KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange Online comparison

GFI and Microsoft are both solutions in the Email Applications category. GFI is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.8, while Microsoft is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.7. GFI holds a 3.9% mindshare in EA, compared to Microsoft’s 9.8% mindshare. Additionally, 62% of GFI users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

KerioConnect

Read 11 KerioConnect reviews

1,821 Views
1,566 Comparison Views

62% willing to recommend

Microsoft Exchange Online

Read 92 Microsoft Exchange Online reviews

4,615 Views
4,430 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

KerioConnect

Microsoft Exchange Online

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 2025

Microsoft Exchange Online and KerioConnect are two email and collaboration solutions. Microsoft Exchange Online seems to have the upper hand due to its extensive features and seamless integration with the Microsoft ecosystem, despite its higher cost, while KerioConnect is recognized for offering a more budget-friendly alternative with ease of use and simplicity.

Features: Microsoft Exchange Online is known for its seamless integration with Office 365, robust security features, and vast storage options which enhance enterprise value. KerioConnect is valued for its ActiveSync support, user-friendly setup, and flexibility in on-premise deployment, though it lacks some advanced integration capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Exchange Online could improve by simplifying its licensing process, enhancing anti-spam features, and decreasing support response times. KerioConnect would benefit from more comprehensive documentation, better integration with CRM systems, and improved search and archiving capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Exchange Online, primarily deployed on public and hybrid clouds, offers scalability but can be complex to manage. KerioConnect supports on-premise deployment, providing greater control but less flexibility. Both solutions receive positive feedback for customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Exchange Online offers multiple subscription models that, while confusing, provide flexibility, resulting in substantial ROI and comprehensive functionality for businesses. KerioConnect's pricing is considered more straightforward and affordable, presenting a strong value for smaller businesses and on-premise solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange Online Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange Online

April 2026

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Helped 886,858 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

9th

Average Rating

7.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Email Archiving (7th)

Microsoft Exchange Online

Ranking in Email Applications

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of KerioConnect is 3.9%, down from 4.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 9.8%, down from 14.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online	9.8%
KerioConnect	3.9%
Other	86.3%

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

Marcelino Mongcal

Senior Systems Tech/Admin at Samco Software Inc.

A seamless setup ensures smooth communication with comprehensive support

We remain a partner with Sophos and use XG S Firewalls without AWS implementation. We only use Sophos endpoint and Sophos Central. We host some clients on-premise while others we host remotely. The VPN connection is easy and proprietary, so it's not open to any other VPN clients. Communication with other mail servers is seamless. It can communicate with Gmail and Outlook without issues, provided the DNS settings are correct. We monitor our servers and security logs, implementing GeoIP blocking. We frequently block China and India IPs due to brute force attacks on our servers. We have extensive experience with KerioConnect. Backing up and maintaining it is straightforward compared to Microsoft Exchange, making it administrator-friendly. On a scale of 1-10, this solution rates an 8.

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Asad Mohammad

Assistant General Manager, IT Infrastructure at SAMI Pharmaceuticals (Pvt.) Limited.

Offers flexibility and cost-effectiveness with multiple service options but could improve support and mobile features

There are many things to consider about email management in Microsoft Exchange Online. The online management is good, the storage is sufficient, and we use most of the features such as the custom rules in Microsoft Exchange Online, which we cannot find in any other email solution. That is a very good option, as we have many options to create custom rules in Microsoft Exchange Online. Regarding security features in Microsoft Exchange Online, we also use Defender for Exchange which includes the basic Exchange Online protection that has spam and threat controls. The use of Defender is beneficial for our security. The flexibility of choosing plans in Microsoft Exchange Online is good. We have chosen the best plan for our use, including multiple licenses such as plan one and business basics, which leads us towards cost-effectiveness, and the pay-as-you-go option is more flexible. Microsoft Exchange Online is very scalable.

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 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."

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

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

"We have contacted technical support a handful of times and received some assistance."

"This solution is our SMB alternative to Exchange, installed for more than forty SMB customers in a Linux environment with all of the collaboration features."

"As long as the operating is stable, the Kerio connect will be very stable as well, so we don't have any problem with it."

"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."

"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

"Exchange Online is consistent."

"Microsoft Exchange Online is an easy-to-use solution."

"It is a very stable system, and it does what we ask it to do."

"The online version is faster, as it is a cloud instance. We can have massive mailbox capacity: 100 GB per user, which is huge. We can't provision such capacity internally, as the company would get burnt out paying for mailbox storage."

"Tech support has been great, when necessary."

"It has helped us because we don't have to worry about servers crashing."

"We have found the solution to be stable."

"It helps us manage the email focus from our side."

More Microsoft Exchange Online pros

Cons

"We cannot compete with them because they're fully integrated with their applications."

"The solution could improve the redundancy because we only have one copy of the Kerio Connect server on our hardware."

"Most of our clients use Outlook and Kerio Connect. Occasionally, Kerio can be a bit slow."

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

"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."

"I don't particularly like this solution. I would not recommend this solution to others."

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

"KerioConnect continues to improve with regular updates throughout the year. They must be added to the roadmap, which requires approval."

More KerioConnect cons

"We would like to have more automation with Microsoft Exchange Online."

"Functionality wise, I can't really say it's improved from Exchange Online, I think it's not so much change on-premise. It's about the same. Other than that, it's the extra features that make a difference, really"

"Microsoft Exchange Online can improve message delivery. There are times we receive a message that the email failed to be delivered, and there is no reason given. We sometimes have emails that are flagged as spam that are not. We cannot do anything about it because it's not managed by us, it's managed by Microsoft."

"Migration can be an issue if you do not have a good audit process."

"The efficiency could be improved."

"The cost is very high, and not every customer can afford licenses."

"The solution could improve by making the user interface better."

"When we need to purchase additional licenses for additional users, the process is slow."

More Microsoft Exchange Online cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

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

"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 solution's pricing is reasonable."

"The licensing price is ok, I'd rate it as four out of five."

"Microsoft solutions are expensive."

"I think it's just awesome. There's no argument about how much value you get on the per user, for user expenditure. It's really great, I don't have any issues with it. I think it's excellent."

"The pricing for this solution is good. We renew our contract every three years. I would rate the pricing for this solution a three out of five."

"In my opinion, the online license is the best one we have. It is a bundle that we have from Microsoft. It is a bit high in price."

"The price of the solution could be less expensive."

"This is an expensive solution."

More Microsoft Exchange Online pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

13%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Performing Arts

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	2

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	40
Midsize Enterprise	16
Large Enterprise	40

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?

The pricing is very easy to understand. As a partner, we have a monitoring system that informs us when subscriptions expire, allowing us to handle renewals. The pricing is very competitive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with KerioConnect?

Since KerioConnect is a setup and go solution, everything works on its own. The only administrative tasks required are keeping it up to date, monitoring security logs, and ensuring protection from ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange Online?

The benefits are widespread and effective communication. We use Microsoft Teams for meetings within and outside our organization. Additionally, Teams can be used for chat, allowing us to track comm...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange Online?

If I segment it into three points: low price, average, and high price, I would place Microsoft Exchange Online between average and high price.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online?

There is room for improvement in Microsoft Exchange Online. Technical support for Microsoft is good, but in all fairness, I sometimes think more can be done. I have personally tried exploring with ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Exchange vs KerioConnect

Compared 27% of the time

Zimbra Collaboration vs KerioConnect

Compared 15% of the time

IceWarp vs KerioConnect

Compared 10% of the time

Open-Xchange vs KerioConnect

Compared 8% of the time

Superhuman vs KerioConnect

Compared 6% of the time

More KerioConnect Competitors

Google Workspace vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 24% of the time

Open-Xchange vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 15% of the time

Amazon WorkMail vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 10% of the time

Zimbra Collaboration vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 8% of the time

MBOX to PST Converter vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 1% of the time

More Microsoft Exchange Online Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect

April 2026

Download KerioConnect product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange Online

March 2026

Download Microsoft Exchange Online product report

Also Known As

No data available

Exchange Online, Exchange Online Plan 1, Exchange Online Plan 2, MS Exchange Online

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

Exchange Online helps protect your information with advanced capabilities. Anti-malware and anti-spam filtering protect mailboxes. Data loss prevention capabilities prevent users from mistakenly sending sensitive information to unauthorized people. Globally redundant servers, premier disaster recovery capabilities, and a team of security experts monitoring Exchange Online around the clock safeguard your data.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Southern Tier Brewing Company, Innotta, Baustoff + Metall, Hamifleurs, Chanson TV, Ryman Stationery

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Blue Star Infotech, Scitec Nutrition, Resolution Films, British Airways, Empire Cinemas, InnoGames

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange Online

April 2026

Free Report: KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange Online

Find out what your peers are saying about KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange Online and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.

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