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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
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
95
Ranking in other categories
Wireless Email (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of KerioConnect is 4.1%, down from 4.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 9.9%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Exchange9.9%
KerioConnect4.1%
Other86.0%
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

"The most valuable features are its ease of use, excellent pricing, and it is platform agnostic."
"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."
"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."
"We use the solution as a mail server. It connects with Outlook and is used for calendaring and similar tasks."
"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."
"What I like most about Kerio Connect is that it supports ActiveSync, and that is its most critical feature. The solution is also a nice, simple, robust, and stable mail server."
"The user interface is good."
"The most valuable features of Microsoft Exchange are it is always online and has broad email and file-sharing capabilities."
"One of the most valuable features of Microsoft Exchange is its security."
"The tool's most valuable feature is associated with the fact that it stands out for being beneficial for managing emails."
"Provides unlimited storage for our mailbox."
"Exchange is a robust system that is well suited for an enterprise environment. It's always up, and we hardly face any technical issues. Exchange has a web interface and integrates perfectly with Microsoft Outlook. This web interface can be easily used to change the passwords from the domain controllers."
"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."
"It is a product that is simple to manage, and easy to use."
"I find Exchange's basic mail features to be highly valuable."
 

Cons

"I would like to see better support from their support team."
"Having a native Outlook map integration would make Kerio Connect better."
"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."
"You cannot integrate with other services like Google Docs, Google Assistant, Google Calendar, etc."
"The search and archiving documentation capabilities need to be stronger."
"It could be simpler to use and install, but I still wouldn't use it because there isn't a compelling use case."
"KerioConnect is stable as long as you use a strong password."
"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"
"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."
"Its search functionality can be better. It is currently not really easy. It has the capability to search your mailbox, but it has some restrictions in terms of the number of results that you can retrieve. You can only get around 250 results. If you want to do a deeper search, you need to use different functionalities of the product. The policy that we have for handling emails is that we do not delete emails at all. If I insert the text that I am searching for in the Search field, it only retrieves a limited number of emails. To search for an email from 2010, I need to use different search functions to find what I am looking for. Microsoft can also improve its licensing for its products. Microsoft's licensing is not very easy to understand. It can sometimes be really complex to understand what you need to have in order to comply with Microsoft licensing."
"The biggest issue with Microsoft Exchange is its high cost, especially in pricing for license upgrades and expansion to more users."
"I see some drawbacks and areas for improvement; the quarantining is not fantastic because it lets a lot of spam through, and when it is notified of spam, it does not particularly alter its behavior quickly."
"I would like to see Microsoft Exchange improve their documentation."
"They could continue to improve the consolidation and integration of mailbox services to make them more flexible, easier to deploy, and more manageable."
"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."
"Microsoft needs to make some modifications to meet the current needs of the environment. For example, they need to add more cell service features because people work from home during the pandemic, and certain elements should be available as a mobile service."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Kerio Connect is better when comparing it to others solutions."
"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 pricing is about $3 per mailbox per month."
"Microsoft Exchange is a very well-priced solution."
"Compared to the other options in the market, the licensing costs attached to Microsoft Exchange seem reasonable."
"The product is quite cheap."
"Microsoft's licensing structure is too complex, but its prices are affordable, though not cheap."
"It would be nice if it used less resources to run on-premise."
"Its price is okay."
"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."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Retailer
8%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
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 do you like most about Microsoft Exchange?
The initial setup was straightforward and fast.
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.
 

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: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.