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Betty Blocks 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Betty Blocks
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
36th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No-Code Development Platforms (17th)
HCL Domino
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
19th
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 August 2026, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of Betty Blocks is 1.1%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HCL Domino is 0.9%, 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 (%)
HCL Domino0.9%
Betty Blocks1.1%
Other98.0%
Rapid Application Development Software
 

Featured Reviews

Hans De Groot - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner/Operator at Informatieewerkplaats
The solution is stable and has good support, but is expensive
Betty Blocks, when I started with it, was similar to a back-end platform with the ability to have a standardized back-office UI out of the box, which is perfect for a lot of situations. For more customer-facing UIs, we had to create the front end ourselves, building endpoints with HTML and JavaScript. Then Betty Blocks started in 2018 with the page builder. This allowed us to create drag-and-drop interfaces. That was quite cumbersome. Now Betty Blocks is entering a new generation of it - next generation forms - which should be a lot better. The most valuable feature is the back end. The way we can create action flows for things such as sending emails, creating PDF reports, or connecting to web services is very complete. I never experience a lack of functionality in it. The standardized back-office UI is said to be deprecated over time, which is a shame, because it is a real time-saver and is one of their strong points, only if it was kept up-to-date.
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.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the back end."
"All these components are separately tuneable, which makes it a very strong platform, and we believe that this should be considered in the enterprise market."
"The email system is the most valuable feature."
"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."
"HCL Domino is cost-effective because it serves as a complete platform with a web server, app server, and IT management system, eliminating the need for multiple platforms and complex integrations."
"I find the HCL Domino server scalable."
"We use HCL Domino for collaboration; it is important for our company and customers."
"It is a wonderful tool; it offers a very stable environment, the security is very good, the integration capabilities are great, it is a beautiful platform for low-code and no-code developments and offers comprehensive solution development, and the pricing is excellent."
"The most valuable feature of HCL Domino is how robust it is."
"One valuable feature of HCL Domino is its integration with other directories."
 

Cons

"I would like to see full integration with AI."
"In many cases, they make choices where flexibility is a little bit degraded, but if you leave everything open and the flexibility is great then the usability is a little bit less."
"What I find lacking in the software is its ability to query the database."
"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."
"Designing a new template could provide a refreshed visual experience for users without significant changes to the underlying functionality."
"Its performance and integration could be better. It has capabilities for large deployment with several servers, but in the latest interface, running with different servers isn't supported."
"HCL Domino needs to be more user-friendly, as end users prefer Outlook over it, because they find Outlook easier to use."
"They should provide its integration with other AI applications."
"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."
"The solution could improve Kubernetes or Dockers migration to new environments in the cloud."
"The speed of the Notes client is an area that could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing structure that we have been working with was based on a number of blocks."
"The pricing is quite high, but the pricing is also not very transparent."
"We pay annually for the use of this solution and it is only a standard fee."
"HCL Domino's pricing depends on the number of users, but its license is not cheap."
"Customers have to pay for a license for the Notes Client, not for the Domino database. There is a quarter license that we use."
"It is less expensive compared to other vendors."
"The license for Domino is yearly. The price is high."
"HCL Domino is costly, but it still depends on how your organization views it price-wise."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Construction Company
10%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

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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...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

KPMG, TELE2, Sligro Food Group, Ymere, Flexpoint Group
A1 Telekom, Acubiz, Afrisam, E. A. Juffali & Brothers, Fiducia & GAD, and Pakistan State Oil
Find out what your peers are saying about Betty Blocks vs. HCL Domino and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.