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Microsoft Exchange vs ProtonMail comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Microsoft Exchange
Ranking in Email Applications
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Wireless Email (1st), File Archiving (3rd)
ProtonMail
Ranking in Email Applications
10th
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 11.4%, down from 12.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ProtonMail is 4.2%, up from 4.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Hesham Hussain - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Secure email communication facilitates safe financial exchanges and enhances data privacy
I use ProtonMail for exchanging invoicing with clients, managing financial information, and receiving notifications from bank accounts and investment brokers. It's dedicated to high-importance communication involving financial information The auto encryption of attachments is valuable. ProtonMail…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft Exchange is stable."
"Microsoft Exchange is comparable to the Outlook client. Both are Microsoft products, and most people are familiar with Outlook. This is why the best feature of Microsoft Exchange is the ease of use. It is more compatible with the client software, especially for Microsoft Outlook. There are a lot of features available that are required for businesses users."
"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 very simple."
"The best features are that Exchange is very customer-friendly, its interface is self-explanatory, it doesn't hang, and it keeps evolving."
"The backup and archiving features are valuable, it is user friendly too."
"It's a very user-friendly application. The mail server is also valuable when compared to other services like SquirrelMail."
"Exchange is a robust system that is well suited for an enterprise environment. It's always up, and we hardly face any technical issues. Exchange has a web interface and integrates perfectly with Microsoft Outlook. This web interface can be easily used to change the passwords from the domain controllers."
"The auto encryption of attachments is valuable."
 

Cons

"The solution is stable, but it could improve. It's crashing if there is a big mail database. The Zimbra solution is better in this area."
"We would prefer to be able to manage the solution on the cloud."
"Load balancing is lacking."
"They keep making all these changes, and our system was down for four or five days. They finally got it up, but there are still lots of quirks."
"At the end of the day, the biggest area for improvement is having better and more knowledgeable support technicians."
"In the version we have, I would like to see better communication between the end device and the Exchange server."
"Some users encounter stability issues. I connect with the support team through my local partner, which takes time."
"Nothing is perfect, that's why I am giving Microsoft Exchange a nine."
"One improvement could be the integration between ProtonMail and Proton Pass, allowing sharing of specific secrets via email."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing fees are paid monthly."
"It's working very well. There is no problem, but the price is not the best."
"Licensing costs for Microsoft Exchange have increased, but are still fair. For some users, the cost is high considering the number of functions and features they will use."
"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."
"We pay for the license annually."
"The solution is expensive to maintain because it requires frequent updates and ongoing server maintenance."
"It would be nice if it used less resources to run on-premise."
"Microsoft doesn't have a unit price, it's based on the quantity, and they offer great discounts."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Educational Organization
13%
Computer Software Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ProtonMail?
The pricing is competitive, offering good value on the average plan. It’s approximately $100 for annual billing.
What needs improvement with ProtonMail?
The UI was previously cumbersome, however, it has improved. One improvement could be the integration between ProtonMail and Proton Pass, allowing sharing of specific secrets via email. However, thi...
What is your primary use case for ProtonMail?
I use ProtonMail for exchanging invoicing with clients, managing financial information, and receiving notifications from bank accounts and investment brokers. It's dedicated to high-importance comm...
 

Also Known As

Exchange, MS Exchange
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Scitec Nutrition, British Airways, InnoGames, Osteology Foundation, Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH, NTC Contracting
Wall street journal,The New york times, The Gurdian, Forbes, Fox News
Find out what your peers are saying about Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others in Email Applications. Updated: February 2025.
842,388 professionals have used our research since 2012.