If your business runs on Microsoft 365, the phone-system question often comes down to two options: extend the platform you already have with Microsoft Teams Phone, or deploy a dedicated PBX like 3CX. Both are excellent. They suit different organisations, and the wrong choice is expensive to unwind once numbers are ported and handsets are deployed.
The quick answer
- Choose Teams Phone if your team already lives in Teams all day and you value one platform, one login, and tight Microsoft 365 integration over advanced call-centre features.
- Choose 3CX if you need rich call-queue, IVR, and contact-centre capability, want flexible handset choice, or are price-sensitive on a larger number of extensions.
Side by side
| Microsoft Teams Phone | 3CX | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Microsoft 365 organisations | Call-heavy / contact-centre teams |
| Licensing | Per-user Microsoft add-on + calling plan | Per-system (concurrent calls) |
| Client | Teams app (desktop/mobile/web) | Apps, web client, or SIP handsets |
| Call queues & IVR | Good (Auto Attendant, queues) | Advanced, highly configurable |
| Handset choice | Certified Teams devices | Broad SIP handset support |
| Integration | Native with Teams, Outlook, Entra ID | CRM integrations, broad SIP |
| Where it runs | Microsoft cloud | Cloud, self-hosted, or on-prem |
Licensing is where it gets real
The headline price is rarely the real price. Teams Phone adds a per-user licence on top of your Microsoft 365 plan, plus a calling plan or a direct-routing SIP trunk for the actual minutes. That is clean and predictable when most staff need a phone, but you pay per user whether they make two calls a day or two hundred.
3CX is generally licensed by simultaneous calls, not by user. For a business where many people have an extension but only a handful are on the phone at once, think a warehouse, a trades office, or a clinic, that model can be cheaper.
Don't lock yourself in prematurely
A common mistake is committing to "we're a 3CX shop" or "we only do Teams" before anyone has looked at how the business actually uses the phone. The right questions are:
- How many concurrent calls do you really run at peak?
- Do you need call-centre features, queues, wallboards, recording, reporting?
- How committed are you to the Microsoft 365 ecosystem?
- Do staff want softphones, desk handsets, or both?
How Umbrella Tech approaches it
We are not tied to one vendor. Our Teams Phone and business calling work models the cost both ways, designs call flows, plans number porting and rolls out devices. In a Microsoft-first environment we also align calling with your Microsoft 365 security baseline, so it does not become a side door into the tenant.