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 8.8. GFI holds a 4.1% mindshare in EA, compared to Microsoft’s 10.6% 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

1,715 Views
1,544 Comparison Views

62% willing to recommend

Microsoft Exchange Online

Read 92 Microsoft Exchange Online reviews

4,291 Views
4,119 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: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange Online

March 2026

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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

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 March 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of KerioConnect is 4.1%, down from 4.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 10.6%, down from 14.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online	10.6%
KerioConnect	4.1%
Other	85.3%

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

"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."

"It's relatively simple to use."

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

"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."

"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."

"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."

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

"Kerio Connect is secure, flexible, and easy to control from the user interface."

More KerioConnect pros

"I enjoy not having to maintain the local infrastructure, local servers, local whatever. You use the software and don't have to worry about the details."

"The best part of this solution is the security it offers, where we are able to determine which mailboxes have been blocked or which mailboxes cannot be allowed to send traffic because of a violation."

"It is a fantastic solution."

"Microsoft Exchange Online is cloud-based and we always use the latest version."

"Exchange Online plays a significant role in our business. It controls all our emails, so we'd be in a lot of trouble if we didn't have that. It's an essential product."

"The most valuable features of Microsoft Exchange Online are spam filtering, 50 GB of email storage, good integration with Outlook, and ease of management."

"Regarding the pricing and licensing of the solution, it's great."

"This means that the solution offers complete scalability and flexibility."

More Microsoft Exchange Online pros

Cons

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

"This is just a cost, it's not something that's driving our business forward; it's just foundational."

"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."

"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."

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

"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"

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

More KerioConnect cons

"The UI could be improved to look more like the desktop version for ease of use."

"When you migrate from on-prem to cloud, if you choose to or are forced to do the hybrid, they need to devise a way to undo the hybrid."

"The solution should have more integration with other platforms."

"When you migrate from on-prem to cloud, if you choose to or are forced to do the hybrid, they need to devise a way to undo the hybrid."

"The SaaS platform performance could be improved. At a previous company, we used this same solution on-premises, the data exchange was much faster compared to the SaaS platform and we sometimes experience lags."

"Also, I think the mobile app on the forms you can improve a little bit more."

"The support from the vendor is fine. However, it could be faster, and some of the agents could be more knowledgeable, but it is a large solution, there's a lot of information that the agents have to work with. I can't always expect when I get connected to the first-level agent that they will know absolutely everything. Sometimes there's no replacement for pure experience."

"This product is too complex to use."

More Microsoft Exchange Online cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

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

"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."

"I pay approximately $120 or $150 per year, and as long as I pay that amount, they will do regular updates so that I always have the most recent and greatest version of the application."

"The solution costs $12 to $16 per user per month."

"The cost is around $12 to $16 per user."

"The costs of this platform vary based on subscriptions, but it is generally reasonable."

"The model is one which is pay-per-use go. There is no license. We are talking about per-user subscription-based use."

"The pricing for Microsoft Exchange Online is quite reasonable, in my opinion. Many licensing options are available so that we can choose based on the customer's needs. For example, if a customer only requires mailbox features, we can recommend Plan One or Plan 2. We can suggest an E3 or E5 license if they need the entire Office suite. There are also premium subscriptions for enterprise customers, offering additional security features. Overall, I don't find the pricing costly because Microsoft provides many features and security capabilities, making it reliable for all customers, depending on their requirements."

"The subscription fee is monthly."

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

More Microsoft Exchange Online pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

12%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Performing Arts

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

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 30% of the time

Zimbra Collaboration vs KerioConnect

Compared 15% of the time

IceWarp vs KerioConnect

Compared 9% of the time

ProtonMail vs KerioConnect

Compared 7% of the time

Open-Xchange vs KerioConnect

Compared 7% of the time

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Google Workspace vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 25% of the time

Open-Xchange vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 18% of the time

Amazon WorkMail vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 9% of the time

Zimbra Collaboration vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 7% of the time

MBOX to PST Converter vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 1% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

KerioConnect

March 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

March 2026

Free Report: KerioConnect vs. Microsoft Exchange Online

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