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This is a brief comparison table of key features available across Teams and Zoom.
| FEATURES | ZOOM | TEAMS | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| File sharing | No | Yes | Zoom: Screen annotation feature is also available for host and participants Teams: Share files in a chat during the meeting. Microsoft Whiteboard available, however, tool options are limited to drawing only (i.e., suits touch screen devices the best) |
| Screen sharing | Yes | Yes | When possible, try to select a specific application window to share |
| Recording | Yes | Yes | Zoom: Saved to Zoom cloud. The host receives email with a link when the video is available. If a co-host is in a breakout room, they can record the breakout room discussion. Note: It takes minutes to hours to receive the Zoom recording from Zoom cloud. More information can be found in the Record your Zoom meeting resource. Teams: The recording is saved to Microsoft Stream and the link is posted in the meeting chat or channel. |
| Live Captions | Yes | Yes | Zoom: Captioning can be done automatically with Zoom Live Captioning and Live Transcription. On the Zoom toolbar, you will see an icon that reads ‘CC Live Transcript’. Selecting ‘Enable Auto-Transcription’ will enable the option for you. Teams: Automated Live captions are being rolled out across the university as of May 2020. |
| Meeting notes | No | Yes | Teams: Adds a tab in Teams channel. |
| Chat | Yes | Yes | Zoom: The host can save the chat transcript manually and also set it to auto save for meetings. You can enable/disable participants from saving the chat. Teams: Saves the chat transcript natively in the application. |
| Breakout rooms | Yes | Yes | Zoom: Managing participants in Zoom Waiting Rooms and Breakout Rooms Teams: Use breakout rooms in Microsoft Teams |
| Waiting rooms | Yes | Yes | Zoom: Before the meeting begins, you can use this feature for 1on1 consultations. Teams: All non-UTS users get to the waiting room and need to be approved by the organiser. |
| Interactivity | Yes | Yes | Zoom: Participants can provide non-verbal feedback via preset buttons E.g., ‘raise hand’, ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘like’, ‘dislike’. Teams: Participants can ‘raise hand’. |
| Video and audio control | Yes | Yes | Host can mute all audio from participants and stop their video |
| Interactive polls | Yes | Yes | Zoom: It’s a good idea to create your polls before the meeting so that they’re ready to share. Multiple choice and single choice Up to 10 questions per poll Up to 25 polls per meeting Teams: Create interactive polls using Polly app or MS Forms. |
| Reports | Yes | Yes | Zoom: After a meeting you can see a report that shows you which participants joined. Teams: While the meeting is active you can download a report that includes join and leave times for participants while the meeting organiser was present. |
| Maximum capacity | 300 | 250 | Zoom: We recommend capping Zoom meetings at 50 students. For bigger classes, you may want to consider breaking up the class into smaller groups. |
| Integration with Office 365 | No | Yes | |
| Integration with Canvas | Yes | No | Zoom: Will appear in your course menu. If you don’t see it, you can enable it in your course settings |
| Collaboration | No | Yes | Teams: Use Wiki pages to create a space for both asynchronous and synchronous collaboration in your class. |
If you have decided that Microsoft Teams is a better fit for your purposes, head to our collection of Microsoft Team resources.
- If you have a large number of students unable to travel who are located in China → Use Teams
- If you are connecting with onshore students in self isolation → Use Zoom
- If you are already using either of the tools → Continue using the same tool to reduce confusion and double up
- General advice: keep live/synchronous classes to maximum ~50 participants