# Microsoft Teams Phone — Cloud Telephony (VoIP & Cloud PBX) Microsoft Teams Phone by Microsoft Corporation holds a panel rating of 2/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 3/5), as of 2026-11-06. Provenance: Rest of world; sovereignty: not determined. - Vendor: Microsoft Corporation (https://www.microsoft.com/de-de/microsoft-teams/microsoft-teams-phone) - Category: [Cloud Telephony (VoIP & Cloud PBX)](https://whats-best.ai/software/cloud-telephony.md) - Provenance (editorial classification): Rest of world - Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/cloud-telephony/microsoft-teams-phone - Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/cloud-telephony/microsoft-teams-phone/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/cloud-telephony/microsoft-teams-phone/alternatives.md)) - Data as of: 2026-11-06 · evaluated 2026-11-06 · oldest source captured 2026-11-05 **AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology ## At a glance - Vendor: Microsoft Corporation - Headquarters: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 5 Nov 2026 - Data hosting: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 5 Nov 2026 - Free plan: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 5 Nov 2026 ## The panel's verdict Microsoft Teams Phone is a cloud telephony add-on to Microsoft 365, reaching the public network through a Microsoft calling plan, Operator Connect, Direct Routing via a certified session border controller, or Teams Phone Mobile. It scores highest on integration and administration and network and compliance, citing a documented Graph API, PowerShell automation, voice policies at global, group and user level, a 99.999% reliability SLA, and SIP/TLS with SRTP. It is weakest on pricing transparency: the licence structure — three calling plan types, pooled minutes, pay-as-you-go funded by Communication Credits — is public, but no per-user price appears, so a year's bill cannot be computed. Contact center follows at 3-4: call queues and auto attendants are included, with no public information on wallboards, listen and whisper, per-agent statistics or dialers. Apps and devices spreads 4-6, higher scores crediting Direct Routing and Operator Connect depth, lower ones finding no public information on device makers and provisioning. Sovereignty sits at 4: the EU data boundary names fifteen data centre countries while allowing limited transfers outside it; the vendor is Microsoft Corporation, USA. **Speaks for it:** - Number porting, new number purchase, auto attendants, call queues, cloud voicemail, forwarding, transfer and caller ID are documented - Direct Routing connects an existing PBX and third-party carrier through a Microsoft-certified session border controller - A documented Graph REST API with SDKs and change notifications sits beside PowerShell provisioning and voice policies at global, group and user level - A 99.999% reliability service level agreement is published for the Microsoft calling plan, alongside SIP/TLS, SRTP and named codecs - Teams Phone Mobile makes a user's SIM number their Teams number through certified mobile operators, with calls in the Teams desktop and mobile clients **Held against it:** - No per-user price, per-minute rate or number, porting or device cost appears on the captured pages - We found no public information on wallboards, listen and whisper, per-agent statistics, callbacks or dialers for agents - Emergency calling is documented as an emergency screening service in the U.S. - We found no public information on an EU contracting entity, a data processing agreement or a subprocessor list, and the EU data boundary allows limited transfers outside it - We found no public information on CRM click-to-call, call logging, single sign-on, SCIM provisioning or audit logs **Best for:** - You already run Microsoft 365 and want calling inside the Teams clients, administered through PowerShell and the Graph API - You must keep an existing PBX or your own carrier contracts — Direct Routing connects them through a Microsoft-certified session border controller - You need ported numbers with auto attendants and call queues for office calling rather than agent supervision - Your mobile staff want one number — Teams Phone Mobile makes the SIM number the Teams number through certified mobile operators **Avoid if:** - You run an agent-heavy contact center — the captured pages document call queues, auto attendants and a Dynamics 365 integration, with no public information on wallboards, live monitoring or per-agent statistics - You must compute an annual bill from public prices before signing — ask the vendor: the public pages we read do not show it - You require a stated EU contracting entity and no transfers outside the EU data boundary — the vendor is Microsoft Corporation in the USA and the boundary document states that limited circumstances allow transfers outside it - You need confirmed emergency routing in Germany — the captured pages describe an emergency screening service in the U.S. ## Scores by judge and criterion Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v1). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price, or the judge found no public information on that criterion. | Criterion | The Office Manager | The IT Administrator | The Contact Centre Lead | The Inside Sales Lead | The Data Protection Officer | The Skeptic | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Calling, numbers & call routing | 2.5/5 | 2/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 2/5 | | Apps, desk phones & Microsoft Teams | 2/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 2.5/5 | | Call centre, analytics & AI | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | | CRM integration, API & administration | 2.5/5 | 3/5 | 2.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2.5/5 | | Reliability, call security & telecoms compliance | 2.5/5 | 3/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | | European sovereignty | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | | Pricing transparency | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1.5/5 | 1/5 | | **Weighted verdict** | **2/5** | **2.5/5** | **2/5** | **2.5/5** | **2.5/5** | **2/5** | ### The judges - **The Office Manager** (v1.0): Runs the office of a tax advisory firm with twenty-five staff in Hanover, where the old phone box in the server cupboard is being switched off by the carrier. The firm's number has been on every letterhead for thirty years and must not change. Wants the number ported without a gap, a greeting and a queue during the tax deadline weeks, voicemail by email, the desk phones kept, and a monthly bill the partners can read without calling anyone. - **The IT Administrator** (v1.0): IT administrator at a machine builder with 280 staff on three sites in Baden-Württemberg, with production halls on DECT handsets, the office on Microsoft Teams and a service team abroad. Wants desk and DECT phones provisioned without touching each one, Teams calling with the company numbers, users created from Entra ID with single sign-on, an API for the number plan, and an emergency call from a home office that reaches the right control centre. - **The Contact Centre Lead** (v1.0): Leads customer support for an online shop for bicycle parts, with eighteen agents in Leipzig and a hotline in German and English. On Mondays after a sale the queue reaches forty callers. Wants skills-based queues, a wallboard, callbacks instead of hold music, listen and whisper for training new agents, reports per agent and hour, and call summaries in the helpdesk without anyone typing them. - **The Inside Sales Lead** (v1.0): Leads twelve inside sales reps at a B2B software company in Munich who call prospects in Germany, Austria and Switzerland from HubSpot. Wants click-to-call and a power dialer in the CRM, every call and its recording logged on the contact, local numbers in each country, the mobile app showing the company number at trade fairs, and AI notes that a rep can trust before the follow-up email. - **The Data Protection Officer** (v1.0): External data protection officer for a group of six medical practices whose patients call about appointments, results and prescriptions. Knows that call records fall under the secrecy of telecommunications and that a recorded or transcribed call can hold health data. Reads the subprocessor list, asks which AI model writes the transcripts and where, wants encryption on by default, and needs a DPA and a retention period before any call is recorded. - **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Has seen "all calls included" that excluded mobile numbers abroad, a "five-minute setup" followed by six weeks of porting, and an "AI assistant" that sent every recorded call to a model in the US. Asks what porting the numbers back out costs and how long it takes, whether the desk phones still work after leaving, who carries the calls, what the SLA pays when the platform is down — and what the second year costs. ## European sovereignty — proven facts Built only from facts on the vendor's own pages; a dimension we could not prove is left open, never scored as zero. Headline: not determined. | Dimension | Finding | Points | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Legal entity | Not determined | — | — | | Hosting location | Not determined | — | — | | Hosting options | Not determined | — | — | | Open source | Not determined | — | — | | Data processing agreement | Not determined | — | — | | Transfer impact assessment | Not determined | — | — | ## Key facts Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources). **Compliance** - Gcc high root cas: DigiCert Global Root CA · DigiCert High Assurance EV Root CA · DigiCert Global Root G2 [S4] - Pseudonymization GDPR article: Art. 4 Abs. 5 DSGVO [S8] - Pseudonymization system logs: yes · Verschlüsselung · Maskierung · Tokenisierung · Unschärfe von Daten [S8] **Data** - Cancellation deletion: yes · yes [S1] **Hosting** - Datacenter countries: 15 · Österreich · Belgien · Dänemark · Finnland · Frankreich · Deutschland · Griechenland · Irland · Italien · Niederlande · Norwegen · Polen · Spanien · Schweden · Schweiz [S8] **Integrations** - Agents sdk: Microsoft 365 Agents SDK (JavaScript and .NET references) [S10] - Bicep templates: yes [S11] - Copilot studio: Microsoft Copilot Studio [S10] - Graph sdks: Microsoft Graph SDKs [S10] - Operator connect conferencing third party: yes [S7] - Sdks: yes [S11] - Teams js library: Microsoft Teams JavaScript client library for tabs and hosted experiences [S10] - Toolkit visual studio: Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit extension for Visual Studio [S10] - Toolkit vscode: Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit extension for Visual Studio Code [S10] - Tools services: Integration with tools and services supported [S10] **Legal** - Doc last updated: 2025-02-26 [S8] - Services designated in product terms: EU Data Boundary Services are designated in the Microsoft Product Terms as part of service agreements [S8] **Pricing** - Audio conferencing e5 included: yes · yes [S7] - Bundle available: yes [S6] - Calling plan license required: Microsoft Teams Calling Plan license [S3] - Developer program free subscription: Microsoft 365 Developer Program may qualify members for a free, renewable developer subscription with sample data [S11] - Eea earlier date: EEA · Switzerland · 2023-10-01 [S7] - Eea suite split: New Enterprise customers must buy E1/E3/E5 (no Teams) plus a Teams standalone SKU; Business suites up to 300 users and Frontline suites available with and without Teams [S7] - Flexible assignment: yes [S6] - Number porting: FAQ zur Weiterverwendung vorhandener Telefonnummern [S1] - Payg mca post usage: post-usage monthly · MCA [S6] - Payg mosa credits: Communication Credits · MOSA [S6] - Payg zones: 3 [S6] - Teams phone prerequisite: Teams Phone add-on [S6] - Trial terms: yes · yes · 12 [S1] **Product** - Accessibility translation languages: yes · 41 [S1] - Admin managed via teams admin center: Operators manage PSTN infrastructure; admins configure users in Teams admin center [S5] - Agent monetization: Agents can be published across Microsoft 365 and monetized [S10] - AI agent builder: AI agent builder to create and publish agents [S10] - App manifest: App manifest connects agents to Teams [S10] - Appsource apps: Thousands of Teams partner apps listed on AppSource [S9] - Attendee capacity pack: 100000 [S7] - Audio conferencing: Audio Conferencing enables dialing in to Teams meetings by phone; does not require a Teams Phone license [S7] - Audio conferencing fallback: Without Audio Conferencing license, outbound conference calls route through Direct Routing [S4] - Audio conferencing free: yes · 0 · United States · Canada [S7] - Audio conferencing pay per minute: Pay per minute option without per-user monthly license; only available to Volume and Licensing customers [S7] - Audio conferencing payg: Pay-As-You-Go: pay per user per minute for outgoing calls [S7] - Audio conferencing standard: Zone A · toll phone numbers · toll phone minutes · Operator Connect Conferencing · yes · 60 [S7] - Auto attendants call queues: yes · yes [S2] - Azure non regional services doc: Separate documentation exists for configuring Azure non-regional services for the EU Data Boundary [S8] - Azure regional services in scope: Azure regional services deployed in an EU Data Boundary region are in scope [S8] - Azure resource manager required: Customers must configure Azure Resource Manager to the EU Data Boundary to store Azure professional services data there [S8] - Boundary countries: 27 · Liechtenstein · Island · Norwegen · die Schweiz [S8] - Calling plan bundle forms: bundle · Teams Phone Standard plus separate Calling Plan license [S7] - Calling plan description: cloud-based Phone System with Microsoft as operator [S3] - Calling plan management model: customer-managed SBC · shared between telecom provider and Microsoft Teams · participating mobile operator · Microsoft-managed [S3] - Calling plan number types: Microsoft Calling Plan · Operator Connect · Direct Routing [S3] - Calling plan SLA: 99.999 [S3] - Calling plan types: Domestic · International · Pay-As-You-Go [S7] - Calling plans: Calling Plans is an add-on to Teams Phone for PSTN calls; Microsoft is the PSTN carrier [S7] - Calling plans count: 3 [S6] - Change notifications event hubs solution: Sample solution: real-time presence using Graph Change Notifications and Azure Event Hubs [S11] - Clients: yes · yes · yes [S2] - Code samples: Code samples provided [S10] - Coexistence: yes [S2] - Common area phone no calling plan: no [S4] - Communication credits: Communication Credits provides a monthly pool of minutes for PSTN calls, e.g. when Calling Plan minutes are used up or for toll-free numbers [S7] - Compatible connectivity options: Microsoft Calling Plan · Operator Connect · Teams Phone Mobile [S4] - Components: user or resource account licensing for Teams Phone application · at least one PSTN operator solution [S2] - Custom engine agents: Custom engine agents supported [S10] - Customer data definition: Professional Services-Daten · Konfigurationsinformationen wie technische Einstellungen und Ressourcennamen [S8] - Declarative agents: Declarative agents customize Copilot without code [S10] - Developer account: Create a developer account [S9] - Direct routing: yes · yes [S7] - Direct routing definition: Direct Routing connects customer-provided SBC telephony infrastructure to Microsoft Teams Phone [S4] - Direct routing description: any PSTN operator via certified SBC managed by customer, integrator, or DRaaS provider [S3] - Direct routing requirement: contract with third-party service provider · session border controller solution [S3] - Dod sip fqdn: sip.pstnhub.dod.teams.microsoft.us [S4] - Domestic plan: included minutes · no [S6] - Domestic plan unlimited incoming: unlimited [S6] - Domestic plan US UK ca: United States · Puerto Rico · United Kingdom · Canada [S6] - Emergency screening US: U.S. · yes [S3] - EU data boundary scope: EU Data Boundary commits to storing and processing customer data and personal data within the boundary; professional services data stored at rest [S8] - Frontline device requirements: Assigned only to users meeting requirements such as single screen smaller than 10.9 inches or sharing a primary work device across shifts [S7] - Gartner recognition: Gartner Magic Quadrant UCaaS 2025 · 7 [S1] - Gcc high sip fqdn: sip.pstnhub.gov.teams.microsoft.us [S4] - Graph explorer: yes · Graph Explorer browser API testing [S11] - Graph single endpoint: Microsoft Graph REST APIs and SDKs provide access to Microsoft Cloud data via a single endpoint [S11] - Graph toolkit: login · people picker · person card · Microsoft Graph Toolkit web components [S11] - Hybrid deployment pattern: Calling Plan/Operator Connect for PSTN; Direct Routing for third-party PBXs, analog devices, specialized routing [S4] - Infrastructure requirements: Microsoft-certified SBC, PSTN trunks, M365 tenant, users homed online [S4] - Internal calls native: Internal calls between Teams users are handled natively and never go to PSTN [S2] - International plan: included domestic and international minutes · yes [S6] - International plan countries: 196 [S6] - Islands mode unsupported: no [S4] - Kyc requirement: tenant level · 3 · number acquisition/porting [S6] - Licensing requirement: Teams Phone application license · PSTN solution from service provider [S3] - Licensing requirements: Microsoft Teams · Teams Phone [S4] - Limited transfers outside boundary: Limited circumstances allow data to still be transferred outside the EU Data Boundary [S8] - Low code pro code: Agents can be built with low-code or pro-code tools [S10] - M365 multi geo excluded: yes · yes [S8] - M365 tenant region check: Customers can verify their tenant country/region in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center [S8] - Mail API change notifications: automate responses from a shared mailbox · mail API · change notifications [S11] - Maintain app: Maintain your app [S9] - Media bypass available: yes [S4] - Media port recommendation: At least two media ports per concurrent call [S4] - Media ports: 3478-3481 · 49152-53247 · UDP/SRTP [S4] - Media processor ip ranges: 52.112.0.0/14 · 52.120.0.0/14 [S4] - Media processor regions: North America · Europe · Asia · Japan · Australia · Latin America [S4] - Media retargeting unsupported: no [S4] - Mexico separate domestic plan: yes [S6] - Minute pooling: yes · same country, same plan [S6] - Mtls note: MTLS requires Microsoft Trusted Root certificates installed on SBC [S4] - Multi operator combinations: yes · yes [S3] - Multiple pstn integrations: yes [S2] - Network requirements: Network and firewall must meet Microsoft Teams networking requirements [S5] - No sbc required: no [S5] - Number options: purchase new numbers · port existing numbers · migrate from other PSTN option [S5] - Office f3 csp only: CSP only [S7] - Onboarding prerequisites: Teams Phone licenses · Teams Only mode · admin permissions · certified operator in region [S5] - Onmicrosoft domain unsupported: no [S4] - Operator certification requirement: Operators must be Microsoft-certified meeting technical and operational requirements [S5] - Operator connect: yes [S7] - Operator connect definition: Operator Connect connects Teams Phone to the PSTN through a Microsoft-certified operator [S5] - Operator connect description: certified third-party landline operators with completed PSTN integration [S3] - Operator connect india: yes [S7] - Operator connect requirement: contract with third-party service provider [S3] **Support** - Concierge service: yes [S9] - Developer portal: Developer Portal provided [S10] - Fasttrack: yes · all licensed customers [S2] - Microsoft responsibilities: Teams services · Teams Phone administration · Teams admin center functionality · Teams-Operator Connect integration [S5] - Non certified sbc boundary: Microsoft may decline support for non-certified SBCs; issues escalated via SBC vendor [S4] - Operator responsibilities: PSTN connectivity · number provisioning and porting · calling services · PSTN-related support [S5] - Operator support contact: contact provider directly [S5] - Partners: Partner ecosystem for planning, enablement, PSTN access, devices, and services [S2] - Shared responsibility model: shared responsibility Microsoft and operator [S5] - Workshops: Cloud-Solution-Architect-led workshops through Unified Support plans for larger customers [S2] 39 more facts on the canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/cloud-telephony/microsoft-teams-phone ## Questions ### Is Microsoft Teams Phone European? No. whats-best.ai classifies Microsoft Teams Phone as Rest of world. ### Where does Microsoft Teams Phone store data? Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 5 Nov 2026. ### Does Microsoft Teams Phone have a free plan? Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 5 Nov 2026. ### What are the best alternatives to Microsoft Teams Phone? As of 6 Nov 2026, the panel rates [Placetel (3.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/cloud-telephony/placetel), [RingCentral RingEX (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/cloud-telephony/ringcentral) and [Aircall (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/cloud-telephony/aircall) highest among the other 13 Cloud Telephony (VoIP & Cloud PBX) products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [Placetel](https://whats-best.ai/software/cloud-telephony/placetel) (EU origin, foreign-owned). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [Microsoft Teams Phone alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/cloud-telephony/microsoft-teams-phone/alternatives). ## What this page leaves out - 14 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. - 8 pricing facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. - 1 support fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material. - 2 sovereignty dimensions could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and are shown as unknown. ## Sources - [S1] Vendor homepage (product page): https://www.microsoft.com/de-de/microsoft-teams/microsoft-teams-phone (checked 2026-11-05) - [S2] Documentation (Teams Phone): https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/what-is-phone-system-in-office-365 (checked 2026-11-05) - [S3] Documentation (PSTN connectivity options): https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/pstn-connectivity (checked 2026-11-05) - [S4] Documentation (Direct Routing): https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/direct-routing-plan (checked 2026-11-05) - [S5] Documentation (Operator Connect): https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/operator-connect-plan (checked 2026-11-05) - [S6] Documentation (calling plans): https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/calling-plans-for-office-365 (checked 2026-11-05) - [S7] Documentation (licensing): https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/teams-add-on-licensing/microsoft-teams-add-on-licensing (checked 2026-11-05) - [S8] EU data boundary: https://learn.microsoft.com/de-de/privacy/eudb/eu-data-boundary-learn (checked 2026-11-05) - [S9] Apps, desk phones & Microsoft Teams — found from sitemap: https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/app-publishing (checked 2026-11-05) - [S10] Apps, desk phones & Microsoft Teams — found from sitemap: https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams (checked 2026-11-05) - [S11] CRM integration, API & administration — found from sitemap: https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/rest-api (checked 2026-11-05) --- Cite as: whats-best.ai, "Microsoft Teams Phone — Cloud Telephony (VoIP & Cloud PBX)", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-11-06. https://whats-best.ai/software/cloud-telephony/microsoft-teams-phone Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/1543?target=page