--- title: HCL Notes Reviews meta\_title: 'HCL Notes Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta\_description: Filter 188 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how HCL Notes works for a business like yours. aggregate\_rating: rating\_value: 3.2 review\_count: 188 scale: '5' date\_modified: '2026-08-07' parent\_category: name: Collaboration & Productivity url: https://www.g2.com/categories/collaboration-productivity --- # HCL Notes Reviews & Product Details Claimed ###### Profile Status This profile is currently managed by HCL Notes but has limited features. Are you part of the HCL Notes team? [Upgrade your plan](https://sell.g2.com) to enhance your branding and engage with visitors to your profile! HCL Notes is an enterprise email client that integrates social collaboration, messaging and business applications into a single workspace * * * Seller [HCL Technologies](https://www.g2.com/sellers/hcl-technologies) Discussions [HCL Notes Community](https://www.g2.com/products/hcl-notes/discuss) Solution Type All-in-One Overview by Rebecca Bauer (Content Director) Show More ## Value at a Glance Averages based on real user reviews. ### Time to Implement 3 months ### Return on Investment 16 months [ View More Pricing Information ](https://www.g2.com/products/hcl-notes/pricing) ## Top-Rated Alternatives [ ![Microsoft Outlook](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Microsoft Outlook") Microsoft Outlook 4.5/5(3,522) ](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-outlook/reviews) [ ![Thunderbird](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Thunderbird") Thunderbird 4.3/5(340) ](https://www.g2.com/products/thunderbird/reviews) [ ![Front](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Front") Front 4.7/5(2,507) ](https://www.g2.com/products/front/reviews) [ View All Alternatives ](https://www.g2.com/products/hcl-notes/competitors/alternatives) ## User Insights Average based on 188 real user reviews. Implementation Time 3 months Perceived Cost $$$$$ [Log in to unlock pricing and user insights](/login) ![Ahmad J.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Ahmad J.") AJ Ahmad J. ICT Specialist 2 Information Technology and Services Enterprise (\> 1000 emp.) 5/10/2026 "Robust Collaboration Suite with Email, Calendars, and File Sharing" 4/5 What do you like best about HCL Notes? It provides business collaboration functions such as email, calendars, to-do lists, contact management, discussion forums, file sharing, websites, instant messaging, blogs, document libraries, user directories, and custom applications. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about HCL Notes? HCL Notes can feel outdated and complex and it often requires heavy IT support Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is HCL Notes solving and how is that benefiting you? HCL Notes helps by pulling email, calendar, tasks, and business apps into one place, so you don’t have to bounce between different tools. For me, that means less hassle and smoother teamwork, since everything I need to stay organized is right there. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Our network of Icons are G2 members who are recognized for their outstanding contributions and commitment to helping others through their expertise.G2 IconCurrent UserValidated ReviewerSource: G2 invite ![Mayur W.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Mayur W.") MW Mayur W. Technical Specialist Computer & Network Security Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) 5/8/2025 "HCL Notes: Still Reliable for Legacy Workflows, But Lags in Modern UX" 4/5 What do you like best about HCL Notes? HCL Notes (formerly IBM Notes/Lotus Notes) still shines when it comes to enterprise-level email, calendar, and database-driven collaboration. Its tight integration with Domino Server allows for advanced application development and secure messaging. The offline functionality is robust, and its document-level security remains a strong point for organizations with strict compliance requirements. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about HCL Notes? The user interface feels outdated, and the learning curve is steep, especially for new users. Integration with modern cloud-based tools (like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, or Slack) is limited. The mobile app is functional but not user-friendly, and updates are not as frequent or innovative as competitors'. Some workflows feel clunky, and the overall user experience lags behind modern standards. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is HCL Notes solving and how is that benefiting you? HCL Notes is ideal for businesses that rely on custom-built Notes applications or need secure internal communications. It's particularly useful in industries like finance, legal, and government where data integrity, security, and auditability are critical. For organizations already deeply invested in Domino infrastructure, Notes continues to provide value with low latency and dependable performance. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerSource: Organic SK Suman K. Enterprise (\> 1000 emp.) 4/24/2024 "Traditional e-mail client software along with business collaboration fuctions" 3.5/5 What do you like best about HCL Notes? HCL notes is quite easy to use as the users don't require additional learning to use the software. It offers other tools like Calendar, To-do list, Contact list, etc. along with the email client, which is quite helpful. We consider it a secure platform to share information among the staff members of the organization. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about HCL Notes? The user interface could be more professional and modern as it offers legacy design and features that are quite problematic sometimes. It is not 100% capable of handling modern HTML emails. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is HCL Notes solving and how is that benefiting you? We use HCL notes in our organization as the primary email client. All of our staff members have been provided an account on the HCL notes so that they can send or receive emails from both internal and external users. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite MJ Mickey J. CEO Management Consulting Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 4/25/2024 "HCL Notes is great but its use is declining" 4/5 What do you like best about HCL Notes? Rock-solid stable. Well integrated email, calendar, and other functions. Enables really easy implementation of company databases that we use every day to run our business. Setup is very easy, and its security features are unparalelled. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about HCL Notes? Not many IT specialists know how to use Notes - mostly because it wasn't supported for a very long time (treated like an orphan by IBM). Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is HCL Notes solving and how is that benefiting you? Integrated system is our interface for every business application. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Our network of Icons are G2 members who are recognized for their outstanding contributions and commitment to helping others through their expertise.G2 IconCurrent UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite PA Paolo A. Channel manager Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 8/18/2022 "Using it since years ago" 4/5 What do you like best about HCL Notes? Easy to use and great for sharing info among the team. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about HCL Notes? A little bit old design and often loses the sync between the unread mail and the counter Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is HCL Notes solving and how is that benefiting you? We have all that we need in one application and that is great. We save time in usage and support Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerSource: Organic ![Verified User in Chemicals](/assets/icons/anonymous-avatar-purple-4ae1032bdb50ee5682003170c8184aee790d25958bd397abbd384ba52c596a7b.svg "Verified User in Chemicals") AC Verified User in Chemicals Enterprise (\> 1000 emp.) 1/17/2022 "HCL Notes - gets the job done" 4/5 What do you like best about HCL Notes? HCL Notes is a powerful tool for skilled administrators with LotusScript knowledge. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about HCL Notes? Like every tool HCL Notes has its quirks. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is HCL Notes solving and how is that benefiting you? We solved the problem of sending information through snail mail :) Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 Gives Campaign ![Calin Adrian P.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Calin Adrian P.") CP Calin Adrian P. Technical Solutions Manager Enterprise (\> 1000 emp.) 11/1/2019 Business partner of the seller or seller's competitor, not included in G2 scores. "Review Notes Calin" 3.5/5 What do you like best about HCL Notes? It works very well as a mail client, however, the main benefits of notes don't come from the mail but from the domino suite, that allows creation and management of various databases, forums, auctions and other forms of collaboration. I like the integration with Sametime and the fact that I can browse for any contacts in the internal database. I find the calendar very effective, you can easily schedule a meeting, appointment, all-day event, or just simple reminders. You can see easily the availability of the participants and select the right time slot. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about HCL Notes? To take full advantage of the notes suite it can be quite expensive. On the other hand, the core is quite old, and complex to develop new features or make it lighter. There are cheaper alternatives and better collaboration tools for the enterprise. It may still work well in some enterprise cases. It requires strong infrastructure servers behind. It is not very easy to find good administrators, typically it requires that you will handover the administration and maintenance part to IBM. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Recommendations to others considering HCL Notes: Recommended only for a large enterprises that have an in-house team able to understand and work with Domino. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is HCL Notes solving and how is that benefiting you? I am using it for mail, calendar, and chat features, but I am also using still many databases for various tasks. You can create documentation with owners and board reviewers, therefore, it is useful to keep documentation up to date. Scheduling meetings with many participants. Acceptance, denial or proposing new times are very easy to use for all the participants. It works well also with external invites. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Maria L.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Maria L.") ML Maria L. Reporter Newspapers Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 8/4/2019 "IBM, Help Collaborate in the Workplace" 3.5/5 What do you like best about HCL Notes? It often has many useful features that can accomplish many tasks efficiently. Employees have a platform through which they can connect with each other and have all the important information they should know. In addition, it helps organize tasks through the calendar, schedule employee meetings, send emails and use shared storage. Its integration with other IBM applications is what we need. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about HCL Notes? There is very little understanding of this software from IBM. Therefore, IBM needs to research and reshape its image and prove that they are doing wonderful work on their software. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is HCL Notes solving and how is that benefiting you? The software's capabilities make collaboration easier and have the ability to handle everyday tasks, so less staff time and effort are required. It makes the user's work more flexible and easier. Therefore it is user-friendly. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More 11/30/2019 Validated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Verified User in Government Administration](/assets/icons/anonymous-avatar-purple-4ae1032bdb50ee5682003170c8184aee790d25958bd397abbd384ba52c596a7b.svg "Verified User in Government Administration") UG Verified User in Government Administration Enterprise (\> 1000 emp.) 7/6/2020 "Great teamworking , teleworking tool" 4/5 What do you like best about HCL Notes? As we are teleworking, we use this tool and SameTime to chat and collaborate on working on documents Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about HCL Notes? it is not as comprehensive and advanced as its competitors like Microsoft Teams Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is HCL Notes solving and how is that benefiting you? Allowing communication with colleagues, integration with emails, sharing documents Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Kayla G.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Kayla G.") KG Kayla G. Chief Education Officer & Co-Founder Internet Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 8/4/2019 "Effective use of workspace features" 4/5 What do you like best about HCL Notes? The functionality of the workspace has been used to design the database, allowing all staff to access important files and documents. It is considered an alternative to Sharepoint, but in this respect, Workspace is more efficient and organized. In this case, the company's choice of access control is a critical factor. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about HCL Notes? The software lacks efficient features because it runs very slowly. Each task takes a lot of loads and encounters difficulties when loading, causing task completion delays. Therefore, this program is not suitable for those who want to work faster and have a reliable working environment, because it is impossible in this way. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is HCL Notes solving and how is that benefiting you? This is a perfect replacement for SharePoint because it organizes the data (records and program documentation) according to the needs of the user. In addition, employees can have a centralized platform to share their files and work. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ## Questions about HCL Notes? Ask real users or explore answers from the community Get practical answers, real workflows, and honest pros and cons from the G2 community or share your insights. [ Ask about HCL Notes ](https://www.g2.com/products/hcl-notes/discussions/new) GU Guest User What is HCL Notes used for? 0 Upvotes 0 [ Join the conversation ](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-hcl-notes-used-for) ![Muhammad Q.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Muhammad Q.") MQ Muhammad Qasim • Last activity over 6 years ago In what industries is IBM Notes mostly used? 1 Upvote 1 [ Join the conversation ](https://www.g2.com/discussions/in-what-industries-is-ibm-notes-mostly-used) [ View all Discussions ](https://www.g2.com/products/hcl-notes/discuss) ## Pricing Insights Averages based on real user reviews. ### Time to Implement 3 months ### Return on Investment 16 months ### Perceived Cost $$$$$ [ View More Pricing Information ](https://www.g2.com/products/hcl-notes/pricing) HCL Notes Comparisons ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/small_square/small_square_69054bc7d40597b06fc3905720ccc914/microsoft-outlook.png "Product Avatar Image") Outlook 4.5/5(3,522) [ Compare Now ](https://www.g2.com/compare/hcl-notes-vs-microsoft-outlook) ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/small_square/small_square_6ca5b57b63c45814e9ef66a64ca43c19/thunderbird.png "Product Avatar Image") Thunderbird 4.3/5(340) [ Compare Now ](https://www.g2.com/compare/hcl-notes-vs-thunderbird) ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/small_square/small_square_148d4e88c759e4a7a984a0f3f056fd39/zimbra-collaboration-enterprise-collaboration.png "Product Avatar Image") Zimbra Collaboration... 3.6/5(140) [ Compare Now ](https://www.g2.com/compare/hcl-notes-vs-zimbra-collaboration-enterprise-collaboration) ##### ##### HCL Notes Features Inbox Tools Unified Inbox Filters Reminders Coordination Tools Calendar Contacts Task Management Software Options Desktop Application Mobile Application [ View More Features ](https://www.g2.com/products/hcl-notes/features) ##### Categories on G2 [Email Client](https://www.g2.com/categories/email-client) ##### Explore More [Where can I find the best influencer marketing platform](https://www.g2.com/discussions/where-can-i-find-the-best-influencer-marketing-platform)[What cloud security monitoring platforms actually cut down the manual checks security teams have to do across multiple cloud services every week?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-cloud-security-monitoring-platforms-actually-cut-down-the-manual-checks-security-teams-have-to-do-across-multiple-cloud-services-every-week)[Top AP and spend analysis tools for finance teams](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-are-the-top-ap-and-spend-analysis-tools-for-finance-teams) [Which antivirus gives the strongest ransomware protection for a small home office setup where losing files would be genuinely catastrophic?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/which-antivirus-gives-the-strongest-ransomware-protection-for-a-small-home-office-setup-where-losing-files-would-be-genuinely-catastrophic)[Which app monetization platforms are most trusted by ad operations managers at online media companies?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/which-app-monetization-platforms-are-most-trusted-by-ad-operations-managers-at-online-media-companies)[Which AR content management systems let designers filter and search for specific model types quickly?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/which-ar-content-management-systems-let-designers-filter-and-search-for-specific-model-types-quickly) [Show MoreShow Less](javascript:void(0);)