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When you wanted to order a mail server from us, you had to choose between IMAP, POP3 and Exchange Server, but you don’t know what the differences are. This article explains the differences between IMAP, POP3 and Exchange and what they are best suited for.

What are the differences?

IMAP:

This is the most popular setting and we configure it by default.
Your e-mails are downloaded from the mail server and constantly synchronized, so you always have the same mailbox on several devices.
The IMAP protocol is best suited if you have an e-mail address installed on several devices.
For example, when you send an e-mail to a friend in Outlook, the e-mail is stored in the Sent Items folder. This email is then automatically present on the various other devices.
Since the email is stored on the server, the emails are automatically backed up by FireStorm. In case of an emergency, you can request a restore for the last few days.

POP3:

Is an old protocol, no longer very popular
With POP3, e-mails are only downloaded by default, but are not synchronized. This means, for example, that on your smartphone, e-mails from the last few days are in your mailbox, while on your laptop, the last e-mails arrived two months ago. The contents of several devices are not the same.
The user can decide whether to keep the e-mails on the server or delete them.
The user is responsible for backing up the data and must save them on his local computer.
The POP3 is mainly used for simple email account downloading.
With POP3 it is also not known whether e-mails have been read, deleted or answered.

Exchange Active Sync (EAS):

Support for e-mails such as IMAP
Additional synchronization with calendar, contacts and notes
The data is located on the FireStorm server. In case of an emergency, you can request a recovery for the last few days.
Exchange ActiveSync is designed to synchronize email, contacts, calendar entries, tasks, and notes from a mail server to a mobile device.
Requires a plugin for non-mobile devices (except Outlook).
Paying, cheaper than Exchange but with less features and compatibility

Microsoft Exchange Mailbox (EWS):

Support for e-mails such as IMAP
Additional synchronization with calendar, contacts and notes
Microsoft Exchange consists of the Exchange program of the same name and the Exchange Web Service (EWS) protocol.
Microsoft Exchange can be integrated with most applications without plug-ins or additional software, such as MacMail, mobile devices, Outlook and many more.
Paid, costs per mailbox, with all Outlook features

SMTP:

The SMTP server is responsible for sending email and is automatically included with every IMAP, POP3, Exchange Active Sync and Microsoft Exchange mailbox.
E-mail address and password authentication must be enabled for sending.