Microsoft | Threema |
| Price read from | microsoft.com | threema.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Threema Work
- Core is limited to 200 users; Broadcast, automation and API access need Professional.
- Syncing users with Azure AD costs extra, according to the feature table on the pricing page.
- Pricing is shown per user; the page marks it annual payment and says USD figures are converted one-to-one from CHF and EUR.
- The pricing page names the app, web client and a desktop app but lists no platform detail beyond iOS, Android and web.
Key features
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.
Threema Work
- Central user management
- A management cockpit lets admins preconfigure contact lists, revoke IDs, see active users and manage people with tags.
- Calls and group chats
- Text and voice messages, voice, video and group calls, group chats, polls and emoji reactions are listed on every business plan.
- Broadcast messaging
- Threema Broadcast sends one-to-many messages through distribution lists, feeds and bots; Professional includes it, with the Broadcast API.
- Privacy design
- Usage without a phone number, SIM card or email address is listed, and Threema says it is GDPR-compliant and avoids metadata.
- Automation and API
- Professional adds an API for automated administration and for the Threema Gateway, with unlimited gateway credits.
- Self-hosted option
- Threema OnPrem runs on your own infrastructure with full control of data, and the OnPrem plan adds air-gapped operation and white-labeling.
Plans
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.
Threema Work
Core$3.00
per user / month, billed annually
Central user management for up to 200 users, 99.5% availability SLA and 24-hour support response.
Professional$5.00
per user / month, billed annually
Unlimited users, Threema Broadcast, automation and API access, 99.9% SLA and 6-hour support response.
OnPremCustom
Self-hosted Threema with full white-labeling, air-gapped operation and premium support. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
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.
Threema Work
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Teams or Threema Work?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Threema Work is cheaper to start with: $3 a month for each person, against $4 a month for each person for Microsoft Teams. Microsoft Teams starts at $4.00 per user / month, paid yearly, and Threema Work starts at $3.00 per user / month, billed annually.
Which has a free plan, Microsoft Teams or Threema Work?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Microsoft Teams has a free plan. Threema Work does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Microsoft Teams and Threema Work run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Microsoft Teams lists macOS and Windows apps. Both list a web app and iOS and Android apps. 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.