Kopano vs SOGo (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Kopano and SOGo share a 2.2 GPA, and only SOGo has a free plan.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Kopano
Container-based business email and calendar for hosting providers
Free trial
Which one is for you
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
Pick SOGo if
- Fits if you run mail for an organisation and want webmail with shared calendars
- Works for admins who already run IMAP and database servers
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't want to run a server, as it gives you no hosted mailbox
- Skip it if you want production builds without paying, since those need a support contract
- Watch out: support contracts are priced in euros, 500 to 7,500 a year
- Watch out: the price list is dated September 2024
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAKopanoFair | 2.2GPASOGoFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo prices are published, so there's nothing to compare. | CFree only if you host it yourself, which needs a mail server and a database. Production builds need a support contract from 500 euros a year. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free 30-day trial for up to ten users, through a demo environment. You go through a demo first. | CThe software is free to download, but the free route is nightly builds that the project calls untested. |
| Features | BWeb mail and calendar, Outlook and mobile connectivity, multi-tenant administration and branding. The listing shows no gap in the job. | BWebmail, calendars, contacts, ActiveSync and Outlook and Thunderbird support, and the listing shows no gap in the groupware job. |
| Ease of use | DIt's a container deployment that a provider sets up, and the site is written for partners. | DYou install it and wire it to your own mail and database servers. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with Outlook, ActiveSync, IMAP, POP3, LDAP and Active Directory connections. | BA web interface, plus ActiveSync, Outlook, Thunderbird and Apple Calendar connections. There's no desktop app of its own. |
| Best for | business email and calendar for hosting providers | groupware you run yourself |
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: Kopano and SOGo. How we grade
Where they differ
- SOGo is open source, according to its own site.
- Kopano also covers tasks.
In commonWebSelf-hostableCalendarEmail client
At a glance
| Kopano | SOGo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free |
| Starts at | Not published | Free |
| Free plan | None | The software is free to download and run yourself, with community support through a mailing list. |
| Free trial | Free 30-day trial for up to ten users, through a demo environment | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | NHe4a GmbH | Alinto |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | sogo.nu |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
SOGo
- It is software to install: you supply the mail and database servers, and it provides no hosted mailbox.
- Production-build package repositories require a paid support contract from Alinto; free users get nightly builds.
- Nightly builds are described as untested and not recommended for production use.
- Support contracts are priced in euros per year: 500, 1,500, 5,000 or 7,500, per a price list dated September 2024.
Key features
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.
SOGo
- Web interface for mail and groupware
- An AJAX-based interface for email, shared calendars and address books across an organization.
- Standards-based sync
- Supports CalDAV, CardDAV and GroupDAV, with IMAP and SMTP for mail, so many native clients can connect.
- ActiveSync for phones
- iPhone, Android and Windows Phone devices can sync email, contacts, events and tasks through Microsoft ActiveSync.
- Outlook and Thunderbird support
- Outlook works through the free CalDAV Synchronizer plugin. Thunderbird has SOGo Connector and Integrator extensions.
- Built for large deployments
- The site says SOGo has run in production with thousands of users and focuses on scalability and open standards.
- Paid support tiers
- Yearly Alinto contracts cost 500 to 7,500 euros and add production repositories, incident tickets and response times.
Plans
Kopano
Pricing could not be confirmed. See kopano.cloud.
SOGo
Community$0
Free software you host yourself, with nightly builds, mailing-list help and documentation. No official releases or bug fixes.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Kopano or SOGo?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Kopano has no price we could confirm, and SOGo is free.
Which has a free plan, Kopano or SOGo?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only SOGo has a free plan. Kopano does not, though it has a free trial.
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.