Best Video Conferencing Software 2021

Webex vs. Microsoft Teams

Is Webex or Microsoft Teams the better solution for you? This in-depth, feature-by-feature breakdown will help you select the best video conferencing software for your business.

Video conferencing software is one of the most essential software platforms for any small business. Especially given increasingly remote workplaces, video conferencing is necessary to connect live with coworkers and clients. This software also includes webinar features in case your business needs to conduct larger-scale video presentations.

This article compares and contrasts Webex and Microsoft Teams, two popular video conferencing platforms. We’ll discuss how they differ in terms of features, pricing, and usability. We’ll include our expert recommendations throughout the article to help you pick the best software for your business.

Our expert recommendations are based upon extensive research, discussions with small businesses, and dozens of hours spent hand-testing the leading video conferencing software platforms. To learn even more, read about our our research process here.

Webex & Microsoft Teams Comparison Summary

We tested Webex and Microsoft Teams in-house. We found Microsoft Teams to be the better platform overall. After testing, Webex received a SoftwarePundit Analyst rating of 88, and Microsoft Teams received a rating of 91.

Webex received a slightly lower rating because the free plan allows 50-minute meetings, while the Microsoft Teams free plan has hour-long meetings. However, it’s still a dependable choice because it’s extraordinarily user-friendly.

Microsoft Teams received the second-highest rating in our video conferencing category because the free plan is of significant value, and for just $12.50 per user per month, you receive the entire Microsoft 365 Business application library.


Here’s a breakdown of our review criteria and how Webex and Microsoft Teams stacked up in each category.

CriteriaAnalyst RatingFeaturesUsabilityPricingCustomer Support
Webex889989
Microsoft Teams9110989

Here are a few quick points to summarize who we recommend each tool for:

You'll prefer Webex if:

  • You don’t need meetings to extend beyond 50 minutes
  • You want one of the most intuitive video conferencing platforms
  • You want real-time webinar translations in over 100 languages

Try Webex Today

You'll prefer Microsoft Teams if:

  • You want an extremely valuable free plan
  • You already use the Office365 suite of products for your business
  • You’re interested in saving chats once your meeting has ended

Try Microsoft Teams Today


Table of Contents

Who Should Purchase Webex?

If you need a reliable video conferencing solution and don’t mind something that is slightly more outdated, Webex is a solid option. We found it to be very user-friendly, though the Insights tab, where video data should populate, did not generate data during our testing.

Who Should Purchase Microsoft Teams?

Any business that already utilizes any Office365 should implement Microsoft Teams. Given how easy it would be to synchronize and transfer data across your existing applications, the choice is a no-brainer.

Along with Microsoft Teams being the logical option to pair with Office365, it’s of significant value even if you don’t already use those products. It is incredibly feature-rich, very affordable, and intuitive to use.

Webex & Microsoft Teams Price Comparison

Webex is priced per plan per month, while Microsoft Teams is priced per user per month. Because of these discrepancies, you’ll want to determine which choice is more cost-effective based on the number of employees that will be using the software.

Webex Pricing Details

Webex has plans geared towards video conferencing and conference calling. The plans range from $15 per month to $25 per month, and add-on features will cost extra.

Basic Plan
  • Free
  • Up to 100 participants
  • 50-minute meetings
  • Screen sharing
  • Breakout rooms
  • Chat, notes, polling, and hand-raising
Meet Plan
  • $15 per month
  • Up to 200 participants
  • 24 hour meetings
  • Facebook live streaming
  • 10 GB cloud recording storage
  • Add alternative hosts
  • Recording Transcriptions
Call Plan
  • $17 per month
  • Up to 100 participants
  • 50-minute meetings
  • Call any phone number
  • Call forwarding
  • Conference calls
  • Unlimited local and domestic long distance
Meet + Call Plan
  • $25 per month
  • Combines Meet Plan and Call Plan

Microsoft Teams Pricing Details

Microsoft Teams pricing is either free, $5 per user per month, or $12.50 per user per month depending on which applications you want. If you just want Microsoft Teams, the platform is free for 100 participants and hour-long calls. If you want access to other Microsoft products, that’s when the paid plans kick in.

Microsoft Teams
  • Free
  • Video conference calls
  • 60 minute meeting duration
  • 100 participants allowed
  • Free chat
  • Cloud storage
Microsoft 365 Business Basic
  • $5 per user per month
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Microsoft OneDrive
  • Microsoft SharePoint
  • Microsoft Exchange
Microsoft 365 Business Standard
  • $12.50 per user per month
  • All Office apps and services
  • Tools available across all devices

Webex & Microsoft Teams Feature Comparison

Webex and Microsoft Teams have very similar features, though the limits and specifics of the plans are different. For example, the Webex free plan only allows 50-minute calls, while the Microsoft Teams free plan has hour-long calls. Both free plans allow for 100 participants.

Top Features: Webex

Webex has full-featured webinars, which include moderated Q&A sessions, chat, breakout rooms, and real-time translations in more than 100 languages. Other than that, Webex has desirable user-friendly meetings, which make it quick for hosts to create meetings and simple for participants to attend.

For a deep dive into Webex’s features, read our full Webex review.

Webinars

Webex webinars can hold 10,000 attendees, and the features we mentioned above are included. This is significantly more than the 1,000 participants that Microsoft Teams allows for. Along with the webinar functionality, users can pay for “Webcast Mode,” which is designed to allow you to broadcast to up to 100,000 attendees.

Though most small businesses will not need Webcast Mode, it’s something that could appeal to larger enterprises or businesses that organize online events.

Meetings

The image below shows what active meetings in Webex look like. It looks and functions essentially the same as Microsoft Teams.

Webex Meeting

You’ll be able to perform all standard functions like screen sharing, sending chats, viewing the participant list, and more.

Attendee Privileges

A key aspect of video conferencing is ensuring that your participants, whether they’re internal or external, can only send or share what you’d like. There’s a page that allows customers to set exact limits for what their participants can do.

Webex Attendee Privileges

Top Features: Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams has modern and full-featured video meetings. While the webinar participant limits are lower compared with Webex’s, they are still fully functional.

If you’d like a more in-depth overview of Microsoft Teams’s features, read the full Microsoft Teams review.

Webinars

As we’ve mentioned, Microsoft Teams webinars cannot hold quite as many participants as Webex’s. However, there are still many more features, such as:

  • One or multiple presenters
  • Engagement with audience members
  • Poll questions
  • Content, video, and audio sharing
  • Breakout rooms

Meetings

Within meetings, users can share screens, chat live, share files, send emojis, and edit their backgrounds. The image below displays what an active meeting looks like.

Microsoft Teams Meeting

The usability is relatively the same between Microsoft Teams and Webex.

Chats

Users can chat within a meeting, and a unique aspect of Microsoft Teams is that chats are saved after a meeting has ended. This is not the case with competitors like Google Meet, where chats are deleted as soon as the meeting ends.

Microsoft Teams Meeting Transcript

Bottom Line

The bottom line is that, while Microsoft Teams is a better all-around platform, Webex is still a reasonable choice for small businesses. Your choice will come down to your budget and your current suite of software tools.

  • Try Webex if you have more advanced webinar needs or do not already utilize Office365 or Google Workspace.
  • Microsoft Teams is one of the best platforms on the market, regardless of whether you utilize other Microsoft products.

If you’re interested, visit Webex or Microsoft Teams today to get started.

Katelyn Anderson

Katelyn is a Junior Research Analyst at SoftwarePundit, where she conducts in-depth analyses of technology markets & products and writes software-related content. She graduated summa cum laude with degrees in English and Psychology. Her main areas of interest are content creation, user experience, and search engine optimization. You can connect with Katelyn on LinkedIn.

Katelyn is an expert in several software categories including:

  • Accounting software
  • Integration software
  • Live chat software
  • Vacation rental software
  • Video conferencing software

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