No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

HCL Domino vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

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 (10th)
 

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 8.0% since last year.
Rapid Application Development Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HCL Domino1.0%
Microsoft Power Apps7.6%
Oracle Application Express (APEX)5.0%
Other86.4%
Rapid Application Development Software
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Zimbra Collaboration6.0%
Google Workspace17.3%
Amazon WorkMail10.8%
Other65.9%
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 most important benefit is security. The security architecture is very good. It's the best part of the solution."
"It is an excellent solution."
"The pricing is excellent."
"One valuable feature of HCL Domino is its integration with other directories."
"We have been able to set up a portal using a special XPage application that gives our customers access to this system."
"The DAOS feature is the most valuable. It helps to save some of my storage."
"They offer good support and provide a roadmap."
"I like that HCL Domino is stable. It's a great product. I also like that HCL Domino is a mature product under IBM, which is why many companies use it."
"The solution is easy to implement."
"Zimbra Collaboration is light to manage. It works on the Linux operating system, which is far better to manage than Microsoft Windows. Microsoft Exchange works only on the Windows server. We prefer working on the Linux server for security reasons and ease of management. Zimbra Collaboration also has some integrated tools for security. It some modules to fight malware. These modules are not very powerful but are still doing a great job. Microsoft Exchange doesn't have a basic module. You have to purchase a security solution and add it to the solution. The cost of Zimbra Collaboration is one more reason for liking it. It is also very simple to migrate from Zimbra Collaboration to another email solution."
"Most valuable to us is the fact that it's open source, so it's possible to do a lot of customization."
"The most valuable feature of Zimbra for our team's productivity is its efficiency in handling email communication."
"Zimbra Collaboration has integrated a lot of their party tools and they have good documentation available."
"For an SMB, it is a recommendable email solution."
"This is a good email solution and it's open-source which is great and the most important feature for us."
"It has all collaboration features, such as document sharing, video conferencing, chatting, task sharing, and calendar sharing."
 

Cons

"The product's user interface is one of its shortcomings since it is outdated, making it an area for improvement."
"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."
"From the Domino side, it should support DKIM and DMARC."
"One challenge I faced with HCL Domino was fully understanding its capabilities because initial use may lead to misconceptions based on simpler platforms."
"The speed of the Notes client is an area that could be improved."
"It would be advantageous if the web server could seamlessly pick up configuration changes without the need for a complete restart."
"Many people are not very happy with its speed."
"Designing a new template could provide a refreshed visual experience for users without significant changes to the underlying functionality."
"The support was lacking in my experience. However, recently the support I received was good. Perhaps they have improved."
"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 antispam and antivirus features are hard to understand on mobile devices."
"Zimbra Collaboration is expensive, and there is no perpetual license option."
"Because of the lack of this functionality, we are planning to migrate to Microsoft Exchange."
"There are security and performance issues which is one of the concerns of using an open-source product."
"It does have a few bugs. However, they are small and can be worked around."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is less expensive compared to other vendors."
"The pricing is subjective and contingent on the intended usage."
"HCL Domino has reasonable pricing. It's not expensive."
"For 30 licenses, we pay $1,500 every year. It is not an expensive product."
"The license for Domino is yearly. The price is high."
"We chose to pay for our licensing fees annually."
"While I don't have precise pricing information at hand, my understanding is that it tends to be on the higher end."
"Customers have to pay for a license for the Notes Client, not for the Domino database. There is a quarter license that we use."
"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."
"Zimbra Collaboration is expensive, and there is no perpetual license option."
"If you choose the network edition, it is a little pricier. They have the open-source edition too which is only community supported."
"The solution is competitively priced."
"Zimbra Collaboration offers a good price-to-feature ratio."
"There is an annual standard licensing fee to use Zimbra Collaboration and there is no other cost."
"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."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Rapid Application Development Software solutions are best for your needs.
917,403 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Government
8%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
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, ServiceNow, Oracle and others in Rapid Application Development Software. Updated: October 2026.
917,403 professionals have used our research since 2012.