Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

HCL Notes vs Microsoft Exchange vs Microsoft Exchange Online comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
6.5
HCL Notes delivers long-term ROI through secure communications, user satisfaction, efficiency, and cost-effective annual fees per user.
Sentiment score
6.3
Microsoft Exchange boosts productivity significantly with varying ROI, offering cost savings depending on deployment and user base size.
Sentiment score
7.4
Companies achieved significant ROI with Microsoft Exchange Online, realizing savings and operational efficiency without hardware investment.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.8
HCL Notes support is highly praised for knowledgeable, responsive service, with improved satisfaction since transitioning from IBM.
Sentiment score
6.0
Microsoft Exchange support receives mixed reviews, with larger enterprises benefiting more than smaller entities in complex scenarios.
Sentiment score
6.4
Microsoft Exchange Online support is often praised for responsiveness, but user experiences vary with occasional delays and expertise issues.
Once Notes is running, it performs reliably without issues.
The Microsoft support structure, while technically proficient, involves case transfers across different global locations.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
HCL Notes efficiently scales for small to large user groups, integrates well with mobile platforms, but demands adequate computing power.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Exchange offers scalable growth, integrating well in hybrid environments, though costs and planning impact successful scaling.
Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Exchange Online offers impressive scalability for large organizations, efficiently managing growth despite potential cost increases.
The licensing and associated costs make it challenging to scale, especially when user numbers increase.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
HCL Notes is stable and reliable, with issues usually due to external factors or outdated systems, not the software itself.
Sentiment score
7.5
Microsoft Exchange is reliable with minimal downtime, though update issues may arise; stability improves with proper management and frequent updates.
Sentiment score
8.0
Microsoft Exchange Online is stable and reliable, with minimal downtime and improved stability since 2010, despite occasional external glitches.
 

Room For Improvement

HCL Notes needs a modernized interface, better usability, and improved integration to remain competitive with current email services.
Microsoft Exchange needs better integration, security, support, and user-friendly features while addressing cost, updates, and communication challenges.
Microsoft Exchange Online struggles with integration, security, and usability, with users seeking better performance, pricing, and support.
The front end of the databases on the home screen looks somewhat old-fashioned.
The biggest issue with Microsoft Exchange is its high cost, especially in pricing for license upgrades and expansion to more users.
 

Setup Cost

HCL Notes offers competitive pricing with flexible licensing and affordability, compared to competitors like Microsoft and Google.
Microsoft Exchange pricing offers flexible, affordable options for enterprises but can be costly and complex for smaller businesses.
Enterprise users have mixed experiences with Microsoft Exchange Online's pricing, citing affordability for some, but high costs and complex licensing for others.
Microsoft Exchange is costly, and its licensing model can be expensive over time as more users require licenses.
 

Valuable Features

HCL Notes provides secure, flexible groupware solutions with application development, migration, and seamless document integration at an affordable cost.
Microsoft Exchange excels in integration, security, user-friendliness, and collaboration, making it essential for business communication and organization.
Microsoft Exchange Online provides unlimited storage, strong integration, enhanced security, spam filtering, and efficient remote access for diverse organizations.
Microsoft Exchange is a user-friendly and easy-to-deploy solution, which is beneficial for handling emails even without professional support.
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Email Applications category, the mindshare of HCL Notes is 3.4%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange is 11.3%, down from 11.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online is 12.5%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Applications Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online12.5%
Microsoft Exchange11.3%
HCL Notes3.4%
Other72.8%
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.
ImranShaikh - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers several valuable features including conditional access, identity and access management, and scalability of mailboxes
We use Microsoft Exchange primarily for mailing purposes, both internal and external. We integrate it with other Microsoft tools like Outlook, Word document collaboration, Teams, SharePoint, and more The integration of Microsoft Exchange with other tools allows for seamless collaboration and…
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.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Email Applications solutions are best for your needs.
869,095 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
16%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise27
Large Enterprise35
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business40
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise40
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with HCL Notes?
Regarding additional functions, the front end of the databases on the home screen looks somewhat old-fashioned. It co...
What is your primary use case for HCL Notes?
Our use case for HCL Notes is that we use it for critical production databases and a lot of administration databases....
What advice do you have for others considering HCL Notes?
We actively work with HCL Notes and have integrated it with other applications as it is installed on Windows. We use ...
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 ...
What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange?
The initial setup was straightforward and fast.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange?
Microsoft Exchange is costly, and its licensing model can be expensive over time as more users require licenses.
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 o...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Exchange Online?
If I segment it into three points: low price, average, and high price, I would place Microsoft Exchange Online betwee...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online?
I see no disadvantages currently. From the admin perspective, whenever an admin wants to get the email backup for a p...
 

Also Known As

IBM Lotus Notes, Lotus Notes
Exchange, MS Exchange
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
Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, Scitec Nutrition, British Airways, InnoGames, Osteology Foundation, Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH, NTC Contracting
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 Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others in Email Applications. Updated: September 2025.
869,095 professionals have used our research since 2012.