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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 10.9% mindshare in EA, compared to Zimbra’s 7.4% 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 94 Microsoft Exchange reviews
  • 3,388 Views
  • 2,812 Comparison Views
93% willing to recommend
Zimbra Collaboration
Read 28 Zimbra Collaboration reviews
  • 2,277 Views
  • 2,163 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 2, 2025

Zimbra Collaboration and Microsoft Exchange are products competing in the communication and collaboration category. Zimbra offers competitive pricing and support, while Microsoft Exchange is favored for its comprehensive features justifying its cost.

Features: Zimbra Collaboration includes open-source integrations, flexible customization, and compatibility with multiple platforms, enhancing innovation. Microsoft Exchange provides advanced calendaring, seamless email hosting, and strong integration with other Microsoft services enhancing the business ecosystem.

Room for Improvement: Zimbra could improve its security modules, enhance mobile application functionality, and expand premium features like two-factor authentication. Microsoft Exchange could offer a more straightforward licensing process, reduce reliance on external security solutions, and provide more customization options for users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zimbra's open-source approach allows for simple deployment with extensive community support. Microsoft Exchange offers seamless integration, consistent updates, and professional resources for installation, making its extensive service network advantageous.

Pricing and ROI: Zimbra is cost-effective with low initial costs and high ROI, appealing to budget-conscious organizations. Microsoft Exchange involves higher initial investment but offers comprehensive features that provide long-term ROI through productivity gains.

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To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Exchange vs. Zimbra Collaboration Report (Updated: December 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Exchange vs. Zimbra Collaboration
December 2025
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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
94
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 December 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 10.9%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zimbra Collaboration is 7.4%, 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 Exchange10.9%
Zimbra Collaboration7.4%
Other81.7%
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

SJ
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…
Read full review
Muhammad Talha Baig - PeerSpot reviewer
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

"I like the logistics and the Microsoft protocol of reaching Outlook anywhere."
"The product can scale."
"The technical support is fine."
"The most used feature of Microsoft Exchange is the email capability, especially since it integrates with the calendar."
"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."
"The initial setup is very simple."
"It's a very user-friendly application. The mail server is also valuable when compared to other services like SquirrelMail."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange is the email storage is on the cloud. We don't have to delete emails often."
More Microsoft Exchange pros
"Good email solution and it's open-source."
"The most valuable feature of Zimbra Collaboration is email functionality."
"Zimbra Collaboration's sharing features are most valuable."
"The most valuable feature of Zimbra for our team's productivity is its efficiency in handling email communication."
"The Zimbra Collaboration's most valuable feature is web access."
"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."
"The web interface is powerful and easy to use."
"We can control all the data in my IT infrastructure."
More Zimbra Collaboration pros
 

Cons

"The solution could be more user-friendly."
"From a security perspective, Microsft Exchange can be improved. All that needs to be added is security, but that's an internal hierarchical problem from the product itself and not the end-users."
"Microsoft Exchange and other Microsoft solutions like Office 365 need to provide more detailed information for customers regarding the features and functionalities included in their plans, as some features are only available at an additional cost."
"I do not have any notes for improvement."
"After 2022, users of Microsoft Exchange have to migrate mailboxes to Microsoft Exchange Online, and what I'd like to improve is for Microsoft to publish more on-premise versions for customers using Microsoft Exchange. Having more security is another room for improvement in the solution, particularly for mailboxes that develop the Exchange Edge rule to protect internal mailboxes. What I'd like to see from Microsoft Exchange in the future is for Microsoft to still update the latest, existing version which is 2022. I'd like Microsoft to still push more cumulative updates for Microsoft Exchange 2022."
"They could improve on the search function, it takes too much time."
"Microsoft Exchange is highly stable. However, after receiving some updates it can be unstable."
"Microsoft Exchange could improve the archiving of emails and the performance."
More Microsoft Exchange cons
"We have had an issue with security."
"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."
"In the next release, Zimbra Collaboration should include a security feature to allow access for mobile device administrators."
"There are some security issues."
"The product must be more customizable."
"I would like to see a Microsoft schedule function added."
"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."
More Zimbra Collaboration cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is an annual cost to use Microsoft Exchange, and the price could be less expensive."
"I rate Microsoft Exchange's pricing a six out of ten."
"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's working very well. There is no problem, but the price is not the best."
"Microsoft Exchange is a very well-priced solution."
"They are flexible when it comes to pricing, unlike most of the other vendors I have dealt with."
"The solution is expensive to maintain because it requires frequent updates and ongoing server maintenance."
"The price of Microsoft Exchange could improve. In Egypt, the price keeps increasing."
More Microsoft Exchange pricing and cost advice
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the price a four"
"The solution is not expensive compared to other products."
"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 pay yearly licenses for Zimbra Collaboration."
"If you choose the network edition, it is a little pricier. They have the open-source edition too which is only community supported."
"The price of the solution is low."
"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."
More Zimbra Collaboration pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise27
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...
See all answers
What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange?
The initial setup was straightforward and fast.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange?
Microsoft Exchange is costly, and its licensing model can be expensive over time as more users require licenses.
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.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zimbra Collaboration?
The solution is competitively priced.
See all answers
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 Logo
Open-Xchange vs Microsoft Exchange
Compared 19% of the time
KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange Logo
KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange
Compared 15% of the time
HCL Domino vs Microsoft Exchange Logo
HCL Domino vs Microsoft Exchange
Compared 10% of the time
Google Workspace vs Microsoft Exchange Logo
Google Workspace vs Microsoft Exchange
Compared 9% of the time
HCL Notes vs Microsoft Exchange Logo
HCL Notes vs Microsoft Exchange
Compared 7% of the time
More Microsoft Exchange Competitors
Open-Xchange vs Zimbra Collaboration Logo
Open-Xchange vs Zimbra Collaboration
Compared 23% of the time
KerioConnect vs Zimbra Collaboration Logo
KerioConnect vs Zimbra Collaboration
Compared 11% of the time
Microsoft Exchange Online vs Zimbra Collaboration Logo
Microsoft Exchange Online vs Zimbra Collaboration
Compared 9% of the time
Google Workspace vs Zimbra Collaboration Logo
Google Workspace vs Zimbra Collaboration
Compared 8% of the time
IceWarp vs Zimbra Collaboration Logo
IceWarp vs Zimbra Collaboration
Compared 7% of the time
More Zimbra Collaboration Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Exchange
December 2025
Microsoft Exchange reportDownload Microsoft Exchange product report
Buyer's Guide
Zimbra Collaboration
December 2025
Zimbra Collaboration reportDownload 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
December 2025
Free Report: Microsoft Exchange vs. Zimbra Collaboration
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Exchange vs. Zimbra Collaboration and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
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