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HCL Domino vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

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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 (9th)
 

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 0.7% compared to last year.
Zimbra Collaboration, on the other hand, focuses on Email Applications, holds 6.0% mindshare, down 7.9% since last year.
Rapid Application Development Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HCL Domino1.0%
Microsoft Power Apps7.6%
Oracle Application Express (APEX)5.1%
Other86.3%
Rapid Application Development Software
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Zimbra Collaboration6.0%
Google Workspace17.7%
Amazon WorkMail11.1%
Other65.2%
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

"We have been able to set up a portal using a special XPage application that gives our customers access to this system."
"They offer good support and provide a roadmap."
"For workflow applications or general applications, the rapid development capability is what we value most."
"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 important benefit is security. The security architecture is very good. It's the best part of the solution."
"The email system is the most valuable feature."
"For people or companies who need a workflow application, this is one of the best in the world."
"The DAOS feature is the most valuable. It helps to save some of my storage."
"The backup and storage management features of Zimbra Collaboration are valuable."
"Zimbra Collaboration has integrated a lot of their party tools and they have good documentation available."
"Premium features, such as auto discovery and archiving, mobile management and HSM, make life much easier."
"Zimbra Collaboration has a good web interface."
"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."
"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."
"This is a good email solution and it's open-source which is great and the most important feature for us."
"VMware Zimbra is an enterprise-class E-mail, calendar, and collaboration solution, built for both public and private clouds."
 

Cons

"HCL Domino could have a better interface."
"The solution could improve Kubernetes or Dockers migration to new environments in the cloud."
"For me, the one thing missing is a really good reporting engine."
"The solution is expensive."
"The speed of the Notes client is an area that could be improved."
"HCL Domino needs to be more user-friendly."
"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."
"It would be advantageous if the web server could seamlessly pick up configuration changes without the need for a complete restart."
"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."
"I can confidently say that Zimbra is good enough for 2,000 client users. But, at the same time, if my client needs more than that and we have two options—Zimbra or Microsoft—I'm going with Microsoft because many admins will speak to Microsoft's ability to handle that many."
"In the next release, Zimbra Collaboration should include a security feature to allow access for mobile device administrators."
"There are some security issues."
"There can be difficulties resolving problems on the server side when problems arise."
"Some issues cause the solution not to function correctly or to cause downtime once a month."
"Zimbra Collaboration is expensive, and there is no perpetual license option."
"The solution could use more integration with third-party tools."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"While I don't have precise pricing information at hand, my understanding is that it tends to be on the higher end."
"The pricing is subjective and contingent on the intended usage."
"The pricing is individually determined. For us, in our current deployment, we pay $12.50 Canadian per month per user."
"We chose to pay for our licensing fees annually."
"HCL Domino has reasonable pricing. It's not expensive."
"It is less expensive compared to other vendors."
"I'd rate it a seven out of ten in terms of price."
"The license for Domino is yearly. The price is high."
"We pay yearly licenses for Zimbra Collaboration."
"The solution is not expensive compared to other products."
"We do not pay for licenses to use this solution."
"Zimbra Collaboration offers a good price-to-feature ratio."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the price a four"
"I use Zimbra Collaboration's community version. We may move to the enterprise version since prices are affordable."
"The price of the solution is low."
"We are using perpetual licenses. We have deployed it in our local data center, and we buy perpetual licenses on a per-user basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Government
7%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
7%
 

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 am not missing anything significant from HCL Domino at the moment. There are some smaller things that can be improved, but these have already been posted on the HCL website where we can submit ou...
What is your primary use case for HCL Domino?
I have been using HCL Domino products since 1992, when it was known as Lotus Notes. I use it myself and also work as a consultant. We are an IBM Business Partner and HCL Business Partner. We are no...
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...
 

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, Oracle, Unqork and others in Rapid Application Development Software. Updated: October 2026.
921,749 professionals have used our research since 2012.