Microsoft Teams add-on licenses

Which capabilities can I get with add-on licenses?

Add-on licenses are licenses for specific Microsoft Teams capabilities. They give you the flexibility to add capabilities only for users in your organization who need them. To add a capability, buy one add-on license for each user who will use it.

The add-on licensing options available to you depend on the Microsoft 365 plan you have. To see which voice calling and audio conferencing options are available to you, see the Which Microsoft capabilities are available with my plan? section of this article.

Here's a list of Teams add-on licenses and their capabilities that you can add to your Teams subscription.

License Description
Microsoft Teams Premium Microsoft Teams Premium is a Teams add-on license that allows organizations with Microsoft 365 subscriptions to enhance their Teams experience with benefits like more personalized and intelligent meetings, enhanced meeting protection, and advanced management and reporting capabilities. For more information about the Teams Premium add-on license, see Microsoft Teams Premium licensing.
Teams Phone with Calling Plan bundle The Teams Phone with Calling Plan license bundles Teams Phone System's PBX capabilities and a Domestic Calling Plan for PSTN connectivity.
Teams Phone Standard Teams Phone System is a hosted telephone service that gives you call control and Private Branch Exchange (PBX) capabilities. Teams Phone Standard licenses give you all Teams Phone System capabilities like cloud voicemail, call park, call forwarding, auto attendants, call queues, call transfer, and caller ID.

To learn more about Phone System, see Here's what you get with Teams Phone System.
Microsoft Teams Calling Plans If your users need to call phone numbers outside your organization, you can purchase Microsoft Teams Calling Plans to connect to PSTN phone numbers with Microsoft as your PSTN provider. There are Domestic Calling Plans, International Calling Plans, and Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plans.

To find out whether Teams Calling Plans is available in your country or region, see Country and region availability for Audio Conferencing and Calling Plans.
Communication Credits Communication Credits provide a monthly pool of minutes that can be used for PSTN phone calls, if all your Calling Plan minutes get used before the beginning of the next month. If you want toll-free numbers for Audio Conferencing, auto attendants, or call queues, you'll need to set up Communications Credits.
Audio Conferencing Sometimes people in your organization will need to use a phone to call in to a Teams meeting instead of their computer. Set up Audio Conferencing for users who schedule or lead meetings with attendees who need to call in using a phone.

To find out whether Audio Conferencing is available in your country or region, see Country and region availability for Audio Conferencing and Calling Plans. For pricing info, see Pricing for Audio Conferencing.

Organizations can now use a third-party operator for their Audio Conferencing numbers. For more information, see Plan for Operator Connect Conferencing.
Microsoft Teams Rooms Microsoft Teams Rooms is an additional Microsoft Teams product that brings video, audio, and content sharing to conference rooms.

Teams Rooms Basic is a free license for up to 25 rooms that delivers core meeting and management functionality for all Teams Rooms devices.

Teams Rooms Pro brings enhanced meeting experiences and advanced management and security to help you operate your devices at scale and enable inclusive hybrid meetings.

For more information, see Teams Meeting Room Licensing.
Microsoft Teams Shared Devices Many organizations require flexible workplace solutions as they shift to hybrid work scenarios. The Microsoft Teams Shared Devices license is designed to support hybrid work by allowing offices to designate devices as shared devices, including common area phones, Teams displays for hot-desks, and Teams panels for meeting spaces. For more information, see Microsoft Teams Shared Devices licensing.

Which Microsoft capabilities are available with my plan?

Most Microsoft 365 plans allow Teams users to make peer-to-peer calls within your organization using VoIP technology. However, you may want to add on different licenses for capabilities like making calls to PSTN numbers or setting up a PBX.

Important

Starting October 1, 2023, new commercial customers in the EEA and Switzerland who wish to provide workers with both Microsoft Teams and the value in existing Microsoft 365 or Office 365 Enterprise suites (E1/E3/E5) will need to purchase two SKUs: one E1/E3/E5 EEA (no Teams) suite and Microsoft Teams EEA. Microsoft 365 Business suites (up to 300 users) and Frontline workers will be available in versions both with and without Teams in these regions.

EEA and Switzerland customers who were already subscribed to Microsoft 365 or Office 365 suites that include Teams prior to October 1, 2023 will continue to be able to use and renew those subscriptions.

For more information on this licensing change in the EEA and Switzerland, see New subscription structure for Microsoft 365 in Europe.

Voice and PSTN connectivity

Whether you're a small business, enterprise organization, educational institution, government agency, or nonprofit, you have three ways to get Teams Phone System and PSTN connectivity:

  • Buy a Teams Essentials with Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft 365 Business, E1/E3, A1/A3, F1/F3, or G1/G3 plan and then buy Teams Phone with Calling Plan bundle licenses.

  • Buy a Teams Essentials with Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft 365 Business, E1/E3, A1/A3, F1/F3, or G1/G3 plan, buy Teams Phone Standard licenses (If you're adding Teams Phone to F1/F3, buy Teams Phone Standard for Frontline Workers licenses), and buy a Microsoft standalone calling plan or choose a third-party PSTN carrier.

  • Buy an E5/A5/G5 plan and buy Microsoft Calling Plans or connect to a third-party PSTN connectivity provider.

    • Most Microsoft 365 E5, A5, and G5 plans include Teams Phone System, but organizations still need to choose a PSTN connectivity option.

Here's a summary of which Microsoft voice and calling licenses to purchase, based on Microsoft 365 plan:

Base plan Want Microsoft as your PSTN carrier Want to use a third-party PSTN carrier
Teams Essentials (Microsoft Entra ID)

Any Microsoft 365 plan that includes Teams
Teams Phone with Calling Plan bundle licenses

or

Teams Phone Standard licenses
plus
Domestic Calling Plan, International Calling Plan, or Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan licenses
Teams Phone Standard licenses
Microsoft 365 E5/A5/G5 plans Domestic Calling Plan, International Calling Plan, or Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan licenses

For instructions on how to buy licenses in the Microsoft 365 admin center, see Buy or remove licenses.

After you've purchased licenses, you'll need to assign them to your users. For more information, see Assign Teams add-on licenses.

Purchase the Teams Phone Standard for Frontline Workers license

To access the Teams Phone for Frontline Workers license, your tenant must also be licensed with Microsoft 365 Frontline Worker or Office 365 Frontline Worker licenses.

Also, Microsoft 365 and Office 365 Frontline Worker licenses can only be assigned to users who meet one or more of the following requirements:

  • The user uses a primary device with a single screen smaller than 10.9".
  • The user shares their primary work device with other licensed Microsoft 365 or Office 365 Frontline Worker licensed users, during or across shifts.
    • Other licensed Microsoft Frontline Worker users must also use the device as their primary work device.
    • Any software or services accessed from the shared device requires the devices or users to be assigned a user license that includes use of those software or services.

Unassign licenses from users

You have two ways to remove users' access to certain products: unassign product licenses from specific users or unassign user licenses from a specific product.

For instructions on how to unassign licenses, see Unassign licenses from users.

More guidance on Microsoft plans

Learn more about Microsoft plans and get guidance according to your organization type:

Need help?

Need to talk to someone about the add-on options? Contact support for business products - Admin Help.