3CX vs Microsoft Teams vs Webex: A Plain Comparison for Australian Business
An honest 3-way comparison of 3CX, Microsoft Teams Phone and Webex Calling for Australian SMEs — what each one is, what it really costs, and how to choose.
Pick the wrong communication platform and you spend two years either over-paying for features your team never touches, or under-buying and bolting on every quarter. We see it every week at SIP Connect, and it almost always comes down to a confused three-way decision: 3CX, Microsoft Teams or Webex. The trouble is they aren't really competing for the same job.
This is the plain-English version of the comparison, written by people who actually install all three for Australian SMEs. No vendor scoring, no "best for everyone" — just what each one is, what it really costs here, and where it tends to land for a Melbourne business of fifteen to a hundred people.
What each platform actually is
Step one is realising you're comparing three things with different centres of gravity.
3CX
is a phone system first. It runs your business calls, ring groups, queues, IVR and reporting, and it does meetings and chat well enough that small teams skip Zoom. It's licensed by simultaneous calls, not per user, which is the single most under-appreciated cost lever for AU SMEs.
Microsoft Teams
is a collaboration platform first. To turn it into a phone system you add either a Microsoft Calling Plan or — far more common in Australia — Direct Routing via a SIP trunk from a local carrier. Without that step, Teams cannot ring an external number.
Webex
is really three products wearing one badge — Webex App (chat and presence), Webex Meetings (video conferencing and webinars) and Webex Calling (a cloud phone system). Most "Webex vs ..." posts confuse them. The fair comparison here is Webex Calling.
Pick the wrong axis and the comparison goes sideways. A finance firm of forty staff buying "video conferencing" doesn't need the same product as a trades business with three sites and forty handsets.
3CX — phones, sharp pricing, runs anywhere
3CX is the system we install most often, and not because we sell it — because the maths usually works. It can be hosted by us in an Australian data centre, run in your own cloud account, or sit on-premise. It supports any SIP-compatible desk phone (Yealink, Fanvil, Snom, Cisco) and ships full Windows, Mac, iOS and Android apps so staff can take their work number anywhere.
Where it earns its place for AU SMEs:
Licensed by simultaneous calls, not per user.
A 60-staff business with maybe 12 concurrent calls pays for 16 channels, not 60 seats. That gap widens the bigger you get.
Real call-centre features included
queues, wallboards, recording, the Call Flow Designer — without an "enterprise tier" upsell.
Bring your own SIP trunk.
You aren't locked into one carrier; you can shop AU SIP providers and switch if pricing moves. See our SIP trunk setup guide.
Where it isn't the right fit: if your business already runs deep on Microsoft 365 and people genuinely live in Teams all day, asking them to use a second app for phone calls is friction.
Microsoft Teams — phone inside the app your team already uses
Teams Phone makes sense when staff are in Teams from 9 to 5 already. Calls land in the same app as their meetings, chats and files; missed calls show in the same activity feed. The friction of "open another app to ring someone" disappears.
The bit nobody tells you upfront in Australia: Teams cannot make external calls on its own. You either pay Microsoft for a Calling Plan (limited in AU, billed in USD on some tiers) or — what we install — Direct Routing via an AU SIP trunk. Direct Routing is almost always cheaper, lets you keep local 1300/1800 numbers, and bills in AUD.
Best fit:
Microsoft 365 shops where Teams is already the day-to-day workspace.
What to know:
per-user licensing means a 60-staff business pays for 60 seats whether they make 1 call a week or 50.
Call-centre features
exist (Teams Phone Queues and Auto Attendants) but are less mature than 3CX's; for proper inbound contact-centre work most AU clients still bolt on a queue platform.
Our deeper 3CX vs Microsoft Teams Phone piece walks through the licensing maths if you're weighing those two.
Webex — meetings-first, calling for larger businesses
Webex's strength remains video meetings and webinars at scale, plus a security pedigree that wins it work in regulated industries. Webex Calling exists as a hosted phone system, but it's pitched more at enterprises than at the typical Australian SME and the per-user pricing reflects it.
- Best fit: businesses that already run video-heavy workflows (large training, customer webinars, board meetings with external parties) or that have a Cisco-aligned IT team.
- Trade-off: in AU you'll usually pay more per user than 3CX or Teams Direct Routing for equivalent calling, and there's a smaller local pool of resellers who'll set up the SIP side properly.
- Where it shines: meeting quality, end-to-end encryption, and serious webinar capacity beyond 1,000 participants.
The honest comparison table
Same axes the original draft used, with the conflations cleaned up:
| What you're comparing | 3CX | Microsoft Teams (Phone + Direct Routing) | Webex Calling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Business phone system | Collaboration platform + bolt-on calling | Cloud phone system + meetings |
| Licensed by | Simultaneous calls | Per user | Per user |
| Pricing in AU | Lowest at scale | Mid (with Direct Routing); high (with Calling Plans) | Highest of the three |
| External calling | Built in | Needs a SIP trunk via Direct Routing | Built in |
| Meetings & webinars | Good for small/medium | Strong, integrated with M365 | Best for large or regulated |
| Call-centre features | Mature and included | Basic queues and AA; add-on for advanced | Advanced (Webex Contact Center, separate) |
| Keeps your 1300/1800 numbers | Yes | Yes (Direct Routing) | Yes |
| Best fit, AU SME | Cost-sensitive phone-first business | Microsoft 365 shop, in-app calling | Video-heavy or regulated industries |
How we'd actually decide
The three questions we ask before recommending one over the others:
Where does your team already live?
If they're in Teams all day, calling inside Teams (with Direct Routing) removes more friction than features can compensate for. If they're in their email and a CRM, you don't need a Microsoft-shaped phone system.
What's the concurrent-call ratio?
Count seats, then divide by the maximum number actually ringing at once. A 60:12 ratio strongly favours 3CX's licensing model. A 12:8 ratio narrows the gap.
Are calls inbound-heavy with queues?
If a real reception, sales or service queue runs the day, 3CX's call-centre tools or a dedicated platform alongside Teams beats Teams Phone Queues at the typical SME budget.
If you'd rather skip the homework, send us a recent phone bill via our free bill review and we'll show you what each option would cost for your real usage. We're vendor-neutral — we install all three and recommend the one your numbers actually point to.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep my existing phone numbers if I switch?
Yes. 3CX, Teams Phone via Direct Routing and Webex Calling all support porting Australian local, 1300 and 1800 numbers. We handle the port and cut-over so customers don't notice the change. See our number porting page.
Do I need a SIP trunk for Teams Phone?
Only if you go the Direct Routing route, which is the standard path for most Australian businesses because it's cheaper than Microsoft's Calling Plans and bills in AUD. With Direct Routing you keep your numbers and your local carrier; without it (i.e. on a Microsoft Calling Plan), you're tied to Microsoft's calling minutes.
Is 3CX really cheaper than Teams Phone for my business?
Usually, once you're past about twenty staff — because 3CX licenses simultaneous calls rather than seats. The crossover depends on your concurrent-call ratio. A free bill review tells you exactly where the line sits for your team.
Can I run two of these at once?
Yes, and quite a few of our clients do. A common pattern is 3CX or Webex for the main phone system, with Microsoft Teams used for internal collaboration and meetings. The phones ring through one system; the screens-and-chat-time live in another.
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