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Microsoft Exchange vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

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)
Zimbra Collaboration
Ranking in Email Applications
6th
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 April 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 9.2%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zimbra Collaboration is 6.8%, down from 9.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Exchange9.2%
Zimbra Collaboration6.8%
Other84.0%
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

SJ
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…
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

"Exchange is a robust system that is well suited for an enterprise environment."
"The technical support services are good."
"It has a feature that allows you to retain an email and recover it as an administrator. When you activate this feature, even if a user deletes an email, the email is still in the system, and we can retrieve it as an administrator. It is a very useful function. We turn this feature on for some of the mailboxes because we need to keep all the records. I like the way emails are classified in this solution. It makes it really easy to take a look at the most important messages. This is a really good functionality. Some of the emails directly exchanged with you are marked as important and shown in one tab, and everything else is in another tab. We usually don't have any issue with Exchange. It can be integrated with different solutions."
"The backup and archiving features are valuable, it is user friendly too."
"Exchange has helped us with encryption."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange is the collaboration tools."
"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, tells you if you have a doctor's appointment or a scheduled call, and has a place to store and manage your contacts, automatically filling in information about a new contact stored anywhere within the Microsoft Suite."
"The most valuable features are that you can exchange information, tasks, attachments, and enhance the process in a short amount of time."
"Zimbra Collaboration has integrated a lot of their party tools and they have good documentation available."
"The Zimbra Collaboration's most valuable feature is web access."
"A lot of other products like Microsoft Exchange offer email or collaboration features, but they are not as fast as Zimbra."
"This is a good email solution and it's open-source which is great and the most important feature for us."
"The configuration is simple."
"For an SMB, it is a recommendable email solution."
"Network NG Modules are valuable to us."
"It has all collaboration features, such as document sharing, video conferencing, chatting, task sharing, and calendar sharing."
 

Cons

"There are issues when you add your domain to Microsoft Tenant, and you try to create that. Which is a problem for me."
"I would like to see the search capability of the Outlook client improved"
"I would like to see Microsoft Exchange improve their documentation."
"Exchange can be a little finicky, sometimes, or flakey."
"Microsoft Exchange could improve the archiving of emails and the performance."
"In our current situation, the disappearance of sanctions would be a tangible improvement. We are basically cut off from technical support and it's very difficult to obtain any updates."
"In terms of Microsoft Exchange, I think maybe what can be done is to make it more user-friendly."
"One thing for improvement would be to have an offline version of Exchange available for use if our connection goes down."
"There are some security issues."
"The support was lacking in my experience. However, recently the support I received was good. Perhaps they have improved."
"The installation is not straightforward, it can take two days for the full implementation."
"We had a couple of issues with stability, but nothing that I couldn't work around or fix myself. Zimbra is a powerful product, but since VMware bought it, changes and bug fixes have been very slow in coming."
"File sharing permissions with Nextcloud integration need improvement."
"Server deployment and the GUI for emails should be better."
"It would be great if a group chat feature were created to allow for a team environment."
"In the next release, Zimbra Collaboration should include a security feature to allow access for mobile device administrators."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Microsoft Exchange could improve. In Egypt, the price keeps increasing."
"Licensing fees are paid monthly."
"Its price is fair."
"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."
"Microsoft Exchange is a very well-priced solution."
"The product pricing is reasonable if you utilize its full suite of features."
"Its price is okay."
"The price of Microsoft Exchange is reasonable."
"There is an annual standard licensing fee to use Zimbra Collaboration and there is no other cost."
"We pay yearly licenses for Zimbra Collaboration."
"Zimbra Collaboration is less expensive than Microsoft Exchange. Zimbra works for small companies because it is not expensive. Zimbra Collaboration has more security tools than Microsoft Exchange. If you are choosing between Zimbra Collaboration and Microsoft Exchange, you have to take into account the cost of security tools with Microsoft Exchange. When you purchase Microsoft Exchange, you will also have to purchase tools for security, which adds to the cost. The migration from Zimbra Collaboration to another email solution is very simple and easy. Migration from Microsoft Exchange to another email solution is very difficult. Microsoft doesn't allow migration that easily. In fact, you have to pay for tools to do that. You have to buy some expensive tools to migrate."
"I use Zimbra Collaboration's community version. We may move to the enterprise version since prices are affordable."
"The solution is competitively priced."
"We are using perpetual licenses. We have deployed it in our local data center, and we buy perpetual licenses on a per-user basis."
"We do not pay for licenses to use this solution."
"Zimbra Collaboration offers a good price-to-feature ratio."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Construction Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise35
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
 

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, ...
What needs improvement with Zimbra Collaboration?
When it comes to administration tasks like configuring specific filters or group signatures, I have to dig into the configuration since there's nothing in the graphical or web interface. The soluti...
What is your primary use case for Zimbra Collaboration?
Zimbra is a cheap and open-source tool. It provides security, which is crucial for user authentication and authorization. It also offers robust support options, including access to expert assistance.
 

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
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 vs. Zimbra Collaboration and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
889,855 professionals have used our research since 2012.