Microsoft Teams combines video conferencing software with team collaboration tools. The communications platform allows MS Office users to conduct conference calls and share files via SharePoint, and join or initiate a group chat.
$4.80
per month per user
Workplace from Meta
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Facebook at Work allows users to interact with co-workers through the Facebook interface.
$2
per month per user
Pricing
Microsoft Teams
Workplace from Meta
Editions & Modules
Microsoft Teams Essentials
$4.80
per month per user
Microsoft Teams Enterprise
$5.25
per month (paid yearly) per user
Microsoft Teams Enterprise
$5.25
per month per user
Microsoft 365 Business Basic
$7.20
per month per user
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
$15
per month per user
Enterprise Live
$2.00
per month per user
Enhanced Admin & Support
$2.00
per month per user
Workplace Core
$4.00
per month per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft Teams
Workplace from Meta
Free Trial
Yes
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
Yes
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
Discounts are available for non profit organizations.
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More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft Teams
Workplace from Meta
TrustRadius Insights
Microsoft Teams
Workplace from Meta
Highlights
Research Team Insight
Published
At their core, Microsoft Teams and Workplace by Facebook are collaboration tools designed to improve group or workplace communications.
Microsoft Teams is a popular choice for businesses that use Office 365 products. It is packaged in with the Office 365 suite and syncs up well with other Microsoft technologies. Workplace will feel familiar to Facebook users and it allows businesses to use news feeds and live videos to keep their users informed.
Both Microsoft Teams and Workplace are excellent choices for businesses of all sizes because they both offer free versions for small teams and can scale to meet the needs of enterprise clients as well.
Features
Microsoft Teams and Workplace both provide collaborative abilities, but each also has unique features that set them apart.
Microsoft Teams includes a robust chat service that allows users to communicate quickly without setting up a conference. Syncing with Office 365 also makes collaboration easy by allowing file sharing and calendar support as well as integrations with other Microsoft applications. Teams works on all iOS and Windows platforms and Users also enjoy how easy it is to share files and messages in the application.
Workplace offers many of Facebook’s core features like groups but takes it a step beyond and allows for multi-company groups so businesses can collaborate with external partners or customers. Workplace users also get their own personalized news feed to help keep them aware of what is going on in their company and to have a shared space for encouraging coworkers’ achievements. Workplace also offers integrations for Office 365 and GSuite. Another main benefit of Workplace is that it offers live video broadcasting on-the-fly so users can record themselves and share updates and milestones with their coworkers.
Limitations
Microsoft Teams loses some of its utility if a business is not using the Microsoft suite of office software. Users mention a lack of customization for notifications as a drawback. Some users have also had issues with statuses (offline, away, busy, etc.) from Outlook syncing correctly.
Workplace is based on social interactions and this may be somewhat of a drawback because some users report it being somewhat distracting while at work. Some users also report difficulty in understanding all of the functions available because there are so many available. Some also lack trust in the platform and have privacy concerns because it is owned by Facebook.
Pricing
Microsoft Teams is included in Office 365, which has a free version for non-business use and three paid pricing tiers. The cheapest option is $5 per user per month and includes a small number of Office services including Teams and SharePoint. The Office 365 Business Premium plan costs $12.50 per user per month and includes the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, etc.). Lastly, the Microsoft 365 Business Plan costs $20 per user per month and includes advanced security protection. All Microsoft Team’s plans require an annual commitment.
Workplace by Facebook also offers a free version for small teams. Businesses can then move up to the Advanced tier for $4 per month per user which offers unlimited groups, 1TB of storage per person, and 24/7 support. The highest tier is the Enterprise plan for $8 per user per month and includes unlimited storage, multiple single-sign-on, early access to new features, and priority customer support.
Features
Microsoft Teams
Workplace from Meta
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Teams
7.0
Ratings
10% below category average
Workplace from Meta
-
Ratings
Task Management
7.50 Ratings
00 Ratings
Gantt Charts
6.10 Ratings
00 Ratings
Scheduling
6.30 Ratings
00 Ratings
Workflow Automation
7.10 Ratings
00 Ratings
Mobile Access
8.10 Ratings
00 Ratings
Search
6.60 Ratings
00 Ratings
Visual planning tools
7.30 Ratings
00 Ratings
Communication
Comparison of Communication features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Teams
7.8
Ratings
2% below category average
Workplace from Meta
-
Ratings
Chat
8.70 Ratings
00 Ratings
Notifications
7.70 Ratings
00 Ratings
Discussions
8.40 Ratings
00 Ratings
Surveys
8.10 Ratings
00 Ratings
Internal knowledgebase
8.10 Ratings
00 Ratings
Integrates with GoToMeeting
6.50 Ratings
00 Ratings
Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts
5.70 Ratings
00 Ratings
Integrates with Outlook
9.10 Ratings
00 Ratings
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Teams is ideal for organizations where employees regularly collaborate by sharing files, working on the same documents, updating the progress, etc. This is because different file formats are supported for online editing and collaboration with the help of Microsoft Teams. Additionally, for every file which is shared among the team members, emails are not sent again and again which helps in easily managing and organizing files. It is less appropriate where the team members have to instantly reply to an urgent task as sometimes the notifications are not sent properly which may lead to a delay in the work.
I think Workplace by Facebook is a great communication vehicle for any mid-sized to large company. (Since it's more groups-oriented than "regular" Facebook, it might not work well for smaller companies.) I also don't have any idea what the cost is for having it, but that also be a reason that it wouldn't be worth the expense for smaller companies. For larger companies, I think it's a terrific way for folks to communicate with one another and for "the powers that be" to communicate with employees. Facebook Live is only suitable when you have a limited number of people who need to be on screen and it wouldn't really be suitable as a vehicle for instructor-led online training -- it's really most suitable for presentations (although, via the comments area, does allow for questions to be asked in writing)
Video calls are great with Microsoft Teams. They've made big improvements over the last year and I rarely have issue with getting on. It's nice when things just work.
The most used functionality is, of course, the chat feature. It does what it's supposed to do and you can create chat groups from whoever you'd like. We use it a lot when there is a special project and a team from various groups get together for a short period of time to get things done.
An overlooked function is the ability to search anything within Microsoft Teams. Any photo, document, or chat can be searched and found pretty easily. I can't tell you how many times this has saved me from having to rewrite something or start over.
It is so easy to introduce to employees because it has the same look and feel as Facebook, which the majority of our employees are already familiar with.
It's a communications, collaboration, and file/document sharing tool all rolled up into one. It eliminates the need for other software.
Our HR team uses it constantly to keep employees up to date on company news and for polling to get feedback on new initiatives.
Limited project management options - no good way to track tasks or projects, so other tools are needed.
Easy to dismiss for people who don't see the value - the Facebook-like nature of the tool can be a liability when it comes to wanting management to take it seriously.
Chat interface has downsides - the standalone chat applications can be a bit buggy, and the chat interface within the web view is not ideal.
No intuitive way to message a group - chat options like Slack are better at easily messaging a group or department, where in Workplace you have to be a member of a group to start a conversation.
Microsoft Teams is included with our Office 365 subscription and we have no intention of migrating off of Office 365 and Microsoft products. Since Microsoft Teams is included for free with our Office 365 subscription, and since we enjoy all the features, benefits, and functionality, there is no question that our team will continue to use the product
The overall functionality of the product is incredible in that it provides a one-stop solution for organization and communication. The product is also very well integrated into Microsoft Outlook and other Office apps. Visually pleasing and very easy to use interface. New features are constantly being added to enhance the user experience.
Having to download multiple apps just to use the tool is very cumbersome. Facebook would have make this better by wrapping it in as a main feature within their app, but having to use multiple apps to see discussions and walls is so frustrating.
I think Microsoft Team is overall good application for communication, track Project work inter the teams and also intra teams. I have 7 out of 10 because it needs improvements in certain features like video sharing call, call drop, audio quality and connecting problems even after having good internet connection.
Workplace by Facebook is an excellent fit in respect of support and documentation. It has excellent tutorials and documentation, as well. The UI and UX are already great as it is developed and maintained by Facebook, so most of the times, there is no need for any support or documentation.
We chose primarily because of the promised integration with the Microsoft Business Suite - which it mostly delivers on. That does give Teams an obvious advantage over competitors. IMHO Teams has a richer, more mature feature set, and the experience is more reliable and stable. Although like any of there there is room for imporvement.
We can compare Workplace in general from email communication (we use Bananatag tool for this). Our email communication and Workplace communication are sometimes competitors. RIght now, we have much higher analytics of email read rate/open rate than on Workplace activity. It may be connected with the fact that there is a lot of communication going on on Workplace. And with the emails we have a dedicated unit to monitor and balance the daily/weekly official email load on the associate. Workplace is a live network. Of course, we as admins balance the posts in official groups. But there are lots of other groups where people post whatever they want (like local communities or communities by interest). Why we keep focus on increasing Workplace engagement instead of email communication is definitely because of this instant feedback that we can get with posting. Email communication cannot create this feeling - it's always a one-way communication in our case.
User experience has been much better than the previous Skype for Business app. It has an easy-to-use interface with persistent chats. The search feature is very fast and useful.
MS Teams has mostly focused on Collaboration and team building features which are very useful for organisational communications. This in turn has a positive impact on the overall business outcome.
Scheduling meetings have never been so easy in the past. We can schedule meetings on the go without any hassles
Since Teams is accessible from multiple platforms like Laptop, Desktop, Mobile phones, etc it has been very convenient from a Mobility perspective.
Workplace offers a free version and a more enhanced, and really enhanced, paid version. The free version is a nice place to test the waters out and see if you can get it working at your company. We have only had a positive return on investment, measured in time.
The on-boarding is where you will see the greatest positive gain. You will quickly be up and running and so will the staff. This will decrease the training and implementation period and for many that means a substantial cost savings.
The only negative return that might be realized is if too much time is spent monitoring and policing the content. If trust is there, then employees can share and enhance the use of this tool to be a positive force. As with any communication tool, set guidelines and let the community police itself to some extent.
