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Google Workspace vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Google Workspace
Ranking in Email Applications
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
106
Ranking in other categories
Wireless Email (1st), Cloud Storage (7th), Content Collaboration Platforms (2nd)
Zimbra Collaboration
Ranking in Email Applications
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Google Workspace is 14.7%, down from 23.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zimbra Collaboration is 6.9%, down from 9.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Google Workspace14.7%
Zimbra Collaboration6.9%
Other78.4%
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

AR
Assosiate Professor at Palazzo del Mediterraneo
Collaborative work with students has improved but storage limitations and support issues remain
We have Google Workspace, and we use it primarily for Drive to collect items. We categorize folders with topics and material either for students or for research. We use Google Doc to share documents, especially when we assign homework to be corrected for peer correction or classroom correction. With Teams and Microsoft, we use it for collective calls and exam supervision because we use video surveillance through camera with Teams. We use Teams for meetings and to share material with students. The ability to share documents with students and assign them things and correct them in real time has been beneficial. You can verify what they write, and they can contribute and cooperate to create a collective document, which is something that our society nowadays requires. The ability to cooperate, especially those who work with languages and those who work with writing, need to learn how to cooperate. There is co-editing and co-writing, all these sorts of things. I love the fact that I can easily have access to folders that I can categorize and where I can upload research material and teaching material.
Muhammad Talha Baig - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Analyst and Associate Project Manager at SAMI Pharmaceuticals
One of the premium features was customized rooms tailored to the collaboration needs
Zimbra's strength lies in its individuality, and it should focus on leveraging its unique features rather than trying to emulate competitors. My organization has certified Zimbra technicians, so we believe we can utilize Zimbra certification. However, I was recently informed by Zimbra that no such certification exists. I have recently completed the test kit, and after the training, I will gain access to tickets. Therefore, if any clients are experiencing issues, we have a certified technical team available to provide support 24/7. This is how we can cater to our client's needs. I recommend Zimbra to small-scale and enterprise customers. Anyone, even those with 5 users, can opt for Zimbra. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The implementation was very easy."
"Valuable features of the solution are that it's simple and effective."
"personally prefer to use G Suite applications, such as Gmail, Slides, and Sheets, because they give you the freedom to share the document you're editing and co-work with other colleagues simultaneously."
"I like the capabilities for collaboration on any platform. For example, I might be on an iPad whereas the person next to me is on a laptop and the person next to them is on their phone. We can all collaborate together and update documentation in real-time."
"G Suite Enterprise provides many features, such as business increased search visibility, email address, and domain. It's a large whole ecosystem that is the major benefit. You can manage your whole team and have many tools. Over seven years, the solution has gone through some drastic upgrades and improvements which are done automatically, I do not have to manual upgrade."
"I have found the solution to be pretty stable."
"It's a secure solution that enables you to choose those you wish to share with."
"Convenient to share and collaborate documents."
"The Zimbra Collaboration's most valuable feature is web access."
"The most valuable feature of Zimbra for our team's productivity is its efficiency in handling email communication."
"The stability is good and keeps getting better with each new update."
"It has all collaboration features, such as document sharing, video conferencing, chatting, task sharing, and calendar sharing."
"The web interface is powerful and easy to use."
"We can control all the data in my IT infrastructure."
"The most valuable feature of Zimbra Collaboration is email functionality."
"A lot of other products like Microsoft Exchange offer email or collaboration features, but they are not as fast as Zimbra."
 

Cons

"The price could be reduced."
"Better integration without visual misrepresentation with the Microsoft suite is required."
"We would like to use something within Google Workspace for project management, but we didn't find it there."
"They can maybe improve its graphical user interface. Google is not really known for having a PC interface. It is just a nice-to-have feature."
"Their tool called Sheets is the counterpart to Excel but it doesn't have the same functionality that Excel would have. So usually if somebody needs to go back to Excel or Office, it's because of Excel."
"Google needs to improve its support."
"In some cases, we are using the Google Meet functions but only when we have external clients. Internally, we are using Slack. Google Meet virtual meeting function is not as advanced as the one in Slack and should improve."
"The cost could be improved. It can sometimes be a bit confusing figuring out how we are actually being charged."
"In the next release, Zimbra Collaboration should include a security feature to allow access for mobile device administrators."
"The tool should improve its multi-cloud feature."
"The support was lacking in my experience. However, recently the support I received was good. Perhaps they have improved."
"I would like to see a Microsoft schedule function added."
"The installation is not straightforward, it can take two days for the full implementation."
"We have had an issue with security."
"The solution’s forums don't have much information or documentation on administration tasks."
"It would be great if a group chat feature were created to allow for a team environment."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I can't recall the exact pricing per user for Google Workspace, but I know it's not that expensive. I'm in a mid-sized company that's able to maintain and afford Google Workspace, so it has competitive pricing, and I would rate its price as four out of five."
"We normally purchase the license on a yearly basis."
"Licensing costs are on a yearly basis."
"Traffic management tools may be required for larger setups and should be included in any pricing calculations."
"I rate Google Workspace's pricing five to six out of ten. We do not pay any extra costs."
"The price of G Suite Enterprise is reasonable compared to HotSpot. I'm not going to say G Suite Enterprise is affordable. It's valuable, you find value in paying your gas bill or your electricity bill, because of what it allows you to do."
"I give the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being the most affordable."
"It's low in cost as compared to Office 365. There is an annual licensing cost."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the price a four"
"The solution is competitively priced."
"The price of the solution is low."
"Zimbra Collaboration is expensive, and there is no perpetual license option."
"When it comes to the licensing of Zimbra Collaboration, my license covers the servers and I find its terms to be much simpler than those of Microsoft Exchange."
"There is an annual standard licensing fee to use Zimbra Collaboration and there is no other cost."
"The solution is not expensive compared to other products."
"We are using perpetual licenses. We have deployed it in our local data center, and we buy perpetual licenses on a per-user basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business64
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise28
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Workspace?
The company made the decision to migrate, so I'm not sure why specifically. The company is moving the data and the Microsoft subscription is no longer continued, so I have the choice to use Google ...
What needs improvement with Google Workspace?
Before I was in a Microsoft environment, which had its own software that was not website-based. When I moved to Google Workspace, it was not seamless because I have to access it through a web view ...
What is your primary use case for Google Workspace?
I have been using Google Workspace for file organizing, including Google Drive, Spreadsheet, Gmail, and Google Form, with most of my usage being in Spreadsheet. I do use Google Groups, which combin...
How does Zimbra Collaboration compare with Microsoft Exchange?
Zimbra is a free, open source collaborative software suite. The features I like best are the ease of integration and the email, calendar, and collaboration server with web interface. In addition, I...
What needs improvement with Zimbra Collaboration?
When it comes to administration tasks like configuring specific filters or group signatures, I have to dig into the configuration since there's nothing in the graphical or web interface. The soluti...
 

Also Known As

G-Suite Enterprise, G-Suite, Google Apps for Business, G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, G-Suite Basic, G-Suite Business, Google Vault
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

There are over five million businesses that use Google Apps for Business worldwide. Some key customers include The Roche Group, National Geographic, American Red Cross, City of Los Angeles, Flight Centre, and Konica Minolta.
NEC Biglobe, City of Ventura, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Hola Publishing, BIG, Sleepwell, LaFayette College, Xmission, DNA, Ring Line, Future Group, TIGC
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Workspace vs. Zimbra Collaboration and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.