Microsoft Teams Phone — the cloud phone system inside Microsoft 365, priced in US dollars
Microsoft Teams Phone adds a business phone system to the Teams app your staff may already use for chat and meetings: call queues, auto attendants, voicemail with transcripts and transfers, on a softphone or a Teams-certified desk phone. Microsoft sells it as a licence add-on billed in US dollars, from USD$10.00 per user per month paid yearly, excluding VAT. The phone lines themselves come from a Microsoft Calling Plan, an Operator Connect operator or your own carrier through Direct Routing.
Comparing cloud PBX providers? Start with our Cloud PBX guide for South Africa.
Key facts
| What it is | Microsoft’s cloud phone system for Microsoft Teams. It is sold as an add-on licence, not as a standalone service: Microsoft’s South African product page states that a separate Microsoft Teams licence is required. Phone system and audio conferencing are already included in Office 365 E5 and Microsoft 365 E5 |
| Plans and prices | Listed on microsoft.com/en-za in US dollars per user per month, paid yearly on an auto-renewing annual subscription, excluding VAT (checked 30 October 2026): Teams Phone Standard USD$10.00 with no calling minutes; with pay-as-you-go calling USD$13.00; with domestic calling USD$22.00, which outside the US, UK and Canada includes a number and 1,200 outbound domestic minutes; with domestic and international calling USD$34.00 (1,200 domestic or 600 international minutes). Larger organisations can ask Microsoft sales for custom pricing |
| Calling in South Africa | Microsoft Calling Plans can be bought for South African users in five options a month: pay-as-you-go, 120 or 1,200 domestic minutes, and an international plan of 1,200 domestic or 600 international minutes. Outbound calls reach 196 countries or regions; calls to premium-rate numbers are not supported (Microsoft Learn, South Africa availability page, last updated May 2024) |
| Numbers | Geographic (toll) numbers from Microsoft are available in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, and toll-free numbers are available. Businesses keeping existing numbers usually port them to a South African carrier connected through Operator Connect or Direct Routing |
| Phone system features | Call queues and auto attendants, voicemail with recordings and transcripts, transfers, forwarding, simultaneous ring and busy-on-busy, shared calling, Teams Phone Mobile, a Survivable Branch Appliance for sites that lose their cloud link, and the Call Quality Dashboard for call reporting. Compliance call recording runs through recording solutions certified for Teams |
| Devices | Calls run in the Teams desktop and mobile apps, or on Teams-certified desk phones and headsets from third-party makers such as Yealink and Poly, bought separately. There is no on-site PBX to install |
| Reliability | A financially backed 99.999% uptime commitment for Teams Phone, Calling Plans and Audio Conferencing. It covers Microsoft’s own service; where a South African carrier supplies the lines, that carrier’s service level applies to the voice leg |
| ICASA licence | Not applicable to Microsoft as a South African carrier. Microsoft is a software vendor here; telephone numbers and call delivery through Operator Connect or Direct Routing sit with a licensed South African carrier, so ask that carrier for its licence reference |
| Pricing | Licence prices are published (above) in US dollars, so the Rand cost moves with the exchange rate and VAT is added on top. Carrier call rates, number porting, certified handsets and any partner setup fees are separate |
| Listed In | Phone System Providers |
Teams Phone suits companies already living in Microsoft 365, as long as someone owns the phone-line side
The pull of Teams Phone is that nobody learns a new app: a call to the sales line rings in the same window as chat and meetings, and identity, devices and compliance stay under the Microsoft 365 admin tools IT already runs. The price is clear at licence level, but it is only part of the bill. The licence buys the cloud PBX features; a working South African phone line needs one of three routes. Microsoft Calling Plans are the simplest and bundle a number with minutes, but billing is in dollars and number choice is limited to Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and toll-free. Operator Connect lets a participating operator supply numbers and minutes inside the Teams admin centre. Direct Routing connects your own carrier through a session border controller, which is how most South African businesses keep existing numbers and local call rates. Before you sign, get the licence count, the line route and the carrier’s rates on one quote, and confirm in writing who you call when a call fails.
Who Microsoft Teams Phone is a fit for
- Businesses already on Microsoft 365, especially on E5 licences where the phone system is included, that want calls in the app staff already use.
- Distributed and hybrid teams who take calls on laptops and mobiles more than desk phones, with numbers in Cape Town, Durban or Johannesburg.
- IT-led organisations that can manage Teams policies, or have a partner who will set up Operator Connect or Direct Routing with a South African carrier.
How Microsoft Teams Phone sits in the Cloud PBX category
- 253 verified cloud PBX and business phone system providers on WhichVoIP; 130 carry a Google rating.
- No published Google rating for Microsoft Teams Phone (130 of 253 in the category have one; median 35 reviews).
Computed from the WhichVoIP provider register; refreshes as ratings and reviews change.
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Compare cloud PBX and business phone system providers →Commonly asked questions
Which Teams Phone plans does Microsoft list for South Africa?
Microsoft’s South African page lists Teams Phone Standard at USD$10.00 per user per month, paid yearly and excluding VAT (checked 30 October 2026). With pay-as-you-go calling it is USD$13.00, with a domestic calling plan USD$22.00 and with domestic and international calling USD$34.00. A Microsoft Teams licence is needed on top, and the Rand amount depends on the exchange rate when you are billed.
Do I need a South African carrier to use Teams Phone?
Not always. Microsoft Calling Plans are sold for South African users and include a number and minutes from Microsoft. Many local businesses still use a carrier, through Operator Connect or Direct Routing, to keep their existing numbers, pay local call rates in Rand or get numbers outside Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.
Can I keep my existing business number on Teams Phone?
Usually yes, by porting it to the carrier that connects your Teams tenant through Operator Connect or Direct Routing. Ask the carrier how long the port takes, what it costs and whether the number stays live on your old system until the switch-over day.
Is Teams Phone included in Microsoft 365?
Only in the E5 plans: Microsoft lists phone system and audio conferencing as included in Office 365 E5 and Microsoft 365 E5. On other Microsoft 365 plans, Teams Phone is an add-on licence per user, and calling minutes or a carrier connection are still needed to reach ordinary phone numbers.
Does Teams Phone keep working during load-shedding?
The service runs in Microsoft’s cloud, so it stays up when your office loses power, and calls can carry on in the Teams mobile app over cellular data. Desk phones, the router and the fibre or wireless equipment in the office need a UPS or inverter to keep working.
Can Teams Phone run a call centre?
For a small team, yes: call queues, auto attendants and the Call Quality Dashboard are built in, and certified partners add compliance recording. Larger contact centres that need wallboards, outbound dialling or CRM screen-pops usually add a certified contact-centre product, so price that alongside the licences.
How does Microsoft Teams Phone compare with other Cloud PBX providers in South Africa?
Teams Phone wins on staying inside Microsoft 365; local providers usually win on Rand pricing, a single bill for lines and system, and South African support. Read WhichVoIP’s Microsoft Teams Phone review for its scored strengths and gaps, or the Cloud PBX comparison to set it against local providers.
This listing is maintained by WhichVoIP, an independent South African telecoms comparison service running since 2019. Details are verified against the provider’s public website and were last checked on 30 October 2026.