Google Workspace vs KerioConnect comparison

Google and GFI are both solutions in the Email Applications category. Google is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.4, while GFI is ranked #9 with an average rating of 7.5. Google holds a 22.2% mindshare in EA, compared to GFI’s 4.7% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Google users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 57% of GFI users who would recommend it.

Google Workspace

Read 102 Google Workspace reviews

6,065 Views
5,500 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

KerioConnect

Read 10 KerioConnect reviews

1,844 Views
982 Comparison Views

57% willing to recommend

Google Workspace

KerioConnect

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Google Workspace and KerioConnect compete in the business communication and collaboration space. Google Workspace has a stronger edge due to its comprehensive collaboration tools, integration capabilities, and scalability across various devices.

Features: Google Workspace is appreciated for business email, an extensive suite of apps, and seamless integration across devices. It excels in real-time collaboration with tools like Drive storage and offers familiarity to users. KerioConnect is noted for its secure on-premise server setup, providing enhanced privacy. It is suitable for organizations that prioritize ActiveSync support and flexible, robust email servers without cloud dependency.

Room for Improvement: Google Workspace faces criticisms for occasional server outages, interface ads, and challenges with Outlook. Enhancements are suggested for Office-related functions. KerioConnect users reported occasional sluggishness and lack of integration with third-party services. Documentation and CRM connectivity improvements are recommended.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Google Workspace is easily deployed via the public cloud with minimal setup but sometimes lacks intuitive customer service. KerioConnect has straightforward on-premise setup and helpful customer service, though it is less comprehensive compared to cloud-based solutions.

Pricing and ROI: Google Workspace offers various plans but is seen as expensive, especially for premium versions, while providing notable ROI in flexible working conditions. KerioConnect is cost-effective with lower per-mailbox costs, appealing for businesses preferring not to invest in large-scale cloud services.

To learn more, read our detailed Google Workspace vs. KerioConnect Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Google Workspace vs. KerioConnect

April 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 852,780 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

Google Workspace

Ranking in Email Applications

1st

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

102

Ranking in other categories

Wireless Email (2nd), Cloud Storage (6th), Content Collaboration Platforms (3rd)

KerioConnect

Ranking in Email Applications

9th

Average Rating

6.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Email Archiving (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Google Workspace is 22.2%, down from 24.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of KerioConnect is 4.7%, up from 3.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

Sunil-Nair

IT Manager at Universal Carpets & Rugs

Email collaboration and accessibility have improved team productivity

The valuable features include the email service, email updates, and Google Drive. People are given email access to Google Drive. The team can share manual files and work accordingly. They can access different teams from anywhere, collectively putting files, sharing them, and managing them. Additionally, the manufacturing product does not require any downgrades. It works fine and continuously for the last three or four years. Users can access their emails from anywhere in their browser without a laptop or can directly access from Gmail. This is helpful for salespeople.

Read full review

David Bloomer

Senior Technician at Computers At Work

Lightweight, simple, and robust; easy to maintain and doesn't require a lot of system resources to run

Kerio Connect does as advertised, so there are no real issues with the product itself. It's developed regularly, so there are constant updates. Possibly, the support and development have lessened since they've sold the company, but as far as the product itself is concerned, there isn't anything that I would suggest needs improvement. If I'm being picky, Kerio Connect uses a proprietary, mappy atom for Outlook, and it would be nice if they used a native mappy connection instead, but that's the only additional feature that I would like to see in its next release. If they have native Outlook map integration, that would be great, but other than that, it's got all the functions that I think a mail server should have.

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

"The solution is very stable."

"Google integrates well with our system. G Suite has an open API, so you can connect any open system with Google capable of working with API. This is the main reason we use it."

"It's easy to control the admin settings, like updating the SDS, NIK, etc. I"

"The valuable features include the email service, email updates, and Google Drive."

"The valuable feature of Google Workspace is its integrated environment where everything is pre-integrated, like chat and document sharing in Gmail."

"The product is user-friendly and knows how to appeal to a user. Google Docs accepts some of our requirements. Its most valuable feature is performance. The product's integrations are good."

"The general ease of use is the solution's most valuable aspect. It's extremely simple to use. You don't even have to look up videos in order to figure things out. It's all very intuitive."

"The calendar is the most valuable feature."

More Google Workspace pros

"The most valuable features are security and privacy because you installed it on your server, within your company premises, not in the cloud."

"What I like most about Kerio Connect is that it supports ActiveSync, and that is its most critical feature. The solution is also a nice, simple, robust, and stable mail server."

"We use the solution as a mail server. It connects with Outlook and is used for calendaring and similar tasks."

"We have contacted technical support a handful of times and received some assistance."

"Kerio Connect is secure, flexible, and easy to control from the user interface. It has many security features able to be controlled from one place, such as anti-spam. I have found it very convenient. Additionally, you can analyze log files and share folders which is helpful."

"The solution is easy to maintain, unlike Exchange. It's easy to create multiple domains and back up and restore if needed. It also has good security features like anti-spam and antivirus."

"The most valuable features are its ease of use, excellent pricing, and it is platform agnostic."

"The user interface is good."

More KerioConnect pros

Cons

"In Google Meet, there is no feature for recording a meeting. It should have a feature for recording."

"Not all tools are available in the one facility."

"We've had difficulty using PowerPoint files in G Suite. PowerPoint has some functions that are not available in G Suite, so when you convert from PPTX to the Slides format, they don't work."

"If your storage requirements in day-to-day work are large, then it will incur an additional cost since free storage is limited."

"It would be a lot nicer if the default Gmail came with features that we currently need add-ons for, such as tables, automatic BCC, resizing of the panel on the left-hand side, email highlighting, and configuring the display of time and date against each email."

"The UI could be simplified and made more user friendly."

"Their tool called Sheets is the counterpart to Excel but it doesn't have the same functionality that Excel would have. So usually if somebody needs to go back to Excel or Office, it's because of Excel."

"In the next release, I would like to see more encryption of documents, mail, and things like that. There should be a better way to encrypt mail and documents that are pushed through this system. That would be some improvement or additional features that could be good to have."

More Google Workspace cons

"KerioConnect continues to improve with regular updates throughout the year. They must be added to the roadmap, which requires approval."

"KerioConnect is stable as long as you use a strong password."

"It could be simpler to use and install, but I still wouldn't use it because there isn't a compelling use case."

"The search and archiving documentation capabilities need to be stronger."

"The solution could improve the redundancy because we only have one copy of the Kerio Connect server on our hardware. The next step for us is to move to the cloud and if Kerio does not have a cloud version available they should release one"

"Most of our clients use Outlook and Kerio Connect. Occasionally, Kerio can be a bit slow. They could make it faster to get onto the web interface without so much load time. It's just slow with Outlook, however, for some reason."

"I would like to see better support from their support team."

"You cannot integrate with other services like Google Docs, Google Assistant, Google Calendar, etc."

More KerioConnect cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"G Suite and Microsoft Office 365 offer products with similar functionality at several different price points. Zoho offer a more extensive range of products and attempts to provide all the applications required to run most small and medium-sized businesses."

"We normally purchase the license on a yearly basis."

"The solution is expensive."

"I can't recall the exact pricing per user for Google Workspace, but I know it's not that expensive. I'm in a mid-sized company that's able to maintain and afford Google Workspace, so it has competitive pricing, and I would rate its price as four out of five."

"The main challenge regarding startups with identity services is you could be on a platform that works well but the services are expensive. For example, Microsoft Azure costs approximately $30 per user which is expensive. You end up choosing a different platform, such as G Suite Enterprise because it is priced reasonably and is less expensive than other solutions."

"We pay on yearly basis."

"I give the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being the most affordable."

"It's low in cost as compared to Office 365. There is an annual licensing cost."

More Google Workspace pricing and cost advice

"The price of Kerio Connect is better when comparing it to others solutions."

"KerioConnect has a first-time cost and yearly subscription. It is not expensive."

"The pricing is about $3 per mailbox per month."

"The solution's pricing depends on how long you plan to keep it because you pay on a per-year basis. You might have a one-time setup cost for something like Microsoft Exchange or a Linux mail server. I'd say this solution is expensive on a per-year basis, almost 2000-3000 dollars annually. It doesn't seem to pay off yet, so we're considering switching to another product."

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

852,780 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

13%

Government

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Google Workspace?

Easy-to-build forms are allowing me to get feedback and information from my internal teams as well as from the customers very efficiently with the result data in structured manner.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Workspace?

The pricing for Google Workspace is moderate. I would rate it a five out of ten, indicating it is neither cheap nor expensive. The current cost is approximately seven to ten euros per user per mont...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Google Workspace?

I do not have any major suggestions for improvement. However, while the security functionalities are similar to those in competitors like Active Directory, they could be optimized for stronger secu...

See all answers

What do you like most about KerioConnect?

The most valuable features are security and privacy because you installed it on your server, within your company premises, not in the cloud.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for KerioConnect?

KerioConnect has a first-time cost and yearly subscription. It is not expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with KerioConnect?

KerioConnect continues to improve with regular updates throughout the year. They must be added to the roadmap, which requires approval. In larger organizations, the server's capabilities and the da...

See all answers

Comparisons

Amazon WorkMail vs Google Workspace

Compared 28% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs Google Workspace

Compared 27% of the time

ProtonMail vs Google Workspace

Compared 10% of the time

Office 365 vs Google Workspace

Compared 5% of the time

Amazon WorkDocs vs Google Workspace

Compared 3% of the time

More Google Workspace Competitors

Microsoft Exchange vs KerioConnect

Compared 51% of the time

Zimbra Collaboration vs KerioConnect

Compared 32% of the time

IceWarp vs KerioConnect

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs KerioConnect

Compared 6% of the time

More KerioConnect Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Google Workspace

May 2025

Download Google Workspace product report

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect

May 2025

Download KerioConnect product report

Also Known As

G-Suite Enterprise, G-Suite, Google Apps for Business, G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, G-Suite Basic, G-Suite Business, Google Vault

No data available

Overview

Similar to G Suite, all Google Workspace plans provide a custom email for your business and include collaboration tools like Gmail, Calendar, Meet, Chat, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites, and more.

As we’ve evolved G Suite into a more integrated experience across our communication and collaboration tools, we’ve rebranded to Google Workspace to more accurately represent the product vision.

Google

Kerio Connect, a messaging and collaboration solution, meets the needs of small and mid-sized businesses while offering a robust feature lineup. Business users enjoy support for their favorite email client and easy web-based access. Kerio Connect is highly stable—so you can focus on business rather than unexpected downtime and recovery.

GFI

Sample Customers

There are over five million businesses that use Google Apps for Business worldwide. Some key customers include The Roche Group, National Geographic, American Red Cross, City of Los Angeles, Flight Centre, and Konica Minolta.

Southern Tier Brewing Company, Innotta, Baustoff + Metall, Hamifleurs, Chanson TV, Ryman Stationery

Buyer's Guide

Google Workspace vs. KerioConnect

April 2025

Free Report: Google Workspace vs. KerioConnect

Find out what your peers are saying about Google Workspace vs. KerioConnect and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

852,780 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Google Workspace vs. KerioConnect 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.