Teams Panels are among the smallest line items in a Microsoft licensing estate — $2.50/device/month for a standalone panel. But in large office deployments of 100–500 panels, that adds up to $3,000–$15,000/year, and the confusion around when Panels are included in Teams Rooms Pro (and thus free) vs when they require a separate licence creates billing errors that persist through multiple EA cycles. This guide eliminates that confusion.
More importantly: Teams Panels also require Exchange Online Plan 1 for the room resource mailbox integration. In enterprises where the room resource mailbox already has the correct licence, no additional cost is incurred. In environments where resource mailboxes have been upgraded to Exchange Online Plan 2 or E3 "for simplicity," there's often $4–$32/room/month in unnecessary spend to recover.
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View Advisory Services →What Is a Teams Panel?
A Teams Panel is a compact touchscreen display mounted outside a meeting room — typically beside the door. Its function is singular: display room availability and enable on-the-spot room booking. The panel integrates with the room's Exchange resource mailbox to show current and upcoming meetings, the room status (available/occupied), and optionally the current meeting organiser name (configurable for privacy).
Workers walking past a room can see at a glance whether it's available, when it becomes free, and book it for an impromptu meeting with a tap. No need to open Outlook or Teams to find available rooms — the panel provides that visibility passively.
Certified Teams Panels hardware includes: Crestron TSS-770, Logitech Tap Scheduler, Yealink RoomPanel, and Poly TC10 (when configured as a panel, not a Rooms touch controller).
Teams Panels Licensing: The Three Scenarios
Teams Panels licensing follows three distinct scenarios depending on whether the room has a Teams Rooms licence and which tier:
| Room Setup | Panel Licence Required | Exchange Required | Total Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Room has Teams Rooms Pro ($40/room) | None — panel included in Rooms Pro | Exchange Plan 1 ($4) — often already provisioned | $0 panel licence (covered by Pro) |
| Room has Teams Rooms Basic (free) | Teams Shared Devices ($2.50/panel) | Exchange Plan 1 ($4) | $6.50/panel/month (panel + Exchange) |
| Room has no Teams Rooms licence (panel only) | Teams Shared Devices ($2.50/panel) | Exchange Plan 1 ($4) | $6.50/panel/month |
| Standalone panel (no room meeting system at all) | Teams Shared Devices ($2.50/panel) | Exchange Plan 1 ($4) | $6.50/panel/month |
The key takeaway: if you have Teams Rooms Pro for your larger meeting rooms, add a panel to each of those rooms at zero marginal cost. The panel inclusion in Pro is frequently overlooked — organisations purchasing Teams Rooms Pro for 30 boardrooms and large conference rooms have 30 "free" panel licences available that they haven't activated. That's a zero-cost enhancement to the room experience already paid for in the Rooms Pro licence.
Exchange Online Plan 1 — The Hidden Requirement
Teams Panels require Exchange Online Plan 1 for the room resource mailbox. This is frequently misconfigured in one of two directions: either no Exchange licence is assigned (panel fails to show calendar data), or an excessive Exchange Online Plan 2 or E3 licence is assigned (overspend of $4–$32/month per room).
Correct Exchange Configuration for Teams Panels
The room resource mailbox for a Teams Panel needs exactly: Exchange Online Plan 1 ($4/user/month). This provides:
- 50GB mailbox for resource booking
- Calendar resource scheduling with auto-accept rules
- Capacity and booking policy configuration (e.g., maximum meeting duration, working hours restrictions)
- Integration with Teams admin centre for panel pairing
Exchange Online Plan 2 ($8/user/month) adds archiving and eDiscovery — features that have no relevance to a room resource mailbox. Exchange Online Plan 2 on room accounts is waste. E3 ($36/user/month) on room accounts is extreme waste. See our room and equipment mailbox licensing guide for the complete correct configuration.
Teams Panels vs Third-Party Room Scheduling Displays
Teams Panels are not the only option for room scheduling displays. Third-party alternatives include Joan (Visionect), Robin, Condeco, and hardware-agnostic solutions like room scheduling apps on standard tablets. The comparison:
| Factor | Teams Panels | Third-Party Solutions |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 integration | Native (direct Exchange + Teams admin integration) | API-based (requires OAuth/connector configuration) |
| Licence cost | $0 (Rooms Pro) or $2.50/device/month | $3–$8/room/month (SaaS), hardware separate |
| Hardware cost | $400–$800 (certified panels) | $200–$600 (tablet + mount) or dedicated hardware |
| Management | Teams admin centre | Separate vendor admin portal |
| Compliance / data residency | Stays within M365 data boundary | Depends on vendor — data processing agreements needed |
| Best for | Teams-first organisations, Rooms Pro deployments | Organisations with advanced booking analytics, green/red LED requirements, or multi-platform (Exchange + Google Workspace) |
For organisations already running Teams Rooms Pro, Teams Panels are the clear choice — zero marginal cost, native management, and no additional vendor relationship. For organisations without Rooms Pro that need advanced space analytics or cross-platform booking (Exchange + Google), third-party solutions may offer more capability at comparable or lower total cost.
Deployment Best Practices for Teams Panels
Room Account Setup
Each Teams Panel corresponds to exactly one Exchange resource mailbox (room account). Configure the room account with:
- Auto-accept for meeting requests within working hours (Outlook Room Finder compatibility)
- Maximum meeting duration policy (prevents rooms being booked all day for 15-minute conversations)
- Processing of meeting cancellations (ensure released rooms appear available on panel immediately)
- Display name matching the room's physical name (visible on the panel and in Outlook search)
Privacy Configuration
Teams Panels can optionally display meeting names and organisers on the panel screen. In many organisations — particularly in HR, legal, or executive areas — displaying meeting titles and organiser names on a hallway-facing screen raises privacy concerns. Configure panels in sensitive areas to show only "Room Available/Occupied" without meeting metadata. This setting is configurable per-panel in the Teams admin centre.
Panel Placement
Industry standard is panel mount on the wall beside the room door at approximately eye level (140–160cm). For glass-walled rooms where interior meeting activity is visible, the panel's LED status indicator (red/green) provides at-a-glance availability without requiring workers to read the screen. Ensure panel placement doesn't obstruct fire exits or ADA accessibility paths.
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If your organisation is planning a Teams Panels deployment or auditing existing room licensing, we provide independent analysis on the correct licence configuration and cost savings opportunities.
Request a Consultation →EA Optimisation for Teams Panels Deployments
Three EA optimisation opportunities specific to Teams Panels:
- Activate included panels on Rooms Pro rooms first: Before purchasing any Teams Shared Devices licences for panels, audit how many Teams Rooms Pro rooms exist and have NOT yet deployed a panel. Each of these rooms has a "free" panel licence available. Activating 20 undeployed panels on Pro rooms avoids $50/month in unnecessary Shared Devices licences.
- Downgrade resource mailbox licences: Identify all room resource mailboxes with Exchange Online Plan 2 or E3 and downgrade to Exchange Online Plan 1. Run the Exchange licence audit via the M365 admin centre — filter by licence type and cross-reference with resource mailbox accounts. This is a zero-risk change with immediate cost savings.
- Negotiate Shared Devices at panel volume: For organisations deploying 100+ standalone panels requiring Teams Shared Devices licences, negotiate volume pricing in the EA. The $2.50/device/month list price can be reduced to $2.00–$2.10 at 100+ devices with an EA commitment — a 16–20% reduction.
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Download Free Guide →Frequently Asked Questions
What licence does a Teams Panel require?
A Teams Panel requires either: (1) Teams Rooms Pro ($40/room/month) if paired with a Teams Rooms Pro room account — the panel is included in the Pro licence at no additional cost; or (2) Teams Shared Devices ($2.50/device/month) as a standalone licence if the room has Teams Rooms Basic or no Teams Rooms licence. Additionally, the room resource mailbox needs Exchange Online Plan 1 ($4/user/month) for calendar integration.
Is Teams Panels included in Teams Rooms Pro?
Yes. One Teams Panel is included with each Teams Rooms Pro room licence ($40/room/month). For rooms with Teams Rooms Basic (free), the associated panel requires a Teams Shared Devices licence at $2.50/device/month.
What does a Teams Panel do?
A Teams Panel is a touchscreen display mounted outside a meeting room showing real-time room availability, the current meeting title and organiser (configurable for privacy), and upcoming reservations. Workers can reserve the room on the spot via touchscreen. The panel integrates with the room's Exchange resource mailbox — when a room is booked in Outlook or Teams, the panel shows it as occupied with an LED status indicator.
Can Teams Panels be deployed without a Teams Rooms device inside the room?
Yes. Teams Panels can be deployed as standalone scheduling displays outside any room — even rooms without a Teams Rooms video conferencing system inside. In this configuration, the panel only displays availability and allows booking. Required: Teams Shared Devices licence ($2.50/device/month) and Exchange Online Plan 1 for the resource mailbox. No Teams Rooms licence is needed for the room.