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Microsoft Exchange Online vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

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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
Zimbra Collaboration
Ranking in Email Applications
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 9.7%, down from 12.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zimbra Collaboration is 5.9%, down from 8.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online9.7%
Zimbra Collaboration5.9%
Other84.4%
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.
Muhammad Talha Baig - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Analyst and Associate Project Manager at SAMI Pharmaceuticals
One of the premium features was customized rooms tailored to the collaboration needs
Zimbra's strength lies in its individuality, and it should focus on leveraging its unique features rather than trying to emulate competitors. My organization has certified Zimbra technicians, so we believe we can utilize Zimbra certification. However, I was recently informed by Zimbra that no such certification exists. I have recently completed the test kit, and after the training, I will gain access to tickets. Therefore, if any clients are experiencing issues, we have a certified technical team available to provide support 24/7. This is how we can cater to our client's needs. I recommend Zimbra to small-scale and enterprise customers. Anyone, even those with 5 users, can opt for Zimbra. Overall, I rate the solution 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

"I enjoy not having to maintain the local infrastructure, local servers, local whatever. You use the software and don't have to worry about the details."
"All of the Microsoft Exchange Online is very useful, such as the sections, the information protection, and the mail flows."
"The initial setup is straightforward and is definitely easy."
"Exchange Online's best feature is its webmail platform."
"Message trace is the most valuable feature of the product."
"Compared to the competitors, I would say it gives you a lot more functionality and is easy to integrate with other applications and tools."
"It's easy to use and there is more integration."
"The solution generally works well. We can send and receive emails just fine."
"Zimbra Collaboration has a good web interface."
"Zimbra Collaboration's sharing features are most valuable."
"The most valuable feature of Zimbra Collaboration is the cost."
"Good email solution and it's open-source."
"It is the best open source collaboration suite that I know, because it provides high availability and more performance than the other solutions."
"The pricing of the solution is excellent; it's a newer solution with a modern interface and dashboard, the interface itself is very responsive and easy to navigate, the initial setup is very simple and straightforward, the stability is good and keeps getting better with each new update, and the solution really does scale very easily."
"Zimbra Collaboration is a good tool for video calls...Zimbra Collaboration's initial setup phase was easy."
"For a small company, Zimbra Collaboration is good because it is simple, inexpensive, and not very difficult to deploy."
 

Cons

"The licensing price of the solution could be lower."
"When we need to purchase additional licenses for additional users, the process is slow."
"I would like to let new users know that there are challenges regarding user provisioning, HRMS and the AD. Also, the data migration integrity needs to be checked in terms of the old data."
"From an IT perspective, we need clearer documentation to understand the product’s configuration process."
"In the next release, I would like to see more features added to the security of the solution."
"There is room for improvement in Microsoft Exchange Online."
"The solution's performance can be improved when you are trying to access it remotely."
"We'd like to see more integration with other platforms."
"It does have a few bugs."
"Zimbra Collaboration's video conferencing could be improved."
"The solution could use more integration with third-party tools."
"Zimbra Collaboration is expensive, and there is no perpetual license option."
"The solution could improve by making it easier to use."
"I can confidently say that Zimbra is good enough for 2,000 client users. But, at the same time, if my client needs more than that and we have two options—Zimbra or Microsoft—I'm going with Microsoft because many admins will speak to Microsoft's ability to handle that many."
"There can be difficulties resolving problems on the server side when problems arise."
"We have had an issue with security."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Exchange Online is too expensive."
"There is an annual enterprise subscription to use Microsoft Exchange Online. The price is reasonable."
"We have yearly licensing costs."
"The licensing price is ok, I'd rate it as four out of five."
"We have an enterprise agreement for licensing."
"We pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution."
"I have no opinion."
"The price of the license depends on a lot of factors, such as the number of licenses and company specifics."
"Zimbra Collaboration is less expensive than Microsoft Exchange. Zimbra works for small companies because it is not expensive. Zimbra Collaboration has more security tools than Microsoft Exchange. If you are choosing between Zimbra Collaboration and Microsoft Exchange, you have to take into account the cost of security tools with Microsoft Exchange. When you purchase Microsoft Exchange, you will also have to purchase tools for security, which adds to the cost. The migration from Zimbra Collaboration to another email solution is very simple and easy. Migration from Microsoft Exchange to another email solution is very difficult. Microsoft doesn't allow migration that easily. In fact, you have to pay for tools to do that. You have to buy some expensive tools to migrate."
"We are using perpetual licenses. We have deployed it in our local data center, and we buy perpetual licenses on a per-user basis."
"I use Zimbra Collaboration's community version. We may move to the enterprise version since prices are affordable."
"We pay yearly licenses for Zimbra Collaboration."
"The solution is not expensive compared to other products."
"If you choose the network edition, it is a little pricier. They have the open-source edition too which is only community supported."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the price a four"
"We do not pay for licenses to use this solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise41
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
 

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...
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...
 

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
NEC Biglobe, City of Ventura, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Hola Publishing, BIG, Sleepwell, LaFayette College, Xmission, DNA, Ring Line, Future Group, TIGC
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Exchange Online vs. Zimbra Collaboration and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.