Etherpad is a free, open-source, self-hosted tool focused specifically on real-time collaborative text editing with authorship tracking and a plugin…
Best for Etherpad: Etherpad fits organizations wanting a lightweight, self-hosted, real-time text collaboration tool with no telemetry and full data control; it's used by organizations like the Wikimedia Foundation and EU institutions and extended through 200+ plugins.
Best for Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Teams fits organizations needing chat, video meetings, and Office document co-authoring together in one platform, especially those already invested in Microsoft 365, with plans from free up to about $12.50/user/month for Business Standard.
At a Glance
Etherpad
Microsoft Teams
Primary category
Collaboration
Collaboration
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Open Source
Freemium
Starting price
Free
Free (paid plans from $4/user/month for Teams Essentials)
Free plan
Not documented
Yes
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows
Web, Mac, Windows
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Yes
Not documented
Public API
Yes
Not documented
Key Differences
Hosting Model
Etherpad: Etherpad requires self-hosting; there is no official managed cloud service, and it runs with no telemetry.
Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Teams is a fully cloud-hosted Microsoft service with no self-hosting option.
Self-hosting gives full data control at the cost of needing to manage server infrastructure yourself.
Pricing
Etherpad: Etherpad is free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license with no paid tier.
Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Teams has a free plan plus paid tiers from about $4/user/month (Teams Essentials) to about $12.50/user/month (Microsoft 365 Business Standard).
Etherpad has zero licensing cost regardless of scale (only hosting costs), while Teams' paid tiers add per-user cost as an organization grows.
Scope of Collaboration
Etherpad: Etherpad is scoped specifically to real-time collaborative text editing with a time slider for reviewing character-by-character edit history.
Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Teams combines persistent chat/channels, HD video meetings with recording/transcription, and real-time co-authoring of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.
Teams offers a much broader collaboration toolkit in one app, while Etherpad focuses narrowly and deeply on shared text documents.
Extensibility
Etherpad: Etherpad has a plugin ecosystem of over 200 extensions adding comments, images, tables, code highlighting, video chat, and OAuth/LDAP authentication, plus optional AI plugins pointing to models of the user's choice.
Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Teams supports app and workflow integrations connecting third-party apps, bots, and workflows as tabs or notifications within a channel.
Both are extensible, but Etherpad's plugin model lets admins add exactly the features they need (including AI on their own infrastructure) to an otherwise minimal core product, while Teams' integrations extend an already feature-rich platform.
Video/Meeting Capability
Etherpad: Etherpad's documented features don't include video meetings or calling.
Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Teams includes HD video meetings with screen sharing, recording, live captions, background effects, and breakout rooms.
Organizations needing video meetings as part of their core workflow need a tool like Teams; Etherpad would need to be paired with a separate meeting tool.
Feature-by-Feature
Text Collaboration
Feature
Etherpad
Microsoft Teams
Real-time collaborative text editing
Available
Available
Authorship/edit history tracking
Available
Not documented
Plugin ecosystem
Available
Available
Office file format support (Word/Excel/PPT)
Not documented
Available
Communication & Meetings
Feature
Etherpad
Microsoft Teams
Persistent chat/channels
Unavailable
Available
Video meetings
Unavailable
Available
VoIP/phone calling
Unavailable
Available
Meeting recording & transcription
Unavailable
Available
Deployment & Access
Feature
Etherpad
Microsoft Teams
Self-hosted deployment
Available
Unavailable
Free to use
Available
Available
Mobile apps
Available
Available
Admin/compliance controls
Not documented
Available
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Etherpad
Open Source — Free N/A
Microsoft Teams
Free — Free N/A
Teams Essentials — $4/user/month Monthly or annual
Microsoft 365 Business Basic — From $6/user/month Monthly or annual
Microsoft 365 E3/E5 — Roughly $39-$60/user/month Annual
Pros & Cons
Etherpad
Pros
Completely free and open source under the permissive Apache License 2.0, with no license fees or paid tiers for the core software.
Self-hostable with no telemetry or forced updates, which appeals to privacy-conscious organizations and those with data-residency requirements.
Lightweight and fast to set up compared to full office suites, especially useful for quick, embeddable collaborative note-taking.
A mature plugin ecosystem and HTTP API make it extensible and embeddable into other tools rather than only usable as a standalone site.
Cons
Lacks the rich formatting, spreadsheet, and presentation capabilities of full office suites like Google Docs or Microsoft 365.
Running Etherpad reliably at scale requires self-hosting knowledge, server maintenance, and database setup, since there is no official hosted commercial version from the core project.
The project is maintained by a small volunteer team and has publicly said it is seeking more maintainers, which can affect the pace of updates and support.
Data is not end-to-end encrypted by default, so its privacy model depends on trusting the server operator rather than on zero-knowledge encryption, unlike tools such as CryptPad.
Microsoft Teams
Pros
Free tier is generous for small teams
Tight integration with Office apps and SharePoint
Handles both chat and enterprise-grade video meetings in one app
Strong compliance and security features for regulated industries at higher tiers
Scales from free personal use to large enterprise deployments
Cons
Interface can feel cluttered compared to Slack
Full functionality requires a Microsoft 365 subscription
Free version limits meetings to 60 minutes
Can be resource-heavy on lower-end devices
Admin and tenant configuration can be complex for IT teams
Use Cases
Choose Etherpad: Etherpad fits organizations wanting a lightweight, self-hosted, real-time text collaboration tool with no telemetry and full data control; it's used by organizations like the Wikimedia Foundation and EU institutions and extended through 200+ plugins.
Choose Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Teams fits organizations needing chat, video meetings, and Office document co-authoring together in one platform, especially those already invested in Microsoft 365, with plans from free up to about $12.50/user/month for Business Standard.
Need both: An organization could self-host Etherpad for lightweight, plugin-extensible collaborative note-taking or documentation (as institutions like Wikimedia do), while using Microsoft Teams separately for company-wide chat, video meetings, and Word/Excel/PowerPoint co-authoring - Etherpad doesn't offer meetings or chat, and Teams' document co-authoring is scoped to Office file formats rather than Etherpad's lightweight pad format.
Etherpad
Self-hosted collaborative note-taking — Teams and organizations that want full control over their data can run their own Etherpad instance to take shared meeting notes, draft documents together in real time, and keep everything on infrastructure they own.
Embedded collaborative editing in wikis and community platforms — Because pads can be embedded via iframe and managed through an HTTP API, developers use Etherpad as a lightweight collaborative-editing component inside wikis, internal tools, and community platforms.
Live collaborative drafting for journalism, education, and civic events — Newsrooms, educators, and civic-tech or activist organizations use Etherpad for real-time collaborative drafting during live events, workshops, hackathons, and public consultations, where quick setup and no vendor lock-in matter.
Microsoft Teams
Company-wide team communication — Centralize chat, files, and meetings for an entire organization.
Hybrid meetings and webinars — Host internal meetings and larger external webinars with screen sharing and recording.
Frontline worker shift coordination — Coordinate shifts, tasks, and announcements for distributed frontline staff.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Etherpad offer video meetings like Microsoft Teams?
No, Etherpad's documented features focus on real-time text editing; video chat is only available as one of its 200+ optional plugins, not a built-in core feature the way it is in Teams.
Is Etherpad free?
Yes, Etherpad is free, open-source software released under the Apache 2.0 license, with no paid tier.
Do I need to self-host Etherpad?
Yes, Etherpad is designed for self-hosting; there is no official managed cloud service, so organizations run their own server instances.
Does Microsoft Teams offer the same edit-history tracking as Etherpad?
The available facts don't document a character-by-character time slider like Etherpad's in Teams; Teams' co-authoring is built around standard Office document version history instead.
Who uses Etherpad?
Etherpad is used by organizations including the Wikimedia Foundation, EU public institutions, universities, and newsrooms, and has been active for over 16 years.
Is Microsoft Teams free to use?
Yes, Microsoft Teams offers a free plan with unlimited chat messages, video meetings up to 60 minutes, and basic file sharing; additional features require a paid Microsoft 365 or Teams Essentials plan (~$4/user/month).