Microsoft Teams vs Polycom RealPresence Desktop comparison

Microsoft and Poly are both solutions in the Virtual Meetings category. Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.4, while Poly is ranked #17 with an average rating of 7.0. Microsoft holds a 3.9% mindshare in VM, compared to Poly’s 1.7% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Poly users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Teams

Read 169 Microsoft Teams reviews

2,466 Views
518 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Read 1 Polycom RealPresence Desktop review

292 Views
292 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Teams

Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Teams and Polycom RealPresence Desktop based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Zoom Video Communications, Cisco, Microsoft and others in Virtual Meetings.

To learn more, read our detailed Virtual Meetings Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Virtual Meetings

July 2025

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Helped 865,140 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Teams

Ranking in Virtual Meetings

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

169

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Social Software (1st)

Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Ranking in Virtual Meetings

17th

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of Microsoft Teams is 3.9%, up from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Polycom RealPresence Desktop is 1.7%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Virtual Meetings

Featured Reviews

Arun Srivastav

CEO at Planfirma Technologies Private Limited

Seamless presentation and collaboration enhance organizational productivity

There are three main areas for improvement: Firstly, AI capabilities should be integrated into Microsoft Teams to provide better transcript services and offer multiple language support. Secondly, it should allow participants to remain visible during presentations, enhancing interaction. Lastly, it needs broader integration capabilities with other products, like Salesforce, which is currently limited.

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Norm Hubert

VTC Network manager at a government with 10,001+ employees

Regular use enables effective communication with room for improvement in interoperability

The most valuable part of the desktop is the ability to make voice and video calls. Without getting too technical or divulging too much due to the environment we are in, it allows us to further our reach, from a traditional video conferencing room. Scalability was easy. It was based on calls, not licenses.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"It allows us to invite members to attend the meeting efficiently."

"Using the solution's screen-sharing feature, we can go through a document together and take control."

"I think communication is the best feature overall. We use Microsoft Teams for chat, video, and audio communications, so communication is the most valuable feature. Video communication has improved our productivity. We often need to review the code of some developers, which means we need to see their shared screen. So, I think the screen-sharing feature is the best one for us."

"We can build a team with a group of people and upload documents."

"Everything is valuable, such as the chats, the calls, and the file sharing."

"The most valuable features of Microsoft Teams are the ease of use. It is very good for a small virtual office for meetings and calendars which sync well together."

"Sharing screens is valuable."

"The feature for video conferencing capability works efficiently for remote meetings."

More Microsoft Teams pros

"It allows us to further our reach, from a traditional video conferencing room."

Cons

"We cannot change the mic automatically in Microsoft Teams. We have to do it manually."

"We had some upstream outages which impacted collaboration."

"The solution's security feature needs enhancement for external collaborations with business partners and vendors."

"It takes me time to adapt to the new improvements in the product, and they don't add too much value for me. I would prefer Microsoft Teams to reduce their frequent updates."

"The solution's feature for scheduling meetings could be faster for Android phones. It should work okay like its desktop version."

"The integration with SharePoint can be cumbersome at times."

"The solution needs to improve the cell phone version. I also have issues in copying the links in the conversation."

"They need to improve the scalability of Teams."

More Microsoft Teams cons

"There is probably room for improvement in interoperability."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you have content that requires more security and you want to use it in a more secure manner, with more protection, then it will come at a higher cost."

"The solution's cost is high."

"Microsoft Teams comes free if you're using it in an organization."

"The product is expensive, and I rate its pricing a ten out of ten."

"We don't have to pay for the solution."

"We get the solution on a corporate plan, where everything is included."

"The tool's price is high. We purchase Microsoft Office 365 on per user basis and we get support also on that basis."

"The tool is cheaper than Google Meet. I rate it a three out of four."

More Microsoft Teams pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

22%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Educational Organization

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Teams?

The most valuable feature of Microsoft Teams for us is the ability to share files from OneDrive seamlessly.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Teams?

I have no information about the cost as these are subsidized when procured by companies. Getting a home version cheaper or free would be a better option so students or college-goers can utilize the...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Teams?

I am unable to determine which features of Microsoft Teams are the most valuable because we do not have full capabilities due to our Exchange server being on-premise and OneDrive not being authoriz...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Polycom RealPresence Desktop?

The solution is built right into Clarity.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Polycom RealPresence Desktop?

There is probably room for improvement in interoperability.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Polycom RealPresence Desktop?

We use the desktop. It was used in the same case. We use it with our partners.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 18% of the time

Symphony vs Microsoft Teams

Compared 16% of the time

Loom Business - Enterprise vs Microsoft Teams

Compared 7% of the time

Slack Business - Enterprise vs Microsoft Teams

Compared 6% of the time

GoToWebinar vs Microsoft Teams

Compared 6% of the time

More Microsoft Teams Competitors

Zoom Workplace Business vs Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Compared 46% of the time

Cisco TelePresence vs Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Compared 19% of the time

TrueConf Server vs Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Compared 19% of the time

Huawei Video Conferencing Platform vs Polycom RealPresence Desktop

Compared 16% of the time

More Polycom RealPresence Desktop Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Teams

August 2025

Download Microsoft Teams product report

Buyer's Guide

Virtual Meetings

July 2025

Download Polycom RealPresence Desktop product report

Also Known As

MS Teams

RealPresence Desktop

Overview

At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our mission is grounded in both the world in which we live and the future we strive to create. Today, we live in a mobile-first, cloud-first world, and the transformation we are driving across our businesses is designed to enable Microsoft and our customers to thrive in this world.

We do business in 170 countries and are made up of 114,000 passionate employees dedicated to fulfilling our mission of helping you and your organization achieve more.

Microsoft

Polycom RealPresence Desktop is a powerful, enterprise-grade video chat app for PC & Mac. The video conferencing software extends communications beyond the typical conference room setting to mobile professionals. RealPresence Desktop combines quality HD video, industry-leading interoperability, and security that is both cost effective and highly scalable.

When powered by Polycom's infrastructure, customers can extend desktop collaboration value with app management, interoperability, scalability, resiliency, and multi-point calling.

Poly

Sample Customers

Honeywll, AIRFRANCE, AccuWeather, Lilly

John Laing, China Daily, Lincoln Fire and Rescue, NATO Communications and Information Agency, NHS Home Dialysis, Silver Chain, South Carolina Department of Mental Health, nimed

Find out what your peers are saying about Zoom Video Communications, Cisco, Microsoft and others in Virtual Meetings. Updated: July 2025.

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