HCL Domino vs Zoho Creator comparison

HCLSoftware and Zoho are both solutions in the Rapid Application Development Software category. HCLSoftware is ranked #17 with an average rating of 7.7, while Zoho is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.6. HCLSoftware holds a 0.9% mindshare in RADS, compared to Zoho’s 1.3% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of HCLSoftware users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Zoho users who would recommend it.

HCL Domino

Read 22 HCL Domino reviews

2,037 Views
794 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Zoho Creator

Read 34 Zoho Creator reviews

1,340 Views
1,085 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

HCL Domino

Zoho Creator

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

HCL Domino and Zoho Creator are competitive products in the business application software category. Zoho Creator holds an advantage for its features and overall value despite its higher cost.

Features: HCL Domino is known for its stability, security, and integration capabilities, supporting email and workflow applications. Zoho Creator offers flexibility in application development with low-code/no-code capabilities, ideal for quick prototyping and varied applications, exemplifying strong integration options.

Room for Improvement: HCL Domino users seek better integration with third-party tools and modernization in areas such as DKIM and DMARC. Users also report performance issues with large databases and desire enhanced reporting and user-friendliness. Zoho Creator users emphasize enhancements in user interface design, scalability, data management, and improved customer support.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: HCL Domino is mainly deployed on-premises, offering extensive control over infrastructure, and is praised for its responsive customer service. In contrast, Zoho Creator operates in the public cloud, simplifying deployment but receiving mixed reviews for customer service responsiveness.

Pricing and ROI: HCL Domino's pricing involves complex, annually-driven licensing, seen as high by some users who question the ROI. Meanwhile, Zoho Creator is praised for its flexible pricing structures apt for various enterprise sizes. However, costs can increase with additional features, affecting perceived ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed HCL Domino vs. Zoho Creator Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

HCL Domino vs. Zoho Creator

December 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 881,114 peers since 2012

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

5.0

Opinions on HCL Domino ROI vary, with some reporting positive returns and operational benefits, despite initial deployment challenges.

Sentiment score

3.8

Zoho Creator offers significant ROI, cost savings, and efficiency improvements compared to competitors, despite higher portal prices.

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the HCL Domino report

For instance, a company I worked with compared spending on Salesforce, which was 15 crore, to our expenses with Zoho Creator, which was only 2 crore annually.

Sagar Gaikwad

Sr Business Application Developer on Zoho Platform. at Tech Worriors

I have seen a return on investment with Zoho Creator because we eliminated a point of sale software that was charging us 5 lakhs per year across all 26 malls.

AniketPatil

IT Projects and Strategy Manager at RoboTouch

Using Zoho Creator is affordable for my business as it helps save time.

NaveenKumar S

Software Engineer at Maximus

For more quotes and insights, download the Zoho Creator report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

7.0

HCL Domino customer support is generally positive, praised for promptness and helpfulness, yet some find it complex and unfriendly.

Sentiment score

5.2

Zoho Creator's service is responsive with praised pre-sales, but email support can lag; chat and community offer quick help.

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the HCL Domino report

I would rate the technical support 10 out of 10 because they provide excellent assistance.

NaveenKumar S

Software Engineer at Maximus

Delays arise once the support team must refer to backend processes or developers, highlighting the need for enhancement in their overall support system.

Jatin Rao

Zoho Developer at Tarini Consulting

All documentation exists, detailing even the smallest elements; by reading through it properly, one can manage without additional support.

Sagar Gaikwad

Sr Business Application Developer on Zoho Platform. at Tech Worriors

For more quotes and insights, download the Zoho Creator report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.2

HCL Domino offers effective scalability for many, but faces challenges with large databases affecting reliability for some users.

Sentiment score

5.8

Zoho Creator is scalable and customizable for SMEs but faces challenges with large data and potential cost increases.

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the HCL Domino report

Being browser-based allows me to drag and drop components immediately, deploying in seconds on a live application.

Sagar Gaikwad

Sr Business Application Developer on Zoho Platform. at Tech Worriors

We are continuing to build on top of what was initially created for them, ensuring that scalability is never an issue as long as you understand how to utilize Zoho properly.

Jatin Rao

Zoho Developer at Tarini Consulting

When my customers' needs are growing, Zoho Creator is able to adapt to these growing needs because it's a build-it-yourself application.

Jake Harris

Founder, Consultant, and Developer at Limitless IT Consultancy

For more quotes and insights, download the Zoho Creator report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

8.1

HCL Domino is praised for its stability and reliability, though some report performance declines with larger databases.

Sentiment score

6.4

Zoho Creator is highly stable and reliable, with few issues reported, especially when following best practices and using Creator 5.

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the HCL Domino report

The core elements of coding and daily scripting remain unchanged despite interface updates, assuring continuity in my work.

Sagar Gaikwad

Sr Business Application Developer on Zoho Platform. at Tech Worriors

You can't rely on any software in business if it's not going to be stable and reliable.

Jake Harris

Founder, Consultant, and Developer at Limitless IT Consultancy

Offering versatile flexibility for various integrations, such as WhatsApp and email API integration.

NaveenKumar S

Software Engineer at Maximus

For more quotes and insights, download the Zoho Creator report

Room For Improvement

HCL Domino requires improved integration, updated interface, better performance, enhanced scalability, security, and support for modern technologies.

Zoho Creator faces challenges with UI, data management, integrations, scalability, and support, hindering customization and user efficiency.

In-line editing of documents and a document viewer are functionalities that would be beneficial.

Vinay Shindre

SME at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the HCL Domino report

In terms of scalability, there are certain limitations if the data volume is large due to execution limits.

Gokulakrishnan G

Founder at GGSH&CO LLP

Enhancing the user interface could also be beneficial, as the company's focus seems more on functionality.

Sagar Gaikwad

Sr Business Application Developer on Zoho Platform. at Tech Worriors

I want to see improvements in Zoho Creator focusing on AI capabilities because there currently seems to be very little AI usage in Zoho compared to the advancements in other software.

AniketPatil

IT Projects and Strategy Manager at RoboTouch

For more quotes and insights, download the Zoho Creator report

Setup Cost

HCL Domino pricing is seen as high, $100/user annually, affecting smaller enterprises' decisions against competitors like Microsoft Exchange.

Zoho Creator offers competitive pricing starting at INR 480, with flexible plans up to 1,500 INR for diverse needs.

The Notes client is very expensive, costing around $105 per client.

Vinay Shindre

SME at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the HCL Domino report

Zoho offers customizable pricing options, such as Zoho One, which provides access to all 40 applications for 1250.

BOTU AKHIL SAI

Zoho developer at Lighthouse Learning Group

For INR, the standard cost is 480 per month, the professional tier is around 1,200, and the enterprise level is 1,500, based on the subscription level per user for Zoho Creator.

NaveenKumar S

Software Engineer at Maximus

Pricing is a little on the higher side for the Indian market, especially for mid-sized and small-sized companies with 30 to 40 users.

Gokulakrishnan G

Founder at GGSH&CO LLP

For more quotes and insights, download the Zoho Creator report

Valuable Features

HCL Domino offers strong security, seamless integration, cross-platform versatility, robust encryption, and efficient storage with DAOS for comprehensive application support.

Zoho Creator offers flexibility, customization, and integration, enabling easy app development with its low-code platform and robust features.

Its hybrid nature allows the use of both web-based applications and Notes client-based applications.

Vinay Shindre

SME at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the HCL Domino report

The seamless integration with third-party applications and services in Zoho Creator greatly enhances its utility in my business environment, as the ease of integration is impressive.

Sagar Gaikwad

Sr Business Application Developer on Zoho Platform. at Tech Worriors

For analytics, we employ two tools: Zoho Creator itself and Zoho Analytics, where we can use SQL queries to fetch data from multiple platforms.

AliHaider1

Freelancer at Upwork

We can generate QR codes for free, whereas in CRM, QR generation requires external purchases.

BOTU AKHIL SAI

Zoho developer at Lighthouse Learning Group

For more quotes and insights, download the Zoho Creator report

Categories and Ranking

HCL Domino

Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software

17th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Zoho Creator

Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software

12th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Low-Code Development Platforms (8th), Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of HCL Domino is 0.9%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zoho Creator is 1.3%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rapid Application Development Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Zoho Creator	1.3%
HCL Domino	0.9%
Other	97.8%

Rapid Application Development Software

Featured Reviews

Pradeep Bhat

Architect at a tech consulting company with 501-1,000 employees

Experience complete control and security in managing sensitive information and internal applications

One challenge I faced with HCL Domino was fully understanding its capabilities because initial use may lead to misconceptions based on simpler platforms. Exploring and comprehending what is possible takes time and effort, as understanding the full range of functionalities requires a mindset shift to leverage the platform's capabilities effectively. I believe HCL Domino is on a good improvement path, although a limitation is the lack of many service providers offering the platform, making initial setup more time-consuming for organizations without the expertise. If there were more subscription-based service providers available, it could enhance usability significantly, especially for organizations lacking the resources to install and configure systems.

Read full review

VishalKumar7

Zoho Developer at Evoluz Global Solutions

User experience metadata and workflow customization have been streamlined

The creator needs improvement; for instance, if I create a widget that has dynamic data, it cannot get published. When we publish a page that contains a widget, dynamic data does not appear. That is the problem with Zoho Creator, so it needs improvement. The portal user aspect is also costly; for example, purchasing 250 portal users can be expensive for clients who require them monthly. It creates a financial burden similar to how customer logins on e-commerce websites such as Flipkart or Amazon are generally free. Thus, Zoho Creator needs to offer free access for all portal users as they are essential for the application's usage. In Zoho Creator, we cannot work on UI customization as expected; if I want an application resembling a Figma design, there are limitations on UI changes.

Read full review

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	16
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	2

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	22
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	7

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?

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zoho Creator?

I find the pricing of Zoho Creator to be very cheap. When compared to other low-code platforms, Zoho Creator consistently ranks at the top regarding functionality. Their native Android and iOS appl...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Zoho Creator?

Regarding improvements in the Deluge scripting language, I would like to see enhancements in its loop feature, which behaves differently compared to loops in other languages. Additionally, the exec...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Zoho Creator?

There can be several different use cases for Zoho Creator that I work with. I can use Zoho Creator for all types of custom applications. I have built BOM applications and manufacturing-related appl...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Exchange vs HCL Domino

Compared 24% of the time

HCL Notes vs HCL Domino

Compared 13% of the time

Zimbra Collaboration vs HCL Domino

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online vs HCL Domino

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Power Apps vs HCL Domino

Compared 8% of the time

More HCL Domino Competitors

Microsoft Power Apps vs Zoho Creator

Compared 16% of the time

Lovable vs Zoho Creator

Compared 15% of the time

OutSystems vs Zoho Creator

Compared 9% of the time

Pega Platform vs Zoho Creator

Compared 7% of the time

Caspio vs Zoho Creator

Compared 7% of the time

More Zoho Creator Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

HCL Domino

January 2026

Download HCL Domino product report

Buyer's Guide

Zoho Creator

January 2026

Download Zoho Creator 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

Zoho Creator is a web-based platform that lets everyone build custom business applications without any prior technical knowledge
Zoho Creator offers a first of its kind drag-n-drop interface to create tables/forms, design, schedule workflows and perform a variety of automated actions.

Zoho Creator's powerful tools for data collection and management, analysis, reporting and collaboration make it the smart choice for small to large organizations to run their business online, without any additional costs, infrastructure, or software.

Zoho Creator is used by more than 400,000 users and 100,000+ apps have been already created. Don't let complex looking workflows and business rules scare you.

Zoho Creator is completely non-programmer friendly. Use the intuitive and feature-rich platform to build your custom database applications. Just write your business rules and let the software handle deployment and hosting. You can create your own forms/tables afresh or import data from standard formats (.xls .csv .mdb) and get your database application online within minutes, really!

Zoho

Sample Customers

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

Estate Crush Winery, Integra Services, Avidpays, Napa Valley Film Festival, Marionnaud, The Institute of Hormonal Health, Stone Tapert

Buyer's Guide

HCL Domino vs. Zoho Creator

December 2025

Free Report: HCL Domino vs. Zoho Creator

Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Domino vs. Zoho Creator and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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