Kolab Now

Overview

Kolab Now was founded in 2008, headquartered in Switzerland, and is a secure collaboration platform built on the open-source Kolab groupware framework. The Kolab project originated from a German BITKOM initiative in 2007, and Kolab Now is its commercial hosted service brand. Unlike most email providers, Kolab Now's core positioning is "secure team collaboration"—beyond standard email, it offers shared calendars, resource booking, task management, file synchronization, and global address books as enterprise-grade groupware features. All data is encrypted and stored in Swiss data centers, protected by the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP), free from the jurisdictional conflicts of EU GDPR and US Cloud Act.

In secure collaboration email comparisons, Kolab Now serves a loyal user base in organizations that prioritize data sovereignty and team collaboration, thanks to its open-source groupware framework, end-to-end encryption, and Swiss privacy law protection.

Core Strengths

• Open-Source Groupware Framework: Built on the open-source Kolab framework, running as a commercial hosted service. User data is not locked into a proprietary platform—if self-hosting is needed, migration to a self-managed Kolab server is straightforward. Code transparency enables unimpeded security audits.
• End-to-End Encrypted Email: Built-in PGP key management tools support end-to-end email encryption. All encryption occurs client-side; the provider cannot access decrypted email content. S/MIME certificate encryption and TLS transport encryption are also supported.
• Swiss Privacy Law Protection: Switzerland is not an EU member, exempt from direct GDPR jurisdiction and US Cloud Act constraints. Kolab Now's data centers in Switzerland are protected by the Swiss FADP. This legal standing is highly attractive for organizations requiring maximum data sovereignty (law firms, financial institutions).
• Enterprise Groupware Features: Beyond email, supports shared calendars (with free/busy lookup), resource booking (meeting rooms, projectors, equipment), task assignment and tracking, global address books, and delegation access management. These features materially improve organizational collaboration efficiency.
• Standard Protocol Compatibility: Supports IMAP, SMTP, CalDAV, CardDAV, and ActiveSync (select plans). Seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail, iOS/Android native email clients—no proprietary client required.

Product Features

Kolab Groupware Platform

Kolab Now's core is the open-source Kolab groupware platform. Built on a Cyrus IMAP storage backend, it provides an integrated collaboration experience for email, calendar, address book, tasks, and file management. The webmail uses Roundcube architecture with standard mail operations.

Shared Calendar & Resource Management

Kolab Now's calendar system supports multi-user calendar sharing within an organization, with free/busy status visibility. Resource management allows administrators to create resource calendars for meeting rooms, equipment, etc. Users can book resources directly in meeting invitations—system detects conflicts automatically when resources are occupied.

End-to-End Encryption

Built-in PGP end-to-end encryption tools support automatic key generation and import. Emails are encrypted in the browser/client before sending; the server stores only ciphertext. The key management interface is user-friendly, supporting key expiration and revocation. Encryption covers both email body and attachments.

Cloud File Storage

Each Kolab Now plan includes 10GB–50GB of file storage. Files are accessible via WebDAV and can be mapped as network drives. Supports online file preview (images, PDFs, documents), version history, and file sharing links.

Limitations

• Low Brand Awareness: Kolab Now has far lower visibility than ProtonMail, Tuta, and other privacy email brands. The smaller community means fewer plugins, third-party integrations, and knowledge base resources. Problem resolution may depend more on official support.
• Traditional UI Design: Webmail is based on Roundcube with a traditional interface, lagging behind Google Workspace and Microsoft 365's modern web experience. While feature-complete, the visual design hasn't seen major updates in years.
• No Permanent Free Plan: Only a 14-day trial. Entry price CHF 6.90/month (approx €7/month) is higher than Mailbox.org (€1/month) and Tuta (€3/month). For email-only users, the value proposition is weaker.
• Limited Data Centers: Only 2 data centers, both in Switzerland. No global CDN nodes. Non-European users (Asia, North America, South America) experience noticeable webmail latency. IMAP clients for offline use are recommended.

Use Cases

• Organizations Requiring Data Sovereignty (★★★★★): Law firms, financial institutions, government agencies with strict data sovereignty requirements—Swiss privacy law provides unique legal protection.
• Teams Needing Groupware Features (★★★★): Shared calendars, resource booking, task management provide tangible collaboration improvements for 5–50 person teams.
• Open-Source Enthusiasts (★★★★): Kolab is a mature open-source groupware framework. Kolab Now's hosted service avoids self-hosting maintenance costs.
• Individual Privacy Email Users (★★): Higher price than Mailbox.org (€1/month) and Tuta (€3/month). Not cost-effective for email-only use.

Pricing

Note: All hosted plans include 14-day free trial. Annual billing gives 2 months discount. Self-hosted version is free but requires server maintenance.

FAQ

• Kolab Now vs ProtonMail: which to choose? ProtonMail focuses on individual email encryption with higher brand recognition and modern UI. Kolab Now focuses on team collaboration—shared calendars, resource management, and task assignment are enterprise features ProtonMail doesn't offer. Choose based on whether groupware is needed.

• How secure is Kolab Now? Data is encrypted and stored in Swiss data centers, protected by Swiss FADP, outside EU GDPR and US Cloud Act jurisdiction. Supports end-to-end PGP encryption, TLS transport encryption, and two-factor authentication.

• What email clients does Kolab Now support? Supports IMAP, SMTP, CalDAV, CardDAV standard protocols. Team and above plans support Exchange ActiveSync. Compatible with Microsoft Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail, iOS/Android native email clients.

• Can Kolab Now be self-hosted? Yes. Kolab is fully open-source and available from kolab.org for self-deployment. Suitable for organizations with运维 (operations) capabilities.

• Is Kolab Now suitable for individual users? Suitable but not cost-effective compared to alternatives. Individual users should consider Mailbox.org (€1/month) or Tuta (free plan). Kolab Now's core value is team groupware collaboration.