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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
6.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (6th)
Microsoft Exchange
Ranking in Email Applications
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
94
Ranking in other categories
Wireless Email (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of KerioConnect is 4.4%, up from 4.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 11.3%, down from 11.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Exchange11.3%
KerioConnect4.4%
Other84.3%
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

David Bloomer - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Mohamed Najeem - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides a valuable mailbox roles feature and has a straightforward setup process
I recommend Microsoft Exchange to others due to its robust features and reasonable pricing. Setting up Microsoft Exchange has become much more straightforward compared to previous versions. The overall setup experience has significantly improved over the past six to seven years, making it easier for administrators. I rate it a nine out of ten.

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."
"The most valuable features are security and privacy because you installed it on your server, within your company premises, not in the cloud."
"We have contacted technical support a handful of times and received some assistance."
"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."
"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."
"It's relatively simple to use."
"The most used feature of Microsoft Exchange is the email capability, especially since it integrates with the calendar."
"It ensures high availability and resilience, allowing seamless recovery from potential failures and making it a reliable option for business-critical operations."
"It integrates well with calendar, scheduling, etc. It's easy for employees to make meetings and plan their agendas."
"Exchange's interface is good. All of our engineers like it and are accustomed to using it."
"It integrates well with other tools."
"The most valuable features of Microsoft Exchange are its ease of use, and simplicity of communication, and we can track communications between teams."
"We have found it to be a stable solution. It is scalable and easy to install."
"It is stable."
 

Cons

"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."
"It could be simpler to use and install, but I still wouldn't use it because there isn't a compelling use case."
"You cannot integrate with other services like Google Docs, Google Assistant, Google Calendar, etc."
"KerioConnect is stable as long as you use a strong password."
"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."
"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"
"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."
"The desktop version of Microsoft Exchange receives emails a little slower than the online version."
"We are not able to use Microsoft Teams due to connection issues. Thus, the product integration with Teams could be improved."
"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."
"We would prefer to be able to manage the solution on the cloud."
"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."
"Microsoft Exchange is highly stable. However, after receiving some updates it can be unstable."
"Microsoft Exchange could improve by adding artificial intelligence."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"It is not expensive."
"Its price is fair."
"Microsoft's licensing structure is too complex, but its prices are affordable, though not cheap."
"We are currently using enterprise licenses for the solution. They are different pricing models available. There are individual, cloud-based, and enterprise licenses all with different pricing models. The larger the number of users, the lesser the price. For small to medium companies like us, we feel it is expensive."
"The price of Microsoft Exchange is reasonable."
"The product is quite cheap."
"Compared to the other options in the market, the licensing costs attached to Microsoft Exchange seem reasonable."
"The pricing is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Retailer
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
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 Enterprise27
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?
KerioConnect has a first-time cost and yearly subscription. It is not expensive.
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...
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?
Microsoft Exchange is costly, and its licensing model can be expensive over time as more users require licenses.
 

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: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.