Google Workspace vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

Google and Zimbra are both solutions in the Email Applications category. Google is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.1, while Zimbra is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.0. Google holds a 16.0% mindshare in EA, compared to Zimbra’s 7.1% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Google users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Zimbra users who would recommend it.

Google Workspace

Read 105 Google Workspace reviews

6,815 Views
4,702 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Zimbra Collaboration

Read 28 Zimbra Collaboration reviews

2,273 Views
2,159 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Google Workspace

Zimbra Collaboration

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

Zimbra Collaboration and Google Workspace vie in the email and collaboration tools category. Google Workspace holds an edge due to its extensive features and strong integration within Google's ecosystem.

Features: Zimbra Collaboration provides a centralized interface for managing email, calendars, and tasks, emphasizing security and flexibility. It integrates anti-spam and antivirus tools and offers LDAP and Active Directory compatibility. Google Workspace offers an array of applications like Docs, Sheets, and Slides, focusing on real-time collaboration and broad accessibility, alongside excellent email, calendar, and file-sharing capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Zimbra Collaboration could enhance its mobile application features and upgrade its two-factor authentication. Its interface might benefit from modernization to compete with newer solutions. More robust security modules could strengthen data protection. Google Workspace, while feature-rich, faces challenges in pricing competitiveness for smaller businesses. Its initial learning curve can be steeper for users unfamiliar with cloud-based services. Additional offline capabilities could also improve user flexibility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zimbra Collaboration supports on-premises deployment, providing substantial data control and security management options. It offers a straightforward setup that can be controlled via a web-based interface or CLI for flexibility in server management. Google Workspace, as a cloud-based platform, simplifies deployment with a streamlined setup process. It integrates customer service support within its cloud offerings, aiding users in implementation and ongoing operations.

Pricing and ROI: Zimbra Collaboration's cost efficiency appeals to budget-conscious organizations, minimizing initial setup expenses. Its open-source nature offers customization advantages without extensive investment. Google Workspace, despite higher costs, provides comprehensive tools fostering significant productivity gains and potential long-term ROI. Its broad integration scope justifies the investment for businesses seeking expansive collaboration and operations functionalities.

To learn more, read our detailed Google Workspace vs. Zimbra Collaboration Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Google Workspace vs. Zimbra Collaboration

December 2025

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Helped 881,282 peers since 2012

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

Google Workspace

Ranking in Email Applications

1st

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

105

Ranking in other categories

Wireless Email (1st), Cloud Storage (8th), Content Collaboration Platforms (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 January 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Google Workspace is 16.0%, down from 23.8% 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
Product	Market Share (%)
Google Workspace	16.0%
Zimbra Collaboration	7.1%
Other	76.9%

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

AnnaRomagnuolo

Assosiate Professor at Palazzo del Mediterraneo

Collaborative work with students has improved but storage limitations and support issues remain

We have Google Workspace, and we use it primarily for Drive to collect items. We categorize folders with topics and material either for students or for research. We use Google Doc to share documents, especially when we assign homework to be corrected for peer correction or classroom correction. With Teams and Microsoft, we use it for collective calls and exam supervision because we use video surveillance through camera with Teams. We use Teams for meetings and to share material with students. The ability to share documents with students and assign them things and correct them in real time has been beneficial. You can verify what they write, and they can contribute and cooperate to create a collective document, which is something that our society nowadays requires. The ability to cooperate, especially those who work with languages and those who work with writing, need to learn how to cooperate. There is co-editing and co-writing, all these sorts of things. I love the fact that I can easily have access to folders that I can categorize and where I can upload research material and teaching material.

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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.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The ability to share documents with students and assign them things and correct them in real time has been beneficial; you can verify what they write, and they can contribute and cooperate to create a collective document, which is something that our society nowadays requires."

"Easy-to-build forms are allowing me to get feedback and information from my internal teams as well as from the customers very efficiently with the result data in structured manner."

"Users can work anywhere with an internet connection."

"If I'm addressing certain emails from banks — automatic emails, like OTP, etc. — I can create rules and forward that OTP to the specific email IDs. You can create rules and deliver mail to different groups using the forwarding feature. It's handy."

"The email is excellent."

"The implementation was very easy."

"Google Apps for Business and Skype for Business are the perfect solutions for every business thriving online. It is very easy and inexpensive to get work done with these applications online."

"In terms of email, I could probably do the same things with other programs, however, I find 90% of my usage is Gmail."

More Google Workspace pros

"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."

"A lot of other products like Microsoft Exchange offer email or collaboration features, but they are not as fast as Zimbra."

"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."

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

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

"We can control all the data in my IT infrastructure."

"The backup and storage management features of Zimbra Collaboration are valuable."

"The configuration is simple."

More Zimbra Collaboration pros

Cons

"We would like to use something within Google Workspace for project management, but we didn't find it there."

"Despite being an excellent platform, I would very much like Google Docs to be more compatible with Microsoft Word."

"Integrating Copilot with Google Workspace is slightly difficult."

"The problem with the presentation is that if you upload a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation and you convert it to Google presentation, the slides or pictures, their images are not editable. You can't edit the slides that you brought in. They're just images."

"In some cases, we are using the Google Meet functions but only when we have external clients. Internally, we are using Slack. Google Meet virtual meeting function is not as advanced as the one in Slack and should improve."

"The solution is not user-friendly and it doesn't integrate that well with Microsoft Office, which is one of the bigger business apps on the market, compared to Google Sheets and applications of that sort."

"Their tool called Sheets is the counterpart to Excel but it doesn't have the same functionality that Excel would have. So usually if somebody needs to go back to Excel or Office, it's because of Excel."

"Google Workspace lacks the ability to copy and move files from one folder to another easily."

More Google Workspace cons

"Zimbra should provide a desktop client. Right now, we are using a web browser for accessing our emails. There should also be a desktop client."

"The solution could improve by making it easier to use."

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

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

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

"It does have a few bugs."

"The solution’s forums don't have much information or documentation on administration tasks."

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

More Zimbra Collaboration cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Traffic management tools may be required for larger setups and should be included in any pricing calculations."

"The main challenge regarding startups with identity services is you could be on a platform that works well but the services are expensive. For example, Microsoft Azure costs approximately $30 per user which is expensive. You end up choosing a different platform, such as G Suite Enterprise because it is priced reasonably and is less expensive than other solutions."

"I rate Google Workspace's pricing five to six out of ten. We do not pay any extra costs."

"I give the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being the most affordable."

"There are benefits that can provide a competitive advantage, e.g., improved productivity (with appropriate training), increased collaboration (with correct use of tools), flexible working - work from home or remote locations, easy to scale - fast onboarding of new employees, and ability to add and remove licenses, as required."

"Pricing is something concerning. We find the solution very expensive."

"We pay on yearly basis."

"I can't recall the exact pricing per user for Google Workspace, but I know it's not that expensive. I'm in a mid-sized company that's able to maintain and afford Google Workspace, so it has competitive pricing, and I would rate its price as four out of five."

More Google Workspace pricing and cost advice

"The solution is not expensive compared to other products."

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

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

"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."

"We pay yearly licenses for Zimbra Collaboration."

"We are using perpetual licenses. We have deployed it in our local data center, and we buy perpetual licenses on a per-user basis."

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

"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

Educational Organization

10%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	64
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	27

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

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Google Workspace?

Easy-to-build forms are allowing me to get feedback and information from my internal teams as well as from the customers very efficiently with the result data in structured manner.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Workspace?

The pricing for Google Workspace is moderate. I would rate it a five out of ten, indicating it is neither cheap nor expensive. The current cost is approximately seven to ten euros per user per mont...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Google Workspace?

The only inconvenience is the fact that you have limited storage. After a while, you have to buy a surplus. It is not intuitive with Teams. It is hard to find categories and folders in Teams. I do ...

See all answers

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 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

Comparisons

Office 365 vs Google Workspace

Compared 23% of the time

Amazon WorkMail vs Google Workspace

Compared 19% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs Google Workspace

Compared 13% of the time

ProtonMail vs Google Workspace

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft 365 Business vs Google Workspace

Compared 2% of the time

More Google Workspace Competitors

Open-Xchange vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 22% of the time

Microsoft Exchange vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 21% of the time

KerioConnect vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 10% of the time

IceWarp vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 7% of the time

More Zimbra Collaboration Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Google Workspace

January 2026

Download Google Workspace product report

Buyer's Guide

Zimbra Collaboration

January 2026

Download Zimbra Collaboration product report

Also Known As

G-Suite Enterprise, G-Suite, Google Apps for Business, G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, G-Suite Basic, G-Suite Business, Google Vault

No data available

Overview

Similar to G Suite, all Google Workspace plans provide a custom email for your business and include collaboration tools like Gmail, Calendar, Meet, Chat, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites, and more.

As we’ve evolved G Suite into a more integrated experience across our communication and collaboration tools, we’ve rebranded to Google Workspace to more accurately represent the product vision.

Google

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

There are over five million businesses that use Google Apps for Business worldwide. Some key customers include The Roche Group, National Geographic, American Red Cross, City of Los Angeles, Flight Centre, and Konica Minolta.

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

Google Workspace vs. Zimbra Collaboration

December 2025

Free Report: Google Workspace vs. Zimbra Collaboration

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