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HCL Domino vs HCL Notes comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

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
4.4
Opinions vary on HCL Domino's ROI; some see benefits in efficiency, while new users face challenges assessing its value.
Sentiment score
5.5
HCL Notes enhances efficiency and secure communication, offering ROI that outweighs its $100 annual cost per user.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.1
HCL Domino's customer service needs improvement, with mixed technical support feedback, highlighting responsiveness but needing more user-friendliness.
Sentiment score
6.8
HCL Notes support is praised for knowledgeable staff and quick response, with high user satisfaction but room for growth.
My experience with the technical support of HCL is that they are responsive.
Owner at Prodej a Správa Nemovitostí s.r.o.
Once Notes is running, it performs reliably without issues.
Architect at a tech consulting company with 501-1,000 employees
I would rate HCL technical support as eight out of ten.
IT Director at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
HCL Domino is scalable for all team sizes, though some users find limitations with larger databases and seek alternatives.
Sentiment score
7.1
HCL Notes is scalable, integrates well with major platforms, but may face performance issues with large databases.
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.
The scalability of the product is really good.
IT Director at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
HCL Domino is praised for its stability with minimal downtime, despite occasional issues, consistently receiving positive evaluations.
Sentiment score
7.1
HCL Notes is considered stable, with high ratings despite occasional server issues, enhanced post-IBM with improved features.
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

HCL Domino needs performance, design, and integration improvements to enhance scalability, modernity, and compatibility with third-party tools.
HCL Notes needs modernization with improved interface, reliability, integration, and user-friendliness to compete with alternatives like Microsoft.
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.
I think HCL can make its product better by being more visible on the market because most companies don't support or use HCL anymore.
IT Director at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
It could be modernized by the development team.
Administration & Technical Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Setup Cost

HCL Domino's pricing, about $100 per user annually, includes support and updates, yet some find it costly compared to alternatives.
HCL Notes is praised for cost-effectiveness and adaptability, despite varied perceptions on pricing due to multiple components.
The Notes client is very expensive, costing around $105 per client.
SME at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
 

Valuable Features

HCL Domino provides secure, stable, and integrated solutions with advanced encryption, mobile integration, and efficient deployment for diverse systems.
HCL Notes excels in security, integration, ease of development, backward compatibility, and offers cost-effective groupware applications with email integration.
Additionally, it supports web services, enabling us to consume and expose web services.
SME at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
You can make it do many things because it is an application server.
Owner at Prodej a Správa Nemovitostí s.r.o.
We use HCL Notes for its offline capabilities, including the ability to work offline.
IT Director at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

HCL Domino
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Rapid Application Development Software (18th)
HCL Notes
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
Email Applications (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

HCL Domino and HCL Notes aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. HCL Domino is designed for Rapid Application Development Software and holds a mindshare of 1.0%, up 0.5% compared to last year.
HCL Notes, on the other hand, focuses on Email Applications, holds 3.2% mindshare, up 3.3% since last year.
Rapid Application Development Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HCL Domino1.0%
Microsoft Power Apps9.0%
ServiceNow6.2%
Other83.8%
Rapid Application Development Software
Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HCL Notes3.2%
Google Workspace14.7%
Microsoft Exchange Online10.6%
Other71.5%
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

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.
AM
RPA Developer at Hexaware Technologies Limited
Challenges with efficiency and interface lead to transition while offering some useful organization features
Office 365 has advantages over HCL Notes, offering a better interface and better categorization of emails. We get different kinds of options, including mail suggestions and AI options that can help users. Meetings, calendars, everything is in one place, making it more efficient. Office 365 offers a better interface and categorization of emails, along with options such as mail suggestions and AI features. Meetings and calendars are all integrated in one place.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Retailer
7%
Government
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

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 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...
What is your primary use case for HCL Domino?
The primary purposes for which HCL Domino is used are mail and applications.
What needs improvement with HCL Notes?
We don't use team workspace with HCL Notes; we use only Microsoft because it's incorporated with the Microsoft license. Based on my extensive experience with HCL Notes, I think HCL can make its pro...
What is your primary use case for HCL Notes?
We use HCL Notes as an email system. We currently only use it as an email application, though in the past we used it for additional applications.
What advice do you have for others considering HCL Notes?
Regarding HCL Notes supporting various business processes such as CRM, I don't use it, but if I have an issue, I contact the support and we are satisfied with that. I would rate HCL Notes 10 out of...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino
IBM Lotus Notes, Lotus Notes
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

A1 Telekom, Acubiz, Afrisam, E. A. Juffali & Brothers, Fiducia & GAD, and Pakistan State Oil
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
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, ServiceNow, Oracle and others in Rapid Application Development Software. Updated: March 2026.
884,328 professionals have used our research since 2012.