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HCL Sametime vs Webex comparison

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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
25th
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
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
128
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of HCL Sametime is 1.5%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Webex is 5.1%, down from 13.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Meetings Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Webex5.1%
HCL Sametime1.5%
Other93.4%
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…
DO
Web Designer / Developer & Creative Professional at Federal University of Technology Akure
Virtual training has supported collaborative learning and now needs a simpler and clearer interface
Webex can be simplified in terms of user interface, where many features should be displayed in a compact view, with similar features grouped together and a minimalistic design helping users understand what each button does. If specific features are not needed, they should not distract you, and some features should appear as sliding elements for ease of access. Additionally, connecting to Webex can be technical, and it would be beneficial to have a way to connect anonymously using a simple code instead of going through microphone issues.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This solution saves time and cost in communicating with team members, streamlines tasks in my organization by encouraging us to chat directly with the relevant person, and strengthens professional relationships through increased communication among peers."
"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."
"Audio and video calls provide faster communication than chat."
"A very good communication and real-time collaboration software, it is simple, fast, reliable, keeps history and the best feature of all is its intelligence."
"One of the most valuable features of Webex was that it was easy to use and there were no hassles."
"The stream is very smooth; that's what I like about Webex, as other video conference solutions like Zoom sometimes freeze and get buggy, but Webex doesn't."
"Webex is a collaboration tool that helps you with remote support and collaboration."
"Webex has helped me to give my customers a much faster response without the need to mobilize, so it avoids transport costs and times."
"WebEx allows both host and participants to engage in an online class, conference, training session, or support case with ease."
"The product is quite secure. Other products, such as Zoom, have had security issues raised in the media."
"I have found the most valuable features to be the high quality of the video and the audio. Additionally, the graphical user interface is good and it is easy to use."
"The most valuable aspect of this solution is that it is the easiest for participants to get connected to."
 

Cons

"It seems that the software might in the future, support the software telephony exchange but at the current time, it is not doing that and because of that one key feature of real-time communication is missing from it."
"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."
"Sametime hangs sometimes and therefore needs to get restarted."
"The interface is too colorful and looks like Windows XP."
"There is some difficulty in Webex, particularly when a third party needs access and that third party is not part of the domain of the company, it could be difficult."
"Webex could be improved by having a password-protected system. I don't remember there being any passwords for the meetings, but, presently, Zoom has meeting protection."
"My biggest issue with the solution involves its price, which I find to be prohibitive for small governments and modest-sized schools."
"Webex could add some integration with Microsoft Office or G-Suite."
"I was in a meeting on the free version where there were no controls. You couldn't mute somebody or put it in dedicated speaker mode. It was an important meeting, and because of the lack of an ability to control who the speakers were, we got a version of a heckler. Well, it wasn't really a heckler per se. It was just somebody who thinks they know everything."
"The solution could improve by adding a survey or form feature to show for the users to be able to vote or answer any questions."
"An opportunity they could benefit from would be a version that includes meeting transcription. I usually use a third-party product to do transcription."
"Webex can be improved in terms of better user experience."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"There is an annual license required for this solution."
"My organization took care of the licensing. I'm guessing they did some subscription cycle, but I used the free version."
"I am using the free version of Webex."
"The charges attached to the subscriptions of the product are okay. There are no extra charges to be paid in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"I rate the platform's pricing a six out of ten."
"You need to make yearly payments towards the licensing charges of the product. You need to opt for a subscription-based licensing model for your organization. The product is a bit expensive."
"The cost is pretty high compared to the competitors."
"The tool's licensing is expensive, but it should be cheaper."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
16%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Construction Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise69
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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 top-notch at this point in time. The only improvement I see is related to RAM and CPU usage, as older systems with 4GB RAM or i3 processors might slow down the application. I do not have a...
What is your primary use case for Webex?
Webex is primarily used for customer meetings, collaboration with team members, presenting to customers, and virtual calls with customers. In my daily work, I get on the meeting and take the discus...
 

Comparisons

 

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: September 2026.
915,287 professionals have used our research since 2012.