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 7.6, and holds a 1.0% mindshare in the category. Zimbra is ranked #6 in EA , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 6.9% mindshare. Additionally, 81% of HCLSoftware users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Zimbra users who would recommend it.

HCL Domino

Read 23 HCL Domino reviews

2,042 Views
878 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

Zimbra Collaboration

Read 28 Zimbra Collaboration reviews

2,475 Views
2,376 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

HCL Domino

Zimbra Collaboration

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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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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March 2026

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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

6.6

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 1.0%, up 0.5% compared to last year.
Zimbra Collaboration, on the other hand, focuses on Email Applications, holds 6.9% mindshare, down 9.0% since last year.

Rapid Application Development Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
HCL Domino	1.0%
Microsoft Power Apps	9.0%
ServiceNow	6.2%
Other	83.8%

Rapid Application Development Software

Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Zimbra Collaboration	6.9%
Google Workspace	14.7%
Microsoft Exchange Online	10.6%
Other	67.8%

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

Filip Navratil

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.

Read full review

Muhammad Talha Baig

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.

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

"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."

"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."

"For people or companies who need a workflow application, this is one of the best in the world."

"It serves as a centralized solution that fulfills all my requirements from operating my email server to managing various aspects of my operations."

"The pricing is excellent."

"We can scale it if we want to."

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

More HCL Domino pros

"For an SMB, it is a recommendable email solution."

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

"It has all collaboration features, such as document sharing, video conferencing, chatting, task sharing, and calendar sharing."

"Network NG Modules are valuable to us."

"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."

"It has all collaboration features, such as document sharing, video conferencing, chatting, task sharing, and calendar sharing."

"This is a good email solution and it's open-source which is great and the most important feature for us."

"The stability is good and keeps getting better with each new update."

More Zimbra Collaboration pros

Cons

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

"IBM Lotus is good but there is other, better software available with much better pricing, and value-added functionality and features."

"The product's user interface is one of its shortcomings since it is outdated, making it an area for improvement."

"HCL Domino needs to be more user-friendly."

"When you compare with Microsoft Exchange, the UI could be more user-friendly."

"Scalability needs to be improved to be on the level that's required. Support could also be enhanced."

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

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

More HCL Domino cons

"There are security and performance issues which is one of the concerns of using an open-source product."

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

"There can be difficulties resolving problems on the server side when problems arise."

"File sharing permissions with Nextcloud integration need improvement."

"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."

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

"There are some security issues."

"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."

More Zimbra Collaboration cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is individually determined. For us, in our current deployment, we pay $12.50 Canadian per month per user."

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

"My company's customers need to make monthly or yearly payments towards the license charges of the product."

"HCL Domino is costly, but it still depends on how your organization views it price-wise."

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

"While I don't have precise pricing information at hand, my understanding is that it tends to be on the higher end."

"We pay annually for the use of this solution and it is only a standard fee."

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

More HCL Domino pricing and cost advice

"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."

"If you choose the network edition, it is a little pricier. They have the open-source edition too which is only community supported."

"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 offers a good price-to-feature ratio."

"We are using perpetual licenses. We have deployed it in our local data center, and we buy perpetual licenses on a per-user basis."

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

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

"The solution is competitively priced."

More Zimbra Collaboration pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	17
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	2

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	7

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with HCL Domino?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for HCL Domino?

The primary purposes for which HCL Domino is used are mail and applications.

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zimbra Collaboration?

The solution is competitively priced.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Exchange vs HCL Domino

Compared 18% of the time

Microsoft Power Apps vs HCL Domino

Compared 10% of the time

HCL Notes vs HCL Domino

Compared 9% of the time

Google Workspace vs HCL Domino

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs HCL Domino

Compared 8% of the time

More HCL Domino Competitors

Open-Xchange vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 20% of the time

Microsoft Exchange vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 18% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 10% of the time

Google Workspace vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 10% of the time

HCL Verse vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 4% of the time

More Zimbra Collaboration Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HCL Domino

March 2026

Download HCL Domino product report

Buyer's Guide

Zimbra Collaboration

March 2026

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

March 2026

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