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

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

"The DAOS feature is the most valuable. It helps to save some of my storage."
"The most valuable feature of HCL Domino is how robust it is."
"For workflow applications or general applications, the rapid development capability is what we value most."
"This solution works very well straight out of the box; we have no plans to customize it."
"Domino's dual functionality as both a messaging and application solution is a standout feature compared to Exchange, which solely focuses on messaging."
"The most valuable features of the solution are security and integration."
"We use HCL Domino for collaboration; it is important for our company and customers."
"The best feature of HCL Domino is that you can use Notes for messaging plus application, not just for messaging."
"The solution is easy to implement."
"The stability is good and keeps getting better with each new update."
"Zimbra Collaboration is a good tool for video calls...Zimbra Collaboration's initial setup phase was easy."
"I think Zimbra is more reliable and competitive than Microsoft because they offer an open-source version."
"We can control all the data in my IT infrastructure."
"This is a good email solution and it's open-source which is great and the most important feature for us."
"Most valuable to us is the fact that it's open source, so it's possible to do a lot of customization."
"Zimbra Collaboration has integrated a lot of their party tools and they have good documentation available."
 

Cons

"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."
"For me, the one thing missing is a really good reporting engine."
"The solution is expensive."
"Scalability needs to be improved to be on the level that's required. Support could also be enhanced."
"They should provide its integration with other AI applications."
"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, as end users prefer Outlook over it, because they find Outlook easier to use."
"When you compare with Microsoft Exchange, the UI could be more user-friendly."
"There can be difficulties resolving problems on the server side when problems arise."
"Zimbra Collaboration does not have a solution roadmap as aggressive as the new collaboration mail solutions. Additionally, they can have a better interface and integration with single sign-on."
"Server deployment and the GUI for emails should be better."
"It does have a few bugs."
"There are security and performance issues which is one of the concerns of using an open-source product."
"The tool should improve its multi-cloud feature."
"The new patches are, at times, not so good, so we don't install them, causing the tool to be not so stable overall."
"File sharing permissions with Nextcloud integration need improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For 30 licenses, we pay $1,500 every year. It is not an expensive product."
"I'd rate it a seven out of ten in terms of price."
"My company's customers need to make monthly or yearly payments towards the license charges of the product."
"We pay annually for the use of this solution and it is only a standard fee."
"While I don't have precise pricing information at hand, my understanding is that it tends to be on the higher end."
"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."
"Price is reasonable compared to the other solutions."
"The solution is competitively priced."
"We are using perpetual licenses. We have deployed it in our local data center, and we buy perpetual licenses on a per-user basis."
"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."
"We pay yearly licenses for Zimbra Collaboration."
"The solution is not expensive compared to other products."
"I use Zimbra Collaboration's community version. We may move to the enterprise version since prices are affordable."
"If you choose the network edition, it is a little pricier. They have the open-source edition too which is only community supported."
"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.
899,125 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

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.
899,125 professionals have used our research since 2012.