Microsoft Teams Premium is an add-on licence for organisations with a Microsoft 365 subscription, and it sits on top of the normal Teams licence rather than replacing it, so each person who uses it needs both. As of October 2026 it adds advanced meeting protection, branding, intelligence features such as live translated captions, and extras for Bookings and the Queues app.
Here's the catch. Since 1 April 2026, some features that used to be Premium-only are included with Teams Enterprise instead, so part of what people once bought Premium for no longer needs it. Premium keeps advanced meeting protection, advanced communication such as the Queues app, branding and personalisation, and the intelligence features. If you bought Premium before 1 April 2026, you keep everything that came with it until those licences expire.
Organiser, attendee or admin: who gets the benefit
Premium is licensed per user, but its features don't all reach people the same way. Microsoft splits them into three kinds, and this is the part that decides how many licences you need.
| Feature level | Who benefits | Examples Microsoft gives |
|---|---|---|
| Organiser | Everyone in the meeting, while a licensed organiser runs it | Organiser-based features are shared with attendees |
| Attendee | Only the licensed user | AI-generated notes and tasks, live translated captions and transcripts |
| Admin | Only Teams admins with a Premium licence | Advanced collaboration analytics and usage reports |
Two details matter here. If an organiser appoints a delegate to create meetings for them, the delegate doesn't need a Premium licence for the organiser-based features to work. And the attendee features stay with the person who holds the licence, so if your whole team wants AI notes and translated captions for themselves, each of them needs one.
What Premium still includes, group by group
| Group | What's in it, as of October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Protection | Watermarking, control over who can record and transcribe, detection of sensitive content during screen sharing, verification for unverified participants before they join, blocking screen capture, end-to-end encryption for online meetings of up to 200 people |
| Branding | Custom meeting themes for invites, lobby, pre-join screen and reactions, custom organisation backgrounds, personal meeting templates, avatars |
| Intelligence | Live caption translation in 40 languages, live translated transcripts, multilingual recap, AI-generated chapters in recordings, speaker timeline markers |
| Advanced Bookings | SMS notifications for virtual appointments and queue views |
| Queues app | Call queue and auto attendant management inside Teams, historical and real-time metrics, silent coaching |
The protection group is the one that changes what happens in a sensitive meeting. Watermarking, blocking screen capture and limiting who can record all target the same worry: a client call or a board discussion ending up somewhere it shouldn't. If recording is the part you're weighing up, my guide on how to record a Teams meeting covers the standard recording options first.
The extras that need yet another licence
A few Premium features only work when something else is in place as well. Check these before you count on them.
- The Queues app needs a Teams Phone licence. With it, authorised users can monitor customer calls, whisper to agents and barge in.
- Sensitivity labels for meetings, from Purview Information Protection, only work for Premium users who also have Microsoft 365 E5, E5 Compliance, F5 Compliance or F5 Security + Compliance.
- SMS notifications for Bookings are available in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.
So if you're on a Business plan and the sensitivity labels are the reason you're looking, that feature won't switch on from Premium alone. The same goes for the Queues app without Teams Phone.
Can your organisation use it at all?
Microsoft lists these requirements as of October 2026: a commercial, worldwide public sector, EDU, GCC, GCC High, DoD or non-profit tenant, plus an Office 365 or Microsoft 365 subscription and a Teams licence for each user. To manage Premium features as an admin, the tenant needs at least one active Teams Premium licence.
Don't confuse it with Teams Rooms Pro. Premium licences go to people, while Teams Rooms Pro licences go to room devices. There's also a self-service trial licence, which is the sensible place to start.
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How to work out how many licences you need
- List who organises your meetings. Organiser-level features follow the organiser's licence, so the people who run client or team meetings matter most.
- Pick which of the groups you want: protection, branding, intelligence, or Bookings and the Queues app.
- If the features you want are attendee-level, such as AI notes or translated captions, count every person who wants them, because each needs a licence.
- Add an admin licence if you want the advanced analytics and usage reports, and keep at least one active licence in the tenant so admins can manage the features.
- Start on the self-service trial before you roll it out.
My verdict on Teams Premium
I'd buy it for the handful of people who run sensitive or client-facing meetings if you need watermarking, recording controls or end-to-end encryption, or if you want SMS reminders on Bookings in one of the five supported countries. I'd skip it if none of the groups above solves a problem you have today. And remember it's a second licence on top, never a swap. If you're still working out what the basic tier gives you, start with whether Microsoft Teams is free.
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Frequently asked questions
Does Teams Premium replace a normal Teams licence?
No. Each user needs both a Teams licence and a Teams Premium licence. Premium is an add-on.
What changed in Teams Premium on 1 April 2026?
Some features that were previously only in Teams Premium are now included with Teams Enterprise. Premium keeps advanced meeting protection, advanced communication such as the Queues app, branding and the intelligence features.
Do meeting attendees need a Teams Premium licence?
Not for organiser-based features, which are shared with attendees when the organiser is licensed. Attendee-level features such as AI-generated notes and live translated captions only work for the licensed user.
How many languages does Teams Premium translate captions into?
Live caption translation covers 40 languages, as of October 2026.
Is there a free trial of Teams Premium?
Yes, Microsoft offers a self-service trial licence.
