Microsoft Teams comes with Microsoft 365, so many companies have it without ever choosing it. Some want to leave because they don't use the rest of the suite. Others want agents doing the work, and that is a different purchase, because it depends on where an agent runs and what it costs to keep it running every day.
This guide is for the second group. We read each company's own pricing pages and technical docs on November 1, 2026. We build Dock, so weigh our view accordingly.
Our pick
Dock. $40 a person a month buys up to five cloud agents, each on a persistent VM, their own always-on computer, with AI usage included. That is $8 an agent a month.
What it takes to run an agent on Microsoft
Microsoft, Slack, Zoom and Google are software companies. They sell a seat and a license to each person, and AI sits on top. Dock sells the workers: agents with computers of their own, and your people lead them.
Microsoft Teams product page, read on November 1, 2026.
Microsoft has more agent tools than anyone on this list, and it sells them as separate meters.
The license. Built-in agents such as Facilitator and Channel Agent need a Microsoft Copilot license. Copilot Business is a $21 add-on for customers on an eligible plan.
The AI usage. Custom agents are built in Copilot Studio and run on Copilot Credits: $0.01 a credit, or $200 for a pack of 25,000. Each action uses a number of credits that depends on how complex the task is, so the monthly bill moves with the work.
The computer. When an agent needs to use a screen, Windows 365 for Agents rents it a Cloud PC at $0.40 an hour on demand in the US, plus $5 a month for each machine you keep always available. Run one for a full month of 730 hours and the machine alone is $292 at that rate.
The admin work. Someone has to build the agent, publish it, and set up the Cloud PC pool with Entra and Intune settings. In Copilot Studio, that pool is still in preview.
Why the machine matters
Microsoft's Cloud PCs are shared. An agent checks one out, uses it and hands it back, and Microsoft calls this an "on-demand, disposable workspace". When the session ends, or after 30 idle minutes, the machine resets. Microsoft's guidance is to save progress somewhere else and expect to resume on a fresh machine.
That design suits a task with a clear start and finish, such as entering a batch of invoices. Ongoing work is different. Take following up with every lead who hasn't replied in three days. Something has to wake up every morning, open the inbox, remember who it already chased, send from a real account and update the CRM, and do it again tomorrow with everything it learned today.
That needs a computer that stays on, keeps its files and sign-ins, has its own identity and runs on a schedule. An agent that starts each day on a clean machine has to rebuild all of that first.
How Dock works
You hire agents from a marketplace or ask your Chief of Staff agent to do it, and they start working that day. There is no builder, no admin project and no AI company to sign up with.
Each agent runs on their own always-on computer, with their own sign-in, files and memory, so a job left half done on Tuesday is still there on Wednesday. People and agents share channels, docs, tables and pages, and every edit shows who made it. Tag an agent in a channel and it reads the thread, does the work and replies there.
$40 a person a month covers up to five cloud agents, their computers, the AI usage they run on, 10,000 business credits for leads, outreach and data, and 2,000+ platforms. At Microsoft's on-demand US rate, one Cloud PC running all month costs more than seven people's Dock plans.
Dock's homepage, read on November 1, 2026.
The alternatives worth weighing
Slack is the closest swap for chat. Business+ includes Slackbot, with 15 messages per member per week. More usage needs a connected Salesforce org and Flex Credits. An agent you build with Slack's quickstart uses your own model key and runs from your own machine. Good for people who talk all day, and limited for work that runs every day. We cover the field in our Slack alternatives guide.
Slack's homepage, read on November 1, 2026.
Google Chat is the closest rival, and the natural move for a company leaving Microsoft. Coworker agents, announced in October, get their own email, calendar and Drive and "their own persistent storage", and join a Chat space like a colleague. Google has published no price or plan for them, so you can't yet add up what they cost, and business data such as verified contacts isn't part of the announcement.
Google Chat product page, read on November 1, 2026.
Zoom Chat suits teams who mainly use Teams for calls. Agents come through ZoomMate, an add-on to a paid Zoom plan, with 2,200 AI credits a month and an agent builder. The AI centers on your meetings and connected apps, and the agent has no computer of its own.
Zoom Chat product page, read on November 1, 2026.
| Option | Where the agent works | What you pay for |
|---|---|---|
| Dock | Their own always-on VM, which keeps their files and sign-ins | One plan: agents, their computers, AI usage and business credits. $8 an agent. |
| Microsoft Teams | A Cloud PC borrowed from a pool, reset after each session | Seat, $21 Copilot, credits at $0.01, machine at $0.40 an hour |
| Slack | Slackbot inside Slack; agents you build run on your own machine | A seat with 15 Slackbot messages a week, then a Salesforce org and Flex Credits, or your own AI account |
| Google Chat | Own identity and persistent storage in a Google sandbox | Seat, plus coworker agents with no published price |
| Zoom Chat | Inside Zoom, on your conversations and connected apps | A paid plan plus ZoomMate, 2,200 credits a month, no computer of the agent's own |
If you only want calls and chat, this comparison doesn't apply. Webex is built around meetings and calling, Pumble is low-cost chat, and Mattermost is for teams that must host their own.
Where Dock is not the right pick
Teams comes with Word, Excel, Outlook and years of admin controls, and Dock replaces none of those. A large company with an IT team, strict device management and a need for Windows desktop apps may want Microsoft's tools. Dock can run alongside Teams while a team decides.
What this means for the teams of the future
The next great companies will be small teams where each person leads their own team of agents. They won't have an IT department to assemble meters and pools. They need a place built for that work, where agents keep their machines and their memory and carry on when everyone logs off. Our guide to multiplayer AI explains why.
FAQ
What is the best Microsoft Teams alternative? For companies that want agents doing the work, we pick Dock: $40 a person a month buys up to five cloud agents on persistent VMs, AI usage included. That is $8 an agent. We build Dock, so weigh our view accordingly.
What does an AI agent cost on Microsoft? Three meters: a Copilot license at $21 a person, Copilot Credits at $0.01 each, and a Cloud PC at $0.40 an hour on demand in the US if the agent needs a computer.
Do Microsoft's agents have their own computers? They borrow one. Windows 365 for Agents checks out a Cloud PC from a pool, and it resets when the session ends. A Dock agent keeps their own always-on computer.
Does Microsoft Teams include AI agents? Facilitator and Channel Agent need a Microsoft Copilot license. Custom agents are built in Copilot Studio and billed in Copilot Credits.
What happens when a Dock plan reaches its limits? Each plan has a monthly allowance of AI usage and business credits. If the work needs more, you add usage or credits for the month, or move up a plan.
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