IceWarp vs Kopano (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, IceWarp grades higher than Kopano: 2.6 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
IceWarp grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
IceWarp
Business email, chat, files and meetings, cloud or self-hosted
Kopano
Container-based business email and calendar for hosting providers
Which one is for you
Pick IceWarp if
- Fits if you want mail, chat and files for a small team at a few dollars a head
- Works for teams who might want to host it themselves later
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a free plan, as there is only a 30-day trial
- Tight if you need ActiveSync or document editing, as Core doesn't include them
- Skip it if you need booking or webinar mode, which are Business only
- Watch out: self-hosted licence prices were not readable, so only cloud prices are listed
- Watch out: the pricing page offers a trial and sales contact, not a card checkout
Pick Kopano if
- Fits if you are a hosting provider that wants to resell business mail
- Works for a managed-service company that already runs containers
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you are an individual buyer, as the site is written for partners
- Skip it if you want a price first, since access starts with a demo and a proof of concept
- Watch out: Kopano Groupware reached end of life in 2024 and was replaced by Kopano Cloud
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAIceWarpGood | 2.2GPAKopanoFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BCore is $1.35 a user a month billed yearly, below 60% of the cheapest paid email quarter. But 2 GB of mail and no ActiveSync; Essential is $2.25 and Business $4.05, so a B. | CNo prices are published, so there's nothing to compare. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free 30-day trial with no credit card, and no free plan after it. | CA free 30-day trial for up to ten users, through a demo environment. You go through a demo first. |
| Features | BMail, calendar, chat, conferencing, documents and mobile sync across the tiers. Booking and webinar mode need Business. | BWeb mail and calendar, Outlook and mobile connectivity, multi-tenant administration and branding. The listing shows no gap in the job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It needs accounts and users set up, and a self-hosted route exists, which keeps it at C. | DIt's a container deployment that a provider sets up, and the site is written for partners. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android apps, plus ActiveSync. The only integration listed is ChatGPT. | BWeb, with Outlook, ActiveSync, IMAP, POP3, LDAP and Active Directory connections. |
| Best for | business email with chat, files and video at $1.35 a user | business email and calendar for hosting providers |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: IceWarp and Kopano. How we grade
Where they differ
- Kopano is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- IceWarp also covers team chat, video calls and file sharing.
- Kopano also covers tasks.
At a glance
| IceWarp | Kopano | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $1.50 per user / month, billed monthly ($1.35 billed annually) | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free 30-day trial, no credit card needed | Free 30-day trial for up to ten users, through a demo environment |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | IceWarp | NHe4a GmbH |
| Price read from | icewarp.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
IceWarp
- Self-hosted licenses are priced per user per year; those amounts were not readable, so only cloud prices are listed.
- Booking and webinar mode require the Business tier.
- The pricing page offers the free trial and sales contact, not a self-serve card checkout.
Kopano
- No prices are published; access starts with a demo, a meeting and a proof of concept.
- The site is written for partners and managed service providers, not for individual buyers.
- The earlier Kopano Groupware product reached end of life in 2024 and was replaced by Kopano Cloud.
Key features
IceWarp
- Email and calendar
- Email server with calendar, contacts, notes and tasks, plus anti-virus and anti-spam.
- Chat and TeamChat
- Chat is in every tier, and Essential adds TeamChat for real-time team messaging.
- Conferencing
- Essential adds video conferencing with recording; Business adds webinar mode.
- Documents
- Collaborative document editing arrives in Essential.
- Mobile sync
- Mobile app on every tier and Exchange ActiveSync sync starting with Essential.
- Desktop and mobile apps
- The site lists Windows and Mac desktop apps and iOS and Android apps.
Kopano
- Web mail and calendar
- A browser client covers email, calendar, contacts and tasks, with out-of-office replies, mail filters, shared folders and free/busy scheduling.
- Outlook and mobile connectivity
- Outlook connects natively through autodiscover, phones and tablets use ActiveSync, and other clients can use IMAP, POP3 or EWS.
- Container deployment
- The stack ships as OCI (Docker) containers that are meant to be deployed and updated in the customer's own environment.
- Multi-tenant administration
- A multi-tenant design with a self-management interface for tenant admins, a REST API for automation and an agent for LDAP or Active Directory sync.
- Branding
- Central branding settings let a provider change colors in the web interface and optionally supply branded end-user documentation.
Plans
IceWarp
Core$1.35
per user / month, billed annually ($1.50 billed monthly)
2 GB email and 4 GB total storage per user, calendar, chat, files, notes and tasks.
Essential$2.25
per user / month, billed annually ($2.50 billed monthly)
Adds 50 GB mail and 1 TB storage, document editing, conferencing and ActiveSync.
Business$4.05
per user / month, billed annually ($4.50 billed monthly)
Adds 200 GB mail storage, booking and webinar mode.
Kopano
Pricing could not be confirmed. See kopano.cloud.
Ways to pay less
IceWarp
- Annual discount
Annual billing lowers the per-user price
Core is $1.35 per user / month billed annually versus $1.50 monthly, Essential $2.25 versus $2.50, Business $4.05 versus $4.50.
Kopano
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, IceWarp or Kopano?
As of Nov 13, 2026, IceWarp starts at $1.50 per user / month, billed monthly ($1.35 billed annually), and Kopano has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, IceWarp or Kopano?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither IceWarp nor Kopano has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do IceWarp and Kopano run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only IceWarp lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.