Microsoft Exchange vs ProtonMail comparison

Microsoft and Proton Technologies are both solutions in the Email Applications category. Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.9, while Proton Technologies is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.5. Microsoft holds a 10.2% mindshare in EA, compared to Proton Technologies’s 7.5% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 66% of Proton Technologies users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Exchange

Read 95 Microsoft Exchange reviews

3,631 Views
2,977 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

ProtonMail

Read 2 ProtonMail reviews

1,418 Views
1,418 Comparison Views

66% willing to recommend

Microsoft Exchange

ProtonMail

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Exchange and ProtonMail based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Email Applications solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Exchange vs. ProtonMail Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange vs. ProtonMail

February 2026

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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

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Wireless Email (2nd)

ProtonMail

Ranking in Email Applications

10th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 10.2%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ProtonMail is 7.5%, up from 3.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Applications Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Exchange	10.2%
ProtonMail	7.5%
Other	82.3%

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

SaqibJavaid

Manager IT Support at Naubahar Bottling Company (Pvt.) Ltd. Gujranwala Pakistan

Efficient email management with seamless integration

We previously used Microsoft Exchange but have moved to an MDN email solution due to cost and user growth Microsoft Exchange is a user-friendly and easy-to-deploy solution, which is beneficial for handling emails even without professional support. It is effective in managing email integration…

Read full review

reviewer68329471

Media Content Creator Intern

Trust and anonymity play a key role in secure communications

I am uncertain about the two-factor authentication feature. I have had integrations with other Proton services and have used Proton VPN once, though it has limited features. Simple Mail, which was acquired by ProtonMail, has been very useful for me. The pricing is moderate. I have not used any paid services from ProtonMail. It is not very costly, but I have not used any premium services. I am a customer of ProtonMail. I would rate ProtonMail an eight out of ten due to their transparency and the utility of their simple login feature. My job and company name should remain hidden.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"All features are useful; they meet the purpose of an email server."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange is its ease of use."

"Exchange is easy to use. It also has a built-in calendar for all the stuff I'm supposed to be looking at and doing. Exchange tells you if you have a doctor's appointment or a scheduled call. It also has a place to store and manage your contacts. If I want to add a new contact, it will put in information about that contact stored anywhere within the Microsoft Suite."

"Microsoft Exchange is comparable to the Outlook client. Both are Microsoft products, and most people are familiar with Outlook. This is why the best feature of Microsoft Exchange is the ease of use. It is more compatible with the client software, especially for Microsoft Outlook. There are a lot of features available that are required for businesses users."

"The platform's most valuable feature is the mailbox roles."

"We've been using Exchange as an email platform. Our clients require multi-country, multi-regional email collaboration with controlled mail flow. The most valuable feature is the capability of message tracking and the protection of user data."

"Microsoft Exchange is highly stable for the end-user systems. When we move to Office 365, it will be even more stable even. There's less administration required and it's very robust. We are really quite happy in using that."

"It is easy to set up."

More Microsoft Exchange pros

"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

"There can be occasional challenges during the product's implementation phase, making it an area where improvements are needed."

"An improvement would be to combine Exchange and Teams so that emails, calls, and chats can be integrated into one window."

"Sometimes the client part generates some trouble. It can be very slow, though this might be related to our company's installation and configuration rather than the product itself."

"I don't have the best impression of customer service and support. It should be faster and more clear, and more human. T"

"The calendar integration in Exchange is not that great. The email features are okay, but it doesn't integrate well with the calendar and appointments, especially Zoom appointments. It integrates fine with Microsoft Teams, but Zoom is a challenge."

"An area for improvement would be the convenience of working with Azure services from Exchange on-premise installations."

"The licensing model could be improved."

"More AI features would be good."

More Microsoft Exchange cons

"I think it is good but I feel that only tech-savvy people use ProtonMail. It is not that popular among other people."

"One improvement could be the integration between ProtonMail and Proton Pass, allowing sharing of specific secrets via email."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is quite cheap."

"Microsoft's licensing structure is too complex, but its prices are affordable, though not cheap."

"It's working very well. There is no problem, but the price is not the best."

"Compared to the other options in the market, the licensing costs attached to Microsoft Exchange seem reasonable."

"I don't have enough information about the licensing costs of Microsoft Exchange, but I do know that you need two types of licenses to run it. You need the product key and the client access key to activate Microsoft Exchange. This means that apart from the standard Microsoft Exchange licensing fees, you have to pay additional costs."

"Microsoft Exchange is a very well-priced solution."

"The price of Microsoft Exchange is reasonable."

"The platform has a reasonable price."

More Microsoft Exchange pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Comms Service Provider

23%

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	41
Midsize Enterprise	28
Large Enterprise	35

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...

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What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange?

The initial setup was straightforward and fast.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange?

I am aware of pricing aspects, and I would say it is affordable for what it is.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with ProtonMail?

In terms of what can be improved in ProtonMail, I think it is good but I feel that only tech-savvy people use ProtonMail. It is not that popular among other people. Therefore, we do not use it for ...

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What is your primary use case for ProtonMail?

My use cases include using ProtonMail for Drive occasionally for storing files. After some time, I stopped using that feature. Primarily, I use it for sending emails when I want to maintain anonymi...

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Comparisons

Open-Xchange vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 21% of the time

Zimbra Collaboration vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 13% of the time

KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 12% of the time

HCL Domino vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 6% of the time

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Google Workspace vs ProtonMail

Compared 27% of the time

Atomic Mail vs ProtonMail

Compared 19% of the time

Zoho Mail vs ProtonMail

Compared 15% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs ProtonMail

Compared 9% of the time

Superhuman vs ProtonMail

Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange

January 2026

Download Microsoft Exchange product report

Buyer's Guide

Email Applications

January 2026

Download ProtonMail product report

Also Known As

Exchange, MS Exchange

No data available

Overview

Built to deliver the enterprise-grade security and reliability that businesses require, Microsoft Exchange provides email, calendar and contacts on your PC, phone and web browser.

Microsoft

ProtonMail is the world‘s largest encrypted email provider, with over 11 million users trusting us to secure their data every day. We are the email service of choice for security-conscious enterprises.

Proton Technologies

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

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange vs. ProtonMail

February 2026

Free Report: Microsoft Exchange vs. ProtonMail

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Exchange vs. ProtonMail and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.

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