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KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange 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

KerioConnect
Ranking in Email Applications
9th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (7th)
Microsoft Exchange
Ranking in Email Applications
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
95
Ranking in other categories
Wireless Email (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of KerioConnect is 4.0%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 9.0%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Exchange9.0%
KerioConnect4.0%
Other87.0%
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

MM
Senior Systems Tech/Admin at Samco Software Inc.
A seamless setup ensures smooth communication with comprehensive support
We remain a partner with Sophos and use XG S Firewalls without AWS implementation. We only use Sophos endpoint and Sophos Central. We host some clients on-premise while others we host remotely. The VPN connection is easy and proprietary, so it's not open to any other VPN clients. Communication with other mail servers is seamless. It can communicate with Gmail and Outlook without issues, provided the DNS settings are correct. We monitor our servers and security logs, implementing GeoIP blocking. We frequently block China and India IPs due to brute force attacks on our servers. We have extensive experience with KerioConnect. Backing up and maintaining it is straightforward compared to Microsoft Exchange, making it administrator-friendly. On a scale of 1-10, this solution rates an 8.
SJ
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…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We use the solution as a mail server. It connects with Outlook and is used for calendaring and similar tasks."
"Backing up and maintaining it is straightforward compared to Microsoft Exchange, making it administrator-friendly."
"It's relatively simple to use."
"The most valuable features are its ease of use, excellent pricing, and it is platform agnostic."
"It's relatively simple to use."
"As long as the operating is stable, the Kerio connect will be very stable as well, so we don't have any problem with it."
"We have contacted technical support a handful of times and received some assistance."
"The user interface is good."
"We have found it to be a stable solution. It is scalable and easy to install."
"We have found the solution to be stable; there are no bugs or glitches, the performance is good, and we don't worry about it crashing or freezing."
"The most valuable features of Microsoft Exchange are it is always online and has broad email and file-sharing capabilities."
"The latest versions have gotten much better about balancing the load on the backend."
"It is user friendly."
"Using EWS support, we have created a custom UI to display meeting info on our local portal to utilize and manage meeting and conference rooms effectively."
"On-premises Microsoft Exchange is good because it protects data privacy."
"I would highly recommend this solution to others and this is because of its stability, scalability, and reasonable pricing."
 

Cons

"Having a native Outlook map integration would make Kerio Connect better."
"The solution could improve the redundancy because we only have one copy of the Kerio Connect server on our hardware. The next step for us is to move to the cloud and if Kerio does not have a cloud version available they should release one"
"I don't particularly like this solution. I would not recommend this solution to others."
"It could be simpler to use and install, but I still wouldn't use it because there isn't a compelling use case."
"I would like to see better support from their support team."
"We cannot compete with them because they're fully integrated with their applications."
"KerioConnect continues to improve with regular updates throughout the year. They must be added to the roadmap, which requires approval."
"Most of our clients use Outlook and Kerio Connect. Occasionally, Kerio can be a bit slow. They could make it faster to get onto the web interface without so much load time. It's just slow with Outlook, however, for some reason."
"The product or service could be improved in terms of Microsoft Outlook client compatibility."
"When we started using Exchange on the cloud, we had a lot of initial problems relating to our main database and we also experienced issues with the accidental deletion of inboxes, amongst other things. In fact, many of the files we had moved to the cloud had disappeared. There also seems to be a problem with the retention of information."
"They keep making all these changes, and our system was down for four or five days."
"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."
"Sometimes we don't get support quickly enough - for example, if there's some global hacker attack, we don't get served as quickly. The skills of the technical staff can also vary, and Microsoft could perhaps improve their training."
"An improvement would be to combine Exchange and Teams so that emails, calls, and chats can be integrated into one window."
"In our current situation, the disappearance of sanctions would be a tangible improvement. We are basically cut off from technical support and it's very difficult to obtain any updates."
"For new users, it might take them some time to get used to the product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Kerio Connect is better when comparing it to others solutions."
"The pricing is about $3 per mailbox per month."
"The solution's pricing depends on how long you plan to keep it because you pay on a per-year basis. You might have a one-time setup cost for something like Microsoft Exchange or a Linux mail server. I'd say this solution is expensive on a per-year basis, almost 2000-3000 dollars annually. It doesn't seem to pay off yet, so we're considering switching to another product."
"KerioConnect has a first-time cost and yearly subscription. It is not expensive."
"The product is quite cheap."
"We renew the product license with Microsoft every three years. The cost is included within a bundle of services. It's an enterprise agreement with Microsoft."
"It would be nice if it used less resources to run on-premise."
"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."
"The solution is expensive to maintain because it requires frequent updates and ongoing server maintenance."
"It's working very well. There is no problem, but the price is not the best."
"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."
"They are flexible when it comes to pricing, unlike most of the other vendors I have dealt with."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Performing Arts
7%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise35
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about KerioConnect?
The most valuable features are security and privacy because you installed it on your server, within your company premises, not in the cloud.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for KerioConnect?
The pricing is very easy to understand. As a partner, we have a monitoring system that informs us when subscriptions expire, allowing us to handle renewals. The pricing is very competitive.
What needs improvement with KerioConnect?
Since KerioConnect is a setup and go solution, everything works on its own. The only administrative tasks required are keeping it up to date, monitoring security logs, and ensuring protection from ...
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 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.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange?
I see some drawbacks and areas for improvement; the quarantining is not fantastic. I think the quarantining is not fantastic because it lets a lot of spam through, and when it is notified of spam, ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Exchange, MS Exchange
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Southern Tier Brewing Company, Innotta, Baustoff + Metall, Hamifleurs, Chanson TV, Ryman Stationery
Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Scitec Nutrition, British Airways, InnoGames, Osteology Foundation, Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH, NTC Contracting
Find out what your peers are saying about KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.