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Microsoft Exchange vs ProtonMail 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
Ranking in Email Applications
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
92
Ranking in other categories
Wireless Email (1st), File Archiving (3rd)
ProtonMail
Ranking in Email Applications
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
2
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 is 11.3%, down from 12.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ProtonMail is 5.9%, up from 3.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Harry Murdani - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps with email services and communication with internal and external contacts
Everything is useful. The only useful thing Microsoft Exchange could do is give us more of a discount on pricing because it's so expensive. Regarding the calendaring functions of Exchange, there is a problem when scheduling an event for the whole day. When you click the whole day event, the scheduling doesn't really work. For example, if I schedule a meeting with you and block your whole day, instead of just putting a time from morning to afternoon, other people can still block your time, which results in double booking. It's kind of a bug that allows people to double-book. So, the scheduling isn't working properly yet. We also faced challenges with backup services. You need to use a third-party backup solution to back up the whole Exchange server properly. You can't use the native Windows backup services. It's like they're forcing me to buy another product, which means additional costs. The backup solution and the double booking issues. If Microsoft Exchange can fix these two things, then it will be very good.
Secure email communication facilitates safe financial exchanges and enhances data privacy
I use ProtonMail for exchanging invoicing with clients, managing financial information, and receiving notifications from bank accounts and investment brokers. It's dedicated to high-importance communication involving financial information The auto encryption of attachments is valuable. ProtonMail…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The availability group settings are better, so it has inherent scalability. In 2010, they added several sensible rules."
"Microsoft has a very good support team."
"All features are useful; they meet the purpose of an email server."
"The most valuable features are that you can exchange information, tasks, attachments, and enhance the process in a short amount of time."
"Communication is the most valuable feature of the solution."
"It's user-friendly."
"On-premises Microsoft Exchange is good because it protects data privacy."
"The deployment is a plug-and-play process."
"The auto encryption of attachments is valuable."
"What I appreciate most about ProtonMail is that they are trusted, which is why I choose them."
 

Cons

"Microsoft needs to make some modifications to meet the current needs of the environment. For example, they need to add more cell service features because people work from home during the pandemic, and certain elements should be available as a mobile service."
"Nothing is perfect, that's why I am giving Microsoft Exchange a nine."
"Load balancing is lacking."
"Microsoft Exchange could improve security. They can elevate a lot of security features."
"I think that improvements should be made in creating greater abilities for Microsoft Exchange in terms of Reasearch and Development."
"More AI features would be good."
"The solution should be easier to deploy."
"Microsoft Exchange could improve the price."
"One improvement could be the integration between ProtonMail and Proton Pass, allowing sharing of specific secrets via email."
"I think it is good but I feel that only tech-savvy people use ProtonMail. It is not that popular among other people."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's pricing is fine...I do think the tool offers value for money."
"Its price is okay."
"I rate Microsoft Exchange a four out of ten for pricing because it is quite cheap, and many companies use the solution."
"The product pricing is reasonable if you utilize its full suite of features."
"The price of Microsoft Exchange could improve. In Egypt, the price keeps increasing."
"There is an annual cost to use Microsoft Exchange, and the price could be less expensive."
"There are different prices depending on the customer's use cases and amount of users. The price of the solution could improve."
"It would be nice if it used less resources to run on-premise."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
12%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Media Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange?
The initial setup was straightforward and fast.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange?
Microsoft Exchange is costly, and its licensing model can be expensive over time as more users require licenses.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ProtonMail?
The pricing is competitive, offering good value on the average plan. It’s approximately $100 for annual billing.
What needs improvement with ProtonMail?
The UI was previously cumbersome, however, it has improved. One improvement could be the integration between ProtonMail and Proton Pass, allowing sharing of specific secrets via email. However, thi...
What is your primary use case for ProtonMail?
I use ProtonMail for exchanging invoicing with clients, managing financial information, and receiving notifications from bank accounts and investment brokers. It's dedicated to high-importance comm...
 

Also Known As

Exchange, MS Exchange
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Scitec Nutrition, British Airways, InnoGames, Osteology Foundation, Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH, NTC Contracting
Wall street journal,The New york times, The Gurdian, Forbes, Fox News
Find out what your peers are saying about Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others in Email Applications. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.