IceWarp vs Microsoft Exchange comparison

IceWarp and Microsoft are both solutions in the Email Applications category. IceWarp is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.3, while Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.0. IceWarp holds a 5.1% mindshare in EA, compared to Microsoft’s 11.4% 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

2,094 Views
1,131 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Microsoft Exchange

Read 92 Microsoft Exchange reviews

2,966 Views
2,078 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: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IceWarp vs. Microsoft Exchange

June 2025

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Helped 860,592 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

7th

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

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Wireless Email (1st), File Archiving (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of IceWarp is 5.1%, down from 6.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 11.4%, down from 11.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

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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Harry Murdani

Manager, IT Security at Averis Sdn Bhd

Helps with email services and communication with internal and external contacts

Everything is useful. The only useful thing Microsoft Exchange could do is give us more of a discount on pricing because it's so expensive. Regarding the calendaring functions of Exchange, there is a problem when scheduling an event for the whole day. When you click the whole day event, the scheduling doesn't really work. For example, if I schedule a meeting with you and block your whole day, instead of just putting a time from morning to afternoon, other people can still block your time, which results in double booking. It's kind of a bug that allows people to double-book. So, the scheduling isn't working properly yet. We also faced challenges with backup services. You need to use a third-party backup solution to back up the whole Exchange server properly. You can't use the native Windows backup services. It's like they're forcing me to buy another product, which means additional costs. The backup solution and the double booking issues. If Microsoft Exchange can fix these two things, then it will be very good.

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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

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

"The most valuable feature of IceWarp is the chat rooms and file-sharing, they are useful. It is convenient that everything is in one place. You can easily share and collaborate documents, making the program's unity a significant advantage."

"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."

"It's scalable and stable."

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

"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."

"The groupware module is the most valuable feature."

More IceWarp pros

"The most valuable features of Microsoft Exchange are it is always online and has broad email and file-sharing capabilities."

"All features are useful; they meet the purpose of an email server."

"It is very well integrated with other Microsoft programs, teams, and so on. They work well together."

"I like the logistics and the Microsoft protocol of reaching Outlook anywhere."

"Microsoft has a very good support team."

"It has a feature that allows you to retain an email and recover it as an administrator. When you activate this feature, even if a user deletes an email, the email is still in the system, and we can retrieve it as an administrator. It is a very useful function. We turn this feature on for some of the mailboxes because we need to keep all the records. I like the way emails are classified in this solution. It makes it really easy to take a look at the most important messages. This is a really good functionality. Some of the emails directly exchanged with you are marked as important and shown in one tab, and everything else is in another tab. We usually don't have any issue with Exchange. It can be integrated with different solutions."

"We've been using Exchange as an email platform. Our clients require multi-country, multi-regional email collaboration with controlled mail flow. The most valuable feature is the capability of message tracking and the protection of user data."

"It is easy to set up."

More Microsoft Exchange pros

Cons

"Although the documentation is extensive and in depth, you must familiarize yourself with it before taking full advantage of the product."

"It is difficult to disable user rights on the console so some users accidentally delete their documents or user details."

"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."

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

"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."

"Our customers sometimes have problems receiving mail."

"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."

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

More IceWarp cons

"An improvement would be to combine Exchange and Teams so that emails, calls, and chats can be integrated into one window."

"Microsoft Exchange could improve by being more secure. We are always looking to have more security."

"Microsoft Exchange could improve security. They can elevate a lot of security features."

"There can be occasional challenges during the product's implementation phase, making it an area where improvements are needed."

"The filtering of spam needs significant improvement, as many spam emails are not getting detected."

"They could improve on the search function, it takes too much time."

"The solution could be more user-friendly."

"I don't have the best impression of customer service and support. It should be faster and more clear, and more human. T"

More Microsoft Exchange cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I don't see any challenges for the Indian market. For example, 1 GB is available for around 399 INR, and 2 GB for 499 INR. They offer a range of plans, from basic to professional and enterprise, with multiple features. IceWarp's aggressive pricing is competitive compared to other market solutions like Zoho and Microsoft. One significant advantage is that IceWarp does not impose user capping like Google and Microsoft, which allows for substantial cost savings and flexibility in user conversion."

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

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

"The solution is inexpensive which is its main benefit."

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

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

"The solution is priced well."

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

More IceWarp pricing and cost advice

"The price of Microsoft Exchange is reasonable."

"Compared to the other options in the market, the licensing costs attached to Microsoft Exchange seem reasonable."

"Its price is fair."

"I rate Microsoft Exchange's pricing a six out of ten."

"The price of Microsoft Exchange could improve. In Egypt, the price keeps increasing."

"Its price is okay."

"Since my company is on Microsoft Cloud, we pay for the licenses per user. Compared to volume licensing, I would say the present licensing cost is not expensive."

"We pay for the license annually."

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

10%

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Government

10%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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...

See all answers

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?

Microsoft Exchange is costly, and its licensing model can be expensive over time as more users require licenses.

See all answers

Comparisons

Zoho Mail vs IceWarp

Compared 32% of the time

Google Workspace vs IceWarp

Compared 16% of the time

Zimbra Collaboration vs IceWarp

Compared 16% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs IceWarp

Compared 9% of the time

KerioConnect vs IceWarp

Compared 7% of the time

More IceWarp Competitors

Zimbra Collaboration vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 17% of the time

KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 17% of the time

Open-Xchange vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 16% of the time

HCL Domino vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 12% of the time

OpenText GroupWise vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft Exchange Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IceWarp

June 2025

Download IceWarp product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange

June 2025

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

June 2025

Free Report: IceWarp vs. Microsoft Exchange

Find out what your peers are saying about IceWarp vs. Microsoft Exchange and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

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