If you’ve been using Microsoft Teams for digital communication, you’ve likely come across its one-hour call limit— or at the very least (correctly) expected a limit. Although both the free and paid instances of Teams have call limitations, paid, users are far less restricted.
Below are Teams’ documented call and meeting limitations:
| Feature | Free | Paid |
| “Meet now” | 1 hour | 24 hours |
| Meeting (no end time) | N/A | 60 days (after start time) |
| Meeting | N/A | 60 days (after end time) |
| Recurring meeting | N/A | 60 days (after last meeting’s end time) |
Although there’s not much to discuss regarding today’s topic, there are at least important things to discuss. Take upgrading to a paid subscription, for instance— no need to spend on what may not be needed. In short, I’ll be discussing call limitations for both instances of Teams, under what circumstance you should consider paying for Teams, and how much Teams may cost you.
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Time limits on calls — paid Teams vs free Teams
There are two versions of Microsoft Teams: the free version and the paid version. While both operate the same way, the paid version offers expanded features, such as meetings, event planning, teams, and reduced limitations.
Call limitations in Teams (free)
Usually, a standard call (or “meet now” meeting) will last one hour. During the COVID 19 pandemic, Microsoft removed call limitations. However, it can not be confirmed Microsoft will repeat this action during future times of crisis. Although this is not particularly long, no cooldown on repeated calls exists; the dropped call won’t be an issue if you don’t mind minor interruptions each hour.
Call limitations in Teams (paid)
The standard call (or “meet now” meeting) will expire after 24 hours. However, you can achieve far longer meetings under different circumstances. Take a scheduled meeting with no set end time, for instance; such meetings persist upward of 60 days post the meeting’s start time.
| “Meet now” | Meeting | Meeting (endless) | Meeting (recurring) |
| 24 hours | 60 days after the set end time | 60 days after the set start time | 60 days after the last meeting’s ending |
Should I buy Teams to avoid Microsoft Teams meeting time limits
Microsoft Teams is offered as a service within one of several Microsoft 365 subscriptions. However, you may not want to pick one over the other. Especially if you’re only concerned with handling longer calls. If you’re interested in utilizing the Microsoft 365 suite, I recommend purchasing a subscription. However, if you exclusively use Teams, only consider Microsoft Teams Essentials. Otherwise, perhaps you might consider a Teams alternative.
How much is Teams
Generally, I would not recommend purchasing the Microsoft 365 Business Basic or the Microsoft 365 Business Standard subscriptions. If you only intend to experience longer calls, their price exceeds the attained value. Thus, I would propose you instead use the Microsoft Teams Essentials subscription.
Blog post recap
A free Teams meeting lasts 1 hour, contrasting the 24 hours offered by a paid Teams version. You can attain the paid version via several subscriptions provided by Microsoft; however, finding an alternative (such as Discord or Slack) may work better if you’re only interested in using Teams for calls.
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