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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
24
Ranking in other categories
Rapid Application Development Software (19th)
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 0.6% compared to last year.
Zimbra Collaboration, on the other hand, focuses on Email Applications, holds 6.7% mindshare, down 8.6% since last year.
Rapid Application Development Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HCL Domino1.0%
Microsoft Power Apps7.8%
Oracle Application Express (APEX)4.9%
Other86.3%
Rapid Application Development Software
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Zimbra Collaboration6.7%
Google Workspace14.3%
Microsoft Exchange Online9.0%
Other70.0%
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.
Vidya Shree - PeerSpot reviewer
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…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is an excellent solution."
"HCL Domino is cost-effective because it serves as a complete platform with a web server, app server, and IT management system, eliminating the need for multiple platforms and complex integrations."
"HCL Domino is the best product from a security point of view."
"We use HCL Domino for collaboration; it is important for our company and customers."
"The email system is the most valuable feature."
"We can scale it if we want to."
"This solution works very well straight out of the box; we have no plans to customize it."
"The most valuable feature of HCL Domino is how robust it is."
"The logs, troubleshooting, and tracking we have found to be the most valuable features, and when we have any issues with lost messages these features are useful because it is very easy to track and log."
"I think Zimbra is more reliable and competitive than Microsoft because they offer an open-source version."
"The web interface is powerful and easy to use."
"It is the best open source collaboration suite that I know, because it provides high availability and more performance than the other solutions."
"The configuration is simple."
"For a small company, Zimbra Collaboration is good because it is simple, inexpensive, and not very difficult to deploy."
"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."
"Zimbra Collaboration's sharing features are most valuable."
 

Cons

"Scalability is also an issue. We have problems with large databases."
"For me, the one thing missing is a really good reporting engine."
"Its performance and integration could be better. It has capabilities for large deployment with several servers, but in the latest interface, running with different servers isn't supported."
"Designing a new template could provide a refreshed visual experience for users without significant changes to the underlying functionality."
"HCL Domino needs to be more user-friendly."
"Scalability needs to be improved to be on the level that's required. Support could also be enhanced."
"An area for improvement in HCL Domino is security. New enhancements in the IT industry mean that security should be improved. The HCL Domino GUI also needs improvement."
"The product's user interface is one of its shortcomings since it is outdated, making it an area for improvement."
"The solution could improve by making it easier to use."
"There are some security issues."
"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."
"It does have a few bugs. However, they are small and can be worked around."
"The antispam and antivirus features are hard to understand on mobile devices."
"The new patches are, at times, not so good, so we don't install them, causing the tool to be not so stable overall."
"The installation is not straightforward, it can take two days for the full implementation."
"Server deployment and the GUI for emails should be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is less expensive compared to other vendors."
"HCL Domino has reasonable pricing. It's not expensive."
"We're happy with the price of our license — it's pretty standard."
"The license for Domino is yearly. The price is high."
"My company's customers need to make monthly or yearly payments towards the license charges of the product."
"Price is reasonable compared to the other solutions."
"We chose to pay for our licensing fees annually."
"HCL Domino is costly, but it still depends on how your organization views it price-wise."
"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."
"The solution is not expensive compared to other products."
"The solution is competitively priced."
"The price of the solution is low."
"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."
"We do not pay for licenses to use this solution."
"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."
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Top Industries

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

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
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: May 2026.
899,258 professionals have used our research since 2012.