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

HCL Sametime vs Webex 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
18th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Webex
Ranking in Virtual Meetings
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
127
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of HCL Sametime is 1.3%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Webex is 7.6%, down from 17.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Meetings Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Webex7.6%
HCL Sametime1.3%
Other91.1%
Virtual Meetings
 

Featured Reviews

Bogdan Chechlowski - PeerSpot reviewer
Kierownik Biura Informatyki at EIB SA
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…
Akhil Viswam - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Collaborating in hybrid incident calls has become faster while the meeting interface still needs fixes
The best features are the ability to schedule meetings and launch ad hoc meetings. Additionally, we can create breakout rooms within the meeting itself, which is another excellent feature. Whenever we have production issues, many teams join a single Webex call. Sometimes we need to group together as separate smaller groups and work in parallel to identify the production issues. In those cases, we create Webex breakout rooms and each member joins the corresponding breakout session to progress on their task. Webex helps significantly in the hybrid environment. When we are working from home, it is very easy for us to meet with other team members and the management to get in touch and progress. Webex improves communication because even if we are working from home, we can connect with people and talk to them on a video call. It has improved the incident resolution time by getting into a call in Webex rooms and remediating the issues together as soon as possible. Audio and video quality is excellent for Webex. It has saved considerable time in terms of incident remediation. Whenever we have issues, we jump on a call and work together in parallel. This approach saves time and improves efficiency.

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."
"The ability to join by phone is the most valuable feature. I also think that it's much simpler to use and it's a Cisco product so I think it's the industry standard."
"Integrates well with other Cisco solutions."
"The most valuable aspect of this solution is that it is the easiest for participants to get connected to."
"The tool alerts us when there are issues with our Kubernetes environment, such as excessive container usage. This allows our operations team to quickly identify and address these issues, reducing the time it takes to resolve them."
"It is very powerful and stable."
"I like Webex because it is easy to work with."
"Webex has frequent updates and it is very good."
"The most valuable feature is Webex's user-friendly video conferencing."
 

Cons

"The webinar should be integrated into Sametime for a larger number of participants."
"It lacks some features compared to modern solutions. For example, it doesn't allow sending screenshots or other files."
"Zoom entered into the commercial space for end-users. It's more of a solution for single users for training classes or music centers and all that. Cisco is not in that space."
"Price is a little high."
"The high price of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"Sometimes we've had issues with the connection."
"The WebEx interface is not as user-friendly as Zoom's. There is room for improvement there."
"It is not so easy to obtain information in areas like the number of participants, comments, and file transfers inside the application."
"I would appreciate improvements in communication stability and performance. Sometimes we experience a poor communication stream, but I am uncertain whether it is due to the internet link or something else."
"The GUI of Webex should be improved. The connectivity for putting people inside the meetings or entering meetings is to be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"I believe the license to be monthly."
"The price should be improved significantly."
"I am using the free version of Webex."
"Features matter more than the price for us. As long as we get all the features we want and it fits our budget, then the price doesn't matter. I can't speak for other companies. We have tried other applications, and we run into some problems that we don't see in Webex."
"Webex is expensive, especially compared to Zoom or Google."
"The price of the license depends a lot on the type of service required and whether it is for the entire company or only for a few users."
"I use the solution for free because I don't use the solution's enterprise version."
"The pricing of this solution is fine and I am satisfied with it."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Virtual Meetings solutions are best for your needs.
880,901 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Government
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business40
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise62
 

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 Webex?
Webex improved our overall team collaboration.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Webex?
From when I last implemented it, I found the price to be expensive. The licensing model doesn't work because if I want to implement it for an organization, I need to pay a per-user license, which m...
What needs improvement with Webex?
Webex is a fine, perfectly adequate product, and I don't see any room for improvement. From when I last implemented it, I found the price to be expensive. The licensing model doesn't work because i...
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Also Known As

Lotus Sametime, IBM Lotus Sametime
Cisco Spark
 

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
Seagate Technology, Kohn Pedersen Fox, World Vision International, Glen Raven, University of Notre Dame, CEV Multimedia, The Food Group, LUMEDX, California Baptist University, and Georgetown University Law Center.
Find out what your peers are saying about HCL Sametime vs. Webex and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,901 professionals have used our research since 2012.