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Kiteworks vs Microsoft 365 Business comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 29, 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

Kiteworks
Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Content Management (16th), Email Security (26th), Managed File Transfer (MFT) (7th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (9th)
Microsoft 365 Business
Ranking in Content Collaboration Platforms
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
250
Ranking in other categories
Mobile Device Management (MDM) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Content Collaboration Platforms category, the mindshare of Kiteworks is 2.5%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft 365 Business is 2.5%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Content Collaboration Platforms Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft 365 Business2.5%
Kiteworks2.5%
Other95.0%
Content Collaboration Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

KT
Associate Consultant at a tech consulting company with 10,001+ employees
Streamlined global file sharing with user-friendly interface and self-service capabilities
I'm not a network expert, however, there must be some room for improvement. Perhaps there could be a notification to users about their bandwidth or network packet loss. If users receive such notifications, they can understand any disruptions are due to issues with their network or bandwidth rather than the site or Kiteworks. Additionally, I work from offshore India, and I told my client manager to communicate with the Kiteworks forum salesman regarding one feature. I noticed the Kiteworks login UI is very basic, lacking customization. Allowing more HTML tags to add hyperlinks or user-friendly information on the home page would be very useful.
Hemanthreddy Vakiti - PeerSpot reviewer
Data engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Collaborating securely across project teams has improved communication and streamlined workflows
In my view, Microsoft 365 Business has all the features, but there are some areas for improvement. One area is that the licensing structure can be confusing, especially with the different plans, so understanding each plan is somewhat difficult. When using large Excel files, such as extracting data from an SQL query and pasting it into Excel, it sometimes encounters performance issues when dealing with large files. Integration with non-Microsoft tools is sometimes limited; however, integration within the Microsoft tools is very good. It would be useful if it were possible to integrate with other tools outside of Microsoft. Managing permissions and access in SharePoint and Teams can be complex for new users, but once they become familiar with the tool, they can manage it easily. The security and permissions for new users in SharePoint and Teams can be made more intuitive for them. Additionally, the pricing structure, which involves explaining different plans, could be clearer to help users easily choose the plan they need. Improving performance when working on large Excel files would also be beneficial.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most useful feature of this solution is to share files with external parties and we can use this functionality to share files internally too."
"We can see when people are sending things. We can definitely see who is sending to whom. From the administrative logs, we can see who is sending to an outside entity, and those logs are retained for quite a while."
"The solution removes the limitations with file attachment size that is found with regular email."
"The top two features are the two-factor authentication, which is pretty good. It's easily understood by the users. And their API is rather robust. We have numerous integrations that work off the API."
"The most valuable aspect of Kiteworks is undoubtedly the private content network. This feature is particularly beneficial for us. Furthermore, it serves as a centralized platform that enables us to track and manage our information exchange."
"I can identify from which region our users are uploading or downloading files."
"Kiteworks is easy to manage and maintain with a user-friendly interface and I recommend it to anyone that requires a file-sharing system that supports SFTP."
"Scalability is impressive."
"The software can be used on any device or any form which is a really big benefit."
"We save significant time and cost and improve quality and capacity."
"Teams is the most valuable feature of 365 and I also appreciate that the solution is able to provide many different features such as cloud, OneDrive, Office, emails, etc."
"Microsoft 365 Business has been incredibly useful during this period because of the integration of Teams with Outlook and the ability to store and handle files of large dimensions."
"Mobile access to SharePoint in Microsoft 365 Business saves a lot of time because it does not require physical presence, enabling everyone from various distances to access, save, and read all the manuals, which greatly increases efficiency in our business."
"I don't have any issues with Microsoft 365 Business, it's a good tool."
"It's simple and easy to use."
"It has file storage, file sharing, a provisioning box, and a SharePoint profile for each user."
 

Cons

"The system is extremely stable, but because it is a "COTS" system access is restricted and you must use the solution's support to make even simple changes, which increases the downtime."
"There is no offboarding process for end-users in Kiteworks. It's a manual process. There is no automated syncing with LDAP and checking to see if the account is still active. It's a manual process to get people out of here, which isn't the best way."
"The one feature, which I have also requested directly to Kiteworks, is to have a scheduled upgrade function. Currently, one of my engineers logs in after hours for the upgrade. We're a hospital, and we're 24/7, but the primary users are seven to five. So, we log in the early evening just to push a button to tell it to do the update. It would be nice if that could be very easily scheduled."
"I noticed the Kiteworks login UI is very basic, lacking customization. Allowing more HTML tags to add hyperlinks or user-friendly information on the home page would be very useful."
"It could be more stable. In the next release, it would be better if it was more stable with improved performance."
"In my experience, their technical support can be a little slow."
"We have experienced a few hiccups and bugs when using the admin console and from a user perspective."
"There is one particular thing that is a nuisance."
"They should improve the screen sharing feature in Microsoft Teams."
"It would be ideal if the product offered more integration capabilities with non-Microsoft solutions."
"If Business 365's documentation were better, then the user could read it and fix their issues by themselves. Microsoft could also add some more detailed pop-up troubleshooting messages. When a user has a problem, the messages they get don't help much."
"The technical support needs to improve, I have had bad experiences."
"The solution could integrate better with other products such as Skype and Zoom, at the moment it slows down the computer."
"Teams is, in some respects, lagging behind Skype for Business in some telephone-related features."
"At this point, I cannot say if there has been an advantage to changing."
"Sometimes we feel that it is a little bit slow to connect to the public cloud."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license management is changing and confusing. If I could make one change to it, it would be better license management through the API."
"The price of Kiteworks is reasonable."
"The solution is very expensive because we are buying with Malaysian Ringgit and it's sold in US dollars."
"It is not really expensive. I mean, to me it's obviously expensive, but it's worth it."
"I believe it's a little costly, but given the faith that we put into it from a security perspective to maintain the integrity of our patient information that is being transferred through this system, that's a small price to pay. So, on the surface, it might look like a lot of money, but depending on the need for security, which is where we feel it shines, it's okay price-wise."
"They changed it midstream. We were being charged a certain flat rate for SFTP traffic. For whatever reason, at the beginning of the year, our pricing changed, and we are now being charged more for using a feature of the product than we were when we first bought it. That has been our experience with billing. It turned out to be more expensive than when we started with it."
"Compared to buying a license, it is much cheaper and a good buy."
"They are always a bit pricey. They should reduce their prices or make it free because we already have other solutions, like Google Suite, which are cheaper or free."
"The solution costs approximately $20 per month per user."
"It's pretty difficult to make a cost estimation, in cases where we need additional features."
"It is not so expensive."
"Microsoft 365 Business is expensive."
"The price could be cheaper. We have a yearly license."
"The price of this solution is expensive and the price could be reduced. The licensing cost is very high because we are using an E5 license for Microsoft."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
15%
Marketing Services Firm
13%
Performing Arts
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business114
Midsize Enterprise44
Large Enterprise101
 

Questions from the Community

What is Kiteworks?
Kiteworks is a secured file sharing platform that enables users to collaborate with different parties across a robust offering of secured protected channels. Users have the option of virtual privat...
What needs improvement with Kiteworks?
I'm not a network expert, however, there must be some room for improvement. Perhaps there could be a notification to users about their bandwidth or network packet loss. If users receive such notifi...
What advice do you have for others considering Kiteworks?
Scalability is impressive. It can be highly available, resilient, and scalable infrastructure. I can confidently give it a nine. It suits any level of organization, whether a small setup with two a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft 365 Business?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing shows that pricing is reasonable, but it depends on the plan, as some advanced security features require higher-tier licenses.
What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Business?
Microsoft 365 Business can be improved because sometimes the admin portal can be confusing, especially for a new user, and policies are spread across multiple dashboards. Better centralized visibil...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft 365 Business?
My main use case for Microsoft 365 Business is securing collaboration, email security, and identity management across the organization. A specific example of how I use Microsoft 365 Business for em...
 

Also Known As

Accellion
Microsoft 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft 365 F1, MS 365 Business
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

United States Securities and Exchange Commission, National Health Service, Husch Blackwell LLP, NYC Health + Hospitals, Viatris, MITRE Corporation, Chubb, Kraft Heinz, KPMG, Kohler, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Purdue Pharma, AVL
Urban Agriculture Co., The Detroit Wallpaper Co., TransBlue Facility Management, Garner Food Company
Find out what your peers are saying about Kiteworks vs. Microsoft 365 Business and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.