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

Google Workspace vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 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

Google Workspace
Ranking in Email Applications
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
104
Ranking in other categories
Wireless Email (2nd), Cloud Storage (5th), Content Collaboration Platforms (4th)
Zimbra Collaboration
Ranking in Email Applications
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Google Workspace is 21.5%, down from 24.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zimbra Collaboration is 8.6%, down from 9.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Sunil-Nair - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Muhammad Talha Baig - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"In terms of email, I could probably do the same things with other programs, however, I find 90% of my usage is Gmail."
"The stability of Google Workspace is excellent and very solid."
"The implementation was very easy."
"I find smart sheets in Google Sheets to be useful."
"What I like most about Google Workspace is the Google Drive app because you can easily access it from anywhere and from any device. I also find the solution easy to use. It's user-friendly."
"It has saved us money."
"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."
"personally prefer to use G Suite applications, such as Gmail, Slides, and Sheets, because they give you the freedom to share the document you're editing and co-work with other colleagues simultaneously."
"One of the premium features was customized rooms tailored to the collaboration needs. Many of the clients customize features such as organization logos and scanners."
"It has all collaboration features, such as document sharing, video conferencing, chatting, task sharing, and calendar sharing."
"Zimbra Collaboration's sharing features are most valuable."
"Zimbra Collaboration is a good tool for video calls...Zimbra Collaboration's initial setup phase was easy."
"We can control all the data in my IT infrastructure."
"One of the most valuable features involves the solution's automatic backup, which I find to be pretty simple and straightforward, and obviates the need for additional software."
"Zimbra Collaboration has integrated a lot of their party tools and they have good documentation available."
"The backup and storage management features of Zimbra Collaboration are valuable."
 

Cons

"To a degree, the project management service could be improved."
"I found that there is no desktop application for this solution, and that's a major fault of this application."
"I would rate the stability a five out of ten."
"I find the price high for the full suite features. Compared to Exchange Online, the price might not be too high, but you cannot choose only one functionality. When you buy Google Workspace, you have to get everything, including file storage and communication tools, which I don't use."
"Google could integrate Gemini AI with Google Workspace to enhance user experience."
"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."
"For Google Docs, if you upload a Word document up to Google Docs, it could mess up your formatting quite a bit."
"We use Zoom most of the time for official meetings, and we use Google Meet only for internal meetings. I would like to get an improvised Google Meet. It would be good if they can make Google Meet more clear in communication and more scalable like Zoom."
"The antispam and antivirus features are hard to understand on mobile devices."
"The tool should improve its multi-cloud feature."
"In the next release, Zimbra Collaboration should include a security feature to allow access for mobile device administrators."
"Zimbra should provide a desktop client. Right now, we are using a web browser for accessing our emails. There should also be a desktop client."
"Zimbra Collaboration's video conferencing could be improved."
"They should enhance its online meeting features."
"The solution could use more integration with third-party tools."
"The solution could improve by making it easier to use."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's low in cost as compared to Office 365. There is an annual licensing cost."
"There are different versions of the solution available, such as premium."
"There are benefits that can provide a competitive advantage, e.g., improved productivity (with appropriate training), increased collaboration (with correct use of tools), flexible working - work from home or remote locations, easy to scale - fast onboarding of new employees, and ability to add and remove licenses, as required."
"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."
"It's about $8.30 up a user per month."
"The pricing is comparable, it's pretty decent."
"The solution is expensive."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the price a four"
"Zimbra Collaboration is expensive, and there is no perpetual license option."
"The price of the solution is low."
"The solution is competitively priced."
"We are using perpetual licenses. We have deployed it in our local data center, and we buy perpetual licenses on a per-user basis."
"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 is less expensive than Microsoft Exchange. Zimbra works for small companies because it is not expensive. Zimbra Collaboration has more security tools than Microsoft Exchange. If you are choosing between Zimbra Collaboration and Microsoft Exchange, you have to take into account the cost of security tools with Microsoft Exchange. When you purchase Microsoft Exchange, you will also have to purchase tools for security, which adds to the cost. The migration from Zimbra Collaboration to another email solution is very simple and easy. Migration from Microsoft Exchange to another email solution is very difficult. Microsoft doesn't allow migration that easily. In fact, you have to pay for tools to do that. You have to buy some expensive tools to migrate."
"If you choose the network edition, it is a little pricier. They have the open-source edition too which is only community supported."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Email Applications solutions are best for your needs.
864,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Educational Organization
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Government
8%
Energy/Utilities Company
5%
 

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.
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...
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...
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...
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.
 

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

 

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.
NEC Biglobe, City of Ventura, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Hola Publishing, BIG, Sleepwell, LaFayette College, Xmission, DNA, Ring Line, Future Group, TIGC
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Workspace vs. Zimbra Collaboration and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
864,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.