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The right choice between Microsoft Teams Rooms and Zoom Rooms is the platform that fits the IT environment your organisation already runs. Teams Rooms suits a company built on Microsoft 365, while Zoom Rooms suits a Zoom-centred company or one that runs several calendar systems. If usage splits long term, the two can also run side by side. The decision comes down to three things: the licensing model, joining external meetings and certified hardware. GHT-SYS is a Hungary-based audiovisual (AV) systems integrator. Every meeting room we design and commission gets a vendor-independent equipment choice: we pick what suits the room and the company’s IT environment, not what one manufacturer’s catalogue offers.
The platform comes after the room type and before the equipment; How to build the perfect meeting room in 2026 sets out the full sequence.
In short: Microsoft Teams Rooms and Zoom Rooms do the same job; the difference is which IT environment each one fits into. The Teams Rooms Basic licence is free, but an organisation can assign it to no more than 25 rooms. Dual screens, remote diagnostics and the AI-based room features need the Teams Rooms Pro licence at $40 per room per month. Zoom’s pricing page shows no free tier: the Zoom Rooms list price is $49 per room per month with monthly billing, or $41.58 with annual billing. Each platform can join the other’s meetings, but within limits the vendors document, so settle mixed use and hardware certification before you choose the licence.
Microsoft Teams Rooms and Zoom Rooms belong to the same category: both are dedicated meeting room video conferencing systems with calendar integration, one-touch join and central management. The real difference is that Teams Rooms is built on Microsoft 365 accounts, calendars and device management, while Zoom Rooms runs on Zoom’s own management interface and connects to several calendar systems.
Think of choosing a phone. An iPhone and an Android phone both make calls, send messages and start video calls. They differ in what they connect to: your account, your cloud, your watch, your laptop. You can still call someone in the other camp, but not every feature comes across.
| Criterion | Microsoft Teams Rooms | Zoom Rooms |
|---|---|---|
| Licence tiers | Basic (free, up to 25 rooms) and Pro | One room licence (“Rooms”), no free tier on the pricing page |
| List price (USD, October 2026) | Pro: $40.00 per room per month, annual subscription | $49.00 with monthly billing, $41.58 with annual billing, per room per month |
| Device management | Teams Rooms Pro Management portal (Basic: enrolment and inventory; Pro: full remote management); Intune and Conditional Access with the Pro licence | Central room management in Zoom’s own interface |
| Displays | Dual screens with the Pro licence | Up to three displays |
| Joining other platforms | Direct Guest Join (Basic and Pro), SIP-based join (Pro) | Can join Teams, Google Meet and Webex meetings |
| Hardware certification | Microsoft Teams Devices Certification Program | Zoom Spaces Certified Hardware, with two- or three-year certification |
Teams Rooms is the better fit when the organisation runs on Microsoft 365, most meetings are internal Teams meetings, and IT wants to manage room devices in Microsoft’s tools too. Zoom Rooms is the better fit when Zoom is the company’s main platform, several calendar systems run in parallel, or colleagues regularly join external Zoom-based meetings.
Not every room has to run on the same platform. Before you choose, sort your rooms into types (huddle 2-4 people, medium 5-10 people, large 10+ people), because the right platform can differ by type. What meeting room system do you need for hybrid work? covers each type in detail.
A mixed setup has a price. Two management interfaces, two certified device lists, two licensing models. It pays off only where usage genuinely splits, for example where the client-facing team uses Zoom and internal meetings run on Teams.
And if you already have Microsoft 365, is Teams Rooms free? Partly.
The Teams Rooms Basic licence is free, but an organisation can assign it to no more than 25 Teams Rooms systems, as Microsoft Learn’s licensing page states (last updated 14 August 2026). Rooms above that number need a Teams Rooms Pro licence. On Microsoft’s plan comparison page, the Teams Rooms Pro list price is $40.00 per room per month, on an auto-renewing annual subscription.
The Basic licence assumes a certified Teams device and covers the room system only; Teams Panel booking displays need Pro. The core features are included: one-touch join, ad hoc meetings, content sharing and Direct Guest Join to Zoom and Webex meetings. The Pro licence also brings several things that look basic at first glance:
Copilot in the meeting room depends on two licences. Microsoft’s admin overview of Teams Rooms and Copilot (last updated 12 December 2025) says the full set of AI-based features needs a Pro licence on every Teams Rooms console. Users also need a Microsoft 365 subscription plus a Microsoft Copilot subscription.
In practice, even in a larger estate, Basic is a real saving in up to 25 rooms that need one display and no remote diagnostics. For dual screens, AI-based audio features, Copilot or remote monitoring of peripherals, Pro is the realistic starting point whatever the room count. Remote management data only turns into maintenance when an SLA-based maintenance contract sets out who does what with it.
The dollar list price is a guide only: if you buy in forints or euros through a reseller, the price can differ.
Zoom Rooms is licensed per room, and Zoom’s pricing page shows no free tier (accessed October 2026). One room costs $49.00 a month with monthly billing, or $41.58 with annual billing. Zoom offers a single “Rooms” plan: up to three displays and ten room controllers, 720p HD video, and calendar integration with Microsoft 365, Google and Exchange.
With annual billing, the list prices of Teams Rooms Pro and Zoom Rooms differ by $1.58 per room per month. Is that a lot? Not really. Take a 50-room office at annual list prices. If all 50 rooms need Pro, Teams Rooms costs $24,000 a year and Zoom Rooms $24,948. If Basic is enough in 25 rooms, the Microsoft side comes to $12,000 a year, but those rooms get no dual screens and no remote monitoring of peripherals. So the difference comes from Basic, not from the list price.
A Teams Rooms system can join a Zoom, Webex or other third-party meeting in two ways. Direct Guest Join is WebRTC-based and works with a Basic or a Pro licence. SIP-based cross-platform join needs a Teams Rooms Pro licence and a paid SIP dialling plan. According to Microsoft Learn (last updated 28 September 2026), the two modes differ considerably.
| Capability | SIP-based join | Direct Guest Join |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | Teams Rooms Pro | Teams Rooms Basic or Pro |
| Platforms with a join button | Amazon Chime, Cisco Webex, Google Meet, GoToMeeting, RingCentral, Zoom, other SIP services | Cisco Webex, Zoom, Google Meet |
| Video quality (send and receive) | Up to 1080p, 30 fps | Up to 720p, 30 fps |
| Sending content via HDMI or a content camera | Available | Not available |
| Front-of-room displays | Two | One |
| Lobby control | Available | Not available |
| Prerequisite | Paid SIP dialling plan | Direct internet access |
The SIP plan does not come from Microsoft. According to Microsoft’s page on SIP and H.323 calling with Teams Rooms (last updated 16 September 2026), you need an agreement with a certified Cloud Video Interop (CVI) provider. The feature is then enabled in Teams PowerShell. The certified CVI partners currently listed by Microsoft (last updated 22 September 2026) are Pexip, Cisco and HP Poly (Poly CloudConnect, powered by Pexip).
With Direct Guest Join, the room connects directly to the third-party platform’s website, so your firewall must let that traffic through without authentication. What does a meeting room installation look like, from design to handover? covers network preparation by phase.
And the other direction? The Zoom Rooms product page says a Zoom Rooms system can join Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and Webex meetings. The Zoom Rooms features list places Teams join (via SIP/CVI, phone or web client) under Direct Guest Join and shows its availability by device platform. It is not available on Android TV, works only via SIP on Apple TV, and runs without the web client on iPad. Zoom gives no resolution figures here, so test before go-live.
If you present from HDMI, have two displays or need better than 720p, Direct Guest Join is not enough. In that case, use SIP join, or Zoom Rooms in that room.
Platform and hardware are best treated as one decision, because Teams Rooms and Zoom Rooms both work from certified device lists, and certification applies to a specific model, not a brand.
According to Microsoft, the Microsoft Teams Devices Certification Program sets higher performance targets and quality metrics for audio, video and the user interface. The programme, however, covers hardware design and performance only, not feature-level or cloud environment support (Microsoft Learn, last updated 8 September 2026).
Zoom’s certification has an expiry date. According to the Zoom Spaces Certified Hardware page, Zoom Rooms appliances, controllers, schedulers and all-in-one systems receive a two-year certification. USB peripherals (cameras, speakerphones, pro audio devices) receive a three-year one, and a device that remains on the market after that must be recertified.
If you plan to reuse existing equipment, check model by model that it is on the chosen platform’s list, and place no orders until the platform decision is made.
A test room that works is no guarantee that the others will. Once the first room has proved itself in live use, record its firmware version, network settings and mounting method. After the roll-out, and before the other rooms go live, check each one against that record, because any mismatch shows up in the first live meeting.
The licence decision is easier to change later than the hardware one: you can move from Basic to Pro along the way, but a wall-mounted, uncertified device can only be replaced. If you bring in an outside partner (GHT-SYS or another AV systems integrator, for example), ask them to mark certification model by model in their quote. For comparing quotes, see how to choose an AV integrator.
The choice between Teams Rooms and Zoom Rooms has three outcomes: Teams Rooms, Zoom Rooms, or a mixed setup where usage splits for good by room type or team.
| If this is your situation | Then this is your starting point |
|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 with Exchange as the calendar, internal meetings run on Teams | Teams Rooms |
| One display is enough and no remote diagnostics are needed (up to 25 rooms per organisation) | Teams Rooms Basic |
| You need dual screens, AI-based audio features, Copilot in the room or Intune device management | Teams Rooms Pro |
| Zoom is the company’s main platform, or Google and Microsoft calendars both run | Zoom Rooms |
| Microsoft 365 is the main environment, but one team gets many Zoom invitations and the room has one display | Teams Rooms with Direct Guest Join |
| The same, but you need HDMI presenting, two displays or 1080p | Teams Rooms Pro with SIP, or Zoom Rooms in the rooms concerned |
| A different platform consistently dominates in some room types or teams | Both (mixed), decided room type by room type |
With these answers you can request quotes room type by room type, whether from GHT-SYS or another AV partner.
The Teams Rooms Basic licence is free, but an organisation can assign it to no more than 25 certified Teams Rooms systems. Rooms above 25, and dual screens, need a Teams Rooms Pro licence, listed at $40.00 per room per month (annual subscription, October 2026).
Yes, a Teams Rooms system can join Zoom, Webex and Google Meet meetings through Direct Guest Join, even with a Basic licence. In that mode it uses one display, video is limited to 720p, and it cannot send content from HDMI. SIP-based join adds 1080p, two displays and HDMI content sharing, but needs a Teams Rooms Pro licence and a SIP plan from a certified Cloud Video Interop provider.
Yes, according to Zoom, a Zoom Rooms system can join Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and Webex meetings through Direct Guest Join. Zoom’s features list shows it is not available on Android TV and works only via SIP on Apple TV, so test it on your own device first.
Yes, according to Microsoft’s admin guidance, the full set of Teams Rooms AI-based features needs a Teams Rooms Pro licence on every room console. Users also need a Microsoft 365 subscription and a Microsoft Copilot subscription.
In Zoom’s certification programme, Zoom Rooms appliances and systems are certified for two years and USB peripherals for three, after which a device that remains on the market must be recertified. Microsoft’s certification page gives no validity period, so for both platforms, check the official list on the day you decide.
Ádám Horváth is the managing director, founding owner and a systems engineer at GHT-SYS.
About GHT-SYS: GHT-SYS is a Hungary-based audiovisual (AV) systems integrator. The company designs, installs and commissions integrated AV systems in Hungary and across Europe, and provides SLA-based maintenance for corporate clients in Hungary. If you want to choose the platform and the certified equipment for your meeting rooms as one decision, book a consultation.
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