HCL Domino vs Zimbra Collaboration comparison

The compared HCLSoftware and Zimbra solutions aren't in the same category. HCLSoftware is ranked #18 in RADS , with an average rating of 7.6, and holds a 1.0% mindshare in the category. Zimbra is ranked #6 in EA , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 6.9% mindshare. Additionally, 81% of HCLSoftware users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Zimbra users who would recommend it.

HCL Domino

Read 23 HCL Domino reviews

2,042 Views
878 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

Zimbra Collaboration

Read 28 Zimbra Collaboration reviews

2,475 Views
2,376 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

HCL Domino

Zimbra Collaboration

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Executive Summary

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

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March 2026

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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:

Categories and Ranking

HCL Domino

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Rapid Application Development Software (18th)

Zimbra Collaboration

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Email Applications (6th)

Mindshare comparison

HCL Domino and Zimbra Collaboration 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.
Zimbra Collaboration, on the other hand, focuses on Email Applications, holds 6.9% mindshare, down 9.0% since last year.

Rapid Application Development Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
HCL Domino	1.0%
Microsoft Power Apps	9.0%
ServiceNow	6.2%
Other	83.8%

Rapid Application Development Software

Email Applications Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Zimbra Collaboration	6.9%
Google Workspace	14.7%
Microsoft Exchange Online	10.6%
Other	67.8%

Email Applications

Featured Reviews

Filip Navratil

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.

Read full review

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

"For workflow applications or general applications, the rapid development capability is what we value most."

"They offer good support and provide a roadmap."

"IBM Lotus is good but there is other, better software available with much better pricing, and value-added functionality and features."

"I find the HCL Domino server scalable."

"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."

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

"They offer good support and provide a roadmap."

"The fact is that it simply works."

More HCL Domino pros

"The web interface is powerful and easy to use."

"Zimbra Collaboration is light to manage. It works on the Linux operating system, which is far better to manage than Microsoft Windows. Microsoft Exchange works only on the Windows server. We prefer working on the Linux server for security reasons and ease of management. Zimbra Collaboration also has some integrated tools for security. It some modules to fight malware. These modules are not very powerful but are still doing a great job. Microsoft Exchange doesn't have a basic module. You have to purchase a security solution and add it to the solution. The cost of Zimbra Collaboration is one more reason for liking it. It is also very simple to migrate from Zimbra Collaboration to another email solution."

"One of the most valuable features involves the solution's automatic backup, which I find to be pretty simple and straightforward, and obviates the need for additional software."

"Most valuable to us is the fact that it's open source, so it's possible to do a lot of customization."

"VMware Zimbra is an enterprise-class E-mail, calendar, and collaboration solution, built for both public and private clouds."

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

"Despite sticking with Gmail for over a decade in terms of business, Zimbra have impressed me with some other aspects as well; if the time comes, I would prefer Zimbra to my current solution."

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

More Zimbra Collaboration pros

Cons

"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."

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

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

"It would be advantageous if the web server could seamlessly pick up configuration changes without the need for a complete restart."

"IBM Lotus is good but there is other, better software available with much better pricing, and value-added functionality and features."

"HCL Domino could have a better interface."

"Scalability needs to be improved to be on the level that's required. Support could also be enhanced."

"The speed of the Notes client is an area that could be improved."

More HCL Domino cons

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

"They should enhance its online meeting features."

"The product must be more customizable."

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

"There are some bugs we found that could be fixed."

"In the next release, Zimbra Collaboration should include a security feature to allow access for mobile device administrators."

"We had a couple of issues with stability, but nothing that I couldn't work around or fix myself. Zimbra is a powerful product, but since VMware bought it, changes and bug fixes have been very slow in coming."

"The solution’s forums don't have much information or documentation on administration tasks."

More Zimbra Collaboration cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"We're happy with the price of our license — it's pretty standard."

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

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

"I'd rate it a seven out of ten in terms of price."

"For 30 licenses, we pay $1,500 every year. It is not an expensive product."

"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."

More HCL Domino pricing and cost advice

"We do not pay for licenses to use this solution."

"We pay yearly licenses for Zimbra Collaboration."

"I use Zimbra Collaboration's community version. We may move to the enterprise version since prices are affordable."

"The solution is competitively priced."

"Zimbra Collaboration is less expensive than Microsoft Exchange. Zimbra works for small companies because it is not expensive. Zimbra Collaboration has more security tools than Microsoft Exchange. If you are choosing between Zimbra Collaboration and Microsoft Exchange, you have to take into account the cost of security tools with Microsoft Exchange. When you purchase Microsoft Exchange, you will also have to purchase tools for security, which adds to the cost. The migration from Zimbra Collaboration to another email solution is very simple and easy. Migration from Microsoft Exchange to another email solution is very difficult. Microsoft doesn't allow migration that easily. In fact, you have to pay for tools to do that. You have to buy some expensive tools to migrate."

"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."

"We are using perpetual licenses. We have deployed it in our local data center, and we buy perpetual licenses on a per-user basis."

"The price of the solution is low."

More Zimbra Collaboration pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Retailer

Computer Software Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	17
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	2

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	7

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with HCL Domino?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for HCL Domino?

The primary purposes for which HCL Domino is used are mail and applications.

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 the email, calendar, and collaboration server with web interface. In addition, I...

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 configuration since there's nothing in the graphical or web interface. The soluti...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Exchange vs HCL Domino

Compared 20% of the time

HCL Notes vs HCL Domino

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Power Apps vs HCL Domino

Compared 10% of the time

Google Workspace vs HCL Domino

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs HCL Domino

Compared 8% of the time

More HCL Domino Competitors

Open-Xchange vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 20% of the time

Microsoft Exchange vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 19% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 10% of the time

Google Workspace vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 9% of the time

HCL Verse vs Zimbra Collaboration

Compared 4% of the time

More Zimbra Collaboration Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HCL Domino

March 2026

Download HCL Domino product report

Buyer's Guide

Zimbra Collaboration

February 2026

Download Zimbra Collaboration product report

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino

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

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

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

Rapid Application Development Software

March 2026

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