Roundcube vs Zimbra (2026): which should you pick?

Roundcube

• Hosting companies and admins who want to give their users webmail
• Self-hosters who already run an IMAP and SMTP server
• Organizations that want to brand and extend their own webmail

Zimbra

• Companies and schools that need to keep email on servers they control
• Hosting providers offering white-labeled email to customers
• Teams moving off Microsoft Exchange who want Outlook compatibility

Roundcube

• It is a client only: it needs your own IMAP and SMTP servers and does not provide a mailbox.
• You install and update it yourself on a web server with PHP 8.1 or newer and a database.
• The site posts a warning about scam emails that pretend to come from Roundcube.
• Calendar, two-factor authentication and other extras come from third-party plugins.

Zimbra

• Pricing is not published; Zimbra is licensed, and renewals go through an account manager.
• The FAQ calls the Open Source Edition end of life, with no updates or support.
• Features such as backup and restore, Zimbra Office and large-scale mobile sync need the commercial license.
• Chat and real-time collaboration are protected in transit only, not end-to-end encrypted.

Roundcube

Full email client in the browser

Drag-and-drop message management, threaded lists, MIME and HTML mail, spell checking and multiple sender identities.

Address book

Contacts with groups, find-as-you-type address entry and LDAP connectors.

Shared folders and ACLs

Supports shared and global IMAP folders and access control lists for them.

Plugins and skins

A plugin API and skin templates. Third-party additions listed include a calendar module, two-factor authentication and keyboard shortcuts.

Security features

Brute-force login prevention, XSS protection, OAuth login and support for PGP encryption.

Multi-device interface

A responsive skin, light and dark modes, three-column view and a translation into over 80 languages.

Zimbra

Mail, calendar and contacts

A web client with advanced and attachment search, personal and global address lists, group and resource scheduling, and tasks.

Two editions

Zimbra Daffodil (v10) needs a license, sold as Professional or Standard. Professional has additional features over Standard.

Desktop and mobile access

Zimbra Desktop for Windows, macOS and Linux, a Connector for Outlook on Windows, and ActiveSync on iOS and Android.

Standards-based clients

Works with IMAP, POP, CalDAV and CardDAV, so Thunderbird, Apple Mail and similar clients can connect.

Security and admin controls

Built-in anti-spam and antivirus, two-factor sign-in, LDAP or Active Directory, SAML sign-in and delegated administration.

Deployment options

Install on your own servers, run it in the cloud on AWS or OCI, or use a hosting partner, with multiple domains per install.

Roundcube

• Roundcube Webmail$0

  Free under the GPL with unlimited users and messages; you supply the web server, database and mail servers.

Zimbra

Pricing could not be confirmed. See zimbra.com.