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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
6.8
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
Rapid Application Development Software (18th)
Zimbra Collaboration
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
29
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 0.6%, up 0.5% compared to last year.
Zimbra Collaboration, on the other hand, focuses on Email Applications, holds 8.6% mindshare, down 9.5% since last year.
Rapid Application Development Software
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

FrederickLim - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Vidya Shree - PeerSpot reviewer
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 full-text searching capabilities are great."
"It serves as a centralized solution that fulfills all my requirements from operating my email server to managing various aspects of my operations."
"It is an excellent solution."
"Overall, I would rate HCL Domino as eight out of ten. I would recommend HCL Domino and Notes applications for small and medium-sized companies since it offers a good return on investment."
"We have been able to set up a portal using a special XPage application that gives our customers access to this system."
"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."
"The most important benefit is security. The security architecture is very good. It's the best part of the solution."
"The stability is good and keeps getting better with each new update."
"Network NG Modules are valuable to us."
"We can control all the data in my IT infrastructure."
"The backup and storage management features of Zimbra Collaboration are valuable."
"Zimbra Collaboration has a good web interface."
"The configuration is simple."
"One of the premium features was customized rooms tailored to the collaboration needs. Many of the clients customize features such as organization logos and scanners."
"The product is easy to set up."
 

Cons

"An area for improvement in HCL Domino is security. New enhancements in the IT industry mean that security should be improved. The HCL Domino GUI also needs improvement."
"Scalability needs to be improved to be on the level that's required. Support could also be enhanced."
"The solution is expensive."
"HCL Domino could improve by having integration with other solutions, such as Microsoft 365."
"Recently, IBM sold the product to HCL. Since Pakistan and India have some problems on a domestic level, we were actually considering replacing it with Indian products from the organization. We're just facing some regulatory issues."
"From the Domino side, it should support DKIM and DMARC."
"They should provide its integration with other AI applications."
"The speed of the Notes client is an area that could be improved."
"There are some security issues."
"The new patches are, at times, not so good, so we don't install them, causing the tool to be not so stable overall."
"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’s forums don't have much information or documentation on administration tasks."
"Zimbra Collaboration's video conferencing could be improved."
"Zimbra Collaboration could improve the migration from a basic solution to a more containerized solution. For example, the installation should be able to extend to the containers and manage them with some solution, such as OpenShift or Kubernetes."
"The support was lacking in my experience. However, recently the support I received was good. Perhaps they have improved."
"The installation is not straightforward, it can take two days for the full implementation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"HCL Domino has reasonable pricing. It's not expensive."
"It is less expensive compared to other vendors."
"The pricing is individually determined. For us, in our current deployment, we pay $12.50 Canadian per month per user."
"The pricing is subjective and contingent on the intended usage."
"We're happy with the price of our license — it's pretty standard."
"It's very expensive. When we compare the cost with Google Workspace, it's so expensive."
"The price of the solution is low."
"We do not pay for licenses to use this solution."
"Zimbra Collaboration offers a good price-to-feature ratio."
"The solution is competitively priced."
"Zimbra Collaboration is expensive, and there is no perpetual license option."
"There is an annual standard licensing fee to use Zimbra Collaboration and there is no other cost."
"The solution is not expensive compared to other products."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
8%
Computer Software Company
19%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

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.
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?
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 ...
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 do you like most about Zimbra Collaboration?
The most valuable feature of Zimbra for our team's productivity is its efficiency in handling email communication.
 

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: June 2025.
860,632 professionals have used our research since 2012.