Wildix vs Microsoft Teams Phone: which business phone system suits your UK company?

When a UK business replaces its phone system, two names come up again and again: Wildix and Microsoft Teams Phone. Both are cloud-based, both let staff take calls on a laptop or mobile, and both can keep your existing numbers. So which one should you choose?

The honest answer is that it depends on how your business uses the phone. This guide compares the two in plain terms and explains a third option many businesses miss: using them together.

What each one is

Wildix is a business phone and unified communications system. Each customer gets its own PBX instance in the cloud, and staff make calls, video meetings and chats on desk phones, in a web browser or on the iOS and Android app. Wildix also makes x-bees, a platform for customer-facing teams with AI transcripts and summaries.

Microsoft Teams Phone turns Teams into a phone system. Microsoft describes Teams Phone Standard as an add-on licence that "provides a hosted telephone service", with features such as cloud voicemail, call forwarding, call transfer, auto attendants, call queues and caller ID.

The key difference is where each starts. Wildix starts as a phone system and adds collaboration. Teams starts as a collaboration tool and adds a phone system.

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Calling features

Both cover the everyday basics: transfers, voicemail, queues, auto attendants (menus such as "press 1 for sales") and calls on desktop and mobile.

Where they differ is depth. Wildix is built around telephony, with features such as queues, IVR menus, call recording and CRM integrations for Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho and Microsoft Dynamics CRM, so the customer's record pops up when they call. For sales and service teams, x-bees adds website chat, WhatsApp, Salesforce integration and AI summaries of conversations.

Teams Phone covers the standard business features well, and its big advantage is that calls sit in the same app as your chats, meetings and files. If your team already lives in Teams all day, that convenience matters.

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Licences: what you need for each

This is where many businesses get caught out, so it is worth being clear.

Teams Phone needs three things for each user who makes outside calls, according to Microsoft's licensing guide:

• a qualifying Microsoft 365 or Teams plan (for smaller businesses, Microsoft lists Teams Essentials and Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard and Premium);
• a Teams Phone licence;
• a way to reach the phone network: a Microsoft Calling Plan, Operator Connect, Teams Phone Mobile or Direct Routing.

Microsoft also notes that since 1 April 2024, new Enterprise customers buy their Microsoft 365 suite and Teams as separate products. Our guide to Teams Phone vs Direct Routing explains the phone network options in detail.

Wildix is licensed per user on Wildix's own plans, with numbers and calls provided through SIP trunks. You do not need any Microsoft licences to use Wildix on its own.

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Phone numbers and calls

Both can keep your existing UK numbers through number porting.

With Teams, how you port depends on the route you choose. For example, Microsoft says it does not support partial porting of UK numbers into Calling Plans, so plan carefully if you want to keep some numbers elsewhere.

With Wildix, numbers sit with the SIP trunk provider connected to your Wildix system. NETON supplies UK numbers and SIP trunks for both Wildix and Teams Direct Routing.

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Costs

Prices change and depend on your agreement, so we do not quote figures here. The useful comparison is what you pay for:

• Teams Phone: a Microsoft 365 or Teams plan, plus Teams Phone, plus the phone network option. Direct Routing also needs a session border controller.
• Wildix: Wildix user licences, plus SIP trunks and numbers, plus any handsets you choose.

If you already pay for Microsoft 365 and only need simple calling, Teams Phone can be straightforward. If you need a fuller phone system for sales, service or reception teams, get a Wildix quote to compare like for like. Compare the total cost over two or three years, including setup and support.

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The third option: use both with teams4Wildix

You do not have to choose one or the other. Wildix's teams4Wildix integration connects a Wildix PBX to Microsoft Teams:

• In its standard mode, a "Wildix Collaboration" tab appears inside Teams, and users make and take calls there with Wildix's browser-based softphone, including queues, voicemail, transfers and IVRs.
• Wildix says this mode "does not require additional Microsoft licenses" such as E3, E5 or Teams Phone. Each Teams user needs a Wildix UC licence instead.
• If you want staff to call from the normal Teams dial pad, there is an optional mode that does need Microsoft Teams Phone licences and more configuration. You can mix the two, giving dial pad calling only to the people who need it.

For many UK businesses this is the best of both worlds: Teams for chat and meetings, Wildix for the phone system.

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Which should you choose?

• Choose Teams Phone if your staff already work in Teams all day, your calling needs are fairly simple, and you want to manage everything from Microsoft's admin centre.
• Choose Wildix if the phone is central to how you win and serve customers, you need strong queues, recording, CRM integration or x-bees, or not everyone works in Teams.
• Choose both with teams4Wildix if you want to keep Teams for collaboration but want a dedicated phone system behind it, without buying Teams Phone for every user.

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Frequently asked questions

Is Wildix better than Microsoft Teams Phone?

Neither is better for everyone. Teams Phone suits businesses with simple calling needs that already work in Teams. Wildix suits businesses where calls are central, with stronger queues, recording, CRM integration and x-bees for customer-facing teams.

Do I need a Teams Phone licence to use Wildix with Teams?

Not for the standard teams4Wildix mode. Wildix says it does not need extra Microsoft licences such as Teams Phone; each user needs a Wildix UC licence instead. Calling from the Teams dial pad is an optional mode that does need Teams Phone licences.

Can I keep my UK numbers with Wildix or Teams?

Usually, yes, through number porting. Note that Microsoft does not support partial porting of UK numbers into Teams Calling Plans.

Which is cheaper, Wildix or Teams Phone?

It depends on your users, call volumes and existing Microsoft 365 plan. Compare the full cost of licences, phone numbers, calls, handsets and support over the contract term rather than one monthly price.

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Sources

1. Microsoft Teams add-on licenses — Microsoft Learn
2. Phone number management for the United Kingdom — Microsoft Learn
3. Cloud VoIP PBX — Wildix
4. teams4Wildix — Wildix
5. Integrations — Wildix
6. Download call recordings and transcriptions — Wildix documentation