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HCL Domino vs Pillir 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

HCL Domino
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
18th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Pillir
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
39th
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.3
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Low-Code Development Platforms (33rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of HCL Domino is 1.0%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Pillir is 0.7%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rapid Application Development Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HCL Domino1.0%
Pillir0.7%
Other98.3%
Rapid Application Development Software
 

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.
principl247992 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior SAP Systems Architect at a tech company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Intuitive and easy to use with almost no coding
The ability to analyze the business logic built over the years in ABAP and then convert it was pretty amazing. This is the first time I saw a solution that offers something like that. While obviously, it can't convert 100% of the logic (we had over 30,000 lines of code in this process alone), it did pretty well. Afterward, my team had to go in and complete the rest - using drag and drop - almost with no use of code. I love how they took the MIT Scratch concept and implemented it into the in-app backend. It makes the app creation so much more intuitive and easy to use.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most important benefit is security. The security architecture is very good. It's the best part of the solution."
"For people or companies who need a workflow application, this is one of the best in the world."
"Domino's dual functionality as both a messaging and application solution is a standout feature compared to Exchange, which solely focuses on messaging."
"I find the HCL Domino server scalable."
"We use HCL Domino for collaboration; it is important for our company and customers."
"We can scale it if we want to."
"We have been able to set up a portal using a special XPage application that gives our customers access to this system."
"The fact is that it simply works."
"Since you only pay for active users, and since it gives you an immediate improvement in efficiencies, the ROI is very quick."
"The ability to take ABAP code and automatically convert it to a mobile app and then adjust it to our needs is something that I haven't seen in any other low-code solution on the market, and it has been life-changing for us."
"I love how they took the MIT Scratch concept and implemented it into the in-app backend. It makes the app creation so much more intuitive and easy to use."
"I believe that this is the only product in the market that truly supports offline capabilities in an SAP environment."
 

Cons

"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."
"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."
"HCL Domino could improve by having integration with other solutions, such as Microsoft 365."
"From the Domino side, it should support DKIM and DMARC."
"The client version of this solution could be faster and be made simpler for non-IT users. You will need to have some knowledge of Notes to correctly install this solution."
"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."
"HCL Domino needs to be more user-friendly, as end users prefer Outlook over it, because they find Outlook easier to use."
"The solution could improve Kubernetes or Dockers migration to new environments in the cloud."
"The modernizer element should convert a higher percentage of the ABAP code, moving it from approximately 75%, closer to 100%."
"While we're not in a place of letting LOB analysts build apps, at some point, we may want to give them a bit more freedom - as long as we can limit their ability to harm the ERP data. I would like to see more tools pertaining to this area."
"While we're not in a place of letting LOB analysts build apps, at some point, we may want to give them a bit more freedom - as long as we can limit their ability to harm the ERP data."
"The modernizer element should convert a higher percentage of the ABAP code, moving it from approximately 75%, closer to 100%."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"While I don't have precise pricing information at hand, my understanding is that it tends to be on the higher end."
"HCL Domino is costly, but it still depends on how your organization views it price-wise."
"The pricing is subjective and contingent on the intended usage."
"HCL Domino's pricing depends on the number of users, but its license is not cheap."
"We're happy with the price of our license — it's pretty standard."
"Customers have to pay for a license for the Notes Client, not for the Domino database. There is a quarter license that we use."
"HCL Domino has reasonable pricing. It's not expensive."
"We chose to pay for our licensing fees annually."
"It is straightforward consumption based on the number of end-users."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Retailer
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
No data available
 

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.
Ask a question
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Comparisons

 

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino
appsFreedom
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

A1 Telekom, Acubiz, Afrisam, E. A. Juffali & Brothers, Fiducia & GAD, and Pakistan State Oil
Dole packaed food, Par Pacific, Brown Forman (Jack Daniels and other brands), Mobile Mini, Nabors
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Domino vs. Pillir and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,311 professionals have used our research since 2012.