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Upgrade Microsoft Teams Free (classic) to subscription version

  • Article
  • 4 minutes to read
  • Applies to:
    Microsoft Teams

Important

You must upgrade from Microsoft Teams Free (classic) to a subscription version of Teams as the Microsoft Teams Free (classic) license will be deprecated and unavailable starting April 12, 2023.

Microsoft now provides a single, free Teams experience for personal and small business use through a Microsoft Account rather than Azure Active Directory. For over a year, Microsoft has only allowed new customers to sign up for the new Teams (Free) license.

For instructions on how to upgrade to your organization, see Upgrade from Teams Free (classic) to Teams.

If your organization is using Microsoft Teams Free (classic), you can easily upgrade to the full version by purchasing a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription plan for your users. The full version provides other Teams features — like audio conferencing, enhanced administration, and security capabilities — that the free version doesn't provide. Microsoft 365 and Office 365 combine the familiar Microsoft Office desktop suite with cloud-based versions of Microsoft's next-generation communications and collaboration services — including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Office — to help users be productive from anywhere through the internet. When you upgrade Teams, your existing Teams data won't be lost; all your teams, channels, chats, files, and permissions come with you.

Note

If you already have a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription, you're eligible for the trial version of Teams (with your corporate identity), not the free version. The Teams trial provides the full version of Teams for a limited time. For more information, see Manage the Microsoft Teams Commercial Cloud Trial offer.

How does Teams Free (classic) compare to the full version of Teams?

Teams Free (classic) is designed for small to medium businesses and has the following features:

  • 500,000 maximum users
  • Unlimited chat messages and search
  • Guest access
  • Integration with apps and services, including the Online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote
  • 2 GB of storage per user and 10 GB of shared storage
  • 1:1 and group online audio and video calling
  • Channel meetings
  • Screen sharing

The full version of Teams included with a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription provides the following features in addition to the features that Microsoft Teams Free (classic) provides:

  • No user limit (with an enterprise license)
  • Exchange email hosting and custom email domain
  • OneDrive, SharePoint, Planner, Yammer, and more Microsoft 365 and Office 365 services
  • 1 TB of storage per user
  • Scheduled meetings
  • Audio conferencing
  • Enhanced security and compliance features, including multi-factor authentication, single sign-on, and Auditing (Premium) and reporting
  • Administrative controls and support features, including 24 x 7 phone and web support, admin tools for managing users and apps, usage reporting for Microsoft 365 or Office 365 services, service-level agreement, and configurable user settings and policies

For a detailed comparison of Teams Free (classic) and Teams features, see Compare Teams plans.

Upgrade requirements

You can upgrade to the full version of Teams if you meet the following requirements:

  • You're the person who signed up for the existing Microsoft Teams Free (classic) subscription.
  • If you're bringing your own domain, it isn't already associated with Azure Active Directory (via trial or purchased Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription).

Note

Learn about your upgrade options on the page Microsoft Teams Free (classic) is retiring.

We recommend you use one of Microsoft's upgrade methods. If you begin buying licenses outside of one of Microsoft's upgrade methods, your existing Teams data won't automatically transfer because you'll be setting up a new tenant.

Limitations

Keep the following limitations in mind:

  • You can't switch back to Teams Free (classic) after you upgrade.
  • You can't merge multiple Teams Free (classic) tenants into a single paid tenant.
  • All users must be in the same domain. (All users will get a sign-in in the format username@domain.com.)
  • All users must be upgraded: a mix of Teams Free (classic) and paid subscription users in the same tenant isn't supported.

How do I upgrade my organization?

To upgrade to the full version of Teams, select Upgrade in Teams.

screenshot showing Upgrade button.

Enter the email address that you use to sign in to Teams, and then purchase a Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan. If you would like to purchase Microsoft 365 Business Basic or an Enterprise edition of Office 365, contact Microsoft 365 sales and support.

What's next?

After your upgrade is complete, see Get started with Microsoft Teams for first steps and Adopt Microsoft Teams for a phased approach to Teams adoption across your organization.

More information