by MicrosoftTeam chat
Chat, meetings and guest access from $4 per user in Teams Essentials, or inside Microsoft 365 Business plans from $7.
Chat, meetings and guest access for $4 a user, under Microsoft’s SOC 2, ISO 27001 and default HIPAA BAA terms.
Teams Essentials is the lowest listed price here for a company of 50: $200 a month paid yearly, for chat with guest access and meetings for up to 300 people. Microsoft’s compliance pages put Teams in scope for SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001, the HIPAA BAA comes by default through Microsoft’s data protection addendum, and tenants that sign up in the EU have chat data stored there. Retention policies and the audit log are licensed from Microsoft 365 Business Basic ($7), which also adds business email and Office web apps.
Against 3 other products we reviewed in Team chat: what you pay for with each, the five access facts, the plan limits we recorded and each review's bottom line. The note under the table says how each one was checked.
| Metric | Microsoft Teams | Slack | Google Chat | Zoom Workplace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Worth the priceChat, meetings and guest access for $4 a user, under Microsoft’s SOC 2, ISO 27001 and default HIPAA BAA terms. | Built-in reachChat on its own terms: channels shared with other companies, unlimited history and custom retention from $7.25 per active user. | Compliance includedChat included with Workspace from $7 a user, with SSO, Chat audit logs and a HIPAA BAA on the cheapest Business plan. | Compliance includedRetention periods, legal holds and searchable chat exports on the entry paid plan, with meetings, mail and calendar in the same app. |
| Overall score | 7.5Best | 7.1 | 7.0 | 5.9 |
| Free option | Free plan | Free plan | 14-day free trial | Free plan |
| Card to start | –Not measured | –Not measured | –Not measured | –Not measured |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $4/user/mo | $7.25/user/mo | $7/user/mo | $14.16/user/mo |
| Pricing model | Per seat | Per seat | Per seat | Per seat |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices | Public prices |
| Plan priced for 50 people | Teams Essentials, $4/user/mo paid yearly | Pro, $7.25/user/mo billed annually ($8.75 monthly) | Workspace Business Starter, $7/user/mo with a 1-year commitment ($8.40 flexible) | Workplace Pro, $14.16/user/mo billed annually ($16.99 on the monthly view) |
| What else the plan includes | Meetings up to 300 people, 10 GB storage per user | Chat only: huddles, canvases, lists, workflows | Gmail, Meet, Drive (30 GB pooled per user), Docs | Meetings up to 30 hours, Mail and Calendar clients, 10 GB cloud recording per user |
| 50 people, annual terms | $200/mo | $362.50/mo | $350/mo | $708/mo |
| Free option | Free Teams for personal accounts; 1-month business trial with a card | Free plan: 90 days of history, data older than 1 year deleted | 14-day Workspace trial | Basic: one free license; cloud chat copies kept 2 years |
| Retention, legal hold, eDiscovery | Retention policies from Business Basic ($7); eDiscovery cases need Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 | Custom retention on Pro; legal holds and Discovery API on Enterprise+ | Vault on Business Plus ($22) | Retention periods, legal holds and Chat History search and export on every paid plan |
| SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 | Both (Teams in scope) | Both | Both (Google Workspace) | Both (Zoom Chat in scope) |
| HIPAA BAA | By default through Microsoft’s data protection addendum | HIPAA support listed on Enterprise+ | Accepted by an admin in the Admin console | Zoom signs BAAs; plans not named, healthcare through sales |
| EU data storage | For tenants that sign up in the EU | Business+ and up, set up through sales | Data regions from Business Standard ($14) | Regional Infrastructure for Education and Enterprise accounts |
| Company SSO | Microsoft Entra ID (free version included) | SAML from Business+ ($15); Pro has Google OAuth | Third-party IdP on every Business plan | SAML from Business ($18.33) |
| Audit log | Purview Audit (Standard) from Business Basic | Enterprise+ | Chat log events on every Business plan | Admin activity logs from Pro |
| Working with outside people | Guest access included | Pro: guests and Slack Connect channels | Starter: external 1:1 and group DMs; external spaces from Standard | External contacts in chats and channels, admin-controlled |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, Teams Essentials is the cheapest way here to give 50 people chat and meetings, under Microsoft’s certifications and default BAA. Plan on Business Basic or above if you need retention policies or an audit log. | From its public pages, Slack is the most complete chat product sold on its own, with the only free team plan here. Admin and compliance controls step up by plan: SAML on Business+, audit logs, legal holds and HIPAA on Enterprise+. | From its public pages, Google Chat gives the strongest admin controls on the cheapest plan here, because they come with Workspace. It is not sold alone, and retention, eDiscovery and EU regions start on higher plans. | From its public pages, Zoom Workplace puts the most records controls on its entry paid plan here: retention, legal holds and chat exports on Pro. It is also the most expensive way here to give 50 people chat, and SSO starts on Business. |
Evidence: Microsoft Teams: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Slack: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Google Chat: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Zoom Workplace: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
Review from public pages
Written from Microsoft Teams's public pages (pricing, security or privacy, and docs) as read on Oct 15, 2026. We did not sign up, and no hands-on run is published yet.
We read Microsoft's Teams business plans page, the Microsoft 365 business comparison, the Teams Essentials and free Teams pages, and Microsoft Learn pages on Purview licensing, eDiscovery, data residency and compliance offerings on Oct 15, 2026; we did not sign up for this review. Teams is sold three ways for business: Teams Essentials at $4 per user a month paid yearly, and inside Microsoft 365 Business Basic ($7), Business Standard with Copilot ($23.50) and Business Premium with Copilot ($32). The business comparison links to a FAQ on the July 1, 2026, packaging and pricing updates for Microsoft 365 suites.
The pricing pages list annual-subscription prices only and describe a monthly commitment option without a price. The compliance story sits on Microsoft Learn: Teams retention policies are licensed from Business Basic, with retention periods above 30 days on Business plans, Purview Audit (Standard) is listed on all Business plans, and eDiscovery cases need Microsoft 365 E3 or E5. None of these pages mention Teams Essentials, so we did not credit it with those features.
The free version of Teams is for personal accounts. Microsoft says small businesses can use it, but upgrading moves everyone to a paid plan and an upgraded address cannot go back to free.
Teams Essentials is $4 per user a month paid yearly, or $200 a month for 50, with chat, guest access and meetings for up to 300 participants.
vs Slack: Slack Pro comes to $362.50 and Google Workspace Business Starter to $350 for the same 50 people.
Microsoft provides its BAA through the data protection addendum to customers covered by HIPAA, with Teams in scope.
vs Slack: Slack lists HIPAA support on Enterprise+; Google’s BAA is accepted in the Admin console.
Teams data residency docs commit to storing chat data in the EU for tenants that sign up there, with Advanced Data Residency and Multi-Geo as add-ons.
The plan comparison lists Microsoft Entra ID (free version) on Teams Essentials and the Business plans.
Teams Essentials lists unlimited chat including guest access, and chat between work and personal accounts.
Teams retention policies and Purview Audit are licensed on Microsoft 365 Business plans; Microsoft’s licensing pages do not mention Teams Essentials.
Workaround: Business Basic ($7) adds them along with business email and Office web apps.
Microsoft’s eDiscovery guide says admins and users working with eDiscovery cases need a Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3 or E5 license.
Group meetings on free Teams run up to 60 minutes; upgrading moves every user to a paid plan, and the converted address cannot return to free.
The plan pages show prices for an annual subscription; a monthly commitment is offered, but its price is not on the page.
Teams is billed per user, with annual subscriptions on the plan pages. Teams Essentials is $4 a month paid yearly, Microsoft 365 Business Basic $7, Business Standard with Copilot $23.50 and Business Premium with Copilot $32; Teams Premium is a $10 add-on.
For 50 people on Teams Essentials: 50 × $4 = $200 a month, or $2,400 a year. Business Basic, which adds retention policies, the audit log, business email and Office web apps, comes to $350 a month. eDiscovery cases need Microsoft 365 E3 or E5. The one-month trial requires a credit card.
Microsoft’s plan pages say that when a subscription is canceled, all associated data is deleted. Its licensing guidance lists Teams Export APIs for exporting chat and channel messages with E5-level licenses.
From its public pages, Teams Essentials is the cheapest way here to give 50 people chat and meetings, under Microsoft’s certifications and default BAA. Plan on Business Basic or above if you need retention policies or an audit log.
| Limit | As recorded |
|---|---|
| Plan priced for 50 people | Teams Essentials, $4/user/mo paid yearly |
| What else the plan includes | Meetings up to 300 people, 10 GB storage per user |
| 50 people, annual terms | $200/mo |
| Free option | Free Teams for personal accounts; 1-month business trial with a card |
| Retention, legal hold, eDiscovery | Retention policies from Business Basic ($7); eDiscovery cases need Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 |
| SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 | Both (Teams in scope) |
| HIPAA BAA | By default through Microsoft’s data protection addendum |
| EU data storage | For tenants that sign up in the EU |
| Company SSO | Microsoft Entra ID (free version included) |
| Audit log | Purview Audit (Standard) from Business Basic |
| Working with outside people | Guest access included |
Read from the vendor's public pages on Oct 15, 2026. No hands-on run is published yet. How we check
We have not published a sign-up run for Microsoft Teams yet. The access facts above were read from its sign-up and pricing pages on Oct 15, 2026.
We have not published API calls for Microsoft Teams yet.
Microsoft Teams lists 4 plans. The cheapest paid plan, Teams Essentials, costs $4/user/mo.
Prices as listed, USD, excluding tax; observed 2026-10-15.
Source: microsoft.com pricing page. Prices change; the observed date above is when our agent read them.
We read the pricing, help, licensing and trust pages of three team chat apps on the same day and scored them on the same six indicators. What 50 people cost on the cheapest plan with chat, what else that plan buys, where retention, compliance and admin controls start, and who should pick which.
