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HCL Notes vs IceWarp comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 2025

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 Notes
Ranking in Email Applications
7th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IceWarp
Ranking in Email Applications
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of HCL Notes is 3.4%, up from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IceWarp is 5.1%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HCL Notes3.4%
IceWarp5.1%
Other91.5%
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

AT
IT Director at ATOS
Has improved email security through built-in encryption and supported offline work effectively
We don't use team workspace with HCL Notes; we use only Microsoft because it's incorporated with the Microsoft license. Based on my extensive experience with HCL Notes, I think HCL can make its product better by being more visible on the market because most companies don't support or use HCL anymore, and most integrators work with Exchange or Outlook rather than HCL Notes. Inside HCL Notes functionality, they have to be more visible in the market, which is very important.
AvinashLotke - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivery Head at Team Computers
Useful for collaboration and storage but improvement is needed in API integration
The solution has traditional SSL integration, SAML, and Federation Services. In its latest version, it added SAML integration. However, it needs to work on API integration, especially for dashboards or integration with SAP for log and data system management. It doesn't yet have the kind of API that Google and Microsoft provide for synchronizing users with Active Directory. I think IceWarp needs to improve in a few areas. They have two types of admin consoles - a web-based one and a remote one. I'd like to see these combined into a single web-based admin console. The log reading and information system also needs improvement. The current way of showing incoming and outgoing logs isn't very clear. For new users, it's hard to understand these logs, especially compared to Office 365 and other systems with easier-to-read logs. They should also add an export option to get all logs with a single click whenever we need them.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"People criticize Notes because its appearance is outdated, and I agree, but behind that lackluster look is an extremely substantial platform for knowledge management, information sharing, monitoring, workflow, etc."
"I prefer to work with HCL and not with Exchange because it's easy to manage, easy to set up, and easy to migrate."
"HCL Notes has a non-structured database and fantastic native security, which is extremely strong, providing built-in security without needing external products."
"It offers unique capabilities, excellent security, and replication features."
"The solution is practical, good interface, and performs well."
"The security and performance of the solution are good even though our platform is variable, except for the mail services."
"Security is the most valuable feature, better than you get in 365."
"Lotus Domino is an excellent platform for making groupware applications that are natively integrated with email."
"The solution has a very good log-in to the UI when compared to other solutions."
"IceWarp has multiple applications that are easy to use for many people."
"An effective, functional, very good tool for controlling resources."
"An effective, functional, very good tool for controlling resources at a low cost."
"The TeamChat feature has been really good for our email management. It lets us collaborate, share files, and invite guests like Google Spaces or Microsoft Teams. I like the two-factor authentication for security. However, they need to improve their document collaboration tools, as their Word, Excel, and PowerPoint features are basic compared to Microsoft and Google."
"Its price is the most valuable. It is definitely one of the lowest price solutions."
"The solution is easy to manage and includes features such as smart documents and the archiving of user data."
"If you have a small to medium business and you require a professional collaboration server that focuses on the main services of emails and calendar scheduling, I recommend IceWarp."
 

Cons

"My overall experience with HCL Notes is not good."
"The loading time can be excessive."
"GUI and replication can be improved."
"There is a chat component but it does not work properly."
"One minor issue was that using Notes to connect to clients not running on Domino, such as Gmail or Outlook, is not particularly great."
"I would like to see integration with other solutions."
"Notes needs a major upgrade for the UI."
"Web support is very old and needs an upgrade. We can handle a different password for the client to access the mail services, compared to the web services. We need to implement many other components to get access to the web access. There could be a feature to interpret if the web access is available from any end-user equipment."
"Although the documentation is extensive and in depth, you must familiarize yourself with it before taking full advantage of the product."
"The Exchange compatibility mode is rather limited."
"The database query for creating new database and querying about activities are too simplistic."
"Support is not good and it is challenging to receive a timely response."
"The exchange compatibility mode is rather limited. Their technical support can also be better. They only provide online support, and there should be some option for escalating."
"Although it is not a tool, video conferencing should be scalable and operate in a professional and efficient way."
"The solution needs improvements in security, particularly regarding document management."
"Support should be improved. Most of the time, the queries are not resolved within the SLA."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I don't remember how much we paid when we first bought the Domino license, but now, we pay only for the passport. For 30 client licenses, we pay about $1,500 per year, and we don't consider it very expensive for the quality of the product. In our case, we need 30 client licenses. So, we buy 30 client licenses independently of the server. It is very easy for us to choose and maintain this kind of license and get the passport advantage."
"We pay annually for the use of the solution."
"The solution is expensive. There are many components or features which make the price very high."
"It was reasonably priced, but the product itself was not worth the cost."
"The price is reasonable."
"It is far cheaper to license. It is a third of the cost of our Microsoft license for 10 times the amount of usage. Developing applications cost a fraction of anything else. There are two reasons for that. First of all, applications are very fast to build. All the security is already built into the platform, so you don't have to worry about security at all. The other thing is that because fewer people use it than, for example, Microsoft SharePoint, the salary commanded by programmers is slightly lower. So, it is not only faster; you also get cheaper programmers. So, you really win-win-win on it."
"We pay licensing fees on a yearly basis."
"The solution is inexpensive which is its main benefit."
"I don't see any challenges for the Indian market. For example, 1 GB is available for around 399 INR, and 2 GB for 499 INR. They offer a range of plans, from basic to professional and enterprise, with multiple features. IceWarp's aggressive pricing is competitive compared to other market solutions like Zoho and Microsoft. One significant advantage is that IceWarp does not impose user capping like Google and Microsoft, which allows for substantial cost savings and flexibility in user conversion."
"The license is based on the number of users."
"I would rate the pricing and eight out of ten."
"Our licensing is on a yearly basis. There were no additional costs."
"Price-wise, it's a cheaper solution, without a doubt. Price is the reason we are still using the tool."
"Pricing and licensing is very competitive and in some cases, cheap."
"Costs far less than other solutions."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise9
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with HCL Notes?
We don't use team workspace with HCL Notes; we use only Microsoft because it's incorporated with the Microsoft license. Based on my extensive experience with HCL Notes, I think HCL can make its pro...
What is your primary use case for HCL Notes?
We use HCL Notes as an email system. We currently only use it as an email application, though in the past we used it for additional applications.
What advice do you have for others considering HCL Notes?
Regarding HCL Notes supporting various business processes such as CRM, I don't use it, but if I have an issue, I contact the support and we are satisfied with that. I would rate HCL Notes 10 out of...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IceWarp?
IceWarp was very cost-effective, offering services at a significantly lower cost than Google, which was appealing for our organization.
What needs improvement with IceWarp?
The solution needs improvements in security, particularly regarding document management. Users currently have the rights to delete smart documents, which poses a challenge for administrators. A mor...
What is your primary use case for IceWarp?
We managed approximately one thousand user accounts with IceWarp for company communications. We utilized features such as smart attachments and document solutions. Our setup was primarily on-premis...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Notes, Lotus Notes
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Connect2Cloud, Hansgrohe, Sauk County, Blue Water Shipping, FDBR, ibml, Multivac, Aarhus University Hospital, Hendricks Regional Health, Asian Paints, Integra Legal, Sunplus Technology, S¾SS, The Moroccan Ministry of Youth and Sports, Nicrometal, Doncasters Group, Practice Plan, Barr, RACV, Neotechnik, Deutsche Notes User Group
Marriott, Toyota, Sony, Wendy's, Canon
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Notes vs. IceWarp and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,311 professionals have used our research since 2012.