The real difference between Webex Calling and Microsoft Teams Phone

Picking a voice platform is the wrong starting point. 

When businesses compare Microsoft Teams Phone and Webex Calling, they often begin with features and pricing. But the real drivers of long-term success aren’t in the product sheets. What matters is how your systems, users, and regions actually work together. 
 
Are you integrating with Microsoft 365 across your workflow? Are your contact center and voice teams aligned? Are you operating in multiple regions with different platform preferences or regulatory requirements? 
 
The platform still matters. But the fit matters more. And the right fit depends on your users, your tech stack, and how you want to manage voice at scale. 

Microsoft Teams Phone and Webex Calling: Built on two different foundations

Microsoft Teams Phone

Microsoft Teams Phone builds on the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. For organizations already invested in Microsoft Teams for chat, meetings, and collaboration, enabling phone is a natural next step. It integrates tightly with the Microsoft stack, but licensing can get complicated, especially if you’re not already on E5. 
 
Webex Calling, from Cisco, comes from the other side of the spectrum — voice-first. It draws on Cisco’s long telephony heritage and is built for enterprise-grade calling. Webex tends to shine in environments where voice is core, devices are critical, and reliability is non-negotiable. Licensing is simpler, especially for enterprises deploying at scale. 

Use cases: Who wins where? 

 
No platform wins everywhere. But trends are emerging. 
 
Microsoft Teams Phone is stronger in:

• Finance and professional services
• IT-centric organizations
• Businesses already running Microsoft 365
• Collaboration-first workflows
  

Webex Calling is stronger in:

•  Healthcare and manufacturing
• Voice-first environments
• Organizations with legacy Cisco infrastructure
• Businesses prioritizing failover and resiliency
  

The reality? Many enterprises are running both. Different departments, regions, or acquired business units often have different needs and that’s where flexibility matters. 

Integration and AI: How platforms extend their value 

 Integration is where real productivity gains happen — and it’s where the differences become clearer. 

Teams Phone + Copilot 

Microsoft’s story is all about integration. Teams becomes a surface for AI across meetings, chats, documents, and calls. But getting the full AI experience requires Microsoft 365 Copilot licensing, which can add cost. 

 Webex Calling + Webex AI 

Cisco’s AI story is more focused on voice and meetings. The features are tightly embedded, and often included in existing licensing. For voice-first orgs, that simplicity matters. 
 
When it comes to CRM or line-of-business integration, both platforms offer robust APIs but Microsoft leans toward collaboration and productivity, while Cisco leans toward contact center and call flows. 

Licensing, pricing, and total cost of ownership 

Here's how Teams Phone and Webex Calling compare at a high level: 

Teams Phone can be cost-effective for businesses already on E5, but for standalone telephony deployments, Webex often comes out ahead on licensing clarity and predictability. 
 

The multi-vendor reality: Most enterprises aren’t choosing just one 

Enterprise IT is rarely clean-cut. Acquisitions, regional strategies, and different team requirements lead to multiple platforms — and that’s not a problem. It’s an opportunity. 
 
The real challenge is managing telephony across platforms. That’s where a unified operator matters. 
 
Pure IP Enterprise Voice supports both Webex and Teams with: 

• Certified Operator Connect, Direct Routing and Cloud Connect services
• Global PSTN coverage across 50 countries
• Centralized number management
• Support for mixed-platform deployments
• Edge services like SBCs, mobile extensions, and legacy interop 

Whether you’re migrating from Cisco Call Manager, scaling Teams Phone globally, or doing both we help you build a connected, compliant, and scalable voice strategy. 

 So — Webex Calling or Microsoft Teams Phone?

Here’s the real answer: It depends on you. 

Choose Webex Calling if: 

• Advanced telephony is core to operations
• You’re migrating from legacy Cisco systems
• Resiliency and device control are top priorities
• You want a unified license with AI and contact center built-in
  

Choose Microsoft Teams Phone if: 

• Your business runs on Microsoft 365
• You’re collaboration-first, voice second
• You want a single app for chat, meetings, and calls
• You’re investing in Microsoft Copilot and AI
  

Choose both if: 

• You have different needs across departments or regions
• You want to avoid vendor lock-in
• You need a global, platform-agnostic voice strategy

Ready to design your voice strategy? 

We help enterprises make sense of complex platform decisions — and execute them globally. 
 
Talk to our team about how to connect Microsoft Teams Phone and Webex Calling into one manageable, scalable telephony ecosystem.

Get in touch with us.