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HCL Sametime vs Microsoft Teams comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 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 Sametime
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
19th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Teams
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
166
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Social Software (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of HCL Sametime is 0.4%, down from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Teams is 3.1%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

Bogdan Chechlowski - PeerSpot reviewer
Stable product, communicate very fast and allows to see who's online in the office or work environment
It was used for communication through text messages, primarily Being able to see who was online and communicate very fast was a good feature.  The security was quite good. However, when we tried to implement it for email at a high level, we had to use another solution, FortiMail Gateway. I view…
Arun Srivastav - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless presentation and collaboration enhance organizational productivity
There are three main areas for improvement: Firstly, AI capabilities should be integrated into Microsoft Teams to provide better transcript services and offer multiple language support. Secondly, it should allow participants to remain visible during presentations, enhancing interaction. Lastly, it needs broader integration capabilities with other products, like Salesforce ( /vendors/salesforce ), which is currently limited.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The security was quite good."
"I can view the status and availability of colleagues or team members, which makes it easy to approach them when they are available."
"File sharing is the most valuable feature."
"The solution's most valuable feature is connecting calls to concerned people anytime. It works much faster."
"The communication part has been excellent so far."
"It allows us to invite members to attend the meeting efficiently."
"It’s very easy to set up. It doesn't take that long."
"Screen sharing and chat retention are the most valuable features of Microsoft Teams."
"It is a stable solution."
"The solution helps with collaborative communication. You can use it to chat and book calls. You can even set the status as away. It also has a transcript feature integrated."
 

Cons

"It lacks some features compared to modern solutions. For example, it doesn't allow sending screenshots or other files."
"The webinar should be integrated into Sametime for a larger number of participants."
"The product should improve its pricing."
"There could be performance spikes and better reliability. We saw a lot of stability issues."
"The desktop and mobile apps are quite different."
"Microsoft Teams withdrew the Wiki function, which was quite a good and useful feature."
"The product should improve its security."
"They should allow switching between windows in a Teams meeting."
"The solution's interface probably needs to be a bit different in terms of cloud sharing."
"The Teams functions can be improved and some other package should be introduced."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The tool comes as part of the Office 365 bundle and you don't have to pay anything extra."
"The tool's price is part of MS Office 365 and I would rate its pricing five out of ten. The tool's licensing costs are monthly."
"It is affordable because it also includes the licenses on Microsoft Word, Microsoft Office and SharePoint."
"I’m unsure about the exact cost, but I believe it’s reasonable. Using Teams for collaboration, video conferencing, and messaging helps save costs, especially for communicating with third-party companies worldwide."
"The standalone license is not cheap."
"I use Teams' free version."
"The product's pro accounts are cheap."
"We are using the free version of the solutions."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Educational Organization
66%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
3%
Computer Software Company
3%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with HCL Sametime?
I view it as part of HCL Notes and Domino, and my opinion is similar to those products. It lacks some features compared to modern solutions. For example, it doesn't allow sending screenshots or oth...
What is your primary use case for HCL Sametime?
It was used for communication through text messages, primarily.
What advice do you have for others considering HCL Sametime?
Overall, it was quite good. I would rate it an eight out of ten. It's a better product than some others from HCL, but overall, I wouldn't recommend it, given the availability of superior alternatives.
What do you like most about Microsoft Teams?
The most valuable feature of Microsoft Teams for us is the ability to share files from OneDrive seamlessly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Teams?
Microsoft Teams comes with Office 365 ( /products/office-365-reviews ) licenses like E3, but there are options for those who prefer not to pay for Teams by using alternative products like Slack ( /...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Teams?
The biggest issue with Microsoft Teams is switching identities, especially when communicating with external organizations. Users often don't know they have messages from another company unless they...
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Also Known As

Lotus Sametime, IBM Lotus Sametime
MS Teams
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Connect2Cloud, Superior Group, Daifuku Co. Ltd., Seaward, The City of Fort Worth, Christian Brothers Services, Berlitz, Deutsche Notes User Group, Danske Fysioterapeuter, Slumberland, La Vacanza, Rheinmetall AG
Honeywll, AIRFRANCE, AccuWeather, Lilly
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Sametime vs. Microsoft Teams and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.