Microsoft Exchange vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

Microsoft and Zimbra are both solutions in the Email Applications category. Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3, while Zimbra is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.0. Microsoft holds a 11.4% mindshare in EA, compared to Zimbra’s 9.0% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Zimbra users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Exchange

Read 91 Microsoft Exchange reviews

3,291 Views
2,842 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Zimbra Collaboration

Read 29 Zimbra Collaboration reviews

2,972 Views
2,295 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Microsoft Exchange

Zimbra Collaboration

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Zimbra Collaboration and Microsoft Exchange are competing products in the enterprise email and collaboration market. Microsoft Exchange appears to have an edge due to its robust features, while Zimbra Collaboration offers competitive pricing and advantages in support.

Features: Zimbra Collaboration is recognized for its open-source flexibility, which allows extensive customization. It integrates communication tools like email, chat, video, and voice calls, enhancing team collaboration. Additionally, Zimbra is highly compatible with third-party applications, making it versatile for diverse environments. Microsoft Exchange offers a comprehensive suite of productivity features, ensuring excellent email management and scheduling. Advanced security protocols protect user data, and its seamless integration with other Microsoft services enhances productivity with tools like SharePoint and Microsoft Teams.

Room for Improvement: Zimbra Collaboration could improve its built-in security modules, which are less powerful compared to dedicated solutions. Its two-factor authentication features could be refined for enhanced security. Additionally, Zimbra can work on increasing awareness among potential enterprise customers. Microsoft Exchange has a complex licensing model that might be streamlined. It also has a steeper learning curve for new users. Enhanced customization options for unique business processes could further improve Exchange.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zimbra Collaboration provides a straightforward deployment process with support options emphasizing quick response times, beneficial for small to mid-sized businesses. Microsoft Exchange offers a more complex deployment process but provides extensive documentation and premium support services, which can be particularly advantageous for large enterprises needing robust support systems.

Pricing and ROI: Zimbra Collaboration offers a lower setup cost, making it attractive to organizations with limited budgets while providing reliable email and collaboration tools. Its cost-effectiveness suits small to medium businesses seeking essential functionalities. Microsoft Exchange, with its higher initial costs, justifies its pricing with a strong ROI from advanced functionalities and a comprehensive feature set that appeals to businesses focusing on long-term value and extensive integrations.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Exchange vs. Zimbra Collaboration Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange vs. Zimbra Collaboration

March 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 845,406 peers since 2012

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

Ranking in Email Applications

3rd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Wireless Email (1st), File Archiving (3rd)

Zimbra Collaboration

Ranking in Email Applications

5th

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 11.4%, down from 12.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zimbra Collaboration is 9.0%, down from 10.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

Hesham Hussain

Head Of Infrastructure at ValU

A good solution for large enterprises, but is expensive when compared to other solutions

Regarding the decision of increasing the number of users, it depends on the organization's choice, whether to opt for CapEx or OpEx. Both options involve expenses over the years. Building an in-house Exchange solution requires investing in hardware, storage, connectivity, and administrative resources. Office 365 shifts the budget solely to OpEx as a subscription service. Scalability is another factor. Starting a new company favors Office 365 due to cost efficiency. As the organization grows, the choice depends on available resources and technical expertise. An internal Exchange setup is feasible with skilled engineers, while Office 365 suits those lacking in-house resources.

Read full review

Muhammad Talha Baig

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It integrates well with other tools."

"Exchange is very scalable, it's one of the most important things about this software."

"Provides unlimited storage for our mailbox."

"Microsoft Exchange has good performance and is user-friendly."

"On-premises Microsoft Exchange is good because it protects data privacy."

"It is stable."

"It has a feature that allows you to retain an email and recover it as an administrator. When you activate this feature, even if a user deletes an email, the email is still in the system, and we can retrieve it as an administrator. It is a very useful function. We turn this feature on for some of the mailboxes because we need to keep all the records. I like the way emails are classified in this solution. It makes it really easy to take a look at the most important messages. This is a really good functionality. Some of the emails directly exchanged with you are marked as important and shown in one tab, and everything else is in another tab. We usually don't have any issue with Exchange. It can be integrated with different solutions."

"The initial setup is quite a straightforward process. I don't think it is a very complicated solution. Plenty of things could be more complex, but the ordinary, general settings are quite simple."

More Microsoft Exchange pros

"Zimbra Collaboration is a good tool for video calls...Zimbra Collaboration's initial setup phase was easy."

"Zimbra Collaboration has integrated a lot of their party tools and they have good documentation available."

"The most valuable feature of Zimbra for our team's productivity is its efficiency in handling email communication."

"Zimbra Collaboration has a good web interface."

"The solution is easy to implement."

"The logs, troubleshooting, and tracking we have found to be the most valuable features. We have any issues with lost messages the features are useful. It is very easy to track and log."

"A lot of other products like Microsoft Exchange offer email or collaboration features, but they are not as fast as Zimbra."

"The product is easy to set up."

More Zimbra Collaboration pros

Cons

"They keep making all these changes, and our system was down for four or five days. They finally got it up, but there are still lots of quirks."

"The solution is stable, but it could improve. It's crashing if there is a big mail database. The Zimbra solution is better in this area."

"The licensing model could be improved."

"From a security perspective, Microsft Exchange can be improved. All that needs to be added is security, but that's an internal hierarchical problem from the product itself and not the end-users."

"They could improve on the search function, it takes too much time."

"From a security point of view, Microsoft should enhance the new features. Technical support could also be better."

"The calendar integration in Exchange is not that great. The email features are okay, but it doesn't integrate well with the calendar and appointments, especially Zoom appointments. It integrates fine with Microsoft Teams, but Zoom is a challenge."

"Microsoft Exchange's customer support could be faster and more knowledgeable."

More Microsoft Exchange cons

"Some issues cause the solution not to function correctly or to cause downtime once a month."

"The installation is not straightforward, it can take two days for the full implementation."

"Zimbra Collaboration's video conferencing could be improved."

"It is good and competent, but you have to pay for video and group chat features."

"The support was lacking in my experience. However, recently the support I received was good. Perhaps they have improved."

"It does have a few bugs."

"Zimbra Collaboration does not have a solution roadmap as aggressive as the new collaboration mail solutions. Additionally, they can have a better interface and integration with single sign-on."

"File sharing permissions with Nextcloud integration need improvement."

More Zimbra Collaboration cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft's licensing structure is too complex, but its prices are affordable, though not cheap."

"The product pricing is reasonable if you utilize its full suite of features."

"I rate Microsoft Exchange's pricing a six out of ten."

"Licensing costs for Microsoft Exchange have increased, but are still fair. For some users, the cost is high considering the number of functions and features they will use."

"The price of Microsoft Exchange is reasonable."

"We are currently using enterprise licenses for the solution. They are different pricing models available. There are individual, cloud-based, and enterprise licenses all with different pricing models. The larger the number of users, the lesser the price. For small to medium companies like us, we feel it is expensive."

"I have Outlook 365 Professional, and Exchange comes in the bundle with other solutions, such as Word and OneDrive. I pay for the use of the bundle monthly and I can imagine if you are a company with many licenses the pricing model would be a lot different."

"Its price is fair."

More Microsoft Exchange pricing and cost advice

"We do not pay for licenses to use this solution."

"Zimbra Collaboration is expensive, and there is no perpetual license option."

"The solution is not expensive compared to other products."

"There is an annual standard licensing fee to use Zimbra Collaboration and there is no other cost."

"It's very expensive. When we compare the cost with Google Workspace, it's so expensive."

"I use Zimbra Collaboration's community version. We may move to the enterprise version since prices are affordable."

"When it comes to the licensing of Zimbra Collaboration, my license covers the servers and I find its terms to be much simpler than those of Microsoft Exchange."

"Zimbra Collaboration offers a good price-to-feature ratio."

More Zimbra Collaboration pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Email Applications solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

11%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

19%

Government

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange?

The initial setup was straightforward and fast.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange?

The licensing and pricing are quite costly, which can demotivate customers from opting for features and upgrades. However, the solution provides value for money if one is well-acquainted with Excha...

See all answers

What do you like most about Zimbra Collaboration?

The most valuable feature of Zimbra for our team's productivity is its efficiency in handling email communication.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zimbra Collaboration?

The solution is competitively priced.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Zimbra Collaboration?

When it comes to administration tasks like configuring specific filters or group signatures, I have to dig into the configuration since there's nothing in the graphical or web interface. The soluti...

See all answers

Comparisons

KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 18% of the time

HCL Domino vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 12% of the time

Open-Xchange vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 11% of the time

HCL Notes vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 9% of the time

IceWarp vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 6% of the time

More Microsoft Exchange Competitors

Open-Xchange vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 20% of the time

KerioConnect vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 16% of the time

IceWarp vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 6% of the time

Google Workspace vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 6% of the time

More Zimbra Collaboration Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange

March 2025

Download Microsoft Exchange product report

Buyer's Guide

Zimbra Collaboration

March 2025

Download Zimbra Collaboration product report

Also Known As

Exchange, MS Exchange

No data available

Overview

Built to deliver the enterprise-grade security and reliability that businesses require, Microsoft Exchange provides email, calendar and contacts on your PC, phone and web browser.

Microsoft

Zimbra Collaboration provides administrators and their end users innovative features that solve the challenges faced by organizations using today's legacy communications infrastructure.

Zimbra

Sample Customers

Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Scitec Nutrition, British Airways, InnoGames, Osteology Foundation, Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH, NTC Contracting

NEC Biglobe, City of Ventura, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Hola Publishing, BIG, Sleepwell, LaFayette College, Xmission, DNA, Ring Line, Future Group, TIGC

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange vs. Zimbra Collaboration

March 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Exchange vs. Zimbra Collaboration

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Exchange vs. Zimbra Collaboration and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Microsoft Exchange vs. Zimbra Collaboration report.

See our list of best Email Applications vendors.

We monitor all Email Applications reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.