The Kopano Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Kopano in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Kopano
The Insider’s Guide
Container-based business email and calendar for hosting providers
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among email apps, read from Kopano’s own pages.
Made by NHe4a GmbH · checked Nov 13, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Kopano’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Kopano’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 13, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.2
GPA, above 29 of the 122 other email apps we grade
Kopano Cloud is a groupware stack for email, calendar, contacts, notes and tasks that runs as a set of containers. It is aimed at managed service providers and organizations that want to host mail themselves, with Outlook, mobile and IMAP clients able to connect. The older Kopano Groupware product reached end of life in 2024.
To get you started, here are 8 things to know about Kopano, taken from its own pages and our grades.
It's a container deployment that a provider sets up, and the site is written for partners.
- 1
Best for business email and calendar for hosting providers
Kopano is container-based business email and calendar sold to hosting providers.
- 2
You can try it first
Free 30-day trial for up to ten users, through a demo environment
- 3
It runs on Web
Web.
- 4
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.
- 5
Outlook and mobile connectivity
Outlook connects natively through autodiscover, phones and tablets use ActiveSync, and other clients can use IMAP, POP3 or EWS.
- 6
Container deployment
The stack ships as OCI (Docker) containers that are meant to be deployed and updated in the customer's own environment.
- 7
A 2.2 GPA, above 29 of 122
That is against the other email apps we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 8
Keep it
To replace Kopano you would be making an email client: sending, receiving, threading and searching years of mail. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Kopano at a glance
- Pricing
- Free trial
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- Free 30-day trial for up to ten users, through a demo environment
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- NHe4a GmbH
- Category
- Email Apps
- Our grade
- 2.2 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for business email and calendar for hosting providers
Kopano is container-based business email and calendar sold to hosting providers. No prices are published, access starts with a demo and a meeting, and the older Kopano Groupware product reached end of life in 2024.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | No prices are published, so there's nothing to compare. |
| Free plan and trial | C | A free 30-day trial for up to ten users, through a demo environment. You go through a demo first. |
| Features | B | Web mail and calendar, Outlook and mobile connectivity, multi-tenant administration and branding. The listing shows no gap in the job. |
| Ease of use | D | It's a container deployment that a provider sets up, and the site is written for partners. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web, with Outlook, ActiveSync, IMAP, POP3, LDAP and Active Directory connections. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Kopano is for
- Fits if you are a hosting provider that wants to resell business mail
- Works for a managed-service company that already runs containers
Who it is not for
- 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
Good to know
Good for
- Hosting providers reselling mail under their own brand
- Organizations that need mail hosted in a chosen EU location
- Teams that want to keep using Outlook against their own server
Worth knowing
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
Kopano's current pricing could not be confirmed from its own site.
No prices are published, so there's nothing to compare.
We could not confirm Kopano’s current prices from its own site, so this guide lists no plans. kopano.cloud has them.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Container-based business email and calendar for hosting providers. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: self-hostable, tasks, calendar, email client.
Web mail and calendar, Outlook and mobile connectivity, multi-tenant administration and branding.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- Microsoft Outlook
- ActiveSync
- IMAP
- POP3
- LDAP
- Active Directory
Kopano is made by NHe4a GmbH.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
29/122
Other email apps it is graded above
Kopano's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 29 of the 122 other email apps we grade, and level with 24.
It stands best on features (B, above 79 of 122) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0).
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 123 email apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. Kopano’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 13 of 122
- CFree plan and trialAbove 9 of 122
- BFeaturesAbove 79 of 122
- DEase of useAbove 0 of 122
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 57 of 122
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Kopano you would be making an email client: sending, receiving, threading and searching years of mail. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 69 of the 122 other email apps grade higher.
What you could make
- Calendar and tasks: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- An email client: sending, receiving, threading and searching years of mail.
- It plugs into other products, Microsoft Outlook, ActiveSync and IMAP among them.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Kopano’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Zimbra, Open-Xchange, SOGo, IceWarp and MDaemon
The 5 tools Kopano is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
Zimbra
Paid
Self-hosted email, calendar and file sharing for organizations.
- Only Zimbra lists Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android apps.
- Zimbra is open source, according to its own site.
- 1.8GPA
Open-Xchange
Paid
OX App Suite email platform sold to providers and governments.
- Open-Xchange is open source, according to its own site.
- Kopano also covers tasks.
- 2.2GPA
SOGo
Free
Open-source groupware with webmail, calendars and contacts.
- SOGo has a free plan. Kopano does not, though it has a free trial.
- SOGo is open source, according to its own site.
- Kopano also covers tasks.
- 2.6GPA
IceWarp
Free trial · from $1.50/mo
Business email, chat, files and meetings, cloud or self-hosted.
- Only IceWarp lists Windows, macOS, iOS and Android apps.
- Kopano is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Kopano also covers tasks.
- 2.0GPA
MDaemon
Free trial
Email server for Windows with webmail and Outlook connector.
- Only MDaemon lists Windows and macOS apps.
- Kopano also covers tasks.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
11
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Kopano free?
No, Kopano is a paid product, but you can try it first. Free 30-day trial for up to ten users, through a demo environment.
What platforms does Kopano work on?
Kopano is available on Web.
Does Kopano have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Kopano is listed for Web.
Does Kopano have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Kopano is listed for Web.
Is Kopano open source?
Kopano is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Can Kopano be self-hosted?
Yes. Kopano's own site says it can be run on a server of your own.
What does Kopano integrate with?
Kopano's listing names Microsoft Outlook, ActiveSync, IMAP, POP3, LDAP and Active Directory.
Who makes Kopano?
Kopano is made by NHe4a GmbH.
What are the alternatives to Kopano?
The closest alternatives to Kopano in our directory are Zimbra, Open-Xchange, SOGo, IceWarp and MDaemon.
How does Kopano compare with other email apps?
Kopano's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 29 of the 122 other email apps we grade, and level with 24.
Could I make my own version of Kopano?
To replace Kopano you would be making an email client: sending, receiving, threading and searching years of mail.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Kopano’s own pages on Nov 13, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 13, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Kopano's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by NHe4a GmbH. Prices change, so check kopano.cloud before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
7,721
Tools graded, in 95 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
7,721
tools graded
95
categories
739
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Kopano, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/kopano
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Kopano: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 13, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/kopano
Know someone choosing between email apps?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/kopano/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded email apps after Kopano, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Email Apps Insider's GuideEvery one of the 126 email apps we grade, compared
- Microsoft Outlook Insider's GuideMicrosoft's email and calendar app for desktop, mobile and web3.6 GPA
- AOL Mail Insider's GuideFree webmail with news and weather in a companion mobile app3.2 GPA
- BlueMail Insider's GuideCross-platform email client with a unified inbox and built-in AI3.2 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Kopano’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Kopano is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by NHe4a GmbH. Prices and plans change: check kopano.cloud before you buy.