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Adobe ColdFusion vs HCL Domino comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

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
6.7
Adobe ColdFusion boosts ROI by reducing development time, manual processing, cloud costs, and increasing productivity compared to PHP.
Sentiment score
3.9
HCL Domino's ROI impact varies, with some organizations justifying it and others noting challenges due to recent deployments.
Our development cycle improved by around 25 to 30%, which allowed us to deliver more.
SDE III at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
We saved at least 25 percent of development time with Adobe ColdFusion.
Cloud Engineer at TO THE NEW Digital
I can estimate that I have saved at least sixty percent of time compared to a project that involved Spring Boot, and the site was ready in about five minutes.
Software Engineer at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.0
Adobe ColdFusion users benefit from responsive customer support, efficient escalation, and detailed guidance on licensing, configuration, and deployment issues.
Sentiment score
7.4
Users generally rate HCL Domino technical support positively for problem resolution, despite mixed reviews on customer service and website complexity.
The technical team also helped us towards the relevant documentation and provided step-by-step assistance whenever needed.
SDE III at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
They provided clear guidance and helped us troubleshoot a deployment issue very quickly.
Cloud Engineer at TO THE NEW Digital
The customer support for Adobe ColdFusion is wonderful.
IT Manager at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
My experience with the technical support of HCL is that they are responsive.
Owner at Prodej a Správa Nemovitostí s.r.o.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.8
Adobe ColdFusion efficiently scales resources, improving performance and handling larger datasets and user loads for enterprise applications.
Sentiment score
6.9
HCL Domino is praised for adaptability and scalability, accommodating thousands of users while efficiently managing distributed server loads.
Adobe ColdFusion is very scalable, and I have found it easy to scale as our needs have grown.
SDE III at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
As we have grown, we have been able to handle more users and larger datasets without any major performance issues.
Cloud Engineer at TO THE NEW Digital
Some features are simply not really possible with standard HCL client applications, which means moving all application development to web access, adding a lot of work.
Owner at Prodej a Správa Nemovitostí s.r.o.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Adobe ColdFusion is reliable for enterprise apps, handling backend tasks well, with noted scalability and helpful but costly support.
Sentiment score
8.0
HCL Domino is praised for stability, with most users experiencing minimal issues, despite concerns with large databases.
It supports load balancing, clustering, and high availability.
Software Developer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
We run several business-critical applications on it, and there are few issues that we encounter.
SDE III at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Adobe ColdFusion is really stable and very reliable.
Cloud Engineer at TO THE NEW Digital
Once we develop an application, it basically works and does not really break.
Owner at Prodej a Správa Nemovitostí s.r.o.
 

Room For Improvement

Adobe ColdFusion requires modernization, better documentation, enhanced tooling, improved integration, performance optimization, and flexible licensing for users.
HCL Domino needs security, UI, and integration improvements, plus better performance, usability, scalability, and modern technical capabilities.
Adobe should invest more in open-source IDE tools to have robust, error-free linting, formatting, and auto-completion standards that match the seamless experience found in environments such as Python.
Project Associate at Isuna Technologies
Expanding the ecosystem and improving integration with popular DevOps and cloud-native tools would be beneficial.
SDE III at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Adobe ColdFusion can be improved if there was an AI feature integrated through prompt engineering, which would be very helpful.
SR Solution Engineer at VATSIN TECHNOLOGY PVT LTD
In-line editing of documents and a document viewer are functionalities that would be beneficial.
SME at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
I would say that there are much better low-code platforms.
Owner at Prodej a Správa Nemovitostí s.r.o.
 

Setup Cost

Adobe ColdFusion is priced for enterprises, offering strong performance, but may be costly for smaller businesses compared to open-source alternatives.
HCL Domino pricing varies with usage, charging about $100 per user annually, with mixed reviews on its affordability.
It is positioned more towards the enterprise market, so it's not the lowest-cost option compared to some open-source alternatives.
SDE III at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
The pricing for Adobe ColdFusion is fair, and performance is a solid aspect of this tool for me.
Cloud Engineer at TO THE NEW Digital
You can always negotiate.
IT Manager at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
The Notes client is very expensive, costing around $105 per client.
SME at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
 

Valuable Features

Adobe ColdFusion provides rapid app development, seamless integration, robust support, and cost-effective, efficient solutions with extensive features.
HCL Domino provides secure, versatile, and stable solutions with easy deployment, dual functionality, and cross-platform integration capabilities.
Adobe ColdFusion reduces development cost, with less boilerplate code compared to Java or .NET.
Software Developer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
The rapid development capabilities really stand out, especially the built-in tags and functions that simplify database interaction, form handling, and API creation.
SDE III at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Previously, creating an admin panel took us 10 to 15 days, but now we are able to create it in one to two hours, which is very useful for us.
SR Solution Engineer at VATSIN TECHNOLOGY PVT LTD
Its hybrid nature allows the use of both web-based applications and Notes client-based applications.
SME at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
I would appreciate HCL Domino to have wider integration into the SAP world because SAP is not easy to use, and if we could integrate it into a HCL Domino application, we could post data more easily to SAP from the HCL Domino environment and vice versa.
CEO at hydrografix Consulting AB
Some of the best features in HCL Domino are that it functions as a Swiss army knife.
Owner at Prodej a Správa Nemovitostí s.r.o.
 

Categories and Ranking

Adobe ColdFusion
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
17th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Low-Code Development Platforms (14th)
HCL Domino
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
18th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Adobe ColdFusion is 1.6%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HCL Domino is 1.0%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rapid Application Development Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Adobe ColdFusion1.6%
HCL Domino1.0%
Other97.4%
Rapid Application Development Software
 

Featured Reviews

Kalpesh-Shah - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Rapid web delivery has improved productivity and now supports faster multi‑client deployments
Adobe ColdFusion should continue modernization with AI and other new technologies. While plugins already exist, the product needs to stay ahead of the curve in making new development changes and fast bug enhancements with new features. Regarding Adobe ColdFusion's AI capabilities, you don't want to have everything used automatically via AI. You always want to have control and validation. Someone has to review it, press the button, and approve it before deployments take place. Even with the AI feature, you always want that particular transition where someone has to manually do it. AI is good and can reduce so many things, but you want to have a fail-safe mechanism. Regarding Adobe ColdFusion's AI capabilities, the learning curve is significant. It is a new AI capability, but it is not currently 100 percent. I would say it is about 60 to 70 percent. The technology with AI is new, and the product should continue to improve. There are always gaps that need to be addressed.
FN
Owner at Prodej a Správa Nemovitostí s.r.o.
Long-term platform has supported secure mail, custom workflows, and reliable on-premise apps
I have noticed some weak points and downsides. HCL Domino is a Swiss army knife, which is the downside as well. It does many things, which is an advantage. The biggest downside is that it is a good product, but there are not that many applications for it. There are not that many ready-made applications. When they do exist, they tend to be somewhat pricey. I have not actually used HCL Domino's low-code tools. There are no low-code tools. HCL says there are, but frankly speaking, I have tried it and I always come back to the classic, the original HCL Domino. I do not see it as truly low-code. They call it Leap. Even when you want to do something more specific or more complex, you do need programming logic and then it stops being low-code. I would say that there are much better low-code platforms. N8N, for instance, looks nice with nice diagrams, especially for workflow and automation, which is where HCL Domino is lacking. The evaluation of the security features of HCL Domino in handling sensitive business information is that it has a peculiar security model, which I view as acceptable. Sometimes it may get in your way, but sometimes it simplifies things. It depends.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
13%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
University
8%
Construction Company
10%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Adobe ColdFusion?
The experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is a bit too much for small to medium-sized businesses. I believe they should revisit those factors.
What needs improvement with Adobe ColdFusion?
In terms of improvement, Adobe ColdFusion is already top-tier in terms of runtime engine for large data and document generation, but I suggest reevaluating the licensing model to shift away from pe...
What is your primary use case for Adobe ColdFusion?
I use Adobe ColdFusion mainly for evaluating and demonstrating why it is the primary tool we use for development. We are tasked with building a centralized dashboard for a logistics company. We nee...
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?
I am not missing anything significant from HCL Domino at the moment. There are some smaller things that can be improved, but these have already been posted on the HCL website where we can submit ou...
What is your primary use case for HCL Domino?
I have been using HCL Domino products since 1992, when it was known as Lotus Notes. I use it myself and also work as a consultant. We are an IBM Business Partner and HCL Business Partner. We are no...
 

Also Known As

No data available
IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Inspirus, Promisan, Webapper, Giva, Frontech Solutions Inc, Digicon, ITX Corp, Wall Street Magnate, SimulTV, ten24 Digital Solutions, Prospective Medical Data International Inc, Alcatel-Lucent
A1 Telekom, Acubiz, Afrisam, E. A. Juffali & Brothers, Fiducia & GAD, and Pakistan State Oil
Find out what your peers are saying about Adobe ColdFusion vs. HCL Domino and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.