Microsoft Teams vs Wire

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

Wire

• Organizations that need end-to-end encryption for messages, calls and files
• Governments and regulated sectors that require on-premises deployment
• Teams that bring outside partners in as guests or externals
• NGOs, which are offered a 40% discount

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.

Wire

• Prices are listed in euros only.
• Wire for Free stops at 5 team members and cannot start a conference call with more than 2 participants.
• The SMB plan covers teams of up to 100 people; larger organizations need a custom Enterprise quote.
• The Linux desktop app is a community-supported experimental build, and browser calling works only in Chrome.

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.

Wire

Encrypted messaging

Group and 1:1 conversations with search, reactions, sketches, audio and video messages and self-deleting messages, all end-to-end encrypted with MLS.

Calls and conferences

Audio and video conferencing for up to 150 participants on web, desktop and mobile, with screen sharing and moderation tools such as muting participants.

Wire Drive

Integrated file management and online document collaboration, with files kept inside conversations tied to verified group membership.

Guests and externals

Externals are team members with limited access rights, while guests can join a conversation from a web browser without an account.

Cloud, on-premises or hybrid

Wire can be deployed in its cloud, on your own infrastructure or both, and federation lets separate Wire backends interact as if they were one.

SSO, SCIM and admin controls

Paid plans add SAML-based single sign-on, SCIM provisioning, administrative controls and feature configurations such as restricting file sharing.

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.

Wire

• Wire for Free€0

  For small teams of up to 5 people: collaboration essentials on all platforms and up to 8 devices.

• Wire for SMB€7.45

  per person / month, paid annually (€8.94 paid monthly)

  Teams of up to 100 people. Video conferences with up to 150 participants, SSO and SCIM, administrative controls, and external and guest roles.

• Wire for EnterpriseCustom

  More than 100 people. Federation with Wire Cloud, ID Shield, full deployment support, data sovereignty and multi-tenancy.

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.

Wire

• Annual discount

  About 17% less with annual payment

  Wire for SMB costs €7.45 per person / month with annual payment against €8.94 with monthly payment.

• Nonprofit

  40% discount for NGOs

  Wire's pricing FAQ says it offers NGOs a 40% discount, applied for by contacting the company.