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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
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
5.6
Number of Reviews
126
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…
reviewer1959318 - PeerSpot reviewer
Program Manager at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Has delivered consistent performance but would benefit from a more flexible licensing model
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 if I want to implement it for an organization, I need to pay a per-user license, which makes it very restrictive. They should probably reconsider the licensing model to be less restrictive and more adaptable for organizational use.

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 most valuable feature of Webex is ease to use."
"One of the most valuable features of Webex was that it was easy to use and there were no hassles."
"The product's initial setup phase was very easy."
"The stream is very smooth. That's what I like about Webex. Other video conference solutions like Zoom sometimes freeze and get buggy, but Webex doesn't."
"We can do the global meeting with this solution."
"Webex improved our overall team collaboration."
"The number one reason we chose Webex was the security features."
"Webex has one-click calling, which makes things easier. You click, and it automatically dials in to the meetings without pressing additional buttons. It's easy for people who aren't on WebEx. That was helpful."
 

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."
"I would like to see additional online chat capabilities"
"The UX should be more user-friendly. I know others don't like the UX because it's a little complicated to use."
"My company does a lot of international calls. For some countries they do not have their local number to call in, all they have is a 1-800 number which is quite hard to find. If they want to improve they should set up the local number to call in. What would be beneficial."
"The accessibility of the share screen option provided by the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"There's 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."
"The WebEx interface is not as user-friendly as Zoom's. There is room for improvement there."
"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 solution’s pricing could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"I believe the license to be monthly."
"There is a license needed to use this solution."
"The price of the license for the solution could be less expensive."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten."
"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 product price a five on a scale of one to ten, where one is high price, and ten is low price."
"I have recently switched to a different solution. WebEx is more costly. There are equivalent solutions at a lower cost."
"There is a need to pay the licensing charges to use Webex Enterprise Edition."
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Virtual Meetings solutions are best for your needs.
879,455 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
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 Enterprise24
Large Enterprise61
 

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.
879,455 professionals have used our research since 2012.