Microsoft Teams vs Whereby

Microsoft Teams

• Organizations that already pay for Microsoft 365
• Small businesses that want meetings and chat without the full suite
• Companies that want phone calling inside their chat app
• Teams that co-edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files

Whereby

• Consultants, coaches and therapists who meet clients in one fixed room
• Guests who should join from a browser without an account or download
• Small teams that want simple per-host pricing
• Product teams adding video calls through the separate Embedded API

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.

Whereby

• The Free plan allows 1 host, 4 attendees per meeting and 30-minute meetings; Business requires at least 3 hosts.
• There is an iOS app but no Android or desktop app; Android users join in Chrome, and screen sharing and recording work only on computers.
• End-to-end encryption is listed only for small peer-to-peer rooms.
• The about page says product and engineering have focused entirely on Whereby Embedded, the API product, since 2023.

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.

Whereby

Rooms that run in the browser

Calls run in desktop and mobile browsers over WebRTC with no download needed, and guests join a fixed room URL without creating an account.

Collaboration during calls

Screen sharing, live chat with reactions and file sharing, breakout groups, and embedded Miro boards and Google Docs for working together.

Recording

The Pro plan lists unlimited recording, and the Meetings plan comparison lists local recording, which saves a call to your own device.

Room controls

Rooms can be locked so the host decides who joins, with background effects and noise reduction in calls and a custom waiting room on the plan comparison.

Branding and shared rooms

Pro adds custom room colors, logos and backgrounds. Business adds a custom subdomain, shared rooms, and Flex rooms that run without a licensed host present.

Whereby Embedded API

A separately priced API and SDK for adding video calls to your own product: free to test, then $9.99 a month plus usage, with 2,000 participant minutes included.

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.

Whereby

• Free$0

  1 host, 1 room URL, 4 attendees per meeting and meetings of up to 30 minutes.

• Pro$10.99

  per month, billed monthly ($109.90 billed annually)

  For one host: 3 room URLs, 100 attendees per meeting, no time limit, custom branding and unlimited recording.

• Business$13.99

  per host / month, billed monthly ($139.90 billed annually)

  Minimum 3 hosts. Unlimited room URLs, 200 attendees per meeting, shared and Flex rooms, and a custom subdomain.

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.

Whereby

• Annual discount

  Save 17% with annual billing

  The pricing page lists a 17% saving on annual plans: Pro is $109.90 billed annually against $10.99 a month, and Business is $139.90 per host against $13.99 a month.

• Nonprofit

  20% off Pro and Business for nonprofits

  Registered nonprofits and charities can claim 20% off monthly or annual Whereby Meetings Pro and Business plans by emailing support, per a 2023 Whereby announcement.