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HCL Domino vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

HCL Domino
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Rapid Application Development Software (18th)
Zimbra Collaboration
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Email Applications (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

HCL Domino and Zimbra Collaboration aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. HCL Domino is designed for Rapid Application Development Software and holds a mindshare of 1.0%, up 0.5% compared to last year.
Zimbra Collaboration, on the other hand, focuses on Email Applications, holds 6.8% mindshare, down 9.0% since last year.
Rapid Application Development Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HCL Domino1.0%
Microsoft Power Apps8.3%
ServiceNow5.4%
Other85.3%
Rapid Application Development Software
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Zimbra Collaboration6.8%
Google Workspace14.1%
Microsoft Exchange Online9.8%
Other69.3%
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

FN
Owner at Prodej a Správa Nemovitostí s.r.o.
Long-term platform has supported secure mail, custom workflows, and reliable on-premise apps
I have noticed some weak points and downsides. HCL Domino is a Swiss army knife, which is the downside as well. It does many things, which is an advantage. The biggest downside is that it is a good product, but there are not that many applications for it. There are not that many ready-made applications. When they do exist, they tend to be somewhat pricey. I have not actually used HCL Domino's low-code tools. There are no low-code tools. HCL says there are, but frankly speaking, I have tried it and I always come back to the classic, the original HCL Domino. I do not see it as truly low-code. They call it Leap. Even when you want to do something more specific or more complex, you do need programming logic and then it stops being low-code. I would say that there are much better low-code platforms. N8N, for instance, looks nice with nice diagrams, especially for workflow and automation, which is where HCL Domino is lacking. The evaluation of the security features of HCL Domino in handling sensitive business information is that it has a peculiar security model, which I view as acceptable. Sometimes it may get in your way, but sometimes it simplifies things. It depends.
Muhammad Talha Baig - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Analyst and Associate Project Manager at SAMI Pharmaceuticals
One of the premium features was customized rooms tailored to the collaboration needs
Zimbra's strength lies in its individuality, and it should focus on leveraging its unique features rather than trying to emulate competitors. My organization has certified Zimbra technicians, so we believe we can utilize Zimbra certification. However, I was recently informed by Zimbra that no such certification exists. I have recently completed the test kit, and after the training, I will gain access to tickets. Therefore, if any clients are experiencing issues, we have a certified technical team available to provide support 24/7. This is how we can cater to our client's needs. I recommend Zimbra to small-scale and enterprise customers. Anyone, even those with 5 users, can opt for Zimbra. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The fact is that it simply works."
"The pricing is excellent."
"They offer good support and provide a roadmap."
"Domino's dual functionality as both a messaging and application solution is a standout feature compared to Exchange, which solely focuses on messaging."
"They offer good support and provide a roadmap."
"HCL Domino is an application development and collaboration platform with strong stability and security. Deployment of this platform is easy and takes only 10 minutes."
"It serves as a centralized solution that fulfills all my requirements from operating my email server to managing various aspects of my operations."
"The most valuable features of the solution are security and integration."
"The product is easy to set up."
"Despite sticking with Gmail for over a decade in terms of business, Zimbra have impressed me with some other aspects as well; if the time comes, I would prefer Zimbra to my current solution."
"The pricing of the solution is excellent; it's a newer solution with a modern interface and dashboard, the interface itself is very responsive and easy to navigate, the initial setup is very simple and straightforward, the stability is good and keeps getting better with each new update, and the solution really does scale very easily."
"The most valuable feature of Zimbra Collaboration is the cost."
"We can control all the data in my IT infrastructure."
"One of the most valuable features involves the solution's automatic backup, which I find to be pretty simple and straightforward, and obviates the need for additional software."
"The stability is good and keeps getting better with each new update."
"The most valuable feature of Zimbra Collaboration is the cost."
 

Cons

"Many people are not very happy with its speed."
"It would be advantageous if the web server could seamlessly pick up configuration changes without the need for a complete restart."
"IBM Lotus is good but there is other, better software available with much better pricing, and value-added functionality and features."
"Scalability is also an issue. We have problems with large databases."
"For me, the one thing missing is a really good reporting engine."
"The solution could improve Kubernetes or Dockers migration to new environments in the cloud."
"From the Domino side, it should support DKIM and DMARC."
"The client version of this solution could be faster and be made simpler for non-IT users. You will need to have some knowledge of Notes to correctly install this solution."
"Because of the lack of this functionality, we are planning to migrate to Microsoft Exchange."
"It would be great if a group chat feature were created to allow for a team environment."
"There are security and performance issues which is one of the concerns of using an open-source product."
"The log files need to be improved; they need to show us more information because a lot of detail is lacking and that's not very helpful or insightful."
"The tool should improve its multi-cloud feature."
"In the next release, Zimbra Collaboration should include a security feature to allow access for mobile device administrators."
"Server deployment and the GUI for emails should be better."
"The solution could use more integration with third-party tools."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is less expensive compared to other vendors."
"We're happy with the price of our license — it's pretty standard."
"Price is reasonable compared to the other solutions."
"While I don't have precise pricing information at hand, my understanding is that it tends to be on the higher end."
"HCL Domino has reasonable pricing. It's not expensive."
"The pricing is individually determined. For us, in our current deployment, we pay $12.50 Canadian per month per user."
"I'd rate it a seven out of ten in terms of price."
"The license for Domino is yearly. The price is high."
"There is an annual standard licensing fee to use Zimbra Collaboration and there is no other cost."
"The solution is competitively priced."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the price a four"
"The solution is not expensive compared to other products."
"I use Zimbra Collaboration's community version. We may move to the enterprise version since prices are affordable."
"Zimbra Collaboration is expensive, and there is no perpetual license option."
"The price of the solution is low."
"Zimbra Collaboration offers a good price-to-feature ratio."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HCL Domino?
The Notes client is very expensive, costing around $105 per client. Overall, HCL Domino is a costly product.
What needs improvement with HCL Domino?
I have noticed some weak points and downsides. HCL Domino is a Swiss army knife, which is the downside as well. It does many things, which is an advantage. The biggest downside is that it is a good...
What is your primary use case for HCL Domino?
The primary purposes for which HCL Domino is used are mail and applications.
How does Zimbra Collaboration compare with Microsoft Exchange?
Zimbra is a free, open source collaborative software suite. The features I like best are the ease of integration and the email, calendar, and collaboration server with web interface. In addition, I...
What needs improvement with Zimbra Collaboration?
When it comes to administration tasks like configuring specific filters or group signatures, I have to dig into the configuration since there's nothing in the graphical or web interface. The soluti...
 

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

A1 Telekom, Acubiz, Afrisam, E. A. Juffali & Brothers, Fiducia & GAD, and Pakistan State Oil
NEC Biglobe, City of Ventura, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Hola Publishing, BIG, Sleepwell, LaFayette College, Xmission, DNA, Ring Line, Future Group, TIGC
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, ServiceNow, Oracle and others in Rapid Application Development Software. Updated: March 2026.
886,011 professionals have used our research since 2012.