HCL Notes vs. Stackby

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
HCL Notes
Score 3.5 out of 10
N/A
Notes from HCL (formerly from IBM, acquired by HCL in late 2018) is a collaboration platform based on the Lotus platform.N/A
Stackby
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Stackby is designed to bring together the simplicity of spreadsheets, the functionality of databases and integrations with best business APIs to let anyone build their own tools, the way they want. No coding needed. Users can build a database from scratch, import data from pre-existing sources like spreadsheets or Google Sheets, or choose from over 100 pre-built templates across multiple categories. Stackby offers over 25 unique column types like text,…
$6
per month per user
Pricing
HCL NotesStackby
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Personal
$6
per month per user
Economy
$10
per month per user
Business
$20
per month per user
Business Plus
$35
per month per user
Enterprise
Custom
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
HCL NotesStackby
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details20% discount for annual pricing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
HCL NotesStackby
Considered Both Products
HCL Notes
Chose HCL Notes
It helps in organizing work by just speaking to it, and you don't have to specifically type in the data and use it. It has a better UI and also is faster.
Chose HCL Notes
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 …
Chose HCL Notes
It had a simple user interface. It can be altered and modified to any database.
Chose HCL Notes
Our organization used IBM Notes before I started working there and is a legacy system that some teams still use. Many others in our company have switched to Slack and Google Hangouts as well as Google calendar. Slack and Google Hangouts offer a much better chat experience that …
Chose HCL Notes
As I stated previously, mail is mail. Notes is a fantastic option as a frontend for mail. On top of that, a business can be built from the custom applications that can be developed in it. We do have gmail as an option, but the vast majority of users are on Notes. We also choose …
Chose HCL Notes
I've already answered this question in the previous questions however to sum it up IBM Notes stacks up VERY WELL! It has a LOT of really good business/enterprise features like enterprise-grade Dropbox-like storage, synced email/calendar/contacts, it supports a LOT of …
Chose HCL Notes
Exchange is too resource hungry and cumbersome to restore granular. It requires several other Microsoft Servers to integrate just to meet IBM Notes in terms of features. As someone once described, doing an apple to apple [comparison] is difficult. If Exchange were taken as an …
Chose HCL Notes
We've looked at Exchange a few times. However, for more costly licensing and about the same amount of administrative support required, Exchange only does mail, calendar and contacts.

We do all that with Notes already, plus dozens of custom applications, and for less costly …
Chose HCL Notes
We originally selected Notes for it's ease of use, and ability to be customized. As the industry has progressed we have had to move on to a more progressive path.
Chose HCL Notes
I selected IBM Notes, because of its security features.
Chose HCL Notes
We are a small IT team and always had to deal with very high expectation, faster turn around time from users. Every application we've developed has very short turn around time and less resources. In the past 15 years, we can provide more application and doing it faster than …
Chose HCL Notes
Database development capabilities. Document management orientation.
Stackby
Chose Stackby
Airtable is the "gold standard" when it comes to relational databases. SmartSuite is the "gold standard" when it comes to how nice a relational database can look. Stackby takes a cue from Airtable in how it delivers and interacts with data, and it offers a better cost …
Chose Stackby
Stackby was the best ROI compared to its competitors
Chose Stackby
As an Airtable user, I was glad to see an available alternative. Stackby has ticked the boxes and exceeded my expectations. They also continue to grow and improve the service, making it even more appealing and valuable. Support has also been responsive and consistent. I would …
Chose Stackby
The use case and feature set against airtable is equivalent if not better and the offer of LTD access as well as specific add-ons make Stackby the better choice every time.
Chose Stackby
We have been using Airtable so often but once your team grows it costs a lot of money, to be honest. Stackby could be a great fit for our team but of course, Airtable is a more mature tool. I'm really hoping that Stackby reaches the level of Airtable at some point one day. For …
Chose Stackby
I have also tried Ora.Pm.

Infinity has better graphical interface, but nowhere near as many features and the UI isn't as effective (i.e, moving around with keys).
Chose Stackby
Airtable - better all round than Stackby but way more expensive (actually not all round - Stackby you can actually backup unlike Airtable)

Infinity - bought this and wished we hadn't. Its data structures and terminology are super-confusing and it's really hard to set up
Chose Stackby
This is a legitimate competitor to Airtable! They are well on their way to meeting the feature set offered by this much bigger and older company. Stackby has done some amazing things with this platform, and I hope they continue their great work to keep improving and already …
Chose Stackby
I am a paying user of both Stackby and Airtable. I use both both as there are some shortcomings of both.

Airtable is more developed and useful on both desktop and mobile, whereas Stackby is not. Airtable has useful internal automations, dashboards and a huge online community, …
Chose Stackby
Airtable is more mature than Stackby and has more add-ons. I expect Stackby to continue updating the app so that will close the gap.
Chose Stackby
We chose Stackby over Airtable primarily because Airtable does not currently have the option to pre-fill default data in a cell. This feature alone is a huge time saver and allows us to skip cells that contain necessary, but redundant data.
Features
HCL NotesStackby
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
6.9
Ratings
11% below category average
Stackby
-
Ratings
Task Management7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Gantt Charts6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Scheduling8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow Automation5.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Access8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Search6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Visual planning tools8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Communication
Comparison of Communication features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
9.2
Ratings
15% above category average
Stackby
-
Ratings
Chat6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Notifications9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Discussions9.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Surveys9.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Internal knowledgebase10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with GoToMeeting10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Gmail and Google Hangouts10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Outlook10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
File Sharing & Management
Comparison of File Sharing & Management features of Product A and Product B
HCL Notes
7.6
Ratings
4% below category average
Stackby
-
Ratings
Versioning9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Video files6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Audio files6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Document collaboration8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Access control6.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Advanced security features8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Integrates with Google Drive10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Device sync8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
HCL NotesStackby
Small Businesses
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.0 out of 10
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Troop Messenger
Troop Messenger
Score 9.8 out of 10
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.7 out of 10
Enterprises
HCL Connections
HCL Connections
Score 9.0 out of 10
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
HCL NotesStackby
Likelihood to Recommend
7.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
1.7
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Online Training
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
HCL NotesStackby
Likelihood to Recommend
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.
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Based on my experience, I can provide specific scenarios where Stackby is well suited and others where it may be less appropriate: Project Management: Stackby is an excellent choice for project management scenarios. Its ability to create custom databases, track tasks, assign responsibilities, and collaborate in real-time makes it highly effective for managing and monitoring project progress. CRM and Sales: Stackby is well suited for managing customer relationships and sales processes. Its customizable database structure allows for organizing customer information, tracking leads, managing deals, and generating reports. The ability to integrate with other tools further enhances its usefulness in CRM and sales workflows. Content Planning: Stackby is a great fit for content planning scenarios. Users can create databases to manage editorial calendars, track content ideas, assign tasks to team members, and monitor content performance. Collaboration features facilitate seamless content collaboration and ensure timely publishing.
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Pros
  • Data sharing via small database format is valuable as they are quickly deployed, easily managed and distributed on backend email servers.
  • Integrated messaging allows quick communications between geographical sites reducing long distance costs.
  • Policy documents for registering new users, setting initial security levels, assigning default database access is managed easily with the admin client.
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  • Ability to collaborate with team members on the same spreadsheet
  • Ability to integrate multiple tools for centralized utilization (i.e. Facebook, Google Analytics, project management, etc.)
  • Ability to send SMS and messages using integration with Twillio and Whatsapp
  • All spreadsheets/databases securely saved in the cloud instead of on local hard drive(s)
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Cons
  • The simple user experience can be touted as a positive, but it is also a negative in some ways. Compared to other calendars, email and chat tools, IBM Notes looks like it is from the 90s.
  • We have constant issues with chat crashing. This is the main reason so many people in our organization chose to switch away from Notes.
  • There aren't a lot of integrations with IBM Notes and other applications we regularly use. Notes seems to have been left behind by many.
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  • Implement the same views available on desktop into the mobile app
  • Internal automations (like Airtable)
  • Ability to implement and display info as a dashboard (like Airtable)
  • Polish up the formatting of formulas, inputting them causes user frustration due to the formula input cursor jumping around
  • Better intelligence and ease of inputting data in bulk i.e have the fields automatically identify what data is being input and format appropriately (like Airtable does)
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Likelihood to Renew
Since companies started to moved their email systems to the Exchange platform and the cloud, we are unable to find any new projects with IBM Notes, the marketing share and software price is another issue, so we have to move to another platform.
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No answers on this topic
Usability
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.
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Stackby is overall pretty easy to use, especially if you're used to something like Airtable or SmartSuite. Some of the pages seem like near exact clones (though they put their own creative spin on things). I'd prefer a slighty fresher interface (like SmartSuite), but I'm willing to sacrifice that for the better price and great customer service.
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Support Rating
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.
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Extremely responsive, helpful, and friendly support (unlike many other SAAS teams out there).
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Implementation Rating
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.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
I've already answered this question in the previous questions however to sum it up IBM Notes stacks up VERY WELL! It has a LOT of really good business/enterprise features like enterprise-grade Dropbox-like storage, synced email/calendar/contacts, it supports a LOT of third-party add-ins, easy-to-use and friendly, very strong and robust, and most importantly it's a LOT more secure in my opinion than the competition.
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I have also tried Ora.Pm. Infinity has better graphical interface, but nowhere near as many features and the UI isn't as effective (i.e, moving around with keys). Grist has a much more technical interface and it comes from being more of a database/interactive spreadsheet vs Stackby. Grist has much more functionality in terms of formulas, but is much harder to learn to use and less other functionalities. Ora.PM is more of a test at a task management app, and doesn't compare - Stackby is much better.
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Return on Investment
  • ROI for us has been extreme. In the late 1990's we automated dozens and dozens of paper-based processes and created workflows for activities that had never been formalized before. Additionally all those forms with their comments, etc. have been captured in a central place to serve as audit trails.
  • Whenever we need faster access to data (mail or otherwise), it's quick and easy to deploy a new Domino server somewhere, setup replication of appropriate databases, and get the local Notes clients pointed to those resources. So that to me is positive ROI because it represents time savings based on user need.
  • Tech. Support would claim a negative ROI in terms of supporting the Notes client, Notes updates, peculiar Notes issues, and users who complain about Notes. That is certainly true to a point. The Notes client is a much more complex piece of software than, say, Outlook. But we have to remember that Notes deployments are not just for Mail but many, many applications as well. In the end I'd say we might have 1 or 2 user complaints per month, typically around Calendar issues more than anything else.
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  • By its customisation, I have seen business intelligence that was not evident or available by using other software
  • Has helped to organise all my data (work and personal) into interesting relationships that help with better decision making
  • Has created extra curiosity in its flexibility and customisation to have all my datasets used and manipulated into meaningful ways
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ScreenShots

Stackby Screenshots

Screenshot of the Grid ScreenScreenshot of some of the 25 column typesScreenshot of the Calendar ViewScreenshot of a Kanban ViewScreenshot of a Custom Form