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Microsoft Exchange Online vs Zoho Mail comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
7.5
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zoho Mail
Ranking in Email Applications
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 14.1%, down from 15.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zoho Mail is 5.0%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

NancyHartman - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective collaboration achieved with versatile features and good customer service
There are always improvements needed. My personal issue with using OfficeSuite and the Exchange Server is that one has to cobble together a whole bunch of different applications. Therefore, a lot of scripting and programming knowledge is necessary. I am not an IT person; I am an educator, a trainer, a user. I want to get the work done. However, I find that the Exchange Server and possibly the way our company has set up access permissions require extensive programming knowledge. It might take six to eight weeks to get a programmer's time to build something, whereas I can use something like Smartsheet that will do everything I want without needing a programmer. Smartsheet is more end-user friendly compared to a Microsoft product. Microsoft believes an expert IT person should manage everything, however, I want to manage things on my own in a simplified way. That is not easy using the Exchange Server or Microsoft Office. It is not end-user friendly for development, and a programmer is needed. Once set up, using them as an end-user is fine. I find that the automations are not robust, and the FedRAMP systems are not robust. I have a few issues with Exchange and Office, but there's nothing I can do about it.
AvinashLotke - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers good security with effective spam filtering but has update issues
Zoho is not just a traditional software-based company. It offers a wide range of APIs and other integration tools, including a CRM tool and various other products, so integration is not limited. Zoho has operations management and developers, making integration feasible with any system. Zoho is a cloud-based solution, meaning maintenance is managed by their system. They don't provide access to unauthorized persons. Zoho handles maintenance. Traditionally, we haven't recommended Zoho as extensively because we prefer systems we have thoroughly tested and can confidently endorse. We've deployed Zoho a few times with mixed success. In comparison, we've had more success with Google deployments, with higher implementation rates and ease, offering better revenue opportunities. Based on requirements, I might recommend Zoho, but for higher needs or better collaboration, I'd suggest Google, possibly combined with iSoft. If there is no other support, Google remains a strong recommendation. Overall, considering support, I rate the solution a six 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

"Exchange Online's best feature is its webmail platform."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange Online is it helps the IT department with problems."
"The most valuable features of Microsoft Exchange Online are the frequent updates. They upgrade and optimize the features to make them better and better. They have a very strong ecosystem and they integrate together."
"We have found the solution to be stable."
"I have not had issues with stability of the product."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"Exchange Online doesn't just do email, it allows for collaboration with inbuilt chat and calling facilities and document sharing."
"One of the important features is the collaboration tool used in Office 365. The security and DLP mechanisms are also quite good."
"Zoho Mail is a stable product."
"Zoho gives you a set amount of free users, so you can use it until you reach the limit and see if it's something you want to adopt. I tried it and stuck with it. Since then, I've seen a lot of improvement. I already think it's top-notch, but I believe it will become one of the best in the world."
"Zoho Mail organizes your email well, and you can do a lot of things if you use other Zoho applications along with it."
"I like Zoho Mail's user interface."
"The most valuable features of Zoho Mail are its security, integration with cloud storage, and wide range of features available. It integrates well with Outlook and mobile devices."
"The solution has more security compared to other products. Zoho Mail comes with TLS and SSL. It has email-sharing features. It is an advanced product."
"We can create email accounts for our customers."
"It uses an alert system and other monitoring tools."
 

Cons

"The problem with Exchange is that the attributes aren't flexible enough. I'd like to see more interaction with Office 365 and tighter integration between on-prem Exchange and Exchange Online. There's still a disconnect between mailboxes and the cloud."
"The solution's performance can be improved when you are trying to access it remotely."
"Cloud security is always a concern and the solution can always increase their security."
"When you migrate from on-prem to cloud, if you choose to or are forced to do the hybrid, they need to devise a way to undo the hybrid."
"The price could be an area of concern for many."
"From an IT perspective, we need clearer documentation to understand the product’s configuration process."
"The solution could improve by making the user interface better."
"I don't really like the response time of the web GUI for administration."
"Zoho Mail needs to improve its integration because direct integration is not possible with many applications."
"The solution’s stability could be improved."
"Zoho Mail is not as good as G Suite, which has integrated calendars."
"The solution doesn't need to be improved."
"We face some challenges in our current architecture with the introduction of data privacy regulations. When you are sending a calendar invite to a group of people for a meeting or an event, there is no structure for privacy. You can't hide all the contacts. Maybe that feature exists, but I don't know where it is."
"The initial setup of Zoho Mail can take some time because we have 30 to 35 users and we need to register each one. This can take one or two days to complete. The process could be better for administrators to register their users. If the setup interface was better in explaining the process it would be helpful to become more user-friendly."
"The interface isn't quite good. Everything looks a little low-quality."
"Zoho Mail needs to add an IT system management feature."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is not competitive."
"The model is one which is pay-per-use go. There is no license. We are talking about per-user subscription-based use."
"We have yearly licensing costs."
"We pay per user per year for the cluster with over a thousand users."
"The solution's pricing is reasonable."
"The license for the solution is cheap, but it could be more affordable in the long term."
"The price of the license depends on a lot of factors, such as the number of licenses and company specifics."
"We bought some licenses, and some are within our package or partnership with Microsoft."
"One of the reasons people use Zoho in Nigeria is because we can pay for it in Naira. It's very affordable already. For example, we can get Zoho Mail for somewhere between 1000 naira per user, which is less than one dollar. In my opinion, it's very affordable."
"The solution is more affordable compared to other products. It is cheap."
"Zoho One has all 50 applications in it, and Zoho Mail is part of it. Zoho One is about 35 GBP per person per month. It includes Zoho Projects, Zoho Mail, Zoho CRM, and everything else."
"There is no license required to use Zoho Mail."
"Zoho Mail is more cost-efficient than its competitors."
"The solution’s pricing is very reasonable."
"The solution is not costly."
"If you have ten users, for Google, you'll pay $100. With Zoho Mail, you'll only pay $30 to $40."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Retailer
13%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange Online?
The benefits are widespread and effective communication. We use Microsoft Teams for meetings within and outside our organization. Additionally, Teams can be used for chat, allowing us to track comm...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange Online?
The pricing for Microsoft Exchange Online is quite reasonable, in my opinion. Many licensing options are available so that we can choose based on the customer's needs. For example, if a customer on...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online?
There are always improvements needed. My personal issue with using OfficeSuite and the Exchange Server is that one has to cobble together a whole bunch of different applications. Therefore, a lot o...
What do you like most about Zoho Mail?
It also offers the search functionalities. For end users, the search is quite easy to use. There are a few tabs to select to find exactly what you're looking for. It's pretty simple. As long as the...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zoho Mail?
Zoho Mail is more cost-efficient than its competitors.
What needs improvement with Zoho Mail?
The solution's meeting plans and online virtual activity task list could be improved and made more seamless.
 

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
BBDO, HuffPost
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Exchange Online vs. Zoho Mail and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.