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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
15th
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
5.3
Number of Reviews
128
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Virtual Meetings category, the mindshare of HCL Sametime is 1.4%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Webex is 6.5%, down from 17.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Virtual Meetings Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Webex6.5%
HCL Sametime1.4%
Other92.1%
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

"I can view the status and availability of colleagues or team members, which makes it easy to approach them when they are available."
"The security was quite good."
"It is a valuable solution for virtual meetings."
"Doing presentations on the solution is very good. There isn't much they could do to improve this aspect. It's excellent."
"Seamless integration with Microsoft Outlook."
"The most valuable features are video conferencing, the integration with Outlook, and scheduling meetings."
"A valuable feature of Webex is that it's good for direct communication. In general, I'm satisfied."
"It is very powerful and stable."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the fact that it is easy to share screens, a major reason I chose it."
"Webex offers a wide range of useful features."
 

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."
"The performance is not always good and could be improved."
"The collaborative features could improve in Webex. There should not be the typical one on one connection that we have had in the past."
"The initial implementation was a bit difficult. If they could simplify that aspect of the solution, it would be helpful for future users."
"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."
"Although we utilize it for team collaboration, it's not very efficient. Most people don't bother turning on their video during meetings. We feel stuck in the past, relying on outdated technology."
"Everybody these days uses virtual meeting solutions because we're all remote working. It would be a benefit if there were permanent collaboration spaces for projects. For example, the way Teams has its teams folders and shared locations. Webex is missing that feature, or maybe it has it and I'm not aware of it. However, it needs a permanent sharing location for when projects can get stored and can be a collaboration space as opposed to only a meeting space."
"Price is a little high."
"Some concerns are raised by the company's team when it comes to the screen portion of the tool. There is a need to hire engineers to deal with the aforementioned issue."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"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."
"The cost is pretty high compared to the competitors."
"There are no licensing fees."
"I use the solution for free because I don't use the solution's enterprise version."
"The price of the license for the solution could be less expensive."
"We purchase the product's yearly license. It is expensive."
"I use the free version, not the enterprise version. The only compelling reason to go for paid WebEx pay is if you're hosting large meetings."
"Webex is expensive, especially compared to Zoom or Google."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Marketing Services Firm
16%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business40
Midsize Enterprise25
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 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 underst...
 

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: March 2026.
884,012 professionals have used our research since 2012.