Microsoft Teams may already be where your people chat, meet, and collaborate. The real decision is how to turn it into a dependable business phone system without adding cost, administrative work, or another disconnected platform. This Teams Direct Routing comparison explains the three primary ways to add PSTN calling to Teams and where Direct Routing delivers a better operational fit.
For a growing business, this is not simply a technical choice. It affects call quality, number management, support response, compliance, monthly spend, and how quickly a new office or team can get online.
The three ways to add calling to Microsoft Teams
Teams does not include full external phone service by default. To place and receive calls with customers, vendors, and prospects over the public phone network, your organization needs a PSTN connectivity option. Microsoft offers Calling Plans and Operator Connect, while Direct Routing connects Teams to a provider of your choice through a certified session border controller, or SBC.
All three can work. The better option depends on how much control your business needs and whether you want your phone system to extend beyond the basic Teams calling experience.
Microsoft Calling Plans
Calling Plans are Microsoft-managed phone plans purchased alongside Teams licenses. They are generally the most straightforward path for a small group that needs standard domestic calling and wants one vendor relationship.
The trade-off is flexibility. Calling Plans can become expensive as usage and headcount grow, and they offer fewer choices around carrier service, custom call handling, international needs, and support. If your business has multiple locations, existing phone numbers to port, compliance requirements, or more advanced routing needs, the apparent simplicity can give way to limitations.
Operator Connect
Operator Connect lets organizations select an approved carrier within the Teams Admin Center. It reduces some of the technical setup associated with Direct Routing while providing more carrier choice than Microsoft Calling Plans.
It is a solid middle ground for teams that want a participating carrier and a relatively simple activation process. However, your options are limited to carriers in the Operator Connect ecosystem, and capabilities, pricing, number availability, and service quality vary widely by provider. Advanced integrations and custom configurations may still require a different approach.
Direct Routing
Direct Routing connects Microsoft Teams to a specialized voice provider. That provider delivers PSTN service and connects it to Teams through certified infrastructure. To the employee, calling happens inside Teams. Behind the scenes, the business gains more freedom to choose its phone service, manage numbers, configure call flows, and add business communications features.
Direct Routing is often the strongest choice for organizations that view calling as a business operation, not just a license add-on. It can support existing numbers, local and toll-free service, auto attendants, call queues, analytics, contact center workflows, compliance needs, and integrations that standard plans may not handle well.
Teams Direct Routing comparison: what actually changes
A useful Teams Direct Routing comparison should look beyond a per-user price. The cost of missed calls, delayed support, a difficult port, or a system that cannot adapt to new locations is rarely visible on a quote.
Cost and billing clarity
Calling Plans can be easy to purchase, but that does not always mean they are the lowest-cost option. Organizations with many users, varied calling patterns, or a mix of front-line and back-office staff should model their actual usage and licensing needs before committing.
Operator Connect pricing is set by the carrier, so comparison requires attention to included minutes, taxes, number fees, international rates, and any implementation charges. Direct Routing providers also vary, but the model can offer more room to align service with the way your company operates. Look for transparent per-user pricing and ask whether support, onboarding, number porting, and basic configuration are included or billed separately.
The right answer depends on scale. A very small, low-complexity team may value Microsoft billing above all else. A business that expects to grow, add locations, or needs dependable inbound call management will usually benefit from evaluating total operating cost rather than license price alone.
Control over numbers and call flow
With Direct Routing, businesses typically have greater control over their existing numbers and how calls reach the right person. This matters when you have published main numbers, department queues, after-hours schedules, multiple offices, or staff who need to answer calls from different devices.
For example, a healthcare practice may need calls routed by department and time of day while keeping its established local number. A legal office may need an overflow path when reception is busy. A multi-location restaurant group may need each location’s number to follow local operating hours. These are practical routing requirements, not enterprise extras.
Calling Plans can cover basic calling, but it is less suited to organizations that need a phone system shaped around operational workflows. Operator Connect may offer more carrier flexibility, though available features depend on the provider. Direct Routing gives the provider and business more latitude to build the calling experience around real-world call handling.
Deployment effort and ongoing administration
The assumption that Direct Routing is always difficult is outdated. A self-managed Direct Routing deployment can require telecom expertise, SBC configuration, Teams administration, and ongoing monitoring. That approach may be appropriate for a large enterprise with a dedicated voice team.
For small and mid-sized businesses, managed Direct Routing changes the equation. A qualified provider can handle the underlying connectivity, provisioning, port coordination, and configuration while your team manages users through familiar administrative tools. The quality of onboarding matters here. A provider that treats implementation as a ticket queue can turn a simple rollout into a frustrating one.
Ask who owns each step: license preparation, emergency calling setup, number porting, user provisioning, call queue design, testing, and post-launch support. Clear ownership prevents the common problem of Microsoft, the carrier, and an IT partner each pointing elsewhere when a call issue appears.
Features beyond basic Teams calling
Teams is a strong collaboration application, but many businesses need more than a dial pad. They need business texting, online fax, toll-free numbers, call recording controls, analytics, contact center tools, and visibility into customer conversations.
A Direct Routing provider may bundle or integrate these services in a way that makes Teams part of a broader communications environment. This can be especially useful for customer-facing teams that need call reporting, intelligent routing, transcription, call summaries, sentiment analysis, or coaching insights.
That said, do not pay for a feature catalog your team will not use. Start with the workflows that create friction now: unanswered calls, unclear ownership, limited reporting, slow follow-up, or too many tools. Then choose the service model that fixes those problems without creating a larger administration burden.
Support, reliability, and accountability
Voice service is different from ordinary software. When calls fail, revenue, patient access, and customer trust can be affected immediately. The best provider is not merely the one with a feature checklist. It is the one that can explain how service is monitored, how problems are escalated, and who answers when your team needs help.
Microsoft Calling Plans centralize the service relationship, which some organizations prefer. Operator Connect divides responsibilities between Microsoft and the selected carrier. Direct Routing adds another party as well, but a managed provider can also provide a more accountable support experience because it owns the voice service and understands the configuration.
For regulated organizations, confirm how the provider handles emergency calling, call recording, data protection, and HIPAA-related requirements. Do not assume that a Teams license alone addresses these responsibilities.
When each option makes sense
Choose Microsoft Calling Plans when your calling needs are basic, your user count is modest, and convenience matters more than carrier flexibility or advanced phone features.
Choose Operator Connect when you want a certified carrier experience within Teams and the available providers meet your pricing, coverage, and feature requirements.
Choose Direct Routing when your business needs more control over numbers, routing, service costs, support, integrations, or customer-facing communications. It is particularly well suited to growing companies replacing a legacy phone system, consolidating multiple locations, or bringing better call visibility to service and sales teams.
Skyretel’s managed Direct Routing approach is designed for this practical middle market: Teams calling backed by business phone features, live support, transparent pricing, and an onboarding process that does not leave your staff to figure out telecom details alone.
Questions to ask before selecting a provider
Before you decide, get specific answers about whether your current numbers can be ported, how long porting takes, what happens during an outage, and whether emergency calling is configured for each location. Confirm which features are included, who supports users after launch, and whether the agreement requires a long-term commitment.
Also ask for a realistic rollout plan. A provider should be able to explain how it will inventory numbers, map users and call flows, test service, train administrators, and cut over with minimal disruption. Vague promises of an easy deployment are not a plan.
The best choice is the one that lets your employees keep working in Teams while giving your business a phone system built for the calls that keep it moving. Evaluate the service behind the connection just as carefully as the connection itself.