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HCL Domino vs Zoho Creator 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
3.9
HCL Domino's ROI impact varies, with some organizations justifying it and others noting challenges due to recent deployments.
Sentiment score
3.6
Zoho Creator offers cost-effective solutions, replacing pricier competitors, enhancing efficiency, and providing customizable options for increased business value.
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.
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.
IT Projects and Strategy Manager at RoboTouch
Using Zoho Creator is affordable for my business as it helps save time.
Software Engineer at Maximus
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Users generally rate HCL Domino technical support positively for problem resolution, despite mixed reviews on customer service and website complexity.
Sentiment score
4.9
Zoho Creator support is appreciated for minor issues but criticized for delays and unresolved complex problems, needing improvement.
My experience with the technical support of HCL is that they are responsive.
Owner at Prodej a Správa Nemovitostí s.r.o.
I would rate the technical support 10 out of 10 because they provide excellent assistance.
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.
Zoho Developer at Tarini Consulting
All documentation exists, detailing even the smallest elements; by reading through it properly, one can manage without additional support.
Sr Business Application Developer on Zoho Platform. at Tech Worriors
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
HCL Domino is praised for adaptability and scalability, accommodating thousands of users while efficiently managing distributed server loads.
Sentiment score
5.8
Zoho Creator is scalable, customizable, handles growth well but can be costly with high data volumes.
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.
Being browser-based allows me to drag and drop components immediately, deploying in seconds on a live application.
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.
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.
Founder, Consultant, and Developer at Limitless IT Consultancy
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
HCL Domino is praised for stability, with most users experiencing minimal issues, despite concerns with large databases.
Sentiment score
6.3
Zoho Creator is stable and reliable, praised for improvements in functionality, with smooth performance and minimal downtime.
Once we develop an application, it basically works and does not really break.
Owner at Prodej a Správa Nemovitostí s.r.o.
The core elements of coding and daily scripting remain unchanged despite interface updates, assuring continuity in my work.
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.
Founder, Consultant, and Developer at Limitless IT Consultancy
Offering versatile flexibility for various integrations, such as WhatsApp and email API integration.
Software Engineer at Maximus
 

Room For Improvement

HCL Domino needs security, UI, and integration improvements, plus better performance, usability, scalability, and modern technical capabilities.
Zoho Creator faces user concerns over UI/UX customization, integrations, data management, widget functionality, and support service enhancements.
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 am concerned that Zoho Creator does not have good integration capabilities, as it has a lot of API limits.
Lead Software Engineer at Nexo Solutions Ltd
In terms of scalability, there are certain limitations if the data volume is large due to execution limits.
Founder at GGSH&CO LLP
Enhancing the user interface could also be beneficial, as the company's focus seems more on functionality.
Sr Business Application Developer on Zoho Platform. at Tech Worriors
 

Setup Cost

HCL Domino pricing varies with usage, charging about $100 per user annually, with mixed reviews on its affordability.
Zoho Creator provides flexible enterprise pricing with significant value, while Zoho One offers comprehensive app access at $35 monthly.
The Notes client is very expensive, costing around $105 per client.
SME at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Zoho offers customizable pricing options, such as Zoho One, which provides access to all 40 applications for 1250.
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.
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.
Founder at GGSH&CO LLP
 

Valuable Features

HCL Domino provides secure, versatile, and stable solutions with easy deployment, dual functionality, and cross-platform integration capabilities.
Zoho Creator offers customization, integration, and automation with a low-code platform, enhancing business functionality with flexible tools and security.
Its hybrid nature allows the use of both web-based applications and Notes client-based applications.
SME at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
I would appreciate HCL Domino to have wider integration into the SAP world because SAP is not easy to use, and if we could integrate it into a HCL Domino application, we could post data more easily to SAP from the HCL Domino environment and vice versa.
CEO at hydrografix Consulting AB
Some of the best features in HCL Domino are that it functions as a Swiss army knife.
Owner at Prodej a Správa Nemovitostí s.r.o.
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.
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.
Freelancer at Upwork
We can generate QR codes for free, whereas in CRM, QR generation requires external purchases.
Zoho developer at Lighthouse Learning Group
 

Categories and Ranking

HCL Domino
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
18th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zoho Creator
Ranking in Rapid Application Development Software
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
Low-Code Development Platforms (6th), Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Rapid Application Development Software category, the mindshare of HCL Domino is 1.0%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zoho Creator is 1.9%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rapid Application Development Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Zoho Creator1.9%
HCL Domino1.0%
Other97.1%
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.
VishalKumar7 - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
10%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Construction Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise7
 

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 am not missing anything significant from HCL Domino at the moment. There are some smaller things that can be improved, but these have already been posted on the HCL website where we can submit ou...
What is your primary use case for HCL Domino?
I have been using HCL Domino products since 1992, when it was known as Lotus Notes. I use it myself and also work as a consultant. We are an IBM Business Partner and HCL Business Partner. We are no...
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...
What needs improvement with Zoho Creator?
I think there are a lot of areas in Zoho Creator that could be improved or enhanced. When writing HTML and CSS inside the pages, I have to use HTML for adding data and CSS for designing, but we hav...
What is your primary use case for Zoho Creator?
I have created multiple custom applications in Zoho Creator, with a standout being an inventory management system, and recently, I was working on a company internal ERP that was created inside Zoho...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Domino, Lotus Domino
No data available
 

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Domino vs. Zoho Creator and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.