Microsoft Teams Essentials QuickStart guide for small businesses
Microsoft Teams Essentials is a standalone Teams subscription that provides an all-in-one solution with meetings, chat, and collaboration for small businesses. As your business adapts to the increased need for remote working and virtual connections, you may be searching for a way to securely collaborate with employees, partners, suppliers, and customers. Whether you're a multi-city bakery, or a nine-person event agency, Microsoft Teams Essentials can bring your business together through one connected experience.
Before you continue
Microsoft Teams Essentials is available for purchase through Microsoft's direct website and select Microsoft Cloud Partners. Subscriptions through direct and partner differ in some ways because they use different identity systems. For more information, see Microsoft Teams Essentials plans.
A subscription purchased through Microsoft's direct website uses Microsoft account identity, which allows you to use your existing email address like [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected] to sign up.
Alternatively, Teams Essentials purchased through select Microsoft Certified Partners uses Microsoft Entra, which asks you to create a new login/identity. Partners can configure Teams Essentials to connect to your existing email address so you can sign in using your existing email address.
What Microsoft Teams Essentials subscription do I have?
If you purchased Teams Essentials through Microsoft's website (direct), you own Microsoft Teams Essentials.
If you purchased Teams Essentials through a Microsoft Certified Partner, you own Microsoft Teams Essentials (Microsoft Entra identity).
How does Microsoft Teams Essentials compare to other Microsoft Teams plans?
The following table lists the major Microsoft Teams features available across plans. Certain caveats apply. For more information, see the footnotes. This table may change without notice. For the most up-to-date, complete list of features, visit Microsoft Teams service description.
| Microsoft Teams Plan | Microsoft Teams (free) | Microsoft Teams Essentials | Microsoft Teams Essentials (Microsoft Entra identity) | Microsoft 365 Business Basic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feature | ||||
| Meeting and Calling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited group meetings | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Unlimited 1:1 calls | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Group meeting participant capacity | 100 | 300 | 300 | 300 |
| Group meeting duration | 60 minutes | 30 hours | 30 hours | 30 hours |
| Screen sharing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customized Backgrounds | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Live transcription | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Schedule meetings | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Calendar app | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Together mode | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Live reaction | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Noise suppression | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Meeting attendees can join meetings without an account | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Send meeting invites to a phone number | Yes | Yes | ||
| Meeting recordings & transcripts | Yes | Yes | ||
| Breakout rooms | Yes | Yes | ||
| Whiteboard | Yes | Yes | ||
| Host webinars that include attendee registration pages, email confirmations, and reporting. | Available in Business Standard | |||
| Chat and collaboration | ||||
| Unlimited chat (one-to-one & group) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Real-time collaboration in Office apps | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Guest access: Chat w/anyone inside & outside your company | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Polls | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams and Channels | Yes | Yes | ||
| Productivity apps and services | ||||
| File & document cloud storage (per user) | 5 GB | 10 GB | 10 GB | 1 TB |
| Word, Excel, PowerPoint web & mobile apps | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Google calendar sync | Yes | Yes | Yes¹ | Yes¹ |
| App Extensibility (250+ integrated apps & services) | Yes | Yes | ||
| Exchange email hosting with customer email domain address | 2 GB² | 50 GB | ||
| Security and compliance | ||||
| Microsoft Teams data encryption at rest and in transit | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Single sign-on to all services | Yes | Yes | ||
| Administration and support | ||||
| Administration tools for managing users, apps, settings & policies | Yes | Yes | ||
| Migrate existing data & users to Microsoft 365 | Yes | Yes | ||
| Ability to add-on services including Audio Conferencing & Teams Phone | Yes | Yes |
1 Provides connection to Google Calendar and other third-party calendars with the following configuration: Microsoft Teams Essentials (Microsoft Entra identity) Configuration Guide
2 Teams Essentials (Microsoft Entra identity) through partner includes 2 GB Exchange mailbox and no archiving, allowing users to sync with third-party email providers.
Administration limits and specifications for Microsoft Teams Essentials
See Microsoft Teams limits and specifications to learn more about the limits, specifications, and other requirements that apply to Teams.
Get Microsoft Teams Essentials
Is your business new to Microsoft Teams? Thanks for choosing Microsoft!
To get started with Teams Essentials, follow these steps:
- Purchase the subscription. Go to Microsoft Teams Essentials for small business and select Buy now under Microsoft Teams Essentials.
- Sign up with your existing email address. Use an existing email address and follow the instructions to purchase user licenses.
- Review Teams service description. Visit Microsoft Teams service description to learn more about Microsoft Teams.
When you complete these tasks, you're ready to plan, deploy, and use the Teams app.
To do that, complete these three steps:
Install the Teams app. Install the Teams client on your PC or mobile device by going to Download Microsoft Teams.
Get Familiar with Teams. The best way to become familiar with Teams is to start using it right away. Take some time to explore the application so you have a better understanding of its capabilities.
Plan for adoption. For small businesses, planning for user adoption can be as simple as individually showing your users how to use Teams. Often, small business customers don't consider this step for new applications, which negatively affects the application's success and adoption.
Manage Microsoft Teams Essentials. Any Teams (free) users who upgraded to Microsoft Teams Essentials can manage it.
Managing Microsoft Teams Essentials refers to assigning Microsoft Teams Essentials seats to other users - on whose behalf you purchased - in the intended proportions. You can manage Microsoft Teams Essentials through the Microsoft admin center.
Upgrade from Teams (free) to Microsoft Teams Essentials
If your organization is using a free version of Microsoft Teams, you can easily upgrade to the Teams Essentials version by purchasing a plan for your users directly in Teams from Find the right Microsoft Teams for your needs.
Limitations
Keep the following limitations in mind:
- All users must be in the same domain. (All users get a sign-in email in the format username@domain.com.)
Can I purchase Teams Essentials using Microsoft Entra identity through Microsoft's website?
No. Teams Essentials with Microsoft Entra identity is only available through select Microsoft Cloud Partners. If you're interested in working with a Partner, visit Find a Microsoft Partner Cloud Solution Provider.
Can I use an existing email system with Microsoft Teams Essentials?
Yes. You can keep your existing email system and use Teams Essentials to meet, chat, and collaborate.
Can I connect my existing calendar solution with Teams Essentials?
Yes. You can sync existing calendars from Outlook.com and Google with Teams Essentials.
To connect an existing calendar solution with Teams Essentials (Microsoft Entra identity), follow the instructions later in this article.
How do I connect my current email and calendar with Teams Essentials (Microsoft Entra identity)?
To get started, visit Connect Microsoft Teams Essentials (Microsoft Entra identity) to an existing email system with calendar for more information. You can connect an existing email system like Google Workspace to Microsoft Teams Essentials (Microsoft Entra identity) to stay connected across platforms with integrated calendars and sign in.
More information
Visit Configuration Guide for configuration steps on connecting Microsoft Teams Essentials (Microsoft Entra identity) to an existing email system with calendar
To find out more about Teams versions and their capabilities, visit Compare Teams plans