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Microsoft Exchange vs Zarafa comparison

 

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
Ranking in Email Applications
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
95
Ranking in other categories
Wireless Email (2nd)
Zarafa
Ranking in Email Applications
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.5
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 7.6%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zarafa is 1.7%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Exchange7.6%
Zarafa1.7%
Other90.7%
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

AS
Bookkeeper at FCA - Victoria Point
Reliable email service has supported consistent communication and improved user training
I do use Cisco Secure Email, Grafis, and Proofpoint Email Protection when needed, but we were using Proofpoint before, and we are no longer using it. I am currently using Microsoft Exchange as our email solution. We are a client of Microsoft; there is no partnership between my company and Microsoft. My experience with Microsoft Exchange is as good as the generic email. I do not use Microsoft Exchange to synchronize emails across devices, and it is not part of my workflow. The protocols I mostly use with Microsoft Exchange for integration are SMTP. I do not use the shared calendars feature in Microsoft Exchange. Data loss prevention is something we are not really using or utilizing at the moment. My overall review rating for Microsoft Exchange is 8.
it_user302112 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant IT Infrastructure at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
Our customers are able to use this groupware solution to connect to Active Directory and OpenLDAP, although Postgres support would be an improvement.
Zarafa has several very valuable features, among them a very good Outlook-like web interface. Furthermore, ZPush for talking between ActiveSync and mobile devices is a valuable asset. In addition, one is able to connect via Outlook and the exchange protocol to Zarafa. This makes Zarafa a free, and working, alternative to Microsoft Exchange.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's straightforward to set up."
"Communication is the most valuable feature of the solution."
"It gives me benefit in terms of integration with other services such as SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and OneDrive, and it makes my work much easier."
"This solution handles all of our primary functionality including email, message delivery, message archiving and calendars."
"I would highly recommend this solution to others and this is because of its stability, scalability, and reasonable pricing."
"The integration of Microsoft Exchange with other tools allows for seamless collaboration and increased productivity within teams."
"With the cloud coming in, scalability is not an issue even for Microsoft."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"This makes Zarafa a free, and working, alternative to Microsoft Exchange."
 

Cons

"Some users encounter stability issues. I connect with the support team through my local partner, which takes time."
"The security features could be improved. There should be a better policy management system."
"In terms of Microsoft Exchange, I think maybe what can be done is to make it more user-friendly."
"They could continue to improve the consolidation and integration of mailbox services to make them more flexible, easier to deploy, and more manageable."
"The price of Microsoft Exchange could improve, it is priced high."
"There can be occasional challenges during the product's implementation phase, making it an area where improvements are needed."
"The only thing that could be improved is the pricing."
"Microsoft Exchange is a little bit difficult. The challenge lies in the cloud implementation."
"Not really, although the Zarafa-index component was using a lot of memory and disk I/O bandwith."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"It is not expensive."
"Compared to the other options in the market, the licensing costs attached to Microsoft Exchange seem reasonable."
"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."
"Its price is very affordable, and basically, it is the standard of the industry. We have the Exchange 365 subscription, which includes the usage of Exchange Online. I don't know the specific cost, but it is the retail price of Microsoft 365 E3 licenses. Microsoft's licensing is not very easy to understand. Microsoft changes rules every other day, which makes it difficult for us to understand the licensing not only for Exchange but also for other products. It can sometimes be really complex to understand what you need to have in order to comply with Microsoft licensing."
"The solution is expensive to maintain because it requires frequent updates and ongoing server maintenance."
"We can get Exchange in the cloud along with the Microsoft 365 license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business42
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise35
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 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.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange?
I see some drawbacks and areas for improvement; the quarantining is not fantastic. I think the quarantining is not fantastic because it lets a lot of spam through, and when it is notified of spam, ...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

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
Tivoli, InterAkt Contour, Riagg Rijnmond, Lammerink, Revell, KMP, International School of the Hague
Find out what your peers are saying about Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others in Email Applications. Updated: August 2026.
909,701 professionals have used our research since 2012.