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HCL Notes vs Microsoft Exchange Online comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 2025

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 Notes
Ranking in Email Applications
8th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Exchange Online
Ranking in Email Applications
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of HCL Notes is 3.4%, up from 3.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 13.4%, down from 16.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Herad Howell - PeerSpot reviewer
Secure communications that prompts responses with room for improved user interface
I primarily value HCL Notes for its security features. The software's secure communication is particularly useful when dealing with professional entities. It ensures that business is conducted smoothly, allowing me to use my organization's email confidently, as opposed to my personal Gmail, which might not prompt responses from some entities.
NancyHartman - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective collaboration achieved with versatile features and good customer service
There are always improvements needed. My personal issue with using OfficeSuite and the Exchange Server is that one has to cobble together a whole bunch of different applications. Therefore, a lot of scripting and programming knowledge is necessary. I am not an IT person; I am an educator, a trainer, a user. I want to get the work done. However, I find that the Exchange Server and possibly the way our company has set up access permissions require extensive programming knowledge. It might take six to eight weeks to get a programmer's time to build something, whereas I can use something like Smartsheet that will do everything I want without needing a programmer. Smartsheet is more end-user friendly compared to a Microsoft product. Microsoft believes an expert IT person should manage everything, however, I want to manage things on my own in a simplified way. That is not easy using the Exchange Server or Microsoft Office. It is not end-user friendly for development, and a programmer is needed. Once set up, using them as an end-user is fine. I find that the automations are not robust, and the FedRAMP systems are not robust. I have a few issues with Exchange and Office, but there's nothing I can do about it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It offers unique capabilities, excellent security, and replication features."
"It is easy to integrate the product with other services."
"The product is very stable and scalable."
"HCL Notes is stable most of the time."
"Notes is a perfectly adequate front end. It's clear and straightforward."
"The security and performance of the solution are good even though our platform is variable, except for the mail services."
"The initial setup was easy for me."
"The most valuable feature is security. It's very easy to manage security on records, views, and tables."
"Microsoft Exchange Online is a very stable solution."
"Exchange Online's performance and stability are very good."
"Exchange Online doesn't just do email, it allows for collaboration with inbuilt chat and calling facilities and document sharing."
"The overall usage was all good."
"The solution offers complete scalability and flexibility."
"The solution is quite convenient because you can access the web version anywhere."
"The solution is scalable."
"Microsoft Exchange Online is easy to use. You have a common storage where people can store documents. It also helps with version control."
 

Cons

"While HCL has made significant advances in the user interface and diverse platform compatibility, some improvements could be made in user-friendliness and graphical interface enhancements."
"The loading time can be excessive."
"The only improvement that we're planning to do is that all our applications are still designed in the layout and format of Notes version 4, and our plan over the coming years is to modernize their look. One of the things they're developing or considering deploying is a program to automatically upgrade the look and feel of databases. If they deploy that, that will be revolutionary. In other words, we decide on a corporate look and feel for our database and press a button. We've probably got 50 different applications in Notes, and it would just go through the whole lot and upgrade all of them to look the same."
"Regarding additional functions, the front end of the databases on the home screen looks somewhat old-fashioned. It could be modernized by the development team."
"Notes needs a major upgrade for the UI."
"One area for improvement would be making the interface more user-friendly."
"The interface could be more user-friendly. Some additional trainings could be added as well."
"Some people complain that they want something more modern and jazzy."
"In terms of machine controls, it was very confusing, and some of the administrative parts will be done from the control, but in online writing mostly we can handle everything."
"Microsoft needs to lower the price of the extra production add-ins for Exchange Online."
"The SaaS platform performance could be improved. At a previous company, we used this same solution on-premises. The data exchange was much faster compared to the SaaS platform and we sometimes experience lags."
"In the next release, I would like to see more features added to the security of the solution."
"I feel that there is a need for improvement in the product, considering that there are some concerns with the tool's integration capabilities."
"The configuration of the solution's on-premise version is a little bit difficult, and its troubleshooting is more difficult than the installation itself."
"I would like to let new users know that there are challenges regarding user provisioning, HRMS and the AD. Also, the data migration integrity needs to be checked in terms of the old data."
"Technical support can be improved by shortening the response time and increasing their knowledge."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive. There are many components or features which make the price very high."
"We pay licensing fees on a yearly basis."
"The price is reasonable."
"I don't remember how much we paid when we first bought the Domino license, but now, we pay only for the passport. For 30 client licenses, we pay about $1,500 per year, and we don't consider it very expensive for the quality of the product. In our case, we need 30 client licenses. So, we buy 30 client licenses independently of the server. It is very easy for us to choose and maintain this kind of license and get the passport advantage."
"We pay annually for the use of the solution."
"It is far cheaper to license. It is a third of the cost of our Microsoft license for 10 times the amount of usage. Developing applications cost a fraction of anything else. There are two reasons for that. First of all, applications are very fast to build. All the security is already built into the platform, so you don't have to worry about security at all. The other thing is that because fewer people use it than, for example, Microsoft SharePoint, the salary commanded by programmers is slightly lower. So, it is not only faster; you also get cheaper programmers. So, you really win-win-win on it."
"It was reasonably priced, but the product itself was not worth the cost."
"The cost of Microsoft Exchange Online is approximately $4 to $36 per user. They do not give a discount which is not good. The solution is expensive if you have 800 to 1,000 users. They should give discounts when you have a lot of users."
"The price of the license depends on a lot of factors, such as the number of licenses and company specifics."
"The pricing is really high. It's higher compared to other services."
"The model is one which is pay-per-use go. There is no license. We are talking about per-user subscription-based use."
"Microsoft Exchange Online is too expensive."
"I think it's just awesome. There's no argument about how much value you get on the per user, for user expenditure. It's really great, I don't have any issues with it. I think it's excellent."
"The cost is around $12 to $16 per user."
"We have a three-year license for $25,000."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Educational Organization
6%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HCL Notes?
The security and performance of the solution are good even though our platform is variable, except for the mail services.
What needs improvement with HCL Notes?
We are talking about HCL Notes, and I'm not certain it is easier to manage or has a better interface. HCL Notes had some AI capabilities and support, though it was not very efficient.
What is your primary use case for HCL Notes?
HCL Notes has features similar to what we can get on other products such as Outlook, with everything in one place. We find that Microsoft is more efficient compared to HCL Notes. We have seen some ...
What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange Online?
The benefits are widespread and effective communication. We use Microsoft Teams for meetings within and outside our organization. Additionally, Teams can be used for chat, allowing us to track comm...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange Online?
The cost of Microsoft Exchange Online varies between $4 and $25 per user per month, depending on the different plans we use for different users.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online?
The mobile version of Microsoft Outlook has limited features compared to the desktop version. We find fewer features in the mobile version of Microsoft Exchange Online, so that could be improved if...
 

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Notes, Lotus Notes
Exchange Online, Exchange Online Plan 1, Exchange Online Plan 2, MS Exchange Online
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Connect2Cloud, Hansgrohe, Sauk County, Blue Water Shipping, FDBR, ibml, Multivac, Aarhus University Hospital, Hendricks Regional Health, Asian Paints, Integra Legal, Sunplus Technology, S¾SS, The Moroccan Ministry of Youth and Sports, Nicrometal, Doncasters Group, Practice Plan, Barr, RACV, Neotechnik, Deutsche Notes User Group
Bank Alfalah Ltd., Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Blue Star Infotech, Scitec Nutrition, Resolution Films, British Airways, Empire Cinemas, InnoGames
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Notes vs. Microsoft Exchange Online and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
862,499 professionals have used our research since 2012.