HCL Domino vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

The compared HCLSoftware and Zimbra solutions aren't in the same category. HCLSoftware is ranked #18 in RADS , with an average rating of 7.3, and holds a 0.6% mindshare in the category. Zimbra is ranked #6 in EA , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 8.6% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of HCLSoftware users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Zimbra users who would recommend it.

HCL Domino

Read 21 HCL Domino reviews

2,550 Views
816 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Zimbra Collaboration

Read 29 Zimbra Collaboration reviews

2,651 Views
2,518 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

HCL Domino

Zimbra Collaboration

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between HCL Domino and Zimbra Collaboration based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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July 2025

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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

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Rapid Application Development Software (18th)

Zimbra Collaboration

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

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 0.6%, up 0.5% compared to last year.
Zimbra Collaboration, on the other hand, focuses on Email Applications, holds 8.6% mindshare, down 9.5% since last year.

Rapid Application Development Software

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

FrederickLim

Technical Service Manager at Top Level Corporation Limited

Provides mobile email systems with solid stability and easy deployment

The initial setup is easy. You need to sign up. It depends on the scope. It will take longer if there are more than one or more applications. The project usually includes infrastructure and deployment may take anywhere from one month to six months. I rate the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

Read full review

Vidya Shree

CTO at Molecular Connections Private Limited

Deploys quickly and has a good web interface

Zimbra Collaboration has a good web interface 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 solution’s forums don't have much information or…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"For workflow applications or general applications, the rapid development capability is what we value most."

"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."

"The most valuable feature of HCL Domino is how robust it is."

"They offer good support and provide a roadmap."

"We can scale it if we want to."

"Overall, I would rate HCL Domino as eight out of ten. I would recommend HCL Domino and Notes applications for small and medium-sized companies since it offers a good return on investment."

"It is an excellent solution."

"Domino's dual functionality as both a messaging and application solution is a standout feature compared to Exchange, which solely focuses on messaging."

More HCL Domino pros

"One of the premium features was customized rooms tailored to the collaboration needs. Many of the clients customize features such as organization logos and scanners."

"The product is easy to set up."

"The web interface is powerful and easy to use."

"The most valuable feature of Zimbra Collaboration is email functionality."

"Zimbra Collaboration's best feature is its compatibility with Microsoft's ActiveSync protocol, which allows users to use Outlook on Windows or MacOS."

"The most valuable feature of Zimbra Collaboration is the cost."

"Zimbra Collaboration is a good tool for video calls...Zimbra Collaboration's initial setup phase was easy."

"Zimbra Collaboration has a good web interface."

More Zimbra Collaboration pros

Cons

"They should provide its integration with other AI applications."

"HCL Domino could have a better interface."

"For me, the one thing missing is a really good reporting engine."

"It would be advantageous if the web server could seamlessly pick up configuration changes without the need for a complete restart."

"The speed of the Notes client is an area that could be improved."

"Recently, IBM sold the product to HCL. Since Pakistan and India have some problems on a domestic level, we were actually considering replacing it with Indian products from the organization. We're just facing some regulatory issues."

"The solution is expensive."

"From the Domino side, it should support DKIM and DMARC."

More HCL Domino cons

"The new patches are, at times, not so good, so we don't install them, causing the tool to be not so stable overall."

"Some issues cause the solution not to function correctly or to cause downtime once a month."

"File sharing permissions with Nextcloud integration need improvement."

"The solution could improve by making it easier to use."

"It does have a few bugs."

"They should enhance its online meeting features."

"Zimbra Collaboration could improve the migration from a basic solution to a more containerized solution. For example, the installation should be able to extend to the containers and manage them with some solution, such as OpenShift or Kubernetes."

"The installation is not straightforward, it can take two days for the full implementation."

More Zimbra Collaboration cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"HCL Domino has reasonable pricing. It's not expensive."

"We chose to pay for our licensing fees annually."

"For 30 licenses, we pay $1,500 every year. It is not an expensive product."

"HCL Domino's pricing depends on the number of users, but its license is not cheap."

"The license for Domino is yearly. The price is high."

"Customers have to pay for a license for the Notes Client, not for the Domino database. There is a quarter license that we use."

"We're happy with the price of our license — it's pretty standard."

"It is less expensive compared to other vendors."

More HCL Domino pricing and cost advice

"The price of the solution is low."

"When it comes to the licensing of Zimbra Collaboration, my license covers the servers and I find its terms to be much simpler than those of Microsoft Exchange."

"Zimbra Collaboration is expensive, and there is no perpetual license option."

"We pay yearly licenses for Zimbra Collaboration."

"It's very expensive. When we compare the cost with Google Workspace, it's so expensive."

"The solution is competitively priced."

"The solution is not expensive compared to other products."

"Zimbra Collaboration is less expensive than Microsoft Exchange. Zimbra works for small companies because it is not expensive. Zimbra Collaboration has more security tools than Microsoft Exchange. If you are choosing between Zimbra Collaboration and Microsoft Exchange, you have to take into account the cost of security tools with Microsoft Exchange. When you purchase Microsoft Exchange, you will also have to purchase tools for security, which adds to the cost. The migration from Zimbra Collaboration to another email solution is very simple and easy. Migration from Microsoft Exchange to another email solution is very difficult. Microsoft doesn't allow migration that easily. In fact, you have to pay for tools to do that. You have to buy some expensive tools to migrate."

More Zimbra Collaboration pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

18%

Comms Service Provider

Government

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HCL Domino?

The most valuable features of the solution are security and integration.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with HCL Domino?

The speed of the Notes client is an area that could be improved. Many people are not very happy with its speed. Additionally, in-line editing of documents and a document viewer are functionalities ...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about Zimbra Collaboration?

The most valuable feature of Zimbra for our team's productivity is its efficiency in handling email communication.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zimbra Collaboration?

The solution is competitively priced.

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Exchange vs HCL Domino

Compared 34% of the time

HCL Notes vs HCL Domino

Compared 13% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs HCL Domino

Compared 10% of the time

GitHub CoPilot vs HCL Domino

Compared 9% of the time

ServiceNow vs HCL Domino

Compared 4% of the time

More HCL Domino Competitors

Microsoft Exchange vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 27% of the time

Open-Xchange vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 22% of the time

KerioConnect vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 15% of the time

IceWarp vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 9% of the time

HCL Notes vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 3% of the time

More Zimbra Collaboration Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HCL Domino

July 2025

Download HCL Domino product report

Buyer's Guide

Zimbra Collaboration

June 2025

Download Zimbra Collaboration product report

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino

No data available

Overview

HCL Domino (formerly IBM Domino) is a secure, enterprise-grade, application development platform. From IT to business, HCL Domino is the only low to pro-code application development platform that allows your business to build robust applications to solve workflow and process challenges fast. HCL Domino powers businesses around the world with 15,000 customers and 10 million apps built on our platform. HCL Domino has always been a secure, rock-solid, and proven solution.

Low cost of ownership - minimizing administration needs through automated installations, policies and monitoring helps staff focus on higher value tasks.
Minimized infrastructure - reducing costs by using less power, memory, data storage, network bandwidth and servers.
Rich application environment - supporting workflow-driven and people-oriented applications that help a wide variety of business operations deliver enhanced results.
Security-rich - helping protect your critical business assets. You can control information access, protect information and guarantee document authenticity.
High availability - featuring advanced clustering, replication, server fault recovery and automated diagnostic tools.

HCLSoftware

Zimbra Collaboration provides administrators and their end users innovative features that solve the challenges faced by organizations using today's legacy communications infrastructure.

Zimbra

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

Buyer's Guide

Rapid Application Development Software

July 2025

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