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 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.
No platform wins everywhere. But trends are emerging.
Microsoft Teams Phone is stronger in:
Webex Calling is stronger in:
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 is where real productivity gains happen — and it’s where the differences become clearer.
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.
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.
Here's how Teams Phone and Webex Calling compare at a high level:
| Feature | Microsoft Teams Phone | Cisco Webex Calling |
| Base Licensing | Microsoft 365 + Phone Add-on | All-in-one Call Plan |
| AI Capabilities | Requires Copilot ($30/user) | Included in suite (Webex AI) |
| Contact Center | Third-party or Dynamics 365 | Native Webex Contact Center |
| Licensing Simplicity | Fragmented | Streamlined |
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.
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:
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?
Choose Webex Calling if:
Choose Microsoft Teams Phone if:
Choose both if:
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.