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IceWarp vs Microsoft Exchange Online comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 2025

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
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Exchange Online
Ranking in Email Applications
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
93
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of IceWarp is 4.6%, down from 5.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 9.6%, down from 13.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online9.6%
IceWarp4.6%
Other85.8%
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

AvinashLotke - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Yogesh Autade - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Security Engineer at Softcell Technologies Limited
Integrated email security has improved phishing response and provides better threat visibility
Microsoft Exchange Online could be improved with more intuitive administration workflows, better troubleshooting visibility, and simpler mail flow analysis for complex environments. We would also appreciate more granular reporting, faster access to detailed message tracking data, and improved alerting around suspicious mailbox activity to help security and messaging teams investigate issues more efficiently. One area where Microsoft Exchange Online could improve is the administrative user experience. Some advanced mail flow, compliance, and troubleshooting tasks still require navigating multiple Microsoft portals. A more unified management interface and deeper integration visibility across Exchange, Defender, and Microsoft 365 security tools would make day-to-day operations more efficient for administrators and SOC teams.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"If you have a small to medium business and you require a professional collaboration server that focuses on the main services of emails and calendar scheduling, I recommend IceWarp."
"The solution is inexpensive which is its main benefit."
"With all of the features that are available for the users included with the license, it is reasonably priced."
"The solution has a very good log-in to the UI when compared to other solutions."
"The groupware module is the most valuable feature."
"An effective, functional, very good tool for controlling resources at a low cost."
"As the license of our company is very affordable per year and per user, and considering the almost-zero administration needs, I would say that the cost is returned in the first three months, compared to other solutions."
"IceWarp has multiple applications that are easy to use for many people."
"I enjoy not having to maintain the local infrastructure, local servers, local whatever. You use the software and don't have to worry about the details."
"Using Microsoft Exchange is the easiest way to sync with Outlook."
"It does what it's supposed to do with minimal issues, and the solution is very easy to set up and quite quick to deploy."
"Tech support has been great, when necessary."
"Microsoft Exchange Online is one of the best email solutions in the world."
"They were very happy because of the stability of the cloud and they forgot the troubleshooting to the servers."
"Microsoft Exchange Online is a very stable solution."
"The best part of this solution is the security it offers, where we are able to determine which mailboxes have been blocked or which mailboxes cannot be allowed to send traffic because of a violation."
 

Cons

"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 exchange compatibility mode is rather limited. Their technical support can also be better. They only provide online support, and there should be some option for escalating."
"It is difficult to disable user rights on the console so some users accidentally delete their documents or user details."
"Support is not good and it is challenging to receive a timely response."
"Although the documentation is extensive and in depth, you must familiarize yourself with it before taking full advantage of the product."
"The database query for creating new database and querying about activities are too simplistic."
"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."
"There are some feature improvements possible the way we use it as a hosting provider, but for most we currently have workarounds."
"Using this solution is initially quite complicated."
"This solution involves a lot of work for an administrator. It is not always easy to find exactly what you are looking for within the system."
"The solution’s technical support could be improved."
"Microsoft does not provide an automated way to migrate Public Folders."
"I feel that there is a need for improvement in the product, considering that there are some concerns with the tool's integration capabilities."
"It is tricky to integrate Microsoft Exchange Online if you are in an infrastructure provided by other vendors."
"The interface is a bit confusing."
"For example, recently there were some spam incidents that Microsoft does not currently mitigate because they have another paid solution to do so. It would be nice to integrate the security and the anti-spam (i.e. the fake links, etc.) along with the Exchange Online default."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are various licensing plans available based on geographic zone."
"Price-wise, it's a cheaper solution, without a doubt. Price is the reason we are still using the tool."
"I would rate the pricing and eight out of ten."
"Pricing and licensing is very competitive and in some cases, cheap."
"The solution is priced well."
"It is definitely one of the lowest price solutions."
"The license is based on the number of users."
"Costs far less than other solutions."
"The solution's pricing is reasonable."
"The product is expensive and has an annual subscription."
"The cost of Microsoft Exchange Online is approximately $4 to $36 per user. They do not give a discount which is not good. The solution is expensive if you have 800 to 1,000 users. They should give discounts when you have a lot of users."
"The licensing cost increased at least 15 to 20 percent recently and it would be helpful for them to be reduced."
"The licensing price is ok, I'd rate it as four out of five."
"The license for the solution is cheap, but it could be more affordable in the long term."
"The price is a bit high. It is especially expensive in the Indian market."
"We have an enterprise agreement for licensing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise41
 

Questions from the Community

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.
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...
What is your primary use case for IceWarp?
We managed approximately one thousand user accounts with IceWarp for company communications. We utilized features such as smart attachments and document solutions. Our setup was primarily on-premis...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange Online?
If I segment it into three points: low price, average, and high price, I would place Microsoft Exchange Online between average and high price.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online?
Microsoft Exchange Online could be improved with more intuitive administration workflows, better troubleshooting visibility, and simpler mail flow analysis for complex environments. We would also a...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Exchange Online?
Microsoft Exchange Online serves as our enterprise email hosting platform, providing secure mail flow management and centralized messaging services for users across multiple locations. From a secur...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Exchange Online, Exchange Online Plan 1, Exchange Online Plan 2, MS Exchange Online
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Marriott, Toyota, Sony, Wendy's, Canon
Bank Alfalah Ltd., Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Blue Star Infotech, Scitec Nutrition, Resolution Films, British Airways, Empire Cinemas, InnoGames
Find out what your peers are saying about IceWarp vs. Microsoft Exchange Online and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.