KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange Online comparison

GFI and Microsoft are both solutions in the Email Applications category. GFI is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.3, while Microsoft is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.7. GFI holds a 4.4% mindshare in EA, compared to Microsoft’s 12.5% 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

1,657 Views
1,591 Comparison Views

57% willing to recommend

Microsoft Exchange Online

Read 91 Microsoft Exchange Online reviews

3,877 Views
3,722 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: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange Online

September 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

KerioConnect

Ranking in Email Applications

9th

Average Rating

6.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Email Archiving (6th)

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 October 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of KerioConnect is 4.4%, up from 4.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 12.5%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Applications Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online	12.5%
KerioConnect	4.4%
Other	83.1%

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.

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 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."

"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."

"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."

"It's relatively simple to use."

"The user interface is good."

More KerioConnect pros

"Technical support is helpful."

"It has helped us because we don't have to worry about servers crashing."

"It is a scalable product. We are using it for 500 users."

"Microsoft Exchange Online is easy to use. You have a common storage where people can store documents. It also helps with version control."

"I have found the interface to be user-friendly and the overall simplicity valuable features."

"Microsoft Exchange Online's resiliency is its most valuable feature."

"All of the features are beneficial, but the scheduling feature is particularly useful."

"The solution is stable."

More Microsoft Exchange Online pros

Cons

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

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

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

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

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

"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."

"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 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"

More KerioConnect cons

"The price could be cheaper."

"The solution could be a bit cheaper."

"The ActiveSync services and the mapping services could be improved."

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

"The support from the vendor is fine. However, it could be faster, and some of the agents could be more knowledgeable, but it is a large solution, there's a lot of information that the agents have to work with. I can't always expect when I get connected to the first-level agent that they will know absolutely everything. Sometimes there's no replacement for pure experience."

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

"Microsoft Exchange Online should have a faster search feature."

"We'd like to see more integration with other platforms."

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."

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

"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."

"We have a three-year license for $25,000."

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

"The solution costs $12 to $16 per user per month."

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

"It is a cluster solution."

"The pricing could be improved."

"The price of Microsoft Exchange Online security could improve. The overall price of the solution is reasonable."

"The product is very cheap."

More Microsoft Exchange Online pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Comms Service Provider

12%

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	2

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	40
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	40

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?

If I segment it into three points: low price, average, and high price, I would place Microsoft Exchange Online between average and high price.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online?

I see no disadvantages currently. From the admin perspective, whenever an admin wants to get the email backup for a particular employee, there are a few challenges in terms of the role assignment o...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Exchange vs KerioConnect

Compared 53% of the time

Zimbra Collaboration vs KerioConnect

Compared 26% of the time

IceWarp vs KerioConnect

Compared 10% of the time

Google Workspace vs KerioConnect

Compared 5% of the time

More KerioConnect Competitors

Google Workspace vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 41% of the time

Open-Xchange vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 13% 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

HCL Notes vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 2% of the time

More Microsoft Exchange Online Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect

September 2025

Download KerioConnect product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange Online

September 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

September 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: September 2025.

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