No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

HCL Sametime vs Webex comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

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
24th
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
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.3
Number of Reviews
131
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of HCL Sametime is 1.5%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Webex is 5.0%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Meetings Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Webex5.0%
HCL Sametime1.5%
Other93.5%
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…
DO
Web Designer / Developer & Creative Professional at Federal University of Technology Akure
Virtual training has supported collaborative learning and now needs a simpler and clearer interface
Webex can be simplified in terms of user interface, where many features should be displayed in a compact view, with similar features grouped together and a minimalistic design helping users understand what each button does. If specific features are not needed, they should not distract you, and some features should appear as sliding elements for ease of access. Additionally, connecting to Webex can be technical, and it would be beneficial to have a way to connect anonymously using a simple code instead of going through microphone issues.

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."
"A very good communication and real-time collaboration software, it is simple, fast, reliable, keeps history and the best feature of all is its intelligence."
"This solution saves time and cost in communicating with team members, streamlines tasks in my organization by encouraging us to chat directly with the relevant person, and strengthens professional relationships through increased communication among peers."
"Audio and video calls provide faster communication than chat."
"The number one reason we chose Webex was the security features."
"The transcripts from Webex calls get delivered to the inbox five minutes after the call. However, out of 20 people on a call, maybe only one person bothers to read through the entire transcript, which can be lengthy for an hour-long call."
"The product's initial setup phase was straightforward."
"The best feature is to be able to share the screen or just some application we want, even a video or audio, then request the remote control of the device with which they have connected."
"Overall the quality of the solution is very good."
"The solution combines its hardware and camera features to give it a superior edge over all others, with the camera moving in pace with the person who is communicating with other participants."
"The most valuable features of the solution are communication, screen sharing, and collaboration."
"Integrates well with other Cisco solutions."
 

Cons

"It seems that the software might in the future, support the software telephony exchange but at the current time, it is not doing that and because of that one key feature of real-time communication is missing from it."
"The interface is too colorful and looks like Windows XP."
"Sametime hangs sometimes and therefore needs to get restarted."
"It lacks some features compared to modern solutions. For example, it doesn't allow sending screenshots or other files."
"The webinar should be integrated into Sametime for a larger number of participants."
"The solution should come as a big client for the system."
"They should integrate the solution with multiple hardware vendors."
"Recordings are slow to start, sometimes fail, and are difficult to edit."
"Sometimes the call quality is not that great. When you call in, especially in an international situation, or if you have people calling from different continents or geographical locations, there can be issues with the call itself."
"When it was just two people trying to conference, it was easier."
"Webex could be improved by making the application faster and more reliable, especially during screen sharing and large meetings."
"Webex's stability could be improved. It crashes very often. The user interface could also be improved to be more modern because it looks outdated."
"The solution could improve by having cross-platform compatibility. For example, if you wanted to have a call with someone with Microsoft Teams you could do it with Webex. Not everyone wants to use the same virtual meeting application."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The charges attached to the subscriptions of the product are okay. There are no extra charges to be paid in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"I have recently switched to a different solution. WebEx is more costly. There are equivalent solutions at a lower cost."
"I am using the free version of Webex."
"I rate the platform's pricing a six out of ten."
"For me, there is no licensing fee."
"The price of the license for the solution could be less expensive."
"Price is the one area where Webex needs to improve relative to its competitors. It's difficult to sell to small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) because of the license price."
"Licensing is subscription-based and the cost varies depending on how many minutes are included in the plan."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Virtual Meetings solutions are best for your needs.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
16%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Construction Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise72
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Webex?
My experience with Webex pricing, setup, and licensing has generally been positive. Since Webex is offered as a cloud-based service, deployment and onboarding were relatively straightforward compar...
What needs improvement with Webex?
I would appreciate clearer controls for switching between shared applications during a presentation, with a more prominent indication of exactly what participants can see. I would also appreciate h...
What is your primary use case for Webex?
My main use case for Webex is for conference calls, workshops, and team meetings. I use Webex for communication and collaboration at work, valuing the ability to discuss technical topics directly w...
 

Comparisons

 

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: November 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.