CM Chat vs Microsoft Teams
An honest comparison, with what Teams does best.
Teams is a huge platform built into Microsoft 365. CM Chat is a focused, invite-only chat built around privacy controls. Here is where each is stronger.
CM Chat
Focused, with privacy controls built in
Teams
Part of the Microsoft 365 platform
The short version
Where each one is stronger.
If your organization lives in Microsoft 365, Teams has real advantages. Here is the whole picture.
Where CM Chat is stronger
- Simple to run. One admin console with a short list of settings, and nothing else to license or configure.
- A separate, encrypted space for every workspace. Your data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and every workspace is kept apart.
- Passkeys and invite-only access. Nobody joins without an invitation, and passkeys only work on your real workspace address.
- An admin activity log in every workspace. A detailed record of who did what and when.
- You choose the countries people can sign in from.
- Guests that expire. Clients see only the channels you add, and their access ends on a date you set.
Where Teams is stronger
- Meetings, webinars and calling. Teams does video meetings, screen sharing and phone. CM Chat does not have voice or video yet; it is on the way.
- Microsoft 365 integration. Teams sits inside the Microsoft 365 platform, with its directory and compliance tooling behind it.
- End-to-end encryption for meetings. Microsoft lists end-to-end encryption for online meetings (up to 200 participants) as a Teams Premium feature. CM Chat is not end-to-end encrypted.
- Compliance depth. Microsoft Purview auditing is on by default with 180-day retention, and Audit (Premium) extends retention to a year, with an add-on for ten years.
- Scale and admin policy. Teams has an extensive admin center, federation with other organizations and a large ecosystem of apps.
Side by side
The details, as of October 2026.
Teams facts come from Microsoft’s own documentation (listed below). Where we could not confirm something, we left it out.
CM Chat is clearly stronger the other product is clearly stronger
| Topic | CM Chat | Microsoft Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Meetings and calling | Huddles are on the way. | Meetings, screen sharing, phone and a queues app for call handling. |
| Encryption | Encrypted in transit and at rest, with every workspace kept separate. Not end-to-end encrypted. Full details on request. | Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. End-to-end encryption for meetings is listed under Teams Premium and needs admin setup. |
| Audit | Built into every workspace: a detailed log of admin activity. | Microsoft Purview Audit (Standard) is on by default with 180-day retention; Audit (Premium) goes up to a year, and ten years with an add-on licence. |
| Outside people | Guests see only chosen channels and lose access on a date you set. | Guest access, external access and anonymous meeting join, each with its own admin settings. |
| Incoming webhooks | Slack-compatible webhook addresses, bot tokens and outgoing webhooks you can verify. | Microsoft 365 connectors are nearing deprecation; webhooks are now set up through the Workflows app in Teams. |
| Who can join | By invitation only, with a link valid for seven days. | People in your Microsoft 365 directory, plus guests and external users as you allow. |
| Price | Talk to us. | See Microsoft’s pricing pages. |
Where these facts come from
Statements about Microsoft Teams were checked on Microsoft's own pages in October 2026. Products change, so check their current pages before you decide.
Detailed security documentation is available on request: security@cmchat.app.
Using both
It does not have to be either or.
Plenty of organizations keep Teams for meetings and use a separate, focused tool for sensitive conversation.
Sensitive conversation
Keep staff discussion, client work and incident chatter in a workspace that is kept apart from every other, with its own admin activity log.
Outside collaborators
Invite clients as guests with an end date, without opening up your whole directory.
Alerts and tools
Point your alerts at a Slack-compatible webhook and have them land in the right channel.
Questions
Common questions from Teams users.
Can CM Chat replace Microsoft Teams?
For chat, yes: channels, threads, direct messages and files. For meetings, webinars and phone, not yet. Voice and video huddles are on the way, and CM Chat has no calendar or Office document editing. Many teams use CM Chat for secure chat and keep Teams for meetings.
Do my existing tools that post to Teams keep working?
Not automatically. CM Chat accepts the Slack webhook format. A tool that posts Teams-style cards would need a small change to post in the Slack format.
Does CM Chat use end-to-end encryption?
No. Your data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and the service processes messages so that search and administration work. Microsoft lists end-to-end encryption for online meetings as a Teams Premium feature; CM Chat has nothing equivalent today. Detailed security documentation is available on request: security@cmchat.app.
Do I need a Microsoft account to use CM Chat?
No. CM Chat is separate from Microsoft 365. People join by invitation and sign in with an emailed code or a passkey.
How much does CM Chat cost?
Talk to us. We set up each organization personally.
Ready to see if it fits?
Tell us how your team uses Teams today. We will say honestly whether CM Chat is a good fit, or a good companion.