HCL Domino vs Microsoft Exchange vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

The compared HCLSoftware and Microsoft solutions aren't in the same category. HCLSoftware is ranked #17 in RADS , with an average rating of 7.7, and holds a 0.6% mindshare in the category. Microsoft is ranked #3 in EA , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 11.5% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of HCLSoftware users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

HCL Domino

Read 22 HCL Domino reviews

2,425 Views
752 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Microsoft Exchange

Read 94 Microsoft Exchange reviews

3,519 Views
2,921 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Zimbra Collaboration

Read 29 Zimbra Collaboration reviews

2,523 Views
2,397 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

HCL Domino

Microsoft Exchange

Zimbra Collaboration

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between HCL Domino, Microsoft Exchange, and Zimbra Collaboration based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

Rapid Application Development Software

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

FrederickLim

Technical Service Manager at Top Level Corporation Limited

Provides mobile email systems with solid stability and easy deployment

The initial setup is easy. You need to sign up. It depends on the scope. It will take longer if there are more than one or more applications. The project usually includes infrastructure and deployment may take anywhere from one month to six months. I rate the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

Read full review

Harry Murdani

Manager, IT Security at Averis Sdn Bhd

Helps with email services and communication with internal and external contacts

Everything is useful. The only useful thing Microsoft Exchange could do is give us more of a discount on pricing because it's so expensive. Regarding the calendaring functions of Exchange, there is a problem when scheduling an event for the whole day. When you click the whole day event, the scheduling doesn't really work. For example, if I schedule a meeting with you and block your whole day, instead of just putting a time from morning to afternoon, other people can still block your time, which results in double booking. It's kind of a bug that allows people to double-book. So, the scheduling isn't working properly yet. We also faced challenges with backup services. You need to use a third-party backup solution to back up the whole Exchange server properly. You can't use the native Windows backup services. It's like they're forcing me to buy another product, which means additional costs. The backup solution and the double booking issues. If Microsoft Exchange can fix these two things, then it will be very good.

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Muhammad Talha Baig

Business Analyst and Associate Project Manager at SAMI Pharmaceuticals

One of the premium features was customized rooms tailored to the collaboration needs

Zimbra's strength lies in its individuality, and it should focus on leveraging its unique features rather than trying to emulate competitors. My organization has certified Zimbra technicians, so we believe we can utilize Zimbra certification. However, I was recently informed by Zimbra that no such certification exists. I have recently completed the test kit, and after the training, I will gain access to tickets. Therefore, if any clients are experiencing issues, we have a certified technical team available to provide support 24/7. This is how we can cater to our client's needs. I recommend Zimbra to small-scale and enterprise customers. Anyone, even those with 5 users, can opt for Zimbra. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"They offer good support and provide a roadmap."

"The full-text searching capabilities are great."

"The email system is the most valuable feature."

"Overall, I would rate HCL Domino as eight out of ten. I would recommend HCL Domino and Notes applications for small and medium-sized companies since it offers a good return on investment."

"The DAOS feature is the most valuable. It helps to save some of my storage."

"HCL Domino is the best product from a security point of view."

"One valuable feature of HCL Domino is its integration with other directories."

"Domino's dual functionality as both a messaging and application solution is a standout feature compared to Exchange, which solely focuses on messaging."

More HCL Domino pros

"It's user-friendly."

"Now, we manage to serve almost 99% of the information."

"The technical support services are good."

"The initial setup is very simple."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange is the collaboration tools."

"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"It's a very user-friendly application. The mail server is also valuable when compared to other services like SquirrelMail."

"Provides unlimited storage for our mailbox."

More Microsoft Exchange pros

"It has all collaboration features, such as document sharing, video conferencing, chatting, task sharing, and calendar sharing."

"A lot of other products like Microsoft Exchange offer email or collaboration features, but they are not as fast as Zimbra."

"The product is easy to set up."

"Zimbra Collaboration has a good web interface."

"The most valuable feature of Zimbra Collaboration is the cost."

"The stability is good and keeps getting better with each new update."

"One of the premium features was customized rooms tailored to the collaboration needs. Many of the clients customize features such as organization logos and scanners."

"We can control all the data in my IT infrastructure."

More Zimbra Collaboration pros

Cons

"For me, the one thing missing is a really good reporting engine."

"The solution could improve Kubernetes or Dockers migration to new environments in the cloud."

"They should provide its integration with other AI applications."

"HCL Domino could have a better interface."

"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."

"From the Domino side, it should support DKIM and DMARC."

"The product's user interface is one of its shortcomings since it is outdated, making it an area for improvement."

"Many people are not very happy with its speed."

More HCL Domino cons

"For the next release, there are some features on the cloud-based Exchange that aren't included on-prem. It would be great if these features were made available in the next release. For instance, integration between Exchange and its on-prem calendar is not available for the on-prem solution."

"The filtering of spam needs significant improvement, as many spam emails are not getting detected."

"Exchange can be a little finicky, sometimes, or flakey. Last week, for example, I had gone into my calendar to check on some briefings that I had established, and then went back into my inbox, and suddenly the view had changed. I had no idea what it was that I had done, and I couldn't figure out how to get that view back. I took a productivity hit as a result of that, trying to fix it, due to the fact that it just wasn't what I wanted. It wasn't what I was used to working with. Two different tech support people had to work with me in order to get the view back to what I wanted just so I could be productive."

"It is costly, so it depends on how much you want to pay."

"I'd like the archiving process to be faster."

"In the version we have, I would like to see better communication between the end device and the Exchange server."

"The product or service could be improved in terms of Microsoft Outlook client compatibility."

"At the end of the day, the biggest area for improvement is having better and more knowledgeable support technicians."

More Microsoft Exchange cons

"The installation is not straightforward, it can take two days for the full implementation."

"The solution could use more integration with third-party tools."

"Zimbra Collaboration does not have a solution roadmap as aggressive as the new collaboration mail solutions. Additionally, they can have a better interface and integration with single sign-on."

"Zimbra Collaboration's video conferencing could be improved."

"They should enhance its online meeting features."

"File sharing permissions with Nextcloud integration need improvement."

"The new patches are, at times, not so good, so we don't install them, causing the tool to be not so stable overall."

"Some issues cause the solution not to function correctly or to cause downtime once a month."

More Zimbra Collaboration cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is less expensive compared to other vendors."

"The pricing is individually determined. For us, in our current deployment, we pay $12.50 Canadian per month per user."

"HCL Domino's pricing depends on the number of users, but its license is not cheap."

"The license for Domino is yearly. The price is high."

"Customers have to pay for a license for the Notes Client, not for the Domino database. There is a quarter license that we use."

"The pricing is subjective and contingent on the intended usage."

"HCL Domino is costly, but it still depends on how your organization views it price-wise."

"HCL Domino has reasonable pricing. It's not expensive."

More HCL Domino pricing and cost advice

"There are different prices depending on the customer's use cases and amount of users. The price of the solution could improve."

"Compared to the other options in the market, the licensing costs attached to Microsoft Exchange seem reasonable."

"This solution is expensive."

"Its price is very affordable, and basically, it is the standard of the industry. We have the Exchange 365 subscription, which includes the usage of Exchange Online. I don't know the specific cost, but it is the retail price of Microsoft 365 E3 licenses. Microsoft's licensing is not very easy to understand. Microsoft changes rules every other day, which makes it difficult for us to understand the licensing not only for Exchange but also for other products. It can sometimes be really complex to understand what you need to have in order to comply with Microsoft licensing."

"The solution is expensive to maintain because it requires frequent updates and ongoing server maintenance."

"Its price is okay."

"They are flexible when it comes to pricing, unlike most of the other vendors I have dealt with."

"We renew the product license with Microsoft every three years. The cost is included within a bundle of services. It's an enterprise agreement with Microsoft."

More Microsoft Exchange pricing and cost advice

"The solution is not expensive compared to other products."

"If you choose the network edition, it is a little pricier. They have the open-source edition too which is only community supported."

"When it comes to the licensing of Zimbra Collaboration, my license covers the servers and I find its terms to be much simpler than those of Microsoft Exchange."

"It's very expensive. When we compare the cost with Google Workspace, it's so expensive."

"Zimbra Collaboration offers a good price-to-feature ratio."

"The solution is competitively priced."

"The price of the solution is low."

"Zimbra Collaboration is expensive, and there is no perpetual license option."

More Zimbra Collaboration pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

10%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Government

Energy/Utilities Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HCL Domino?

The most valuable features of the solution are security and integration.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with HCL Domino?

One challenge I faced with HCL Domino was fully understanding its capabilities because initial use may lead to miscon...

See all answers

How does Zimbra Collaboration compare with Microsoft Exchange?

Zimbra is a free, open source collaborative software suite. The features I like best are the ease of integration and ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange?

The initial setup was straightforward and fast.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange?

Microsoft Exchange is costly, and its licensing model can be expensive over time as more users require licenses.

See all answers

What do you like most about Zimbra Collaboration?

The most valuable feature of Zimbra for our team's productivity is its efficiency in handling email communication.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zimbra Collaboration?

The solution is competitively priced.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Zimbra Collaboration?

When it comes to administration tasks like configuring specific filters or group signatures, I have to dig into the c...

See all answers

Comparisons

HCL Notes vs HCL Domino

Compared 13% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs HCL Domino

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Power Apps vs HCL Domino

Compared 9% of the time

GitHub CoPilot vs HCL Domino

Compared 8% of the time

ServiceNow vs HCL Domino

Compared 4% of the time

More HCL Domino Competitors

Open-Xchange vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 16% of the time

KerioConnect vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 16% of the time

HCL Notes vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 8% of the time

Google Workspace vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 7% of the time

IceWarp vs Microsoft Exchange

Compared 6% of the time

More Microsoft Exchange Competitors

Open-Xchange vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 21% of the time

KerioConnect vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 14% of the time

IceWarp vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 8% of the time

HCL Notes vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 3% of the time

More Zimbra Collaboration Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HCL Domino

August 2025

Download HCL Domino product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Exchange

August 2025

Download Microsoft Exchange product report

Buyer's Guide

Zimbra Collaboration

July 2025

Download Zimbra Collaboration product report

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino

Exchange, MS Exchange

No data available

Overview

HCL Domino (formerly IBM Domino) is a secure, enterprise-grade, application development platform. From IT to business, HCL Domino is the only low to pro-code application development platform that allows your business to build robust applications to solve workflow and process challenges fast. HCL Domino powers businesses around the world with 15,000 customers and 10 million apps built on our platform. HCL Domino has always been a secure, rock-solid, and proven solution.

Low cost of ownership - minimizing administration needs through automated installations, policies and monitoring helps staff focus on higher value tasks.
Minimized infrastructure - reducing costs by using less power, memory, data storage, network bandwidth and servers.
Rich application environment - supporting workflow-driven and people-oriented applications that help a wide variety of business operations deliver enhanced results.
Security-rich - helping protect your critical business assets. You can control information access, protect information and guarantee document authenticity.
High availability - featuring advanced clustering, replication, server fault recovery and automated diagnostic tools.

HCLSoftware

Built to deliver the enterprise-grade security and reliability that businesses require, Microsoft Exchange provides email, calendar and contacts on your PC, phone and web browser.

Microsoft

Zimbra Collaboration provides administrators and their end users innovative features that solve the challenges faced by organizations using today's legacy communications infrastructure.

Zimbra

Sample Customers

A1 Telekom, Acubiz, Afrisam, E. A. Juffali & Brothers, Fiducia & GAD, and Pakistan State Oil

Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Scitec Nutrition, British Airways, InnoGames, Osteology Foundation, Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH, NTC Contracting

NEC Biglobe, City of Ventura, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Hola Publishing, BIG, Sleepwell, LaFayette College, Xmission, DNA, Ring Line, Future Group, TIGC

Buyer's Guide

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August 2025

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