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Microsoft Exchange Online vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

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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
Zimbra Collaboration
Ranking in Email Applications
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 9.7%, down from 12.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zimbra Collaboration is 5.9%, down from 8.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online9.7%
Zimbra Collaboration5.9%
Other84.4%
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.
Muhammad Talha Baig - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Analyst and Associate Project Manager at SAMI Pharmaceuticals
One of the premium features was customized rooms tailored to the collaboration needs
Zimbra's strength lies in its individuality, and it should focus on leveraging its unique features rather than trying to emulate competitors. My organization has certified Zimbra technicians, so we believe we can utilize Zimbra certification. However, I was recently informed by Zimbra that no such certification exists. I have recently completed the test kit, and after the training, I will gain access to tickets. Therefore, if any clients are experiencing issues, we have a certified technical team available to provide support 24/7. This is how we can cater to our client's needs. I recommend Zimbra to small-scale and enterprise customers. Anyone, even those with 5 users, can opt for Zimbra. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

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 stable."
"It is for emails, and it seems to work okay."
"Microsoft Exchange Online is an easy-to-use solution."
"The stability has increased exponentially since 2010 and the reliability factor is high."
"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."
"Exchange Online plays a significant role in our business; it controls all our emails, so we'd be in a lot of trouble if we didn't have that, and it's an essential product."
"The most valuable feature is the cloud environment."
"Exchange Online doesn't just do email, it allows for collaboration with inbuilt chat and calling facilities and document sharing."
"The product is easy to set up."
"The backup and storage management features of Zimbra Collaboration are valuable."
"For an SMB, it is a recommendable email solution."
"One of the premium features was customized rooms tailored to the collaboration needs. Many of the clients customize features such as organization logos and scanners."
"The product is very stable."
"The pricing of the solution is excellent; it's a newer solution with a modern interface and dashboard, the interface itself is very responsive and easy to navigate, the initial setup is very simple and straightforward, the stability is good and keeps getting better with each new update, and the solution really does scale very easily."
"Premium features, such as auto discovery and archiving, mobile management and HSM, make life much easier."
"For a small company, Zimbra Collaboration is good because it is simple, inexpensive, and not very difficult to deploy."
 

Cons

"I don't like it in general. It sort of has that Microsoft flavor to it, which is just the style they use and the way they color things and lay them out."
"The pricing could be a bit lower."
"The solution is expensive."
"What I don't like about Microsoft Exchange Online is too much integration because now it has many services connected to it."
"Storage capacity updates."
"It will be much better if the tool is integrated with OpenAI."
"Tech support is a challenge at times. They take a long time to respond."
"In the past, we had issues with DB in mailboxes."
"The support was lacking in my experience."
"The solution could improve by making it easier to use."
"The installation is not straightforward, it can take two days for the full implementation."
"The new patches are, at times, not so good, so we don't install them, causing the tool to be not so stable overall."
"There can be difficulties resolving problems on the server side when problems arise."
"I would like to see a Microsoft schedule function added."
"File sharing permissions with Nextcloud integration need improvement."
"It would be great if a group chat feature were created to allow for a team environment."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is an expensive solution."
"I have no opinion."
"The cost of Microsoft Exchange Online is approximately $4 to $36 per user. They do not give a discount which is not good. The solution is expensive if you have 800 to 1,000 users. They should give discounts when you have a lot of users."
"Our organization pays for a corporate license to use the solution."
"They have raised their prices, and obviously, it hits our customers. Some of them are deciding to step back from Office 365. For customers who have bought the annual subscription, they are moving to the monthly subscription."
"We have yearly licensing costs."
"I find it reasonably priced."
"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."
"When it comes to the licensing of Zimbra Collaboration, my license covers the servers and I find its terms to be much simpler than those of Microsoft Exchange."
"The price of the solution is low."
"I use Zimbra Collaboration's community version. We may move to the enterprise version since prices are affordable."
"The solution is competitively priced."
"Zimbra Collaboration offers a good price-to-feature ratio."
"The solution is not expensive compared to other products."
"There is an annual standard licensing fee to use Zimbra Collaboration and there is no other cost."
"Zimbra Collaboration is expensive, and there is no perpetual license option."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise41
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
 

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...
How does Zimbra Collaboration compare with Microsoft Exchange?
Zimbra is a free, open source collaborative software suite. The features I like best are the ease of integration and the email, calendar, and collaboration server with web interface. In addition, I...
 

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
NEC Biglobe, City of Ventura, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Hola Publishing, BIG, Sleepwell, LaFayette College, Xmission, DNA, Ring Line, Future Group, TIGC
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Exchange Online vs. Zimbra Collaboration and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.