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 #5 with an average rating of 8.0. Google holds a 18.9% mindshare in EA, compared to Zimbra’s 7.9% 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

6,680 Views
4,943 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Zimbra Collaboration

Read 28 Zimbra Collaboration reviews

2,281 Views
2,167 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Google Workspace

Zimbra Collaboration

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 19, 2025

Zimbra Collaboration and Google Workspace are both contenders in the collaboration and productivity software market. The data shows a preference for Google Workspace due to its comprehensive feature set, although Zimbra Collaboration’s pricing and support options appeal to some users.

Features: Zimbra Collaboration provides secure email, calendar integration, and document sharing with an emphasis on privacy. Google Workspace offers integrated tools such as Gmail, Google Drive, and collaborative apps like Docs and Sheets. While Zimbra emphasizes security, Google Workspace provides a wider variety of tools suitable for diverse business requirements.

Room for Improvement: Zimbra Collaboration could enhance its user interface to improve usability, expand its mobile app features, and simplify integration with popular third-party applications. Google Workspace could enhance offline capabilities, improve support for non-Google file formats, and offer more robust privacy controls for enterprises.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zimbra Collaboration offers both on-premises and cloud deployment, providing flexibility but requiring significant IT involvement. Google Workspace, being a cloud-based platform, ensures easy deployment with seamless integration. Its customer service is often regarded as more accessible, aiding in smooth transition and management experiences.

Pricing and ROI: Zimbra Collaboration presents a cost-effective choice for small to medium businesses. Google Workspace, although priced higher initially, is often seen to deliver greater long-term ROI due to its advanced features and enhanced productivity options. The pricing structure of Google Workspace includes multiple tiers to cater to varying business needs.

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

Buyer's Guide

Google Workspace vs. Zimbra Collaboration

November 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

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 (4th)

Zimbra Collaboration

Ranking in Email Applications

5th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Google Workspace is 18.9%, down from 24.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zimbra Collaboration is 7.9%, down from 9.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Applications Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Google Workspace	18.9%
Zimbra Collaboration	7.9%
Other	73.2%

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

Sunil-Nair

IT Manager at Universal Carpets & Rugs

Email collaboration and accessibility have improved team productivity

The valuable features include the email service, email updates, and Google Drive. People are given email access to Google Drive. The team can share manual files and work accordingly. They can access different teams from anywhere, collectively putting files, sharing them, and managing them. Additionally, the manufacturing product does not require any downgrades. It works fine and continuously for the last three or four years. Users can access their emails from anywhere in their browser without a laptop or can directly access from Gmail. This is helpful for salespeople.

Read full review

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

"A complete integrated environment for our business. I get Google docs, Gmail, online space, and calendar where I can easily perform all documentation, storage, and communications online."

"The stability of Google Workspace is excellent and very solid."

"The valuable features include the email service, email updates, and Google Drive."

"The most beneficial feature is Gmail, which we use extensively."

"The features we use quite a lot are the mail and Google Drive. We can store documents and share documents between both employees here, locally in Sweden, and we have an office in the US as well. It's a very easy way to share information and documents, and have online meetings and stuff with Google Meet. We use it quite a lot."

"From a security point of view, Google will alert you if anything strange is happening. They will flag it for you so you are aware."

"I find smart sheets in Google Sheets to be useful."

"It's easy to use."

More Google Workspace pros

"The Zimbra Collaboration's most valuable feature is web access."

"The most valuable feature of Zimbra for our team's productivity is its efficiency in handling email communication."

"Zimbra Collaboration's sharing features are most valuable."

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

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

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

More Zimbra Collaboration pros

Cons

"Google Workspace doesn't have some of the Excel and PowerPoint presentation functions you get with Microsoft Office."

"Better integration without visual misrepresentation with the Microsoft suite is required."

"Some people complain that Google Mail is inflexible. It was advanced 10 years ago, but other solutions are cleaner and clearer."

"The meeting platform of Google Workspace has room for improvement."

"It takes a long time to import the data from G Suite into another platform."

"I find the price high for the full suite features. Compared to Exchange Online, the price might not be too high, but you cannot choose only one functionality. When you buy Google Workspace, you have to get everything, including file storage and communication tools, which I don't use."

"There could be more options in Google G Suite. They can include HD calling for Google Meet. The layout portion in the calendar for Google G Suite can be better designed. When we get into the calendar and start scheduling meetings, we do have few hiccups here and there. The layout can be a little easier. People from different backgrounds are finding it a little bit tough to understand. It should be more intuitive. At the moment, it has a completely white background. To do power saving, it would be good if they can release a darker background. There are a few issues with the formatting of Google Docs when they get converted to Microsoft docs. It would be amazing if they can resolve it in the next release."

"Google Workspace has limitations as a document or file management system. Without a workspace account, manual actions are required to perform tasks such as managing groups of people. Additionally, managing permissions individually is a time-consuming and inefficient process. It's difficult to articulate, but the process is not very streamlined."

More Google Workspace cons

"The new patches are, at times, not so good, so we don't install them, causing the tool to be not so stable overall."

"File sharing permissions with Nextcloud integration need improvement."

"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."

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

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

"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 solution could use more integration with third-party tools."

"It would be great if a group chat feature were created to allow for a team environment."

More Zimbra Collaboration cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is reasonable."

"2,500 Rupees per month per user."

"G Suite and Microsoft Office 365 offer products with similar functionality at several different price points. Zoho offer a more extensive range of products and attempts to provide all the applications required to run most small and medium-sized businesses."

"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."

"We normally purchase the license on a yearly basis."

"The price of the solution can vary."

"You pay for Google Workspace based on your usage and the apps you use, but in my case, it's free, but if I used it a lot more, I'd probably need to pay. 15GB is enough for me, but I see myself upgrading and paying the additional charges for more storage regularly."

"The pricing is comparable, it's pretty decent."

More Google Workspace pricing and cost advice

"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."

"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."

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

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

"There is an annual standard licensing fee to use Zimbra Collaboration and there is no other cost."

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

More Zimbra Collaboration pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Educational Organization

10%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Government

Outsourcing 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...

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What needs improvement with Google Workspace?

I don't see many areas of Google Workspace that could be improved or enhanced because everything I have been using has been effective. Regarding the user interface, when calling a member in the org...

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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 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

Amazon WorkMail vs Google Workspace

Compared 22% of the time

Office 365 vs Google Workspace

Compared 19% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs Google Workspace

Compared 16% of the time

ProtonMail vs Google Workspace

Compared 10% of the time

HCL Notes vs Google Workspace

Compared 2% of the time

More Google Workspace Competitors

Open-Xchange vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 24% of the time

Microsoft Exchange vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 22% of the time

KerioConnect vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 8% of the time

IceWarp vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 8% of the time

More Zimbra Collaboration Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Google Workspace

October 2025

Download Google Workspace product report

Buyer's Guide

Zimbra Collaboration

October 2025

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

November 2025

Free Report: Google Workspace vs. Zimbra Collaboration

Find out what your peers are saying about Google Workspace vs. Zimbra Collaboration and other solutions. Updated: November 2025.

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