| Feature | "Free" email (HotMail, GMail, Yahoo Mail) | Business email (Exchange based) |
| Send and receive e-mail messages. | Yes | Yes |
| Rich text with picture, photos, tables, charts and etc | None or limited | Full support of Rich Text Format (RTF) or HTML |
| Enhanced collaboration, scheduling with free/busy information, and online forms. | No | Yes |
| Support of POP3 and IMAP4 e-mail servers | No | Yes |
| Read e-mail anywhere | Only through WEB based UI | Read your e-mail anywhere, using your Outlook, Outlook Express or WEB based UI |
| Address Book and Contacts folder to store and retrieve e-mail addresses. | Limited | Corporate Address Book and Personal Contacts |
| Out of Office Assistant that automatically sends a reply to incoming messages while you are out of the office. | No | Yes |
| Fully integrated Calendar, including meeting and event scheduling, appointments, and group calendars | No | Yes |
| Reminders for e-mail messages, calendar events, tasks, and notes | No | Yes |
| Information Rights Management (IRM) functionality that allows you to control whether recipients can print, copy, or forward your e-mail messages | No | Yes |
| Integration with Windows SharePoint sites | No | Yes |
| Auto backup (archive) functionality to keep your mailbox manageable. Store old items that you want to keep but don't need immediate access to, and move those old items to the archive location automatically. | No | Yes |
| Microsoft Office Word as your e-mail editor to provide access to additional formatting and style options. | No | Yes |
| Categories for organizing your items. | No | Yes |
| Side-by-side calendars where you can view multiple calendars and drag items between the calendars. | No | Yes |
| Tasks folder to keep lists of personal or work-related errands that you want to track from start to finish. | No | Yes |
| Junk e-mail message filter | Limited | Yes, two levels: server based Spam filter and Client side Junk mail filter |
| Notes folder — the electronic equivalent of paper sticky notes. | No | Yes |
| Signatures and stationery. | No | Yes |
| Secure e-mail messaging. | No | Yes |