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Microsoft Exchange Online vs Zoho Mail 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
7.4
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zoho Mail
Ranking in Email Applications
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.7
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 13.4%, down from 16.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zoho Mail is 5.1%, up from 2.9% 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.
Salem Shafik - PeerSpot reviewer
Zoho Mail suits small businesses well but can improve user organization features
For the admin side of Zoho Mail, they need to add features for organizing users in organizational units. We currently only have the ability to add users to groups, but some admins need to organize users in organizational units and apply security policies or other configurations based on these units.

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."
"It's easy to use and there is more integration."
"I like that Exchange Online is easy to use and that I do not need to maintain the previous Exchange Server. I also do not need to worry about the security of the Exchange Server. If there are any issues, then it will be the service provider's problem and not mine."
"The solution is very easy to set up and quite quick to deploy."
"Intuitive and easy to use."
"It's not hard to set up."
"The product’s most valuable feature is the online archive."
"The best thing about Microsoft Exchange Online is that it's integrated with the Outlook application."
"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."
"Their experience with Zoho Mail has been positive, as customers haven't complained about anything."
"I like Zoho Mail's user interface."
"It uses an alert system and other monitoring tools."
"Zoho Mail is a cost-effective solution."
"We can create email accounts for our customers."
"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."
"Zoho Mail organizes your email well, and you can do a lot of things if you use other Zoho applications along with it."
 

Cons

"In the past, we had issues with DB in mailboxes."
"I couldn't delete an email account because it was identified as my primary account by the application."
"Cloud security is always a concern and the solution can always increase their security."
"The solution’s API integrations could be improved."
"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."
"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."
"The solution is expensive."
"I have found that Microsoft has vulnerabilities when it comes to Exchange Online. It has become the port of a lot of hacker attacks."
"I once tried doing bulk email sending with Zoho Mail, but it was declined. I didn't realize it was declined until several hours later when I checked for responses."
"Zoho Mail needs to add an IT system management feature."
"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 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."
"Zoho Mail is not as good as G Suite, which has integrated calendars."
"They have issues when they are rolling out updates"
"The solution's meeting plans and online virtual activity task list could be improved and made more seamless."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In my opinion, the online license is the best one we have. It is a bundle that we have from Microsoft. It is a bit high in price."
"The solution's pricing is reasonable."
"Microsoft Exchange Online is an affordable solution."
"I would give the cost a five out of ten."
"The price of the solution could be less expensive."
"There is a license required for the solution and it is paid annually."
"The cost is around $12 to $16 per user."
"The solution costs $12 to $16 per user per month."
"The solution’s pricing is very reasonable."
"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."
"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."
"The solution is not costly."
"Zoho Mail is more cost-efficient than its competitors."
"There is no license required to use Zoho Mail."
"If you have ten users, for Google, you'll pay $100. With Zoho Mail, you'll only pay $30 to $40."
"The solution is more affordable compared to other products. It is cheap."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Educational Organization
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Retailer
13%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

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 cost of Microsoft Exchange Online varies between $4 and $25 per user per month, depending on the different plans we use for different users.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online?
The mobile version of Microsoft Outlook has limited features compared to the desktop version. We find fewer features in the mobile version of Microsoft Exchange Online, so that could be improved if...
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: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.