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KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

KerioConnect
Ranking in Email Applications
8th
Average Rating
6.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (7th)
Microsoft Exchange
Ranking in Email Applications
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
89
Ranking in other categories
Wireless Email (1st), File Archiving (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of KerioConnect is 4.7%, up from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 11.4%, down from 14.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

David Bloomer - PeerSpot reviewer
Lightweight, simple, and robust; easy to maintain and doesn't require a lot of system resources to run
Kerio Connect does as advertised, so there are no real issues with the product itself. It's developed regularly, so there are constant updates. Possibly, the support and development have lessened since they've sold the company, but as far as the product itself is concerned, there isn't anything that I would suggest needs improvement. If I'm being picky, Kerio Connect uses a proprietary, mappy atom for Outlook, and it would be nice if they used a native mappy connection instead, but that's the only additional feature that I would like to see in its next release. If they have native Outlook map integration, that would be great, but other than that, it's got all the functions that I think a mail server should have.
Dean Della Pella - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers great reliability and good mobile access features
In my company, the product takes care of email communications as it handles all the emails and scheduling emails. Within the tool, the calendars are used extensively by our company and its customers. The tool has improved the areas revolving around calendars and scheduling tasks since it has helped in the unification of everyone working in the company under the same system. The most beneficial features of email management stem from the tool's ability to let its users combine the tasks and the calendar while also being able to organize emails. The security and compliance features have impacted our organization, and it has been extremely helpful since such functionalities are needed for compliance purposes. For the customers and my company, being secure and having control of the handling of emails is extremely important. The integration capabilities do not have a direct impact on the email portion of the product, but it does have the ability to set up meetings with the help of Microsoft Teams. The mobile access feature provided by the product helps our company in the area of productivity. I recommend the product to others who plan to use it. Based on the features and functionalities of the product, it would be beneficial to rule for any company where it is chosen. The product offers good functionalities and reliability. I rate the overall a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The user interface is good."
"KerioConnect has integration with 365. We can use Outlook, which has its client and can be used with Apple devices. It integrates with the App Store and Microsoft Office. It has a smart router. The spam filtering and antivirus are good."
"We have contacted technical support a handful of times and received some assistance."
"It's relatively simple to use."
"What I like most about Kerio Connect is that it supports ActiveSync, and that is its most critical feature. The solution is also a nice, simple, robust, and stable mail server."
"Kerio Connect is secure, flexible, and easy to control from the user interface. It has many security features able to be controlled from one place, such as anti-spam. I have found it very convenient. Additionally, you can analyze log files and share folders which is helpful."
"The most valuable features are security and privacy because you installed it on your server, within your company premises, not in the cloud."
"We use the solution as a mail server. It connects with Outlook and is used for calendaring and similar tasks."
"Microsoft Exchange's most valuable feature is that it's old-fashioned communication, meaning it's good for people who aren't able to work comfortably in a cloud environment."
"The search tools are good."
"Support is very good."
"It's an excellent product from Microsoft. It provides more flexibility to the end-users. As it's connected with Teams, it also enables collaboration."
"The initial setup is quite a straightforward process. I don't think it is a very complicated solution. Plenty of things could be more complex, but the ordinary, general settings are quite simple."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange is its ease of use."
"The tool's most valuable feature is associated with the fact that it stands out for being beneficial for managing emails."
"It is very well integrated with other Microsoft programs, teams, and so on. They work well together."
 

Cons

"You cannot integrate with other services like Google Docs, Google Assistant, Google Calendar, etc."
"The solution could improve the redundancy because we only have one copy of the Kerio Connect server on our hardware. The next step for us is to move to the cloud and if Kerio does not have a cloud version available they should release one"
"KerioConnect is stable as long as you use a strong password."
"Most of our clients use Outlook and Kerio Connect. Occasionally, Kerio can be a bit slow. They could make it faster to get onto the web interface without so much load time. It's just slow with Outlook, however, for some reason."
"It could be simpler to use and install, but I still wouldn't use it because there isn't a compelling use case."
"We are considering switching to Microsoft Exchange. One reason is that it doesn't improve our workflow and doesn't integrate well with Microsoft 365 applications."
"KerioConnect continues to improve with regular updates throughout the year. They must be added to the roadmap, which requires approval."
"The search and archiving documentation capabilities need to be stronger."
"The pricing could be better, and it could have an easier implementation."
"There is a problem when scheduling an event for the whole day."
"I would like to see the search capability of the Outlook client improved"
"Load balancing is lacking."
"Microsoft Exchange's customer support could be faster and more knowledgeable."
"Microsoft needs to make some modifications to meet the current needs of the environment. For example, they need to add more cell service features because people work from home during the pandemic, and certain elements should be available as a mobile service."
"We are not able to use Microsoft Teams due to connection issues. Thus, the product integration with Teams could be improved."
"One major area for improvement is the need for repeated authentication when running a meeting."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's pricing depends on how long you plan to keep it because you pay on a per-year basis. You might have a one-time setup cost for something like Microsoft Exchange or a Linux mail server. I'd say this solution is expensive on a per-year basis, almost 2000-3000 dollars annually. It doesn't seem to pay off yet, so we're considering switching to another product."
"The pricing is about $3 per mailbox per month."
"KerioConnect has a first-time cost and yearly subscription. It is not expensive."
"The price of Kerio Connect is better when comparing it to others solutions."
"I rate Microsoft Exchange's pricing a six out of ten."
"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 are currently using enterprise licenses for the solution. They are different pricing models available. There are individual, cloud-based, and enterprise licenses all with different pricing models. The larger the number of users, the lesser the price. For small to medium companies like us, we feel it is expensive."
"It would be nice if it used less resources to run on-premise."
"Microsoft Exchange itself does not require a license, but users who will have mailboxes will require a license. It depends on the number of users to choose which license. If you exceed 2,000 mailboxes, it's preferable to get the enterprise license."
"The platform has a reasonable price."
"The pricing is expensive."
"It's a little bit expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Government
10%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about KerioConnect?
The most valuable features are security and privacy because you installed it on your server, within your company premises, not in the cloud.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for KerioConnect?
KerioConnect has a first-time cost and yearly subscription. It is not expensive.
What needs improvement with KerioConnect?
KerioConnect continues to improve with regular updates throughout the year. They must be added to the roadmap, which requires approval. In larger organizations, the server's capabilities and the da...
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...
What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange?
The initial setup was straightforward and fast.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange?
The licensing and pricing are quite costly, which can demotivate customers from opting for features and upgrades. However, the solution provides value for money if one is well-acquainted with Excha...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Exchange, MS Exchange
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Southern Tier Brewing Company, Innotta, Baustoff + Metall, Hamifleurs, Chanson TV, Ryman Stationery
Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Scitec Nutrition, British Airways, InnoGames, Osteology Foundation, Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH, NTC Contracting
Find out what your peers are saying about KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.