Microsoft Exchange vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

Microsoft and Zimbra are both solutions in the Email Applications category. Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.9, while Zimbra is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.0. Microsoft holds a 10.2% mindshare in EA, compared to Zimbra’s 6.9% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Zimbra users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Exchange

Read 95 Microsoft Exchange reviews

3,631 Views
2,977 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Zimbra Collaboration

Read 28 Zimbra Collaboration reviews

2,357 Views
2,263 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Microsoft Exchange

Zimbra Collaboration

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

Zimbra Collaboration and Microsoft Exchange are competing products in the collaborative software market. While Zimbra offers affordability and easy customer support, Microsoft Exchange excels in features and functionality, justifying its higher cost.

Features: Zimbra Collaboration includes integrated email, calendar, and task management, and offers open-source flexibility. Microsoft Exchange provides robust security features, extensive integration capabilities, and advanced collaboration tools. Zimbra's main strength is its versatility and openness, while Microsoft Exchange focuses on its comprehensive features.

Room for Improvement: Zimbra could benefit from enhanced security modules, stronger third-party integration, and a more powerful antivirus system. Microsoft Exchange may improve by simplifying its licensing process, reducing the complexity of initial setup, and offering more refined customization options for users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Exchange has a streamlined deployment process with thorough documentation, making it suitable for large organizations. Zimbra Collaboration provides a simpler deployment experience and responsive customer support, which can be advantageous for smaller firms.

Pricing and ROI: Zimbra Collaboration is budget-friendly with lower setup costs, making it appealing for budget-conscious buyers looking for high ROI. Microsoft Exchange, despite a higher initial cost, offers long-term value through its extensive feature set and scalability, providing greater ROI over time.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Exchange vs. Zimbra Collaboration Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange vs. Zimbra Collaboration

February 2026

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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)

Zimbra Collaboration

Ranking in Email Applications

6th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 10.2%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zimbra Collaboration is 6.9%, down from 9.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Applications Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Exchange	10.2%
Zimbra Collaboration	6.9%
Other	82.9%

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…

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Muhammad Talha Baig

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.

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

"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 most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange is its communication capabilities."

"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."

"The latest versions have gotten much better about balancing the load on the backend."

"The integration of Microsoft Exchange with other tools allows for seamless collaboration and increased productivity within teams."

"We have found it to be a stable solution. It is scalable and easy to install."

"The most valuable features of Microsoft Exchange are its ease of use, and simplicity of communication, and we can track communications between teams."

"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. Exchange tells you if you have a doctor's appointment or a scheduled call. It also has a place to store and manage your contacts. If I want to add a new contact, it will put in information about that contact stored anywhere within the Microsoft Suite."

More Microsoft Exchange pros

"The configuration is simple."

"Network NG Modules are valuable to us."

"Good email solution and it's open-source."

"The solution is easy to implement."

"Zimbra Collaboration has integrated a lot of their party tools and they have good documentation available."

"The stability is good and keeps getting better with each new update."

"Zimbra Collaboration's best feature is its compatibility with Microsoft's ActiveSync protocol, which allows users to use Outlook on Windows or MacOS."

"Zimbra Collaboration is light to manage. It works on the Linux operating system, which is far better to manage than Microsoft Windows. Microsoft Exchange works only on the Windows server. We prefer working on the Linux server for security reasons and ease of management. Zimbra Collaboration also has some integrated tools for security. It some modules to fight malware. These modules are not very powerful but are still doing a great job. Microsoft Exchange doesn't have a basic module. You have to purchase a security solution and add it to the solution. The cost of Zimbra Collaboration is one more reason for liking it. It is also very simple to migrate from Zimbra Collaboration to another email solution."

More Zimbra Collaboration pros

Cons

"It's not always the finest solution in terms of integration with products that are not from Microsoft. It integrates very well with Microsoft products but not with third-party products."

"The pricing could be better, and it could have an easier implementation."

"The main problem with Microsoft products is that we're constantly required to install patches and fixes."

"In terms of probability, every now and then there are changes coming and going. The changes are not that frequent because every month they got updates back, so that is an issue."

"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."

"There are limitations in terms of the number of emails that can be sent in a minute, which makes it a little difficult for the marketing folks."

"The solution should be easier to deploy."

"The product or service could be improved in terms of Microsoft Outlook client compatibility."

More Microsoft Exchange cons

"Zimbra Collaboration's video conferencing could be improved."

"Zimbra must improve its solution to make it easy so that the users don't have to use webmail to connect to their accounts and log in to webmail every time. This is something that is lacking in Zimbra Collaboration. They should provide a better way to easily connect email applications on the desktop to the Zimbra server. They should also try to have more functionality for storage management, like Microsoft Exchange. Currently, the management of the email data must be done manually in Zimbra Collaboration, which we are finding very difficult. They should provide a way to save emails so that you can have more space on the server and storage. Because of the lack of this functionality, we are planning to migrate to Microsoft Exchange. Microsoft Exchange provides a better way to manage storage than Zimbra Collaboration. You cannot have a mail solution without storage management because emails will always increase. Zimbra Collaboration also needs tools for management. More back-office tools are required to manage the whole mailbox and space. You don't only manage emails but also the documents attached to the emails. Therefore, you require tools to select and decide what do you want to save or how do you want to free up space in your infrastructure."

"The support was lacking in my experience. However, recently the support I received was good. Perhaps they have improved."

"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."

"In the next release, Zimbra Collaboration should include a security feature to allow access for mobile device administrators."

"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."

"The product must be more customizable."

"The tool should improve its multi-cloud feature."

More Zimbra Collaboration cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"We pay for the license annually."

"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."

"Licensing costs for Microsoft Exchange have increased, but are still fair. For some users, the cost is high considering the number of functions and features they will use."

"There is an annual cost to use Microsoft Exchange, and the price could be less expensive."

"Microsoft Exchange is an inexpensive application."

"The product pricing is reasonable if you utilize its full suite of features."

"It would be nice if it used less resources to run on-premise."

More Microsoft Exchange pricing and cost advice

"If you choose the network edition, it is a little pricier. They have the open-source edition too which is only community supported."

"The solution is competitively priced."

"Zimbra Collaboration is expensive, and there is no perpetual license option."

"When it comes to the licensing of Zimbra Collaboration, my license covers the servers and I find its terms to be much simpler than those of Microsoft Exchange."

"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."

"Zimbra Collaboration offers a good price-to-feature ratio."

"We do not pay for licenses to use this solution."

More Zimbra Collaboration pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Government

Manufacturing 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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	7

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?

I am aware of pricing aspects, and I would say it is affordable for what it is.

See all answers

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.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zimbra Collaboration?

The solution is competitively priced.

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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...

See all answers

Comparisons

Open-Xchange vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 20% of the time

KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 13% of the time

HCL Domino vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 9% of the time

Google Workspace vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 8% of the time

ProtonMail vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 7% of the time

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Open-Xchange vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 21% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 10% of the time

KerioConnect vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 9% of the time

Google Workspace vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 8% of the time

IceWarp vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 7% of the time

More Zimbra Collaboration Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange

January 2026

Download Microsoft Exchange product report

Buyer's Guide

Zimbra Collaboration

January 2026

Download Zimbra Collaboration 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

Zimbra Collaboration provides administrators and their end users innovative features that solve the challenges faced by organizations using today's legacy communications infrastructure.

Zimbra

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

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange vs. Zimbra Collaboration

February 2026

Free Report: Microsoft Exchange vs. Zimbra Collaboration

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Exchange vs. Zimbra Collaboration and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.

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