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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    HCL Notes

    Score3.5 out of 10
    N/ANotes from HCL (formerly from IBM, acquired by HCL in late 2018) is a collaboration platform based on the Lotus platform.N/A

    Kintone

    Score9.7 out of 10
    N/AKintone is a customizable digital workplace platform used to manage data, tasks, and communication. The no-code drag-and-drop interface can be used to create custom applications.

    $120

    per month for 5 users (minimum)

    Pricing
    HCL NotesKintone
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Professional Subscription
    $24
    per month per user
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    HCL NotesKintone
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
    Additional Details—Minimum requirement of 5 users. Kintone offers a free prototype to build with using existing process.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    HCL NotesKintone
    Considered Both Products
    HCLSoftware
    No answer on this topic
    Kintone
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    98%
    Would buy again
    56 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    54 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    93%
    Happy with the feature set
    53 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    47 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    94%
    Implementation went as expected
    50 Answers
    Features
    HCL NotesKintone
    Project Management
    Comparison of Project Management features of HCL Notes and Kintone
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    6.9
    10 Ratings
    11% below category average
    Kintone
    -
    Ratings
    Task Management7.09 Ratings00 Ratings
    Gantt Charts6.03 Ratings00 Ratings
    Scheduling8.09 Ratings00 Ratings
    Workflow Automation5.06 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Access8.010 Ratings00 Ratings
    Search6.09 Ratings00 Ratings
    Visual planning tools8.03 Ratings00 Ratings
    Communication
    Comparison of Communication features of HCL Notes and Kintone
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    9.2
    10 Ratings
    15% above category average
    Kintone
    -
    Ratings
    Chat6.010 Ratings00 Ratings
    Notifications9.010 Ratings00 Ratings
    Discussions9.57 Ratings00 Ratings
    Surveys9.14 Ratings00 Ratings
    Internal knowledgebase10.06 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integrates with GoToMeeting10.03 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts10.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integrates with Outlook10.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    File Sharing & Management
    Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of HCL Notes and Kintone
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    7.6
    9 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Kintone
    -
    Ratings
    Versioning9.04 Ratings00 Ratings
    Video files6.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    Audio files6.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    Document collaboration8.08 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access control6.08 Ratings00 Ratings
    Advanced security features8.08 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integrates with Google Drive10.02 Ratings00 Ratings
    Device sync8.05 Ratings00 Ratings
    Sales Force Automation
    Comparison of Sales Force Automation features of HCL Notes and Kintone
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Kintone
    8.3
    9 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Customer data management / contact management00 Ratings9.76 Ratings
    Workflow management00 Ratings9.29 Ratings
    Territory management00 Ratings8.54 Ratings
    Opportunity management00 Ratings8.54 Ratings
    Integration with email client (e.g., Outlook or Gmail)00 Ratings7.04 Ratings
    Contract management00 Ratings7.03 Ratings
    Quote & order management00 Ratings7.54 Ratings
    Channel / partner relationship management00 Ratings9.33 Ratings
    Customer Service & Support
    Comparison of Customer Service & Support features of HCL Notes and Kintone
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Kintone
    9.0
    7 Ratings
    16% above category average
    Case management00 Ratings9.67 Ratings
    Help desk management00 Ratings8.56 Ratings
    Marketing Automation
    Comparison of Marketing Automation features of HCL Notes and Kintone
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Kintone
    8.0
    2 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Lead management00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    CRM Project Management
    Comparison of CRM Project Management features of HCL Notes and Kintone
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Kintone
    8.9
    9 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Task management00 Ratings9.06 Ratings
    Reporting00 Ratings8.89 Ratings
    CRM Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of CRM Reporting & Analytics features of HCL Notes and Kintone
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Kintone
    8.1
    8 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Pipeline visualization00 Ratings8.34 Ratings
    Customizable reports00 Ratings8.08 Ratings
    Customization
    Comparison of Customization features of HCL Notes and Kintone
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Kintone
    8.9
    11 Ratings
    15% above category average
    Custom fields00 Ratings9.211 Ratings
    Custom objects00 Ratings9.09 Ratings
    API for custom integration00 Ratings8.65 Ratings
    Integrations with 3rd-party Software
    Comparison of Integrations with 3rd-party Software features of HCL Notes and Kintone
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Kintone
    8.5
    2 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Marketing automation00 Ratings8.52 Ratings
    Platform
    Comparison of Platform features of HCL Notes and Kintone
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Kintone
    9.3
    6 Ratings
    20% above category average
    Mobile access00 Ratings9.36 Ratings
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of HCL Notes and Kintone
    Feature
    HCL Notes
    -
    Ratings
    Kintone
    9.5
    10 Ratings
    12% above category average
    Role-based user permissions00 Ratings9.510 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    HCL NotesKintone
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    Flock
    Score9.5 out of 10
    Salesflare
    Score10 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Troop Messenger
    Score9.8 out of 10
    Coevera
    Score8 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
    Score9 out of 10
    Oracle Sales
    Score8.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    HCL NotesKintone
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.0
    (16 ratings)
    9.7
    (58 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    1.7
    (5 ratings)
    10.0
    (8 ratings)
    Usability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.4
    (16 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Performance
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.4
    (46 ratings)
    Online Training
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    6.8
    (4 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (43 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Professional Services
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    HCL NotesKintone
    Likelihood to Recommend
    HCLSoftware
    I often work with teams from other country and regions, hence HCL Notes is a very useful platform for internal company management operations. It standardized organisational work standards in most of the offices worldwide. HCL Notes also enables chat with other team around the world that I find very helpful when initiating conversation or just want to have a quick update rather than sending emails and waiting for replies. However, HCL Notes is not very efficient in web browsing and user still need to use other internet service providers.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Kintone
    I recommend Kintone for companies that need the ability to customize standalone applications or to provide a 'hub' to employees as a jumping-off point. I also recommend Kintone for any company that is drowning in spreadsheets, or is using 10 apps for 10 different purposes - you can consolidate everything into one place. Kintone, I think, needs a larger team for customization as your company grows. If you are a small office of 20 people, using it out of the box will likely be just fine for your needs. If you're working with 200 people out of an office, it'd likely be good to have someone with a bit of CSS, Java, and API experience in order to maximize what you get out of it - though you won't need that if you're keeping it simple.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    HCLSoftware
    • It has a really strong and robust database that's extremely scalable and holds up well to thousands of users and many different environments.
    • It has a really good enterprise-grade framework for development custom database applications
    • All of the custom database applications along with the email all have a nice uniform look and feel so their easy-to-use.
    • I really like how it's developed and supported on every client OS (Windows, OSX, Linux)! The competitors definitely do NOT offer this (M$).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Kintone
    • Flexibility. You can build apps (without coding) to serve a wide range of processes and projects.
    • Ease of use. The interface is intuitive.
    • Training. There are resources readily available to train new users. Even starting from scratch, I felt like I was up to speed in just a few hours.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    HCLSoftware
    • Notes' backwards compatibility sometimes gets in the way. Menus are cluttered with extraneous, outdated options and features that modern users will never use, and Preferences are often difficult to navigate for those coming from Gmail or Outlook. We have greatly simplified this via Policies, but users still find it daunting to go through all the options that are available.
    • The IBM Notes client for Windows & Mac is essentially the Eclipse Java development platform...so it is HUGE. Performance initially was very slow but IBM has done a good job of speeding things up. As IBM moves more toward cloud-delivered applications, this will not be as much of a problem.
    • Notes and Domino can be complex to manage for administrators who are more accustomed to ActiveDirectory, Group Policy, etc. Editing a notes.ini file to add a feature, or working with XML files by hand to create a SmartUpgrade kit can be daunting to those coming from more modern administrative roles.
    • Some users claim to "hate" Notes mail. While I have heard this less and less over the past 10 years, we have had 3rd party software offer plugins to Outlook and it's rare to see any for Notes.
    • The client update process should be automated more. I would like to see the Notes client update quietly and quickly more like an Adobe software update. If an update fails it should automatically try again without prompting the user over and over.
    • Notes multiple language spell checking is a downloaded add-on Java-based resource that has to be deployed in a convoluted way that is difficult for users to grasp. Therefore any foreign language spell check updates must be done individually per Notes client by IT, which is unfortunate. I would prefer to see that be a "live download" update option for users to get directly from IBM (don't make me download it and put it on my network).
    Read full review
    Kintone
    • Sometimes it's a little challenging to know which fields to enter and where. There is a little bit of a learning curve with creating your own apps.
    • More visuals would be great! I love seeing the data visually, and so does my board.
    • That's all I can think of - I really do enjoy the program.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    HCLSoftware
    I've been in IT business and as a Programmer/Developer for 20+ years with too many programming languages experiences/back ground (C/C++/Visual Basic/Basic Program/Unix/COBOL/Java). Also with 18+ years with Lotus Notes/IBM Domino, I am still and always think Lotus Notes is the best RAD platform available!. When the time where resource is very limited and the expectation is very high and the turn around is too short, IBM Domino/Notes is the platform to use and it's the only choice available.
    Read full review
    Kintone
    We have been quite happy with our use of Kintone thus far. We looked at several options before choosing Kintone and believe it had the best value and best features, while allowing for complete customization, rather than being locked into preformatted apps that may not address exactly what we need or be more than what we need.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    HCLSoftware
    Easy to use for the user, most of the apps we developed, there is not much need for user training. Most of the times, we just do a demo to the users group and they can pick up from there.
    Read full review
    Kintone
    I love everything bout it. I love that if there is something I don't feel is working well enough, we are able to change it. The ONLY thing I would say is that if you were able to make it so every time I click on anything in the website/app it stayed in the same page, that would be great, but I don' think it is possible and I think this is due to using so many external APIs
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    HCLSoftware
    No answers on this topic
    Kintone
    Never had an issue with this.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    HCLSoftware
    No answers on this topic
    Kintone
    Pages load quickly, no issues with response time
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    HCLSoftware
    I've been using the production for a very long time and very happy with it. Also, all the online resources and forums for notes is very friendly and easy/quick for getting help. I found out that compared to Microsoft or Oracle or any other platforms, IBM Notes online forum is the best I have seen.
    Read full review
    Kintone
    I am very happy with Kintone and support it fully. I think that it is a great place for any company that wants to create a platform for better management. It is easy to use and pretty affordable. It is straightforward and has many tools that can be used by anyone. There are many helpful tutorials available too to guide users
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    HCLSoftware
    No answers on this topic
    Kintone
    The training was seamless and easy to follow
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    HCLSoftware
    Implementation is easy and smooth if the requirement is well gathered/documented. Notes is a RAD platform, all projects in Notes is simple in the implementation step.
    Read full review
    Kintone
    Everyone has their own tastes of things and way they want to work. Asking them to adapt to the changes with the new tools or apps is always difficult. We would want to start with a very small but best example within the organization, which in our case was that the employees will not be bothered by the bosses by being asked to find the documents, status of the progresses, or major things/requests/projects.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    HCLSoftware
    Outlook has been considered for years as a replacement platform. Pricing and support staff made it prohibitive. Our long-time use of Microsoft Office productivity suite naturally led us to consider the adoption of Office365. A recent investigation told us that Azure Cloud services propel an O365 solution to the forefront. Early adopters in international divisions have paved the way for Azure and O365.
    Incentivized
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    Kintone
    Kintone is the easiest product to create from and the cost is the lowest I believe. In addition, reconfigurability and extendability are great. If you look for a low code tool, you can try Kintone. But as same as another low code tool, don't expect too much.
    Incentivized
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    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    HCLSoftware
    No answers on this topic
    Kintone
    Should be multiple pricing packages.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    HCLSoftware
    No answers on this topic
    Kintone
    I could see this work for all departments if implemented correctly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Professional Services
    HCLSoftware
    No answers on this topic
    Kintone
    We have nothing but positive things to say about the kintone professional services we utilized during the install and after we went live.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    HCLSoftware
    • Over the years, we have lost countless hours of productivity from the thousands of crashes we have experienced.
    • One benefit of IBM Notes is that it is very simple to train a new user on. Many people prefer and are familiar with Google tools, but those that use IBM Notes have very little trouble acclimating themselves.
    Incentivized
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    Kintone
    • It used to take us 15-20 minutes to create a quote for a client. It now takes less than 3.
    • It allows a few of our employees to work remotely, which was essentially impossible prior.
    • We can see raw data for success/failure rates, which we actively use in our employee review process.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Kintone Screenshots

    Screenshot of a view of apps from the portalScreenshot of 4 ways to build an appScreenshot of the drag and drop interfaceScreenshot of business app viewsScreenshot of Kintone appearing across desktop, and mobile