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 10.6% mindshare in EA, compared to Proton Technologies’s 7.4% 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

3,412 Views
2,832 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

ProtonMail

Read 2 ProtonMail reviews

1,310 Views
1,310 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: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange vs. ProtonMail

December 2025

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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 January 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 10.6%, down from 11.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ProtonMail is 7.4%, up from 3.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Applications Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Exchange	10.6%
ProtonMail	7.4%
Other	82.0%

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

"Exchange's interface is good. All of our engineers like it and are accustomed to using it."

"I like the logistics and the Microsoft protocol of reaching Outlook anywhere."

"The email management system is very easy to set up, configure, and use."

"Internal communication stability within Exchange is ensured by the stability of the internal network which is guaranteed by default."

"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"Exchange's best feature is single sign-on access using the Microsoft Identity framework."

"One of the most valuable features of Microsoft Exchange is its security."

"The most used feature of Microsoft Exchange is the email capability, especially since it integrates with the calendar."

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

"Microsoft Exchange could improve by adding artificial intelligence."

"One thing for improvement would be to have an offline version of Exchange available for use if our connection goes down."

"The price of Microsoft Exchange could improve, it is priced high."

"If it was the same product, and slightly cheaper, that would be amazing."

"The solution could be more user-friendly."

"In terms of Microsoft Exchange, I think maybe what can be done is to make it more user-friendly."

"The security features could be improved. There should be a better policy management system."

"Microsoft Exchange and other Microsoft solutions like Office 365 need to provide more detailed information for customers regarding the features and functionalities included in their plans, as some features are only available at an additional cost."

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

"Since my company is on Microsoft Cloud, we pay for the licenses per user. Compared to volume licensing, I would say the present licensing cost is not expensive."

"The price of Microsoft Exchange could improve. In Egypt, the price keeps increasing."

"I rate Microsoft Exchange a four out of ten for pricing because it is quite cheap, and many companies use the solution."

"The pricing is expensive."

"It's a little bit expensive."

"We renew the product license with Microsoft every three years. The cost is included within a bundle of services. It's an enterprise agreement with Microsoft."

"We are currently using enterprise licenses for the solution. They are different pricing models available. There are individual, cloud-based, and enterprise licenses all with different pricing models. The larger the number of users, the lesser the price. For small to medium companies like us, we feel it is expensive."

"Exchange is better for medium to large businesses because it can be quite costly for SMB, which may not need all the options the product provides."

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

20%

Computer Software Company

Educational Organization

Outsourcing Company

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?

Microsoft Exchange is costly, and its licensing model can be expensive over time as more users require licenses.

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

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KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange

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Zimbra Collaboration vs Microsoft Exchange

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HCL Domino vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 9% of the time

HCL Notes vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 6% of the time

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Zoho Mail vs ProtonMail

Compared 16% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs ProtonMail

Compared 9% of the time

Superhuman vs ProtonMail

Compared 6% 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

December 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Exchange vs. ProtonMail

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Exchange vs. ProtonMail and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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