Outlook is both the name of the client application and the name of Microsoft basic mail hosting service (Google would be gmail). This is a service which everyone can get for free. When you add an outlook account you are connecting to your free mail server to see and send your email. That mail server is run by Microsoft. Microsoft exchange is the name of the overall mail and collaboration services that run on a server somewhere. It offers more functionality than outlook accounts, but requires a dedicated email server to be running. That email server could be hosted with Microsoft (via office 365 and office 365 licenses) or a company could run their own physical server. Most commonly companies will use exchange services (despite the cost) so they can centrally control their spam policies, archive contents and most commonly use their own custom company domain for the e-mail address. So, hope that makes sense, outlook provides free basic mail services, generally for individuals. Exchange provides more advanced mail services, usually used by companies. Answer from NikSheppard on reddit.com
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Microsoft Learn
learn.microsoft.com › en-us › exchange › exchange-online
Exchange Online | Microsoft Learn
Microsoft Exchange Online is a cloud based messaging platform that delivers email, calendar, contacts, and tasks.
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Doherty Associates
doherty.co.uk › home › office 365 vs exchange server for email: what’s the difference?
Office 365 vs Exchange Server for email: what's the difference? | Doherty Associates
September 22, 2025 - With Microsoft holding the market share for business email, we take a look at key differences between Microsoft Exchange Server and Office 365 – the hosted, or on-premises solution, versus the cloud version.
Discussions

Perhaps a dumb question but what is exchange vs outlook?
Hey Stoltlallare! Welcome to r/Outlook ! This is a public community. To protect your privacy, do not post any personal information such as your email address, phone number, product key, password, or credit card number. Please be sure to have read our Rules of Conduct and be cognisant of how the system works here. Make sure that your flair is always set to Status: Open otherwise you may cease receiving responses from us. Status: Open — Need help Status: Pending Reply — Awaiting OP's response Status: Resolved — Closed Beware of scammers posting fake support numbers or 3rd party commercial products/services. Contact Microsoft Support if you need help. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns. More on reddit.com
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February 27, 2025
How can I add an Exchange Account to Outlook (new)?
Support for On-Premises Exchange or other hosted Exchange services will be added later, see Accounts in the new Outlook for Windows - Deploy Office | Microsoft Learn, Getting started with the new Outlook for Windows - Microsoft Support. When attempting to add an account that isn't supported, an error message is displayed: We couldn’t reach the email ... More on learn.microsoft.com
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March 7, 2024
O365 (mail) vs Exchange 2019
O365 - is the winner. I like on-prem Exchange, but if you aren't managing it directly. That is a big NO. More on reddit.com
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February 3, 2023
Exchange Online issues
Service degradation EX341041 right now. More on reddit.com
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March 9, 2022
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Neo
neo.space › blog › microsoft-exchange-email
How to Set Up Microsoft Exchange Email: Step-by-Step Guide
You may have already used Outlook as a part of Microsoft’s services. However, have you ever heard of Microsoft Exchange email? Microsoft Exchange is an email server that you can use across all Windows Server operating systems.
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Edison Mail
edisonmail.com › email-integrations › microsoft-exchange
Microsoft Exchange Email Management Software — Edison Mail
Our Microsoft Exchange email management software will help you keep all your email accounts organized. Combine all your inboxes into one with our free app!
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Emazzanti
emazzanti.net › office-365-microsoft-exchange-explained
Office 365 Microsoft Exchange Explained
February 5, 2025 - Exchange, which debuted in the ... and compliance secure messaging. Microsoft Exchange is an email server solution for enterprises developed by Microsoft....
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Shoviv
shoviv.com › home › exchange server › what is a microsoft exchange account? – a complete guide
What is an Microsoft Exchange Account? - A Complete Guide
September 25, 2025 - Microsoft Exchange account is an email account that users use to send and receive emails with the support of the Exchange Server. A Microsoft Exchange account allows users to easily manage their emails, calendars, etc., from a laptop, tablet, ...
Find elsewhere
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Business Insider
businessinsider.com › business insider › what is microsoft exchange? here's what you need to know about the business-oriented email server
What is Microsoft Exchange? Here's what you need to know about the business-oriented email server
August 23, 2022 - Microsoft Exchange is an email server that runs on Windows Server operating systems. Exchange works with web-based mail clients like Microsoft Outlook, which can connect to and manage email from a variety of sources.
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Microsoft 365
office365.austin.utexas.edu
Sign In
Select Outlook Web App to access your Office 365 mailbox. Select Office 365 Portal to download Microsoft Office and access other Office 365 services. Select Office 365 Management to manage settings for your mailbox(es), groups and other Office 365 services.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/outlook › perhaps a dumb question but what is exchange vs outlook?
r/Outlook on Reddit: Perhaps a dumb question but what is exchange vs outlook?
February 27, 2025 -

So I’m connecting my outlook emails to the mail app on my iPhone and Mac.

On my iPhone, I have 2 options, exchange or outlook. If I use my private account with outlook.com it doesn’t seem to matter if I choose outlook or exchange they both set up my account. I did choose outlook though for my private account? Does that have any side effect as opposed to doing it through outlook?

Work email and school emails only seem to work through the exchange window though and can’t be find if I go through the outlook option.

HOWEVER, the Mac doesn’t provide the outlook option at all and I just do everything, business and private outlook email through exchange.

A bit confused about the whole process and if one is better than the other.

Top answer
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Hey Stoltlallare! Welcome to r/Outlook ! This is a public community. To protect your privacy, do not post any personal information such as your email address, phone number, product key, password, or credit card number. Please be sure to have read our Rules of Conduct and be cognisant of how the system works here. Make sure that your flair is always set to Status: Open otherwise you may cease receiving responses from us. Status: Open — Need help Status: Pending Reply — Awaiting OP's response Status: Resolved — Closed Beware of scammers posting fake support numbers or 3rd party commercial products/services. Contact Microsoft Support if you need help. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
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Outlook is both the name of the client application and the name of Microsoft basic mail hosting service (Google would be gmail). This is a service which everyone can get for free. When you add an outlook account you are connecting to your free mail server to see and send your email. That mail server is run by Microsoft. Microsoft exchange is the name of the overall mail and collaboration services that run on a server somewhere. It offers more functionality than outlook accounts, but requires a dedicated email server to be running. That email server could be hosted with Microsoft (via office 365 and office 365 licenses) or a company could run their own physical server. Most commonly companies will use exchange services (despite the cost) so they can centrally control their spam policies, archive contents and most commonly use their own custom company domain for the e-mail address. So, hope that makes sense, outlook provides free basic mail services, generally for individuals. Exchange provides more advanced mail services, usually used by companies.
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one.com
help.one.com › hc › en-us › articles › 10656018554129-Getting-started-with-Exchange-and-Microsoft-365
Getting started with Exchange and Microsoft 365 – Support | one.com
In this FAQ, we have provided answers to your questions about our new Microsoft Exchange products. You can choose between three different subscriptions to find one that suits you. ... Don't have an email address yet?
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Microsoft Support
support.microsoft.com › en-us › office › what-is-a-microsoft-exchange-account-47f000aa-c2bf-48ac-9bc2-83e5c6036793
What is a Microsoft Exchange account? - Microsoft Support
Exchange accounts are typically work email accounts. If your business uses Exchange Server for email, your work account is an Exchange account.
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Google Play
play.google.com › store › apps › details
Microsoft Outlook - Apps on Google Play
Organize your email intelligently, filtered into Focused and Other so you can easily see your most important messages. Keep your day organized by seeing multiple calendars at a glance. Outlook is free for personal use. You can connect your various accounts, like Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft 365, Outlook.com, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, iCloud and IMAP, giving you flexibility to stay connected on the go.
Rating: 4.2 ​ - ​ 10.4M votes
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Microsoft Q&A
learn.microsoft.com › en-us › answers › tags › 782 › office-exchange
Exchange - Microsoft Q&A
1 week ago - A powerful email and collaboration platform developed by Microsoft, designed to support enterprise-level communication and productivity. ... We have a problem at a new configured Exchange SE server.
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IONOS
ionos.com › office-solutions › microsoft-exchange
Hosted Microsoft Exchange » Mailboxes with managed servers | IONOS
Microsoft Exchange is a popular email and groupware server solution used by companies of all sizes around the world. The software includes powerful collaboration features that help organizations optimize both internal and external collaboration ...
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CISA
cisa.gov › resources-tools › services › m365-exchange-online
Microsoft Exchange Online | CISA
How Office 365 handles outbound email that fails DMARC | Microsoft Learn ... DMARC is not configured through the Exchange admin center, but rather via DNS records hosted by the agency's domain. As such, implementation varies depending on how an agency manages its DNS records.
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Microsoft
microsoft.byu.edu › email
Email - Microsoft 365 - BYU
Want to encrypt your emails sent from your BYU Exchange account? You can do this in Outlook by composing a new email and choosing Encrypt. You will find various options for encryption and security options. ... Email (SPAM) filtering in BYU email accounts is handled by Microsoft 365 Defender.
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App Store
apps.apple.com › us › app › microsoft-outlook › id985367838
Microsoft Outlook App - App Store
Here’s what’s new with Outlook for Mac: Now free with your personal email accounts • Multi-account experience for email, calendar, and contacts, so you can focus and get things done without leaving the app • Compatible with Microsoft 365, Outlook.com (including Hotmail and MSN), Gmail, Yahoo!
Rating: 0 ​
Top answer
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Hello Oleg Golibroda,

Many thanks for the response and we thank you for the useful information you provided.

Am sorry for the late reply on this thread, I have been investigating and testing on my end. I found that, currently, POP and on-premises Exchange accounts aren't supported, Currently, the New Outlook only supports Microsoft 365 work and school accounts (Exchange Online), Outlook.com / Hotmail as Exchange mailbox providers and other third-party accounts connecting through IMAP. Support for On-Premises Exchange or other hosted Exchange services will be added later, see Accounts in the new Outlook for Windows - Deploy Office | Microsoft Learn, Getting started with the new Outlook for Windows - Microsoft Support. When attempting to add an account that isn't supported, an error message is displayed: We couldn’t reach the email server. Please try again. Refer to **** the new Outlook for Windows for organization admins - Microsoft Community Hub.

Please submit this issue as a suggestion to our Outlook in-app feedback by navigating to Help > Feedback, the Microsoft Admin Center under feedback, or a UserVoice request for the feature on our Outlook · Community (microsoft.com). Microsoft is working to add this based on consumer demand. Your feedback will go straight to Microsoft engineers, helping us improve Microsoft products and services for all consumers and this may be released soon. Microsoft appreciates your feedback.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. Please do not hesitate to post your queries in Microsoft Community and we will always do our best to assist you!

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Dear Oleg Golibroda,

Good day! Thank you for posting to Microsoft Community. We are happy to help you.

Could please clarify on this, are you getting any error message when you try to add the account. Have you tried going on the View tab, select View settings> Select Accounts > Email accounts then Select  Add Account, select a suggested account from the dropdown menu or enter a different email address, and select Continue. Please refer to Add an email account to Outlook - Microsoft Support and get any error, if so please let me so can assist you further.

Moreover, refer to Getting started with the new Outlook for Windows - Microsoft Support.

I hope this helps let me know if this is contrary to what you need, I would still be helpful to answer more of your questions.