Compare Tine and Microsoft Teams on pricing, features, platforms, and ratings — both Collaboration tools, open-source vs Freemium pricing to decide which fits…
At a Glance
Tine
Microsoft Teams
Primary category
Collaboration
Collaboration
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
open-source
Freemium
Starting price
Free (self-hosted); hosted plans from EUR 12.90/month
Free (paid plans from $4/user/month for Teams Essentials)
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Platforms
Web
Web, Mac, Windows
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Not documented
Public API
Yes
Not documented
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Tine
Self-Hosted Business Edition — Free N/A (self-hosted, optional paid support)
Hosted Groupware — EUR 12.90/month monthly
Hosted Pro — EUR 24.90/month monthly
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
Tine
Pros
Fully open-source under AGPLv3, including features normally reserved for paid enterprise tiers elsewhere
Combines groupware and CRM in one suite, reducing the need for separate tools
Free to self-host with no per-user licensing cost
Long track record, with continuous development since 2008
Managed hosting option available for teams that do not want to self-administer a server
Cons
Smaller community and ecosystem compared to mainstream groupware platforms like Zimbra or Nextcloud
Interface and documentation are less polished than large commercial competitors
Self-hosting requires PHP and SQL server administration skills
Primarily documented and supported in German and English, which may limit reach in other markets
Hosted SaaS pricing scales per user and per gigabyte, which can add up for larger teams
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
Tine
Self-hosted email and calendar collaboration — Organizations that want full control over their email and calendar data self-host Tine on their own servers instead of relying on a third-party SaaS provider.
Combined groupware and CRM for small businesses — Small and mid-sized businesses use Tine's built-in CRM alongside its groupware modules to manage both internal collaboration and customer relationships in one system.
Open-source alternative to proprietary groupware — Organizations that require fully auditable, open-source software for compliance or budget reasons choose Tine over closed-source suites like Microsoft Exchange or Zimbra's proprietary tiers.
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.