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Microsoft Exchange vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Exchange
Ranking in Email Applications
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
87
Ranking in other categories
Wireless Email (1st), File Archiving (3rd)
Zimbra Collaboration
Ranking in Email Applications
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 11.7%, down from 14.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zimbra Collaboration is 9.5%, down from 13.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Dean Della Pella - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 27, 2024
Offers great reliability and good mobile access features
In my company, the product takes care of email communications as it handles all the emails and scheduling emails. Within the tool, the calendars are used extensively by our company and its customers. The tool has improved the areas revolving around calendars and scheduling tasks since it has helped in the unification of everyone working in the company under the same system. The most beneficial features of email management stem from the tool's ability to let its users combine the tasks and the calendar while also being able to organize emails. The security and compliance features have impacted our organization, and it has been extremely helpful since such functionalities are needed for compliance purposes. For the customers and my company, being secure and having control of the handling of emails is extremely important. The integration capabilities do not have a direct impact on the email portion of the product, but it does have the ability to set up meetings with the help of Microsoft Teams. The mobile access feature provided by the product helps our company in the area of productivity. I recommend the product to others who plan to use it. Based on the features and functionalities of the product, it would be beneficial to rule for any company where it is chosen. The product offers good functionalities and reliability. I rate the overall a nine out of ten.
Muhammad Talha Baig - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 17, 2024
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

"It is a very stable tool...It is a very scalable tool."
"The most valuable features of Microsoft Exchange are its ease of use, and simplicity of communication, and we can track communications between teams."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange is its ease of use."
"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."
"I find Exchange's basic mail features to be highly valuable."
"It's an excellent product from Microsoft. It provides more flexibility to the end-users. As it's connected with Teams, it also enables collaboration."
"It is easy to use and we can allow many users because now our users are scattered They over a wide area. We can use it from anywhere. That is the main benefit for us."
"One of the most valuable features of Microsoft Exchange is its security."
"The web interface is powerful and easy to use."
"The configuration is simple."
"A lot of other products like Microsoft Exchange offer email or collaboration features, but they are not as fast as Zimbra."
"The most valuable feature of Zimbra for our team's productivity is its efficiency in handling email communication."
"We can control all the data in my IT infrastructure."
"The logs, troubleshooting, and tracking we have found to be the most valuable features. We have any issues with lost messages the features are useful. It is very easy to track and log."
"Zimbra Collaboration's sharing features are most valuable."
"The most valuable feature of Zimbra Collaboration is email functionality."
 

Cons

"It is important to have the updated version for scalability."
"They keep making all these changes, and our system was down for four or five days. They finally got it up, but there are still lots of quirks."
"Microsoft Exchange could improve by adding artificial intelligence."
"They could offer simultaneous features for Exchange Online and on-premises versions. Specific features such as litigation hold and audit setups should be available on-premises."
"Microsoft Exchange could improve the price."
"Exchange took time to be deployed. It requires extensive configuration and setting up servers and managing internal network access."
"We would prefer to be able to manage the solution on the cloud."
"The solution should be easier to deploy."
"The installation is not straightforward, it can take two days for the full implementation."
"The antispam and antivirus features are hard to understand on mobile devices."
"Zimbra Collaboration does not have a solution roadmap as aggressive as the new collaboration mail solutions. Additionally, they can have a better interface and integration with single sign-on."
"We have had an issue with security."
"It does have a few bugs."
"In the next release, Zimbra Collaboration should include a security feature to allow access for mobile device administrators."
"File sharing permissions with Nextcloud integration need improvement."
"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."
 

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 platform has a reasonable price."
"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."
"Microsoft Exchange is a very well-priced solution."
"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."
"Microsoft Exchange is an inexpensive application."
"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."
"I rate Microsoft Exchange a four out of ten for pricing because it is quite cheap, and many companies use the solution."
"If you choose the network edition, it is a little pricier. They have the open-source edition too which is only community supported."
"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 not expensive compared to other products."
"We do not pay for licenses to use this solution."
"The solution is competitively priced."
"Zimbra Collaboration is expensive, and there is no perpetual license option."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the price a four"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
19%
Government
13%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Media Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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?
The product pricing is reasonable if you utilize its full suite of features. However, it may feel expensive for users who only require basic email services.
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
 

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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: October 2024.
814,763 professionals have used our research since 2012.