EGroupware and SOGo are both open-source and free to self-host indefinitely, while Zimbra Collaboration is a paid, per-mailbox subscription product with no…
Freemium / Open Source · From Free (Community Edition); paid cloud plans from EUR 21.90/month
Best for: Organizations that want a free, self-hosted suite combining email, projects, a lightweight CRM, and helpdesk ticketing without a per-mailbox license fee.
Best for: IT teams and hosting providers that need a lean, standards-based, self-hosted email and calendar server proven at thousands of mailboxes, without paying per mailbox.
subscription · From Around $25 per user per year (Standard edition, approximate)
Best for: Regulated organizations, such as financial, government, or university environments, that need built-in S/MIME encryption, MDM, and compliance archiving/eDiscovery and are comfortable with per-mailbox subscription pricing.
At a Glance
egroupware
SOGo
Zimbra Collaboration
Primary category
Collaboration
Collaboration
Collaboration
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Freemium / Open Source
open-source
subscription
Starting price
Free (Community Edition); paid cloud plans from EUR 21.90/month
Free
Around $25 per user per year (Standard edition, approximate)
Free plan
Yes
Not documented
Yes
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android
Web, iOS, Android
Web, iOS, Android
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Yes
Not documented
Not documented
Public API
Yes
Yes
Yes
Standout Differences
Zimbra is the only one built for regulated-industry compliance
Zimbra documents S/MIME encryption, two-factor authentication, mobile device management, and compliance-focused archiving and eDiscovery as core features, none of which are documented for EGroupware or SOGo in the available data.
Zimbra Collaboration
EGroupware and SOGo are free to self-host indefinitely; Zimbra is not
EGroupware's Community Edition and SOGo's core server are both free, open-source, and self-hostable with no user caps, while Zimbra is sold as a per-mailbox subscription (roughly $25/user/year for Standard) with no free edition documented.
egroupware, SOGo, Zimbra Collaboration
EGroupware has the broadest built-in business toolset
EGroupware is the only one of the three that bundles a lightweight CRM (InfoLog), project management, and helpdesk ticketing directly into its free Community edition; SOGo and Zimbra don't document any of these.
egroupware
SOGo has the deepest native mobile sync protocol support
SOGo documents CalDAV, CardDAV, GroupDAV, and Microsoft ActiveSync support; Zimbra confirms ActiveSync and Outlook connectivity but not CalDAV/CardDAV, and EGroupware confirms CalDAV/CardDAV but not ActiveSync.
SOGo
Team chat is available in EGroupware and Zimbra, not documented for SOGo
EGroupware bundles Rocket.Chat integration and Zimbra includes basic and advanced team chat as core features; SOGo's available data doesn't mention a chat feature.
egroupware, Zimbra Collaboration, SOGo
Feature-by-Feature
Core Groupware and Mobile Sync
Feature
egroupware
SOGo
Zimbra Collaboration
Email, calendar, and contacts
Available
Available
Available
Mobile sync protocols (CalDAV/CardDAV/ActiveSync)
Limited
Available
Limited
Business and Collaboration Extensions
Feature
egroupware
SOGo
Zimbra Collaboration
Project management
Available
Unavailable
Not documented
Helpdesk / support ticketing
Available
Unavailable
Not documented
Team chat
Available
Not documented
Available
Security, Compliance and Deployment
Feature
egroupware
SOGo
Zimbra Collaboration
Advanced security (S/MIME, 2FA, MDM)
Not documented
Limited
Available
Compliance archiving and eDiscovery
Not documented
Not documented
Available
Free, open-source self-hosted edition
Available
Available
Unavailable
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
egroupware
Community Edition — Free N/A
eCloud — EUR 24.90/month Monthly, 2-user minimum
EPL Smart — From EUR 62.50/month Monthly, 10-user minimum
eFlat School — EUR 1,295/year Annual
Universal / eFlat — Custom (price on request) Annual
SOGo
Self-Hosted (Open Source) — Free N/A
Commercial Support (via Alinto) — Custom pricing Contract
Zimbra Collaboration
Standard — Approximately $25 per user per year annual subscription (sold in blocks of 25 mailboxes)
Professional — Approximately $35 per user per year annual subscription (sold in blocks of 25 mailboxes)
Premier and Elite Support — Additional cost, custom quote annual
Pros & Cons
egroupware
Pros
Fully-featured Community Edition is free and open source under the GPLv2 with no artificial limits
Can be self-hosted for full data control, or run as EU-hosted cloud SaaS
Broad feature set covering email, calendar, files, projects, and helpdesk in one suite
Modular design lets organizations enable only the apps they need
Cons
User interface feels dated compared to newer SaaS collaboration tools
Self-hosting requires ongoing server administration and update management
Enterprise-tier and cloud pricing require contacting sales or reading tiered per-user documentation
Smaller ecosystem and community than larger open-source rivals like Nextcloud
SOGo
Pros
Free and open source with no per-user licensing cost for the core server
Broad native client support through CalDAV, CardDAV, and ActiveSync
Integrates with existing LDAP, Active Directory, and IMAP infrastructure
Proven at scale in production environments with thousands of mailboxes
Active commercial steward (Alinto) available for organizations that want paid support
Cons
Requires in-house IT expertise or a paid support contract to install, secure, and maintain
Web interface looks dated compared to modern SaaS email clients
No official cloud-hosted SaaS version directly from the core project, only third-party hosting
Documentation can be technical and geared toward system administrators rather than end users
Zimbra Collaboration
Pros
Flexible on-premises, private cloud, or hybrid deployment for data sovereignty
Long track record with over 200 million users served over more than 20 years
Strong fit for regulated industries needing compliance archiving and eDiscovery
Includes an integrated office suite without needing a separate subscription
Multiple support tiers, including 24/7 Premier support for critical issues
Cons
Self-managed deployment options require more IT overhead than a pure SaaS suite like Google Workspace
Publicly available pricing is limited; most organizations need a reseller quote
Interface and ecosystem feel dated compared to newer cloud-native collaboration suites
Licensing sold in blocks of 25 mailboxes, which can be less flexible for very small teams
Use Cases
Choose egroupware: Organizations that want a free, self-hosted suite combining email, projects, a lightweight CRM, and helpdesk ticketing without a per-mailbox license fee.
Choose SOGo: IT teams and hosting providers that need a lean, standards-based, self-hosted email and calendar server proven at thousands of mailboxes, without paying per mailbox.
Choose Zimbra Collaboration: Regulated organizations, such as financial, government, or university environments, that need built-in S/MIME encryption, MDM, and compliance archiving/eDiscovery and are comfortable with per-mailbox subscription pricing.
egroupware
European data-sovereignty-conscious collaboration — Organizations that must keep email, calendar, and file data on EU soil use EGroupware's self-hosted or German-hosted cloud options instead of US-based SaaS suites.
Nonprofit and school administration — Nonprofits and schools use discounted eCloud NGO or flat-rate eFlat School plans to run email, scheduling, and file sharing on a fixed annual budget.
Self-hosted Microsoft 365 alternative — IT teams that already manage their own servers deploy the free Community Edition to replace proprietary groupware licensing costs.
SOGo
Self-Hosted Business Email — Small and mid-size businesses replace hosted email suites with a self-hosted SOGo server for full control over data and infrastructure.
ISP and Hosting Provider Webmail — Hosting providers deploy SOGo to offer webmail, calendar, and contact services to thousands of customer mailboxes across multiple domains.
Exchange Alternative for Regulated Industries — Organizations with data residency or compliance requirements use SOGo to keep email and calendar data on infrastructure they control.
Zimbra Collaboration
Regulated-industry email hosting — A financial institution deploys Zimbra on-premises to keep email and calendar data within its own infrastructure for compliance reasons.
University and government collaboration — A university or government agency uses Zimbra's private cloud deployment to manage email, calendar, and file sharing under its own data governance policies.
Exchange or Google Workspace migration — An organization moving away from Microsoft Exchange or Google Workspace adopts Zimbra Professional for Outlook connectivity during a gradual transition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which of these three is free to self-host?
EGroupware's Community Edition and SOGo's core server are both free, open-source, and self-hostable with unlimited users. Zimbra Collaboration is sold as a per-mailbox subscription, roughly $25/user/year for the Standard edition, with no free edition documented.
Which one is built for regulated industries with compliance requirements?
Zimbra is the only one of the three that documents S/MIME encryption, two-factor authentication, mobile device management, and compliance-focused archiving and eDiscovery as core features, which is why it's used by financial institutions, government agencies, and universities.
Does any of them include built-in project management or a CRM?
Only EGroupware does, via its Projectmanager app and InfoLog CRM-style tracking module, both included in the free Community edition. Neither SOGo nor Zimbra documents project management or CRM functionality.
Which has the widest mobile device sync support?
SOGo documents the broadest protocol support, including CalDAV, CardDAV, GroupDAV, and Microsoft ActiveSync. Zimbra confirms ActiveSync and Outlook integration, while EGroupware confirms CalDAV and CardDAV.
How is Zimbra priced compared to the other two?
Zimbra is licensed per mailbox, typically sold in blocks of 25, at roughly $25/user/year for Standard or $35/user/year for Professional, with no free tier documented. EGroupware and SOGo are both free to self-host, with EGroupware also offering paid enterprise and cloud tiers for organizations that want vendor support.
Which is the better fit for a hosting provider or ISP running thousands of mailboxes?
SOGo is explicitly documented as designed to scale to thousands of mailboxes and multiple domains, making it the strongest fit among the three for that use case.