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 8.2, while Zimbra is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.0. Google holds a 23.5% mindshare in EA, compared to Zimbra’s 9.1% 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 101 Google Workspace reviews

6,522 Views
5,908 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Zimbra Collaboration

Read 29 Zimbra Collaboration reviews

3,542 Views
2,702 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Google Workspace

Zimbra Collaboration

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 2025

Zimbra Collaboration and Google Workspace are business communication and collaboration tools. Google Workspace seems to have the upper hand due to its extensive feature set and seamless integration options.

Features: Zimbra Collaboration includes tools for email, calendar, and task management along with robust integration capabilities. It allows customization and administration with a good web interface and security modules. Google Workspace offers an integrated suite with Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Meet, facilitating seamless collaboration and real-time editing. Its vast application suite and third-party integrations provide comprehensive productivity solutions.

Room for Improvement: Zimbra could enhance its user interface and mobile app functionalities. Improvement in anti-spam and antivirus modules would be beneficial. More robust scalability and refinement in admin tools are needed. Google Workspace could focus on improving its cost-effectiveness for small businesses and enhancing offline support. Providing more intuitive initial setup and increasing support for non-Google integrations would be advantageous.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zimbra Collaboration allows deployment on-premise or in private clouds, offering control over data, which is appealing for specific privacy needs. Google Workspace, being cloud-based, provides quick deployment with minimal maintenance. Its customer service is often praised for reliability, contributing to a positive user experience.

Pricing and ROI: Zimbra Collaboration is more cost-effective, attracting budget-conscious businesses or those with existing infrastructure. Google Workspace, despite higher costs, offers strong ROI through its productivity features and seamless collaboration capabilities. This pricing structure is often justified by the efficiency and comprehensive solutions it provides.

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

Buyer's Guide

Google Workspace vs. Zimbra Collaboration

January 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

7.3

Number of Reviews

101

Ranking in other categories

Wireless Email (2nd), Cloud Storage (4th), Content Collaboration Platforms (2nd)

Zimbra Collaboration

Ranking in Email Applications

5th

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Google Workspace is 23.5%, up from 23.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zimbra Collaboration is 9.1%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

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

"The security and privacy policies of G Suite make it efficient, and the organizational data is secure."

"It's easy to control the admin settings, like updating the SDS, NIK, etc. I"

"The most valuable feature is that it is simple to use."

"What I like most about Google Workspace is the Google Drive app because you can easily access it from anywhere and from any device. I also find the solution easy to use. It's user-friendly."

"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."

"The most valuable feature of Google Workspace is its ease of use and stability."

"The features of Google Workspace that significantly improve our work include real-time collaboration on documents, dynamic email for easy suggestions and approvals, integration with BigQuery for data analysis, seamless document sharing and storage in Google Drive, and advanced calendaring capabilities."

"It is quite a useful tool. It allows many people to work on a document. You can actually provide review comments and tag anybody to make the comment changes. You can also attach a document in Google Chat."

More Google Workspace pros

"The configuration is simple."

"The product is easy to set up."

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

"The most valuable feature of Zimbra Collaboration is the cost."

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

"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."

"The web interface is powerful and easy to use."

More Zimbra Collaboration pros

Cons

"The solution could improve by having more frequent updates."

"There are times the plugins or extensions in the solution do not work properly and I need to disable and enable the solution."

"Some concerns over security, but there are moves to address this and provide admin tools to secure content and adhere to data protection regulations."

"We've had difficulty using PowerPoint files in G Suite. PowerPoint has some functions that are not available in G Suite, so when you convert from PPTX to the Slides format, they don't work."

"To a degree, the project management service could be improved."

"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."

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

"The price could be reduced."

More Google Workspace cons

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

"Some issues cause the solution not to function correctly or to cause downtime once a month."

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

"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."

"We have had an issue with security."

"I would like to see a Microsoft schedule function added."

"They should enhance its online meeting features."

"It is good and competent, but you have to pay for video and group chat features."

More Zimbra Collaboration cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have purchased an annual subscription."

"The price of G Suite Enterprise is reasonable compared to HotSpot. I'm not going to say G Suite Enterprise is affordable. It's valuable, you find value in paying your gas bill or your electricity bill, because of what it allows you to do."

"The solution is expensive."

"There are different versions of the solution available, such as premium."

"The overall cost is very reasonable when considering all of the security features that you are receiving. It is a bit more expensive than our local host and/or other hosting companies that are available on the market, but it is worth it."

"We pay on yearly basis."

"The price of Google Workspace is reasonable. I pay less than 100 a month."

"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."

More Google Workspace pricing and cost advice

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

"The solution is competitively priced."

"The price of the solution is low."

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

"I use Zimbra Collaboration's community version. We may move to the enterprise version since prices are affordable."

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

"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."

"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."

More Zimbra Collaboration pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Government

Computer Software Company

19%

Government

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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.

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

I'm not satisfied with the cost because I feel these services should be free as they use our data.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Google Workspace?

As far as Google Workspace is concerned, it is working fine for us. Our needs are fulfilled, so that's fine. However, integration with Microsoft Outlook could be improved. The new integration was i...

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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

Microsoft Exchange Online vs Google Workspace

Compared 33% of the time

Amazon WorkMail vs Google Workspace

Compared 30% of the time

ProtonMail vs Google Workspace

Compared 7% of the time

Amazon WorkDocs vs Google Workspace

Compared 4% of the time

GoDaddy vs Google Workspace

Compared 2% of the time

More Google Workspace Competitors

Microsoft Exchange vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 32% of the time

Open-Xchange vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 22% of the time

KerioConnect vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 15% of the time

IceWarp vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 6% of the time

More Zimbra Collaboration Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Google Workspace

January 2025

Download Google Workspace product report

Buyer's Guide

Zimbra Collaboration

January 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

January 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: January 2025.

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