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Microsoft Exchange Online vs Zarafa comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 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

Microsoft Exchange Online
Ranking in Email Applications
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
93
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zarafa
Ranking in Email Applications
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.5
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 9.3%, down from 13.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zarafa is 1.7%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online9.3%
Zarafa1.7%
Other89.0%
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Yogesh Autade - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Security Engineer at Softcell Technologies Limited
Integrated email security has improved phishing response and provides better threat visibility
Microsoft Exchange Online could be improved with more intuitive administration workflows, better troubleshooting visibility, and simpler mail flow analysis for complex environments. We would also appreciate more granular reporting, faster access to detailed message tracking data, and improved alerting around suspicious mailbox activity to help security and messaging teams investigate issues more efficiently. One area where Microsoft Exchange Online could improve is the administrative user experience. Some advanced mail flow, compliance, and troubleshooting tasks still require navigating multiple Microsoft portals. A more unified management interface and deeper integration visibility across Exchange, Defender, and Microsoft 365 security tools would make day-to-day operations more efficient for administrators and SOC teams.
it_user302112 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant IT Infrastructure at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
Our customers are able to use this groupware solution to connect to Active Directory and OpenLDAP, although Postgres support would be an improvement.
Zarafa has several very valuable features, among them a very good Outlook-like web interface. Furthermore, ZPush for talking between ActiveSync and mobile devices is a valuable asset. In addition, one is able to connect via Outlook and the exchange protocol to Zarafa. This makes Zarafa a free, and working, alternative to Microsoft Exchange.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup is straightforward and easy to configure."
"The features and flexibility in Microsoft Exchange Online cannot be found in any other email solutions—everything we need is there, and we do not have any complaints about it."
"The uptime and stability is far better than any on-prem or hosted solution I have used in the past."
"Exchange Online's most valuable features are two-step verification and security."
"With the Exchange Server, there is a lot of capability for version controlling."
"Microsoft Exchange Online is a stable product."
"Microsoft Exchange Online has great functionality."
"Microsoft Exchange Online's resiliency is its most valuable feature."
"This makes Zarafa a free, and working, alternative to Microsoft Exchange."
 

Cons

"Microsoft Exchange Online support can be optimized further. They should put some more efficient technical engineers to support end customers."
"Despite being a Microsoft-certified trainer, I am lacking some information."
"For non-technical people, some configurations might be a little bit difficult."
"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."
"Encourages endless inefficient communications. Do not recommend it for companies that are trying to create efficient decision making processes and agile movement."
"Documentation is lacking."
"The UI could be improved to look more like the desktop version for ease of use."
"Microsoft Exchange Online could improve the overall protection of the solution."
"Not really, although the Zarafa-index component was using a lot of memory and disk I/O bandwith."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license for the solution is cheap, but it could be more affordable in the long term."
"We have yearly licensing costs."
"There is a license required for the solution and it is paid annually."
"The price of Microsoft Exchange Online security could improve. The overall price of the solution is reasonable."
"The cost is around $12 to $16 per user."
"The price of the license depends on a lot of factors, such as the number of licenses and company specifics."
"We bought some licenses, and some are within our package or partnership with Microsoft."
"I think that the price is a little high, especially considering that Google have a similar, free email solution."
Information not available
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902,894 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise41
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online?
Microsoft Exchange Online could be improved with more intuitive administration workflows, better troubleshooting visibility, and simpler mail flow analysis for complex environments. We would also a...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Exchange Online?
Microsoft Exchange Online serves as our enterprise email hosting platform, providing secure mail flow management and centralized messaging services for users across multiple locations. From a secur...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

Exchange Online, Exchange Online Plan 1, Exchange Online Plan 2, MS Exchange Online
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Blue Star Infotech, Scitec Nutrition, Resolution Films, British Airways, Empire Cinemas, InnoGames
Tivoli, InterAkt Contour, Riagg Rijnmond, Lammerink, Revell, KMP, International School of the Hague
Find out what your peers are saying about Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others in Email Applications. Updated: June 2026.
902,894 professionals have used our research since 2012.