IceWarp vs Microsoft Exchange comparison

IceWarp and Microsoft are both solutions in the Email Applications category. IceWarp is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.3, while Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.9. IceWarp holds a 4.9% mindshare in EA, compared to Microsoft’s 10.2% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of IceWarp users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

IceWarp

Read 17 IceWarp reviews

2,114 Views
1,670 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Microsoft Exchange

Read 95 Microsoft Exchange reviews

3,631 Views
2,977 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

IceWarp

Microsoft Exchange

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 2025

Microsoft Exchange and IceWarp compete in the enterprise communication solutions category. Microsoft Exchange maintains an edge with its comprehensive enterprise-level integrations and features, demonstrating strong capabilities in providing robust solutions for large businesses.

Features: Microsoft Exchange offers extensive integration capabilities, calendar synchronization, and email retention management. Its robust toolbox for third-party integration and seamless collaboration tools stand out. IceWarp is known for its cross-platform compatibility, cost-effective communication solutions, and features such as team chat, file sharing, and conferencing collaboration.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Exchange needs to improve storage management, integration with non-Microsoft products, and simplify its complex licensing. Enhancing its security features would also be beneficial. IceWarp could improve its mobile integration, mailing list function, and enhance security features while simplifying its administrative processes.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Exchange offers a variety of deployment options including on-premises, cloud, and hybrid models, though it requires comprehensive technical support. IceWarp provides similar deployment flexibility and is noted for its ease of use but faces challenges with customer service consistency and documentation.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Exchange's pricing is higher, reflecting its enterprise capabilities and comprehensive feature set. This pricing structure is generally suited for larger organizations. IceWarp provides aggressive and flexible pricing appealing to smaller enterprises, offering essential features within a budget-friendly framework. This makes IceWarp an attractive option for smaller companies concerned with costs.

To learn more, read our detailed IceWarp vs. Microsoft Exchange Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

IceWarp vs. Microsoft Exchange

February 2026

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Helped 881,733 peers since 2012

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

IceWarp

Ranking in Email Applications

8th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Microsoft Exchange

Ranking in Email Applications

3rd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Wireless Email (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of IceWarp is 4.9%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 10.2%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Applications Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Exchange	10.2%
IceWarp	4.9%
Other	84.9%

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

AvinashLotke

Delivery Head at Team Computers

Useful for collaboration and storage but improvement is needed in API integration

The solution has traditional SSL integration, SAML, and Federation Services. In its latest version, it added SAML integration. However, it needs to work on API integration, especially for dashboards or integration with SAP for log and data system management. It doesn't yet have the kind of API that Google and Microsoft provide for synchronizing users with Active Directory. I think IceWarp needs to improve in a few areas. They have two types of admin consoles - a web-based one and a remote one. I'd like to see these combined into a single web-based admin console. The log reading and information system also needs improvement. The current way of showing incoming and outgoing logs isn't very clear. For new users, it's hard to understand these logs, especially compared to Office 365 and other systems with easier-to-read logs. They should also add an export option to get all logs with a single click whenever we need them.

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SaqibJavaid

Manager IT Support at Naubahar Bottling Company (Pvt.) Ltd. Gujranwala Pakistan

Efficient email management with seamless integration

We previously used Microsoft Exchange but have moved to an MDN email solution due to cost and user growth Microsoft Exchange is a user-friendly and easy-to-deploy solution, which is beneficial for handling emails even without professional support. It is effective in managing email integration…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"IceWarp has multiple applications that are easy to use for many people."

"The groupware module is the most valuable feature."

"The product is used very extensively in my company since we have around 1,500 users using it. Also, there is no requirement for any administrators to manage the product by the people who own the solution."

"It's scalable and stable."

"An effective, functional, very good tool for controlling resources."

"The solution is easy to manage and includes features such as smart documents and the archiving of user data."

"The TeamChat feature has been really good for our email management. It lets us collaborate, share files, and invite guests like Google Spaces or Microsoft Teams. I like the two-factor authentication for security. However, they need to improve their document collaboration tools, as their Word, Excel, and PowerPoint features are basic compared to Microsoft and Google."

"Its price is the most valuable. It is definitely one of the lowest price solutions."

More IceWarp pros

"The product can scale."

"It ensures high availability and resilience, allowing seamless recovery from potential failures and making it a reliable option for business-critical operations."

"Microsoft Exchange has good performance and is user-friendly."

"It's so much of a part of what I do every day that I don't give it a lot of thought. It just works, for the most part, until it doesn't, in which case I call tech support."

"Our customers are satisfied with the features included in Microsoft Exchange."

"Microsoft Exchange is highly stable for the end-user systems. When we move to Office 365, it will be even more stable even. There's less administration required and it's very robust. We are really quite happy in using that."

"Microsoft Exchange is stable."

"The initial setup is very simple."

More Microsoft Exchange pros

Cons

"The solution has traditional SSL integration, SAML, and Federation Services. In its latest version, it added SAML integration. However, it needs to work on API integration, especially for dashboards or integration with SAP for log and data system management. It doesn't yet have the kind of API that Google and Microsoft provide for synchronizing users with Active Directory."

"The tool's configuration capabilities are not straightforward. Apart from that, if I want to archive emails into a vault so that they can be retrieved again later, the integration doesn't work, and IceWarp crashes."

"I would like to have a trial for mobile applications and more documentation similar to Google Drive with mobile applications."

"With multiple databases for VOIP, chat and web IMAP, maintenance is cumbersome."

"Support should be improved. Most of the time, the queries are not resolved within the SLA."

"The solution should improve the mailing list feature. Google has a similar feature where you can automate sending files to different people in a sequence, but that feature is no longer available in the current version of IceWarp. Other features may also have been removed in the current version."

"The solution needs improvements in security, particularly regarding document management."

"Although it is not a tool, video conferencing should be scalable and operate in a professional and efficient way."

More IceWarp cons

"Microsoft could improve on Exchange's hybrid deployment or HCW. They need to improve on that because I was having many issues with HCW in our environment at times."

"They could continue to improve the consolidation and integration of mailbox services to make them more flexible, easier to deploy, and more manageable."

"In terms of Microsoft Exchange, I think maybe what can be done is to make it more user-friendly."

"Deployment should become a bit easier, the process is a bit complicated. You have to have done it one or two times before you get it right. The first time you do it, it won't be perfect. There are a lot of complications compared to Gmail For Business, which is a bit easier when it comes to configuration."

"In terms of what should be improved, they should probably move to a cloud option like Office 365. We would like to get this functionality without the need to deploy complex hardware and software solutions. This should be the next thing, making Exchange more related to Office products, which are more cloud-oriented, less on-premise or desktop-oriented solutions, like the direction Google is strongly moving towards."

"I think it could be more scalable."

"I think that improvements should be made in creating greater abilities for Microsoft Exchange in terms of Reasearch and Development."

"The pricing could be better, and it could have an easier implementation."

More Microsoft Exchange cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our licensing is on a yearly basis. There were no additional costs."

"The solution is priced well."

"Costs far less than other solutions."

"There are various licensing plans available based on geographic zone."

"It is definitely one of the lowest price solutions."

"Pricing and licensing is very competitive and in some cases, cheap."

"The license is based on the number of users."

"Price-wise, it's a cheaper solution, without a doubt. Price is the reason we are still using the tool."

More IceWarp pricing and cost advice

"The product is quite cheap."

"Its price is very affordable, and basically, it is the standard of the industry. We have the Exchange 365 subscription, which includes the usage of Exchange Online. I don't know the specific cost, but it is the retail price of Microsoft 365 E3 licenses. Microsoft's licensing is not very easy to understand. Microsoft changes rules every other day, which makes it difficult for us to understand the licensing not only for Exchange but also for other products. It can sometimes be really complex to understand what you need to have in order to comply with Microsoft licensing."

"Its price is fair."

"Microsoft Exchange is a very well-priced solution."

"We can get Exchange in the cloud along with the Microsoft 365 license."

"Microsoft's licensing structure is too complex, but its prices are affordable, though not cheap."

"This solution is expensive."

"There is an annual cost to use Microsoft Exchange, and the price could be less expensive."

More Microsoft Exchange pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Retailer

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	41
Midsize Enterprise	28
Large Enterprise	35

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IceWarp?

It's scalable and stable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IceWarp?

IceWarp was very cost-effective, offering services at a significantly lower cost than Google, which was appealing for our organization.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IceWarp?

The solution needs improvements in security, particularly regarding document management. Users currently have the rights to delete smart documents, which poses a challenge for administrators. A mor...

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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...

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange?

The initial setup was straightforward and fast.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange?

I am aware of pricing aspects, and I would say it is affordable for what it is.

See all answers

Comparisons

Zoho Mail vs IceWarp

Compared 23% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs IceWarp

Compared 11% of the time

Google Workspace vs IceWarp

Compared 10% of the time

Zimbra Collaboration vs IceWarp

Compared 9% of the time

KerioConnect vs IceWarp

Compared 7% of the time

More IceWarp Competitors

Open-Xchange vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 21% of the time

Zimbra Collaboration vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 13% of the time

KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 12% of the time

HCL Domino vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 9% of the time

OpenText GroupWise vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Exchange Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IceWarp

January 2026

Download IceWarp product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange

January 2026

Download Microsoft Exchange product report

Also Known As

No data available

Exchange, MS Exchange

Overview

IceWarp helps thousands of organizations streamline all areas of business communication and become more profitable by providing Mail Server complete with GroupWare, Calendaring and Document Management, accessible through an intuitive WebClient, simple to setup in WebAdmin. Customize with add-ons: spam and virus protection, Instant Messaging with video calls, mobile sync and more.

IceWarp

Built to deliver the enterprise-grade security and reliability that businesses require, Microsoft Exchange provides email, calendar and contacts on your PC, phone and web browser.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Marriott, Toyota, Sony, Wendy's, Canon

Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Scitec Nutrition, British Airways, InnoGames, Osteology Foundation, Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH, NTC Contracting

Buyer's Guide

IceWarp vs. Microsoft Exchange

February 2026

Free Report: IceWarp vs. Microsoft Exchange

Find out what your peers are saying about IceWarp vs. Microsoft Exchange and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.

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