KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange Online comparison

GFI and Microsoft are both solutions in the Email Applications category. GFI is ranked #10 with an average rating of 7.5, while Microsoft is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.7. GFI holds a 4.5% mindshare in EA, compared to Microsoft’s 13.1% mindshare. Additionally, 57% of GFI users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

KerioConnect

Read 10 KerioConnect reviews

1,754 Views
1,701 Comparison Views

57% willing to recommend

Microsoft Exchange Online

Read 91 Microsoft Exchange Online reviews

4,234 Views
4,065 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

KerioConnect

Microsoft Exchange Online

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 2025

Microsoft Exchange Online and KerioConnect are two email and collaboration solutions. Microsoft Exchange Online seems to have the upper hand due to its extensive features and seamless integration with the Microsoft ecosystem, despite its higher cost, while KerioConnect is recognized for offering a more budget-friendly alternative with ease of use and simplicity.

Features: Microsoft Exchange Online is known for its seamless integration with Office 365, robust security features, and vast storage options which enhance enterprise value. KerioConnect is valued for its ActiveSync support, user-friendly setup, and flexibility in on-premise deployment, though it lacks some advanced integration capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Exchange Online could improve by simplifying its licensing process, enhancing anti-spam features, and decreasing support response times. KerioConnect would benefit from more comprehensive documentation, better integration with CRM systems, and improved search and archiving capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Exchange Online, primarily deployed on public and hybrid clouds, offers scalability but can be complex to manage. KerioConnect supports on-premise deployment, providing greater control but less flexibility. Both solutions receive positive feedback for customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Exchange Online offers multiple subscription models that, while confusing, provide flexibility, resulting in substantial ROI and comprehensive functionality for businesses. KerioConnect's pricing is considered more straightforward and affordable, presenting a strong value for smaller businesses and on-premise solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange Online Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange Online

July 2025

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Helped 865,164 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

KerioConnect

Ranking in Email Applications

10th

Average Rating

6.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Email Archiving (8th)

Microsoft Exchange Online

Ranking in Email Applications

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of KerioConnect is 4.5%, up from 4.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 13.1%, down from 16.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

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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NancyHartman

Business Process Manager/ Educational Technologist at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees

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.

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

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

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

"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."

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

"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."

"It's relatively simple to use."

"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."

More KerioConnect pros

"The online version is faster, as it is a cloud instance. We can have massive mailbox capacity: 100 GB per user, which is huge. We can't provision such capacity internally, as the company would get burnt out paying for mailbox storage."

"The most valuable features of Microsoft Exchange Online are spam filtering, 50 GB of email storage, good integration with Outlook, and ease of management."

"Exchange Online doesn't just do email, it allows for collaboration with inbuilt chat and calling facilities and document sharing."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange Online is its ease of use."

"I have not had issues with stability of the product."

"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 very easy to set up and quite quick to deploy."

"The solution is scalable."

More Microsoft Exchange Online pros

Cons

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

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

"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."

"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."

"Having a native Outlook map integration would make Kerio Connect better."

"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."

More KerioConnect cons

"The solution's performance can be improved when you are trying to access it remotely."

"The SaaS platform performance could be improved. At a previous company, we used this same solution on-premises. The data exchange was much faster compared to the SaaS platform and we sometimes experience lags."

"I don't really like the response time of the web GUI for administration."

"The integration could be better if it could integrate well with other products and software."

"There is an annual enterprise subscription could improve by having more features."

"In terms of areas for improvement, I think Microsoft could enhance security. Right now, there are limited options for security within Exchange Online, and much of it relies on third-party security and compliance tools. I'd like to see more security features directly integrated. One specific area that needs improvement is the configuration of SMTP for third-party applications. It's challenging to manage without an on-premise SMTP server, and this is an issue many organizations face, including ours. If Microsoft could offer better SMTP configuration for third-party applications within Exchange Online, it would greatly benefit us."

"We use different software for email spoofing filters and similar functions because Exchange is quite limited in this area."

"Cloud security is always a concern and the solution can always increase their security."

More Microsoft Exchange Online cons

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."

"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."

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

"The pricing is based on a yearly contract and a floating license option is offered."

"We pay per user per year for the cluster with over a thousand users."

"This is an expensive solution."

"The costs of this platform vary based on subscriptions, but it is generally reasonable."

"The price is a bit high. It is especially expensive in the Indian market."

"The price of the license depends on a lot of factors, such as the number of licenses and company specifics."

"I would give the cost a five out of ten."

"The model is one which is pay-per-use go. There is no license. We are talking about per-user subscription-based use."

More Microsoft Exchange Online pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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

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...

See all answers

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

The cost of Microsoft Exchange Online varies between $4 and $25 per user per month, depending on the different plans we use for different users.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online?

The mobile version of Microsoft Outlook has limited features compared to the desktop version. We find fewer features in the mobile version of Microsoft Exchange Online, so that could be improved if...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Exchange vs KerioConnect

Compared 49% of the time

Zimbra Collaboration vs KerioConnect

Compared 28% of the time

IceWarp vs KerioConnect

Compared 9% of the time

Google Workspace vs KerioConnect

Compared 5% of the time

More KerioConnect Competitors

Google Workspace vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 46% of the time

Open-Xchange vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 11% of the time

Amazon WorkMail vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 10% of the time

Zoho Mail vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 5% of the time

OpenText GroupWise vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft Exchange Online Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect

August 2025

Download KerioConnect product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange Online

August 2025

Download Microsoft Exchange Online product report

Also Known As

No data available

Exchange Online, Exchange Online Plan 1, Exchange Online Plan 2, MS Exchange Online

Overview

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

Exchange Online helps protect your information with advanced capabilities. Anti-malware and anti-spam filtering protect mailboxes. Data loss prevention capabilities prevent users from mistakenly sending sensitive information to unauthorized people. Globally redundant servers, premier disaster recovery capabilities, and a team of security experts monitoring Exchange Online around the clock safeguard your data.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

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

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Blue Star Infotech, Scitec Nutrition, Resolution Films, British Airways, Empire Cinemas, InnoGames

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange Online

July 2025

Free Report: KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange Online

Find out what your peers are saying about KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange Online and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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