KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange comparison

GFI and Microsoft are both solutions in the Email Applications category. GFI is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.3, while Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3. GFI holds a 4.8% mindshare in EA, compared to Microsoft’s 11.4% mindshare. Additionally, 57% of GFI users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

KerioConnect

Read 10 KerioConnect reviews

1,882 Views
1,007 Comparison Views

57% willing to recommend

Microsoft Exchange

Read 91 Microsoft Exchange reviews

3,291 Views
2,842 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

KerioConnect

Microsoft Exchange

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between KerioConnect and Microsoft Exchange based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Email Applications solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange

April 2025

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Helped 847,772 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

KerioConnect

Ranking in Email Applications

8th

Average Rating

6.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Email Archiving (7th)

Microsoft Exchange

Ranking in Email Applications

3rd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Wireless Email (1st), File Archiving (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of KerioConnect is 4.8%, up from 3.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 11.4%, down from 12.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

David Bloomer

Senior Technician at Computers At Work

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.

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Hesham Hussain

Head Of Infrastructure at ValU

A good solution for large enterprises, but is expensive when compared to other solutions

Regarding the decision of increasing the number of users, it depends on the organization's choice, whether to opt for CapEx or OpEx. Both options involve expenses over the years. Building an in-house Exchange solution requires investing in hardware, storage, connectivity, and administrative resources. Office 365 shifts the budget solely to OpEx as a subscription service. Scalability is another factor. Starting a new company favors Office 365 due to cost efficiency. As the organization grows, the choice depends on available resources and technical expertise. An internal Exchange setup is feasible with skilled engineers, while Office 365 suits those lacking in-house resources.

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 most valuable features are security and privacy because you installed it on your server, within your company premises, not in the cloud."

"The user interface is good."

"The solution is easy to maintain, unlike Exchange. It's easy to create multiple domains and back up and restore if needed. It also has good security features like anti-spam and antivirus."

"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."

"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 use the solution as a mail server. It connects with Outlook and is used for calendaring and similar tasks."

"The most valuable features are its ease of use, excellent pricing, and it is platform agnostic."

"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."

More KerioConnect pros

"The initial setup is very simple."

"Exchange is very scalable, it's one of the most important things about this software."

"Communication is the most valuable feature of the solution."

"Microsoft Exchange is a powerful solution. It can easily integrate with Active Directory and other business applications. It does not require any training, it is flexible and simple to use. When comparing Microsoft Exchange to other solutions, such as Lotus Note, it is more straightforward for business."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange is its ease of use."

"For me, the solution is very user-friendly. I've used it a long time and I know where everything is."

"The functionality on the user side is quite good. Exchange provides an excellent platform for collaboration between users."

"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

Cons

"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."

"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."

"I would like to see better support from their support team."

"It could be simpler to use and install, but I still wouldn't use it because there isn't a compelling use case."

"The search and archiving documentation capabilities need to be stronger."

"You cannot integrate with other services like Google Docs, Google Assistant, Google Calendar, etc."

More KerioConnect cons

"In terms of configuring the product, that's definitely an area in which they can make some improvements on."

"If it was the same product, and slightly cheaper, that would be amazing."

"The licensing model could be improved."

"The platform could be more user-friendly."

"When we started using Exchange on the cloud, we had a lot of initial problems relating to our main database and we also experienced issues with the accidental deletion of inboxes, amongst other things. In fact, many of the files we had moved to the cloud had disappeared. There also seems to be a problem with the retention of information."

"The default storage capacity is too small."

"An improvement would be to combine Exchange and Teams so that emails, calls, and chats can be integrated into one window."

"For new users, it might take them some time to get used to the product."

More Microsoft Exchange cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"KerioConnect has a first-time cost and yearly subscription. It is not expensive."

"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 price of Kerio Connect is better when comparing it to others solutions."

"The pricing is about $3 per mailbox per month."

"The product pricing is reasonable if you utilize its full suite of features."

"Compared to the other options in the market, the licensing costs attached to Microsoft Exchange seem reasonable."

"It's a little bit expensive."

"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."

"Exchange is better for medium to large businesses because it can be quite costly for SMB, which may not need all the options the product provides."

"Its price is fair."

"I rate Microsoft Exchange a four out of ten for pricing because it is quite cheap, and many companies use the solution."

"The product is quite cheap."

More Microsoft Exchange pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Comms Service Provider

13%

Government

Retailer

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

11%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

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.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for KerioConnect?

KerioConnect has a first-time cost and yearly subscription. It is not expensive.

See all answers

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...

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 Microsoft Exchange?

The initial setup was straightforward and fast.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

Zimbra Collaboration vs KerioConnect

Compared 29% of the time

IceWarp vs KerioConnect

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs KerioConnect

Compared 6% of the time

Google Workspace vs KerioConnect

Compared 4% of the time

More KerioConnect Competitors

Zimbra Collaboration vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 20% of the time

HCL Domino vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 12% of the time

Open-Xchange vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 12% of the time

HCL Notes vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 9% of the time

IceWarp vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 6% of the time

More Microsoft Exchange Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect

April 2025

Download KerioConnect product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange

March 2025

Download Microsoft Exchange product report

Also Known As

No data available

Exchange, MS Exchange

Overview

Kerio Connect, a messaging and collaboration solution, meets the needs of small and mid-sized businesses while offering a robust feature lineup. Business users enjoy support for their favorite email client and easy web-based access. Kerio Connect is highly stable—so you can focus on business rather than unexpected downtime and recovery.

GFI

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

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

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange

April 2025

Free Report: KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange

Find out what your peers are saying about KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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