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HCL Sametime vs Webex comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 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 Sametime
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
18th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Webex
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
126
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of HCL Sametime is 1.3%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Webex is 7.6%, down from 17.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Meetings Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Webex7.6%
HCL Sametime1.3%
Other91.1%
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

Bogdan Chechlowski - PeerSpot reviewer
Kierownik Biura Informatyki at EIB SA
Stable product, communicate very fast and allows to see who's online in the office or work environment
It was used for communication through text messages, primarily Being able to see who was online and communicate very fast was a good feature.  The security was quite good. However, when we tried to implement it for email at a high level, we had to use another solution, FortiMail Gateway. I view…
reviewer1959318 - PeerSpot reviewer
Program Manager at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Has delivered consistent performance but would benefit from a more flexible licensing model
Webex is a fine, perfectly adequate product, and I don't see any room for improvement. From when I last implemented it, I found the price to be expensive. The licensing model doesn't work because if I want to implement it for an organization, I need to pay a per-user license, which makes it very restrictive. They should probably reconsider the licensing model to be less restrictive and more adaptable for organizational use.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I can view the status and availability of colleagues or team members, which makes it easy to approach them when they are available."
"The security was quite good."
"The tool simplifies our work by allowing us to have hybrid meetings instead of always meeting in person, which saves time in organizing these meetings. It also offers good video quality."
"The solution makes it easy for us as a team to collaborate remotely."
"The stability of the solution is the most important feature."
"The ability to join by phone is the most valuable feature. I also think that it's much simpler to use and it's a Cisco product so I think it's the industry standard."
"Screen share is the most valuable feature."
"It's a nice tool for virtual meetings and I'm satisfied with its performance."
"It is user-friendly."
"Webex's main feature is you get 1,000 participants per meeting by default and can join from 75 meeting units. You don't have to buy additional licenses."
 

Cons

"The webinar should be integrated into Sametime for a larger number of participants."
"It lacks some features compared to modern solutions. For example, it doesn't allow sending screenshots or other files."
"The solution must provide a plan to extend the subscription by three months."
"The WebEx interface is not as user-friendly as Zoom's. There is room for improvement there."
"The solution should come as a big client for the system. It should be able to be used just like chat software when necessary, similar to instant messaging."
"It is not so easy to obtain information in areas like the number of participants, comments, and file transfers inside the application."
"Cisco could maybe make Webex more integrated and compatible with other platforms."
"The solution could improve by having better integration with other platforms."
"The solution at times is not stable."
"The solution's initial setup process is lengthy."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"We paid for our Webex license as a bundle."
"The price of the license depends a lot on the type of service required and whether it is for the entire company or only for a few users."
"Licensing is subscription-based and the cost varies depending on how many minutes are included in the plan."
"Webex is expensive, especially compared to Zoom or Google."
"You need to make yearly payments towards the licensing charges of the product. You need to opt for a subscription-based licensing model for your organization. The product is a bit expensive."
"There are licenses for business to use the solution but for end-users, there is not."
"Webex is very expensive."
"There is a license needed to use this solution."
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Virtual Meetings solutions are best for your needs.
879,425 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business40
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise61
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with HCL Sametime?
I view it as part of HCL Notes and Domino, and my opinion is similar to those products. It lacks some features compared to modern solutions. For example, it doesn't allow sending screenshots or oth...
What is your primary use case for HCL Sametime?
It was used for communication through text messages, primarily.
What advice do you have for others considering HCL Sametime?
Overall, it was quite good. I would rate it an eight out of ten. It's a better product than some others from HCL, but overall, I wouldn't recommend it, given the availability of superior alternatives.
What do you like most about Webex?
Webex improved our overall team collaboration.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Webex?
From when I last implemented it, I found the price to be expensive. The licensing model doesn't work because if I want to implement it for an organization, I need to pay a per-user license, which m...
What needs improvement with Webex?
Webex is a fine, perfectly adequate product, and I don't see any room for improvement. From when I last implemented it, I found the price to be expensive. The licensing model doesn't work because i...
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Also Known As

Lotus Sametime, IBM Lotus Sametime
Cisco Spark
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Connect2Cloud, Superior Group, Daifuku Co. Ltd., Seaward, The City of Fort Worth, Christian Brothers Services, Berlitz, Deutsche Notes User Group, Danske Fysioterapeuter, Slumberland, La Vacanza, Rheinmetall AG
Seagate Technology, Kohn Pedersen Fox, World Vision International, Glen Raven, University of Notre Dame, CEV Multimedia, The Food Group, LUMEDX, California Baptist University, and Georgetown University Law Center.
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Sametime vs. Webex and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,425 professionals have used our research since 2012.