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 8.3, while GFI is ranked #9 with an average rating of 7.5. Google holds a 22.1% mindshare in EA, compared to GFI’s 4.8% 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

6,006 Views
3,478 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

KerioConnect

Read 10 KerioConnect reviews

1,798 Views
954 Comparison Views

57% willing to recommend

Google Workspace

KerioConnect

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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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: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Google Workspace vs. KerioConnect

June 2025

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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 (4th), Content Collaboration Platforms (4th)

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 June 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Google Workspace is 22.1%, down from 24.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of KerioConnect is 4.8%, 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.

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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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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 solution is easy to use, and you don't need a lot of knowledge for it."

"They are launching more and more features for mobile, which I understand our customers appreciate."

"The solution offers a workflow where we can collaborate and share documents. Its most valuable features are Gmail and Google Drive. Google Drive is great for file collaboration. It improves productivity. The product is on the cloud; we don't have to connect to the office through a VPN."

"It's certainly easier to meet. We have offices around the world and the ability to have a company meeting on Google Meet platform makes it a whole lot easier to actually have everybody virtually in one room at the same time."

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

"The initial setup is easy because it's all pre-configured."

"The valuable features of this solution are ease of use, performance is great, and collaboration. It is very easy to share and joins documents."

More Google Workspace pros

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

"It's relatively simple to use."

"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."

"KerioConnect has integration with 365. We can use Outlook, which has its client and can be used with Apple devices. It integrates with the App Store and Microsoft Office. It has a smart router. The spam filtering and antivirus are good."

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

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

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

"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."

More KerioConnect pros

Cons

"I found that there is no desktop application for this solution, and that's a major fault of this application."

"Less customizations than there used to be."

"The cost could be improved. It can sometimes be a bit confusing figuring out how we are actually being charged."

"I believe Google Drive has potential for improvement. Enhancements could be made in terms of synchronization and the functionality of the Google Sheets app, particularly in areas like formulas and pivot tables, to make it more comparable to Microsoft Excel. Google Chat needs to make improvements so that we can send Excel and PDFs from the mobile app itself. I would like to see Google Bard integrated with the product."

"Some people complain that Google Mail is inflexible. It was advanced 10 years ago, but other solutions are cleaner and clearer."

"Google Workspace lacks the ability to copy and move files from one folder to another easily."

"The performance speed could be improved when the internet connection is slow."

"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

"We are considering switching to Microsoft Exchange. One reason is that it doesn't improve our workflow and doesn't integrate well with Microsoft 365 applications."

"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."

"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."

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

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

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

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

More KerioConnect cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's cheaper to run a couple of users in a Google platform than what it would be with Microsoft Exchange."

"Careful consideration should be given to the different licensing options and provisions should be made for additional applications that may be required for your particular business."

"Traffic management tools may be required for larger setups and should be included in any pricing calculations."

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

"We pay on yearly basis."

"The solution is expensive."

"There are different versions of the solution available, such as premium."

"We receive value for the price that we pay."

More Google Workspace pricing and cost advice

"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."

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

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

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

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...

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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 26% of the time

ProtonMail vs Google Workspace

Compared 10% of the time

Office 365 vs Google Workspace

Compared 6% 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 31% of the time

IceWarp vs KerioConnect

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs KerioConnect

Compared 7% of the time

More KerioConnect Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Google Workspace

June 2025

Download Google Workspace product report

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect

June 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

June 2025

Free Report: Google Workspace vs. KerioConnect

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

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