KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange comparison

GFI and Microsoft are both solutions in the Email Applications category. GFI is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.3, while Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3. GFI holds a 4.8% mindshare in EA, compared to Microsoft’s 11.4% mindshare. Additionally, 57% of GFI users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

KerioConnect

Read 10 KerioConnect reviews

1,882 Views
1,007 Comparison Views

57% willing to recommend

Microsoft Exchange

Read 91 Microsoft Exchange reviews

3,291 Views
2,842 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

KerioConnect

Microsoft Exchange

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between KerioConnect and Microsoft Exchange based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Email Applications solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange

March 2025

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Helped 845,406 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

KerioConnect

Ranking in Email Applications

8th

Average Rating

6.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Email Archiving (7th)

Microsoft Exchange

Ranking in Email Applications

3rd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

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

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of KerioConnect is 4.8%, up from 3.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 11.4%, down from 12.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

David Bloomer

Senior Technician at Computers At Work

Lightweight, simple, and robust; easy to maintain and doesn't require a lot of system resources to run

Kerio Connect does as advertised, so there are no real issues with the product itself. It's developed regularly, so there are constant updates. Possibly, the support and development have lessened since they've sold the company, but as far as the product itself is concerned, there isn't anything that I would suggest needs improvement. If I'm being picky, Kerio Connect uses a proprietary, mappy atom for Outlook, and it would be nice if they used a native mappy connection instead, but that's the only additional feature that I would like to see in its next release. If they have native Outlook map integration, that would be great, but other than that, it's got all the functions that I think a mail server should have.

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Hesham Hussain

Head Of Infrastructure at ValU

A good solution for large enterprises, but is expensive when compared to other solutions

Regarding the decision of increasing the number of users, it depends on the organization's choice, whether to opt for CapEx or OpEx. Both options involve expenses over the years. Building an in-house Exchange solution requires investing in hardware, storage, connectivity, and administrative resources. Office 365 shifts the budget solely to OpEx as a subscription service. Scalability is another factor. Starting a new company favors Office 365 due to cost efficiency. As the organization grows, the choice depends on available resources and technical expertise. An internal Exchange setup is feasible with skilled engineers, while Office 365 suits those lacking in-house resources.

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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

"KerioConnect has integration with 365. We can use Outlook, which has its client and can be used with Apple devices. It integrates with the App Store and Microsoft Office. It has a smart router. The spam filtering and antivirus are good."

"The solution is easy to maintain, unlike Exchange. It's easy to create multiple domains and back up and restore if needed. It also has good security features like anti-spam and antivirus."

"We have contacted technical support a handful of times and received some assistance."

"The user interface is good."

"It's relatively simple to use."

"The most valuable features are security and privacy because you installed it on your server, within your company premises, not in the cloud."

"Kerio Connect is secure, flexible, and easy to control from the user interface. It has many security features able to be controlled from one place, such as anti-spam. I have found it very convenient. Additionally, you can analyze log files and share folders which is helpful."

"The most valuable features are its ease of use, excellent pricing, and it is platform agnostic."

More KerioConnect pros

"The product can scale."

"The ability to share information, appointments, and agendas easily is the big value of Microsoft Exchange."

"Microsoft Exchange is stable."

"The deployment is a plug-and-play process."

"It is a very stable tool...It is a very scalable tool."

"The backup and archiving features are valuable, it is user friendly too."

"The latest versions have gotten much better about balancing the load on the backend."

"Exchange's best feature is single sign-on access using the Microsoft Identity framework."

More Microsoft Exchange pros

Cons

"We are considering switching to Microsoft Exchange. One reason is that it doesn't improve our workflow and doesn't integrate well with Microsoft 365 applications."

"The search and archiving documentation capabilities need to be stronger."

"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."

"KerioConnect is stable as long as you use a strong password."

"I would like to see better support from their support team."

"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"

"It could be simpler to use and install, but I still wouldn't use it because there isn't a compelling use case."

"Having a native Outlook map integration would make Kerio Connect better."

More KerioConnect cons

"Microsoft Exchange could improve the archiving of emails and the performance."

"For the next release, there are some features on the cloud-based Exchange that aren't included on-prem. It would be great if these features were made available in the next release. For instance, integration between Exchange and its on-prem calendar is not available for the on-prem solution."

"Microsoft Exchange is highly stable. However, after receiving some updates it can be unstable."

"Microsoft Exchange needs to improve how it handles and assigns policy and security."

"The price of Microsoft Exchange could improve, it is priced high."

"The solution could be more user-friendly."

"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."

"They could offer simultaneous features for Exchange Online and on-premises versions. Specific features such as litigation hold and audit setups should be available on-premises."

More Microsoft Exchange cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"The pricing is about $3 per mailbox per month."

"KerioConnect has a first-time cost and yearly subscription. It is not expensive."

"The price of Kerio Connect is better when comparing it to others solutions."

"Microsoft Exchange itself does not require a license, but users who will have mailboxes will require a license. It depends on the number of users to choose which license. If you exceed 2,000 mailboxes, it's preferable to get the enterprise license."

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

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

"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."

"Its price is okay."

"The platform has a reasonable price."

"Microsoft doesn't have a unit price, it's based on the quantity, and they offer great discounts."

"They are flexible when it comes to pricing, unlike most of the other vendors I have dealt with."

More Microsoft Exchange pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Government

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

11%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for KerioConnect?

KerioConnect has a first-time cost and yearly subscription. It is not expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with KerioConnect?

KerioConnect continues to improve with regular updates throughout the year. They must be added to the roadmap, which requires approval. In larger organizations, the server's capabilities and the da...

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?

The licensing and pricing are quite costly, which can demotivate customers from opting for features and upgrades. However, the solution provides value for money if one is well-acquainted with Excha...

See all answers

Comparisons

Zimbra Collaboration vs KerioConnect

Compared 29% of the time

IceWarp vs KerioConnect

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs KerioConnect

Compared 7% of the time

Google Workspace vs KerioConnect

Compared 4% of the time

More KerioConnect Competitors

Zimbra Collaboration vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 20% of the time

HCL Domino vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 12% of the time

Open-Xchange vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 11% of the time

HCL Notes vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 9% of the time

IceWarp vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 6% of the time

More Microsoft Exchange Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect

March 2025

Download KerioConnect product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange

March 2025

Download Microsoft Exchange product report

Also Known As

No data available

Exchange, MS Exchange

Overview

Kerio Connect, a messaging and collaboration solution, meets the needs of small and mid-sized businesses while offering a robust feature lineup. Business users enjoy support for their favorite email client and easy web-based access. Kerio Connect is highly stable—so you can focus on business rather than unexpected downtime and recovery.

GFI

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

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

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange

March 2025

Free Report: KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange

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

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