Microsoft Teams Phone vs RingCentral
An honest side-by-side comparison of two of our top business phone systems picks — pricing, strengths, weaknesses, and who each one is really for.
Microsoft Teams Phone
Ranked #3 of 15 in this directory
Enterprise calling built into Microsoft Teams
RingCentral
Ranked #1 of 15 in this directory
The leading cloud communications and UCaaS platform
Our pick: RingCentral. Our editors rank RingCentral higher overall in Business Phone Systems — but Microsoft Teams Phone can be the better fit depending on your budget and use case below. How we review
Compare the details
| Microsoft Teams Phone | RingCentral | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Paid | Paid |
| Starting price | See website | See website |
| Category | Ucaas | Ucaas |
| Editorial rank | #3 of 15 | #1 of 15 |
Strengths
Microsoft Teams Phone
- ✓Natively integrated into Microsoft Teams — no separate app needed
- ✓Leverages existing Microsoft 365 security, compliance, and identity management
- ✓Flexible PSTN connectivity options including Calling Plans and Direct Routing
- ✓Familiar interface for the billions of Microsoft 365 users worldwide
- ✓Enterprise-grade admin center for policy management at scale
RingCentral
- ✓Most comprehensive UCaaS platform combining phone, video, messaging, and fax
- ✓300+ pre-built integrations with business-critical applications
- ✓Global reach with local numbers in 45+ countries
- ✓Industry-leading 99.999% uptime SLA for enterprise reliability
- ✓Open APIs and developer platform for custom integrations
Watch out for
Microsoft Teams Phone
- !Requires Microsoft 365 subscription plus additional Teams Phone license
- !Calling Plans availability varies by country and region
- !Call quality can be impacted by network configuration issues
- !Advanced telephony features lag behind dedicated UCaaS providers
RingCentral
- !Pricing is higher than many competitors especially for small teams
- !Feature-rich platform can be overwhelming for simple phone needs
- !Contract commitments required for best pricing
- !Admin portal has a learning curve for complex configurations
Best use cases
Microsoft Teams Phone
- →Microsoft 365 enterprises adding phone calling to their Teams deployment
- →Organizations migrating from Skype for Business to Teams with voice
- →Global companies using Operator Connect for local PSTN connectivity
RingCentral
- →Enterprises replacing legacy PBX with cloud-based unified communications
- →Global companies needing local phone presence across multiple countries
- →Organizations consolidating phone, video, and messaging onto one platform
About each tool
Microsoft Teams Phone
Microsoft Teams Phone adds PSTN calling capabilities to Microsoft Teams, enabling users to make and receive phone calls from the same platform they use for chat and video. With Calling Plans, Operator Connect, and Direct Routing options, it accommodates diverse telephony requirements. The platform leverages the Microsoft 365 ecosystem for compliance, security, and management at enterprise scale.
RingCentral
RingCentral MVP provides unified communications with business phone, video meetings, team messaging, and fax in a single cloud platform. It is consistently ranked as the top UCaaS provider with deep integrations across 300+ business apps including Salesforce, Microsoft, and Google. RingCentral supports global deployments with local numbers in 45+ countries and enterprise-grade reliability with a 99.999% uptime SLA.
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