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HCL Notes vs Microsoft Exchange Online 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.5
HCL Notes delivers long-term ROI through secure communications, user satisfaction, efficiency, and cost-effective annual fees per user.
Sentiment score
7.4
Companies achieved significant ROI with Microsoft Exchange Online, realizing savings and operational efficiency without hardware investment.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.8
HCL Notes support is highly praised for knowledgeable, responsive service, with improved satisfaction since transitioning from IBM.
Sentiment score
6.4
Microsoft Exchange Online support is often praised for responsiveness, but user experiences vary with occasional delays and expertise issues.
Once Notes is running, it performs reliably without issues.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
HCL Notes efficiently scales for small to large user groups, integrates well with mobile platforms, but demands adequate computing power.
Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Exchange Online offers impressive scalability for large organizations, efficiently managing growth despite potential cost increases.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
HCL Notes is stable and reliable, with issues usually due to external factors or outdated systems, not the software itself.
Sentiment score
8.0
Microsoft Exchange Online is stable and reliable, with minimal downtime and improved stability since 2010, despite occasional external glitches.
 

Room For Improvement

HCL Notes needs a modernized interface, better usability, and improved integration to remain competitive with current email services.
Microsoft Exchange Online struggles with integration, security, and usability, with users seeking better performance, pricing, and support.
The front end of the databases on the home screen looks somewhat old-fashioned.
 

Setup Cost

HCL Notes offers competitive pricing with flexible licensing and affordability, compared to competitors like Microsoft and Google.
Enterprise users have mixed experiences with Microsoft Exchange Online's pricing, citing affordability for some, but high costs and complex licensing for others.
 

Valuable Features

HCL Notes provides secure, flexible groupware solutions with application development, migration, and seamless document integration at an affordable cost.
Microsoft Exchange Online provides unlimited storage, strong integration, enhanced security, spam filtering, and efficient remote access for diverse organizations.
 

Categories and Ranking

HCL Notes
Ranking in Email Applications
7th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Exchange Online
Ranking in Email Applications
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of HCL Notes is 3.5%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 13.1%, down from 16.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Herad Howell - PeerSpot reviewer
Secure communications that prompts responses with room for improved user interface
I primarily value HCL Notes for its security features. The software's secure communication is particularly useful when dealing with professional entities. It ensures that business is conducted smoothly, allowing me to use my organization's email confidently, as opposed to my personal Gmail, which might not prompt responses from some entities.
NancyHartman - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
16%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HCL Notes?
The security and performance of the solution are good even though our platform is variable, except for the mail services.
What needs improvement with HCL Notes?
Regarding additional functions, the front end of the databases on the home screen looks somewhat old-fashioned. It could be modernized by the development team.
What is your primary use case for HCL Notes?
Our use case for HCL Notes is that we use it for critical production databases and a lot of administration databases. We use it for email and calendars extensively.
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...
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.
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...
 

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Notes, Lotus Notes
Exchange Online, Exchange Online Plan 1, Exchange Online Plan 2, MS Exchange Online
 

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
Bank Alfalah Ltd., Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Blue Star Infotech, Scitec Nutrition, Resolution Films, British Airways, Empire Cinemas, InnoGames
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Notes vs. Microsoft Exchange Online and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.