If your business runs on Microsoft 365, the phone-system question almost always 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 dramatically 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 approaches it
We are not tied to a single vendor. As part of our business phone systems service we model the real cost both ways, design your call flows, handle number porting, and roll out handsets or softphones — then support the platform afterwards. If your environment is Microsoft-first, we will also make sure it lines up with your Microsoft 365 security baseline rather than becoming a side door into your tenant.
Get in touch and we will tell you which platform fits — and why.