HCL Domino vs Microsoft Exchange Online comparison

The compared HCLSoftware and Microsoft solutions aren't in the same category. HCLSoftware is ranked #18 in RADS , with an average rating of 7.3, and holds a 0.6% mindshare in the category. Microsoft is ranked #2 in EA , with an average rating of 8.8, and holds a 13.4% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of HCLSoftware users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

HCL Domino

Read 21 HCL Domino reviews

816 Views
214 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Microsoft Exchange Online

Read 90 Microsoft Exchange Online reviews

4,254 Views
2,850 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

HCL Domino

Microsoft Exchange Online

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between HCL Domino and Microsoft Exchange Online based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, ServiceNow, Oracle and others in Rapid Application Development Software.

To learn more, read our detailed Rapid Application Development Software Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Rapid Application Development Software

June 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 860,592 peers since 2012

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

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Rapid Application Development Software (18th)

Microsoft Exchange Online

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Email Applications (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

HCL Domino and Microsoft Exchange Online aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. HCL Domino is designed for Rapid Application Development Software and holds a mindshare of 0.6%, up 0.5% compared to last year.
Microsoft Exchange Online, on the other hand, focuses on Email Applications, holds 13.4% mindshare, down 16.1% since last year.

Rapid Application Development Software

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

FrederickLim

Technical Service Manager at Top Level Corporation Limited

Provides mobile email systems with solid stability and easy deployment

The initial setup is easy. You need to sign up. It depends on the scope. It will take longer if there are more than one or more applications. The project usually includes infrastructure and deployment may take anywhere from one month to six months. I rate the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

Read full review

NancyHartman

Business Process Manager/ Educational Technologist at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees

Effective collaboration achieved with versatile features and good customer service

There are always improvements needed. My personal issue with using OfficeSuite and the Exchange Server is that one has to cobble together a whole bunch of different applications. Therefore, a lot of scripting and programming knowledge is necessary. I am not an IT person; I am an educator, a trainer, a user. I want to get the work done. However, I find that the Exchange Server and possibly the way our company has set up access permissions require extensive programming knowledge. It might take six to eight weeks to get a programmer's time to build something, whereas I can use something like Smartsheet that will do everything I want without needing a programmer. Smartsheet is more end-user friendly compared to a Microsoft product. Microsoft believes an expert IT person should manage everything, however, I want to manage things on my own in a simplified way. That is not easy using the Exchange Server or Microsoft Office. It is not end-user friendly for development, and a programmer is needed. Once set up, using them as an end-user is fine. I find that the automations are not robust, and the FedRAMP systems are not robust. I have a few issues with Exchange and Office, but there's nothing I can do about it.

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

"The pricing is excellent."

"We can scale it if we want to."

"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."

"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."

"This solution can be used for workflow application so that applications can be easily developed."

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

"Domino's dual functionality as both a messaging and application solution is a standout feature compared to Exchange, which solely focuses on messaging."

"HCL Domino is the best product from a security point of view."

More HCL Domino pros

"It allows us to work from home, at any time or anywhere."

"Intuitive and easy to use."

"We have found the solution to be stable."

"Microsoft Exchange Online is a very stable solution."

"The solution generally works well. We can send and receive emails just fine."

"It is very manageable."

"The solution is easy to access, and you can bring your own device to access from anywhere."

"Exchange Online's most valuable features are two-step verification and security."

More Microsoft Exchange Online pros

Cons

"They should provide its integration with other AI applications."

"Many people are not very happy with its speed."

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

"HCL Domino could improve by having integration with other solutions, such as Microsoft 365."

"The speed of the Notes client is an area that could be improved."

"Scalability is also an issue. We have problems with large databases."

"The client version of this solution could be faster and be made simpler for non-IT users. You will need to have some knowledge of Notes to correctly install this solution."

"HCL Domino could have a better interface."

More HCL Domino cons

"The solution's performance can be improved when you are trying to access it remotely."

"The integration could be better if it could integrate well with other products and software."

"It will be much better if the tool is integrated with OpenAI."

"We use different software for email spoofing filters and similar functions because Exchange is quite limited in this area."

"I would prefer an anti-malware functionality in at least the basic version."

"I couldn't delete an email account because it was identified as my primary account by the application."

"Microsoft Exchange Online should have a faster search feature."

"This product is too complex to use."

More Microsoft Exchange Online cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"We're happy with the price of our license — it's pretty standard."

"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."

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

"I'd rate it a seven out of ten in terms of price."

"HCL Domino's pricing depends on the number of users, but its license is not cheap."

"Price is reasonable compared to the other solutions."

More HCL Domino pricing and cost advice

"Our organization pays for a corporate license to use the solution."

"The costs of this platform vary based on subscriptions, but it is generally reasonable."

"Initially, we had issues with the licensing agreement, but we worked it out with Microsoft."

"There is an annual license required to use this Microsoft Exchange Online."

"It is a cluster solution."

"We bought some licenses, and some are within our package or partnership with Microsoft."

"We pay per user per year for the cluster with over a thousand users."

"I find it reasonably priced."

More Microsoft Exchange Online pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Rapid Application Development Software solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HCL Domino?

The most valuable features of the solution are security and integration.

See all answers

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?

The speed of the Notes client is an area that could be improved. Many people are not very happy with its speed. Additionally, in-line editing of documents and a document viewer are functionalities ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange Online?

The benefits are widespread and effective communication. We use Microsoft Teams for meetings within and outside our organization. Additionally, Teams can be used for chat, allowing us to track comm...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange Online?

The cost of Microsoft Exchange Online varies between $4 and $25 per user per month, depending on the different plans we use for different users.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online?

The mobile version of Microsoft Outlook has limited features compared to the desktop version. We find fewer features in the mobile version of Microsoft Exchange Online, so that could be improved if...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Exchange vs HCL Domino

Compared 35% of the time

HCL Notes vs HCL Domino

Compared 13% of the time

GitHub CoPilot vs HCL Domino

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Power Apps vs HCL Domino

Compared 8% of the time

Zimbra Collaboration vs HCL Domino

Compared 8% of the time

More HCL Domino Competitors

Google Workspace vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 49% of the time

Open-Xchange vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 10% of the time

Amazon WorkMail vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 10% of the time

Zoho Mail vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 6% of the time

IceWarp vs Microsoft Exchange Online

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft Exchange Online Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HCL Domino

June 2025

Download HCL Domino product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange Online

June 2025

Download Microsoft Exchange Online product report

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino

Exchange Online, Exchange Online Plan 1, Exchange Online Plan 2, MS Exchange Online

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

Exchange Online helps protect your information with advanced capabilities. Anti-malware and anti-spam filtering protect mailboxes. Data loss prevention capabilities prevent users from mistakenly sending sensitive information to unauthorized people. Globally redundant servers, premier disaster recovery capabilities, and a team of security experts monitoring Exchange Online around the clock safeguard your data.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

A1 Telekom, Acubiz, Afrisam, E. A. Juffali & Brothers, Fiducia & GAD, and Pakistan State Oil

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Blue Star Infotech, Scitec Nutrition, Resolution Films, British Airways, Empire Cinemas, InnoGames

Buyer's Guide

Rapid Application Development Software

June 2025

Download Free Report

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, ServiceNow, Oracle and others in Rapid Application Development Software. Updated: June 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.

We monitor all Rapid Application Development Software reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.