Microsoft Places vs Waldo: the complete comparison

Microsoft Places vs Waldo: the short answer

Microsoft Places and Waldo both help hybrid teams decide where to work and book a desk without leaving Microsoft 365. The difference is in the details:

• Microsoft Places is Microsoft's own hybrid work app. It shines for location sharing, in-person meeting invites and nearby-colleague suggestions. Desk booking requires a Microsoft Teams Premium licence.
• Waldo, made by MOFFI, is desk booking software for Microsoft Teams that adds what Places does not cover: parking booking, priority and fair-play rules, waiting lists, work-from-home policies, check-in, guest booking, kiosk mode, emergency roles and a free map design service. Its free version lets everyone share where they work and see who's coming; the complete version, at 30 € per user per year, adds booking of a specific desk, parking and meeting rooms on the floor plan, with no overbooking.

Our take: if you already pay for Teams Premium and only need simple desk booking, Places is worth a try. If you need parking, fair rules for busy offices, or a lower cost, Waldo is the stronger Microsoft Places alternative.

What is Microsoft Places?

Microsoft Places is an application developed by Microsoft to improve the hybrid work experience. It is built into the Microsoft ecosystem, including Outlook and Microsoft Teams, and helps people manage both the physical office and remote work.

With Microsoft Places, users can:

• book desks and rooms,
• share their location plan (office or remote),
• send in-person meeting invites and see colleagues nearby.

What is Waldo?

Waldo, developed by MOFFI, is a pure software application designed for Microsoft Teams from day one, and synchronised with Outlook. It lets employees share where they work (at the office, remote or absent) and, with the complete version, book a specific desk, a meeting room or a parking space on the interactive floor plan.

Waldo is also a bot you can chat with in Teams. It learns your habits and books your desk and parking space ahead of time (predictive booking), then asks you to check in. Waldo runs on Teams desktop, web, iOS and Android. Want to see it? Take the interactive tour.

Key differences at a glance

Pricing and licensing

Microsoft Places requires a Microsoft Teams Premium licence for desk booking, on top of your Microsoft 365 subscription. Waldo does not: start for free with presence sharing, then upgrade to the complete version (desk, parking and meeting room booking) for 30 € per user per year.

If you already have Microsoft Teams Premium, Microsoft Places is worth a try. If not, Waldo is usually the more economical choice. And Waldo includes the design of your office maps by our designers, which Microsoft Places does not.

See every plan on our pricing page.

Desk booking features

Microsoft Places offers a simple, efficient way to book a desk, plus meeting-centric features that Waldo does not have. Waldo goes further on everything that keeps a shared office fair and organised: predictive booking, fair-play rules, waiting lists, remote work policies and guest bookings.

Explore all of them on the features page.

Parking booking features

Microsoft Places does not manage parking. Waldo does, with waiting lists, fair-play rotation, electric vehicle spaces and guest bookings. It is often the deciding factor for companies with a car park and an employee parking management policy.

Read more about Waldo's parking reservation software.

APIs

At the time of our comparison, Microsoft had not communicated about Microsoft Places APIs. Waldo exposes APIs for check-in, parking, desk booking and user status, and offers connectors for badge systems and parking equipment.

Collaboration features

Both tools cover the basics of team coordination: team day messages, office occupancy and who is in today.

Emergency management

Waldo helps you keep people safe on site: raise an alert and make sure a minimum number of fire wardens and first aiders are present before the office fills up. Microsoft Places does not offer these features.

Microsoft 365 integration

Both products integrate with Copilot, run in Microsoft Teams and Outlook, and let you manage licences in the Microsoft 365 admin center. Only Waldo is also available as a tab in a Microsoft Teams channel.

Verdict: Microsoft Places or Waldo?

Choose Microsoft Places if…

• your company already pays for Microsoft Teams Premium,
• you mainly need simple desk and room booking,
• in-person meeting invites and nearby-colleague suggestions matter most to you.

Choose Waldo if…

• you don't want to add a Teams Premium licence for every employee,
• you have a car park to share, including EV or reduced-mobility spaces,
• your office is often full and you need priority rules, waiting lists and fair-play booking,
• you want a guaranteed desk for everyone, with no overbooking, and meeting rooms booked on the same floor plan,
• you want to apply work-from-home policies, check-in and guest bookings,
• you need your office maps designed for you, or displayed on a screen in kiosk mode.

Microsoft Places keeps evolving, so check Microsoft's documentation for its latest features. On our side, the fastest way to compare is to try: add Waldo to Microsoft Teams for free or book a demo and we'll walk you through it with your own floor plans.