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Microsoft Exchange vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 2, 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)
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 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 Zimbra Collaboration is 7.1%, down from 9.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Exchange10.6%
Zimbra Collaboration7.1%
Other82.3%
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

"I find Exchange's basic mail features to be highly valuable."
"With the cloud coming in, scalability is not an issue even for Microsoft."
"Microsoft Exchange is a user-friendly and easy-to-deploy solution, which is beneficial for handling emails even without professional support."
"It is a very scalable solution."
"The backup and archiving features are valuable, it is user friendly too."
"The best features are that Exchange is very customer-friendly, its interface is self-explanatory, it doesn't hang, and it keeps evolving."
"Microsoft has a very good support team."
"Our customers are satisfied with the features included in Microsoft Exchange."
"Zimbra Collaboration is a good tool for video calls...Zimbra Collaboration's initial setup phase was easy."
"The most valuable feature of Zimbra Collaboration is email functionality."
"One of the premium features was customized rooms tailored to the collaboration needs. Many of the clients customize features such as organization logos and scanners."
"Zimbra Collaboration has a good web interface."
"One of the most valuable features involves the solution's automatic backup, which I find to be pretty simple and straightforward, and obviates the need for additional software."
"The web interface is powerful and easy to use."
"The Zimbra Collaboration's most valuable feature is web access."
"Zimbra Collaboration's best feature is its compatibility with Microsoft's ActiveSync protocol, which allows users to use Outlook on Windows or MacOS."
 

Cons

"From a security point of view, Microsoft should enhance the new features. Technical support could also be better."
"Microsoft could make it easier to combine comments in the GUI. It isn't easy to do certain things in Exchange, primarily if the administrator isn't used to the command line, so I think the customer interface could be improved."
"Microsoft Exchange needs to improve how it handles and assigns policy and security."
"The solution's hybrid deployment process could be improved, particularly for customers who initially started in the cloud and may want to return to an on-premises setup. Microsoft could make this transition more flexible."
"Microsoft Exchange's customer support could be faster and more knowledgeable."
"One thing for improvement would be to have an offline version of Exchange available for use if our connection goes down."
"They could continue to improve the consolidation and integration of mailbox services to make them more flexible, easier to deploy, and more manageable."
"The solution could be more user-friendly."
"Zimbra Collaboration's video conferencing could be improved."
"The installation is not straightforward, it can take two days for the full implementation."
"I can confidently say that Zimbra is good enough for 2,000 client users. But, at the same time, if my client needs more than that and we have two options—Zimbra or Microsoft—I'm going with Microsoft because many admins will speak to Microsoft's ability to handle that many."
"It does have a few bugs."
"File sharing permissions with Nextcloud integration need improvement."
"The product must be more customizable."
"Zimbra Collaboration could improve the migration from a basic solution to a more containerized solution. For example, the installation should be able to extend to the containers and manage them with some solution, such as OpenShift or Kubernetes."
"The support was lacking in my experience. However, recently the support I received was good. Perhaps they have improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Exchange is an inexpensive application."
"They are flexible when it comes to pricing, unlike most of the other vendors I have dealt with."
"Its price is fair."
"We pay for the license annually."
"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."
"The product pricing is reasonable if you utilize its full suite of features."
"The product is quite cheap."
"There is an annual cost to use Microsoft Exchange, and the price could be less expensive."
"The solution is not expensive compared to other products."
"There is an annual standard licensing fee to use Zimbra Collaboration and there is no other cost."
"We do not pay for licenses to use this solution."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the price a four"
"The solution is competitively priced."
"We pay yearly licenses for Zimbra Collaboration."
"I use Zimbra Collaboration's community version. We may move to the enterprise version since prices are affordable."
"The price of the solution is low."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Government
9%
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 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?
I am aware of pricing aspects, and I would say it is affordable for what it is.
What do you like most about Zimbra Collaboration?
The most valuable feature of Zimbra for our team's productivity is its efficiency in handling email communication.
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...
 

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: December 2025.
881,036 professionals have used our research since 2012.