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Microsoft Exchange Online vs Zimbra Cloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
7.4
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zimbra Cloud
Ranking in Email Applications
16th
Average Rating
4.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.7
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 13.8%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zimbra Cloud is 0.3%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

NancyHartman - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
OmarOrta - PeerSpot reviewer
Quick solution, but not very user-friendly or suitable for collaboration
It's not a good solution for collaboration. We're using it because of the price. It's not very strong or comparable with Office 365. An additional feature I would like to see is the ability to connect from different devices. Zimbra could be more user-friendly and deploy security rules. The integration with Outlook could be better to share agendas.

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 feature of Microsoft Exchange Online is if you have people that are geographically distributed from each other is good. For example, if you have people in the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia, having an online solution works best because then you can reach the scale of the data centers that are available by Microsoft. Additionally, if you're only going to have two to three people using the solution the cost is a lot less than having an onsite server and licensing. It is highly beneficial in these areas."
"It's not hard to set up."
"The data prevention and protection feature is good."
"A good investment."
"It allows us to work from home, at any time or anywhere."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange Online is its ease of use."
"The solution is stable."
"I have found the interface to be user-friendly and the overall simplicity valuable features."
"It's a fast solution."
 

Cons

"I would like to make the solution more user-friendly."
"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."
"From an IT perspective, we need clearer documentation to understand the product’s configuration process."
"Functionality wise, I can't really say it's improved from Exchange Online, I think it's not so much change on-premise. It's about the same. Other than that, it's the extra features that make a difference, really"
"The solution’s pricing could be better."
"We use different software for email spoofing filters and similar functions because Exchange is quite limited in this area."
"It should integrate better with social media formats."
"The solution could improve by making the user interface better."
"It's not a good solution for collaboration. We're using it because of the price. It's not very strong or comparable with Office 365."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Exchange Online is too expensive."
"There is a license required for the solution and it is paid annually."
"The solution costs $12 to $16 per user per month."
"Microsoft Exchange Online is an affordable solution."
"The price of Microsoft Exchange Online security could improve. The overall price of the solution is reasonable."
"We have yearly licensing costs."
"There is a license for Microsoft Exchange Online and I have information on that, but there have been so many changes to the licensing and it's a completely different story nowadays. Microsoft has been pushing users to buy a package of products under one license. Users are becoming more dependent on Microsoft rather than independent, that you can't decide anymore, and from my point of view, that is bad."
"The costs of this platform vary based on subscriptions, but it is generally reasonable."
"It's an open-source solution so it's free."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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...
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.
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...
Ask a question
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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
Information Not Available
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