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Microsoft Exchange Online vs Zarafa 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

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
Zarafa
Ranking in Email Applications
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.5
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 9.0%, down from 13.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zarafa is 1.6%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online9.0%
Zarafa1.6%
Other89.4%
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

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.
it_user302112 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant IT Infrastructure at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
Our customers are able to use this groupware solution to connect to Active Directory and OpenLDAP, although Postgres support would be an improvement.
Zarafa has several very valuable features, among them a very good Outlook-like web interface. Furthermore, ZPush for talking between ActiveSync and mobile devices is a valuable asset. In addition, one is able to connect via Outlook and the exchange protocol to Zarafa. This makes Zarafa a free, and working, alternative to Microsoft Exchange.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is very manageable."
"Exchange Online is consistent."
"Microsoft Exchange Online is an easy-to-use solution."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange Online is its performance."
"A good investment."
"I am using Microsoft Exchange Online for efficient mail deployment and additional file security, and we can also do collaboration."
"Microsoft Exchange Online is secure and stable."
"The stability has increased exponentially since 2010 and the reliability factor is high."
"This makes Zarafa a free, and working, alternative to Microsoft Exchange."
 

Cons

"Microsoft Exchange Online can improve message delivery. There are times we receive a message that the email failed to be delivered, and there is no reason given. We sometimes have emails that are flagged as spam that are not. We cannot do anything about it because it's not managed by us, it's managed by Microsoft."
"In terms of areas for improvement, I think Microsoft could enhance security. Right now, there are limited options for security within Exchange Online, and much of it relies on third-party security and compliance tools. I'd like to see more security features directly integrated. One specific area that needs improvement is the configuration of SMTP for third-party applications. It's challenging to manage without an on-premise SMTP server, and this is an issue many organizations face, including ours. If Microsoft could offer better SMTP configuration for third-party applications within Exchange Online, it would greatly benefit us."
"There is room for improvement in terms of optimization."
"We'd like to see more integration with other platforms."
"The licensing price of the solution could be lower."
"The support could improve their response time and sometimes the phone lines are not clear because of static or noise. However, the agents are knowledgeable and very helpful."
"In the next release, I would like to see more features added to the security of the solution."
"I think there should be an incorporation of DLP on the business premium version of Exchange, as well."
"Not really, although the Zarafa-index component was using a lot of memory and disk I/O bandwith."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is a bit high. It is especially expensive in the Indian market."
"I think it's just awesome. There's no argument about how much value you get on the per user, for user expenditure. It's really great, I don't have any issues with it. I think it's excellent."
"Microsoft Exchange Online is too expensive."
"The price is not competitive."
"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."
"They have raised their prices, and obviously, it hits our customers. Some of them are deciding to step back from Office 365. For customers who have bought the annual subscription, they are moving to the monthly subscription."
"This solution requires a license."
"It is a reasonable solution."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise41
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Blue Star Infotech, Scitec Nutrition, Resolution Films, British Airways, Empire Cinemas, InnoGames
Tivoli, InterAkt Contour, Riagg Rijnmond, Lammerink, Revell, KMP, International School of the Hague
Find out what your peers are saying about Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others in Email Applications. Updated: May 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.