Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

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
7.3
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zoho Mail
Ranking in Email Applications
6th
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 October 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 12.5%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zoho Mail is 5.5%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online12.5%
Zoho Mail5.5%
Other82.0%
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

"Microsoft has many consultants who can provide support."
"Exchange Online plays a significant role in our business. It controls all our emails, so we'd be in a lot of trouble if we didn't have that. It's an essential product."
"The solution offers complete scalability and flexibility."
"I have not had issues with stability of the product."
"It is a fantastic solution."
"It allows us to work from home, at any time or anywhere."
"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 easy to use and the cloud version has taken a lot of challenges away from the user."
"Zoho Mail is a stable product."
"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 is a cost-effective solution."
"The interconnectivity between these applications makes it particularly useful."
"The notifications, scheduling, and meetings are all integrated."
"It uses an alert system and other monitoring tools."
"I like Zoho Mail's user interface."
"Their experience with Zoho Mail has been positive, as customers haven't complained about anything."
 

Cons

"We'd like to have the ability to recall emails on the web. I'm not sure if that is available yet."
"The solution could be a bit cheaper."
"The mail-blocking feature is not great and could be improved."
"When we need to purchase additional licenses for additional users, the process is slow."
"Cloud security is always a concern and the solution can always increase their security."
"This product is too complex to use."
"This solution involves a lot of work for an administrator. It is not always easy to find exactly what you are looking for within the system."
"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."
"For the admin side of Zoho Mail, they need to add features for organizing users in organizational units."
"The solution doesn't need to be improved."
"Zoho Mail needs to improve its integration because direct integration is not possible with many applications."
"Zoho Mail needs to add an IT system management feature."
"The interface isn't quite good. Everything looks a little low-quality."
"The solution's meeting plans and online virtual activity task list could be improved and made more seamless."
"The solution’s stability could be improved."
"Zoho Mail is not as good as G Suite, which has integrated calendars."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The model is one which is pay-per-use go. There is no license. We are talking about per-user subscription-based use."
"The pricing for this solution is good. We renew our contract every three years. I would rate the pricing for this solution a three out of five."
"Microsoft Exchange Online is an affordable solution."
"I have no opinion."
"We have an enterprise agreement for licensing."
"The license for the solution is cheap, but it could be more affordable in the long term."
"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 only requires mailbox features, we can recommend Plan One or Plan 2. We can suggest an E3 or E5 license if they need the entire Office suite. There are also premium subscriptions for enterprise customers, offering additional security features. Overall, I don't find the pricing costly because Microsoft provides many features and security capabilities, making it reliable for all customers, depending on their requirements."
"The price is not competitive."
"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."
"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 not costly."
"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’s pricing is very reasonable."
"The solution is more affordable compared to other products. It is cheap."
"Zoho Mail is more cost-efficient than its competitors."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Email Applications solutions are best for your needs.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
15%
Retailer
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business40
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise40
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
 

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?
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?
I see no disadvantages currently. From the admin perspective, whenever an admin wants to get the email backup for a particular employee, there are a few challenges in terms of the role assignment 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 economical compared to Microsoft and Google Workspace. Speaking specifically about Egypt and the region, they have competitive pricing compared to others.
What needs improvement with Zoho Mail?
They could increase the available space which is currently 5 GB. Gmail provides 15 GB of storage space, which would be more useful. Additionally, considering how WhatsApp backup automatically goes ...
 

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