Summary: Teams Room Panels integrate tightly with Teams video conferencing and are simple to set up if you already run the hardware. But they only run on Microsoft-certified devices starting at $550, plus a license from $8 per device per month if you don't already have a Teams Pro license for the room. Dash runs on any iPad, Android tablet, Fire tablet, or phone you already own, starting free, with full booking from $3.99 per display per month.
If you're already paying for a Teams Rooms Pro license to run video conferencing in the room, adding a panel costs only the hardware. If not, the cheapest option is the Teams Shared Space license, which doesn't include extending or ending meetings early. If you're purchasing new hardware, a professional Dash-ready panel with an LED status light is about half the price of the cheapest certified Teams Panel we found ($279.99 for a PoE Texas room panel with Dash preinstalled, vs $550 for the Teams Certified AudioCodes RX-Panel), and a budget consumer tablet is cheaper still.
Licensing: Teams panels are devices, not software
Teams Rooms is only available on certified Teams Room Panels, which means the software and hardware are bundled together. This offers some advantages - the panel runs the Teams app automatically on startup, and it isn't possible to close the app and get to system menus. Locking down an iPad or Android tablet in a similar way requires an MDM system.
However, this bundling also limits your flexibility. You can't switch to a different room display app later without changing your hardware, and you can't turn a device you already own into a Teams Panel. And if you no longer need a Teams panel outside a room, you can't repurpose it into anything else.
There are three licensing paths, and which one you need depends entirely on what's already in the room.
If you already have a full Teams Rooms video system running on Teams Certified devices
Teams Rooms Basic is free, but only covers the video conferencing system itself (a certified Windows or Android compute unit with a touch console, or a Surface Hub). The Basic subscription does not support Teams Panels at all, and is capped at 25 licenses per organization. If you have a Teams Rooms Basic license and want a meeting room display outside the door, you'll need to use a third party meeting room display app (such as Dash), or license a Teams Panel separately with a Teams Shared Space license (see below).
Teams Rooms Pro is $40 per room per month, billed annually. A Pro subscription unlocks Teams Panel support, along with room check-in, remote device management, and the video features (multi-camera, noise suppression etc.) that Basic doesn't include.
If you're already using a Teams Pro license for your videoconferencing, then a Teams Panel won't cost you anything extra in monthly fees, so you'll just need to consider the cost of the hardware.
If you use a different system, or run Teams on your own videoconferencing devices
If you're using a different videoconferencing system, or run Teams meetings on your own hardware, then you'll need to license your Teams Panel separately. Microsoft offers the Teams Shared Space license for this purpose. It's $8 per device per month, billed annually, and is designed for a Teams Panel used as a standalone scheduling display, with no compute unit or camera required. It includes automatic release when nobody checks in, but doesn't enable other features from the Pro license like extending meetings or ending them early. Teams Room Panels are also typically mounted only outside rooms, so you won't have any in-room controls to check in meetings.
Features: Flexible displays, or one-size-fits-all?
Teams Room Panels offer all the most commonly used room display features such as room booking, check-in, as well as extending or ending meetings early if you have a Teams Rooms Pro license. This makes setup very simple - you just pair the device, and decide which features you want to turn on.
However, if the included layout and functionality don't meet your needs, there isn't a way to change it. Dedicated room display software usually offers a wider range of features and customization. For example, Dash offers five customizable display modes (including an in-room display mode and three multi-room dashboard modes), full branding of the display, and richer options to control each feature.
The basic options available in Teams Panels will work for a lot of businesses, but we recommend testing a few alternatives to see if they meet your needs better.
Side-by-side
| Teams Shared Space (scheduling only) | Teams Rooms Pro (with video system) | Dash | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Certified Teams Panels only | Certified Teams Rooms systems + Panel | Any iPad, Android tablet, Fire tablet, or phone |
| License cost | $8/device/month (annual) | $40/room/month (annual) | Free, or $3.99/display/month |
| Requires existing video hardware | No | Yes | No |
| Hardware | Certified panel required | Certified system + panel required | Consumer tablets/phones and professional displays |
| Typical hardware price | $550-1,000 | $550-1,000 | $150-450 |
| Automatic no-show release | Included | Included | Included |
| Extending meetings and ending early | No | Included (Pro only) | Included (Dash Business) |
| Customizable background image | Included | Included | Included |
| Customizable colors | High-contrast accessible modes | High-contrast accessible modes | Fully customizable |
| In-room display | No | Using your Teams Rooms controller | Included |
| Multi-room dashboard displays | No | No | Included |
| Calendar support | Microsoft 365 only | Microsoft 365 only | Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Exchange, CalDAV |
Where Teams makes sense
If every room already has, or is getting, a full Teams Rooms video conferencing system, Teams Rooms Pro is a good decision. If you have a Teams Rooms Pro license, you'll be able to add Teams Room Panels to all of your rooms for just the cost of the hardware, and setup will be easy as they'll pair with your existing equipment.
Where Dash makes sense
If a full Teams Pro videoconferencing setup doesn't make sense for you, then a Teams Room Panel is likely not the best option. Dash offers a more feature-rich and customizable solution for half the price of a Teams Shared Space license, or for free if all you need is a read-only schedule display. Dash also supports a much wider range of hardware, including older devices you can repurpose for free, and even professional room displays with LED status lights can be found for much cheaper than certified Teams Panels.
Common questions
Can I use a regular iPad or Android tablet as a Teams Room panel?
No. Teams Panels are a specific category of Microsoft-certified hardware — you can't license an ordinary tablet as one. Dash runs on the tablet you already have.
What's the cheapest way to get a Teams scheduling panel?
The Teams Shared Space license, at $8 per device per month billed annually, plus the cost of a certified Teams Panel. There's no free tier that includes panel support — Teams Rooms Basic, the free license, doesn't cover panels at all.
Do I need a full Teams Rooms video system to use a Teams Panel?
No — the Shared Space license is built for exactly this: a Teams Panel used as a standalone scheduling display with no video conferencing hardware attached. But it's still a certified-panel-only license, and it still costs $8/device/month.
Does a Teams Panel work with Google Workspace?
No. Teams licensing and Teams Panels are Microsoft 365 only.
Dash gives you a free read-only room display on any tablet you already own, or full booking and check-in for $3.99 per display per month — no certified hardware required. See pricing.