Amazon RDS vs IBM Db2 on Cloud comparison

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and IBM are both solutions in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.2, while IBM is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.0. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 17.5% mindshare in DS, compared to IBM’s 1.9% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Amazon RDS

Read 57 Amazon RDS reviews

3,520 Views
3,485 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

IBM Db2 on Cloud

Read 2 IBM Db2 on Cloud reviews

276 Views
276 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Amazon RDS

IBM Db2 on Cloud

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 12, 2024

Amazon RDS and IBM Db2 on Cloud are two formidable database management solutions. IBM Db2 on Cloud seems to have the upper hand due to its superior analytics and flexibility, according to user feedback.

Features: Amazon RDS is praised for its reliability, ease of use, and integration with other AWS services. IBM Db2 on Cloud is noted for its performance, flexibility, and advanced analytics capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Users suggest Amazon RDS could improve in areas like enhanced support for databases, better performance optimization, and more robust analytics features. For IBM Db2 on Cloud, users highlight the need for a more straightforward learning curve, better integration with third-party tools, and simplified deployment processes.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Amazon RDS is noted for its straightforward deployment process and supportive customer service. IBM Db2 on Cloud provides a reliable deployment experience but faces criticism for its complexity. IBM is appreciated for its responsiveness.

Pricing and ROI: Amazon RDS is seen as cost-effective, offering good ROI with lower upfront setup costs. IBM Db2 on Cloud, while more expensive, delivers a strong ROI due to its powerful features. Users recognize the value in both but justify IBM Db2 on Cloud's higher cost due to its capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed Amazon RDS vs. IBM Db2 on Cloud Report (Updated: November 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Amazon RDS vs. IBM Db2 on Cloud

November 2025

Download the complete report

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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

Amazon RDS

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM Db2 on Cloud

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

13th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Amazon RDS is 17.5%, down from 25.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Db2 on Cloud is 1.9%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database as a Service (DBaaS) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Amazon RDS	17.5%
IBM Db2 on Cloud	1.9%
Other	80.6%

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

Featured Reviews

Samuel Ebite

AICE Graduate at alx_africa

Ensure high availability with robust encryption and seamless backups

Amazon RDS provides data encryption using services like KMS, crucial for securing high-sensitive data and meeting compliance requirements such as HIPAA or PCI DSS. The best practices we've employed with RDS help design a well-architected framework, encompassing security, encryption, scalability with multi-availability zone deployment, and operational excellence with automated backups. RDS features, such as reserved instances, storage auto-scaling, monitoring with technologies like CloudWatch, and proxies, contribute to cost optimization. The solution enhances security with IAM authentication and offers high availability to end users.

Read full review

FarhanFarhan

Database Engineer at Meezan Bank

Multi-node architecture and it is good from a security point of view

I would rate the stability a seven out of ten. Most of the issues we faced during troubleshooting were due to specific bugs in the environment, and the only solution was to upgrade the database environment or services. But it is not easy to upgrade the database level when third-party applications are involved, as they are not always comfortable with upgrading. There should be some cumulative solution provided by IBM for their customers, just like other vendors. Upgrading to a certain version doesn't always resolve the issue. It might get resolved at the database level, but what about the other applications integrated with that database that are only compatible with older versions?

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The dashboard and performance are the most valuable features of Amazon RDS."

"Amazon RDS gives us the ability to select as many tools, replicas, regions, and zones as we want."

"It makes it easy to administer the database. It helps to scale your database by providing Read Replicas, which reduce transaction time. It is highly available and durable which helps in disaster recovery and management."

"It is stable, scalable, and easy to deploy."

"The solution has unique features like backup and recovery, and snapshots. It upgrades automatically. The solution offers easy analytics concerning performance metrics. Its reliability and scalability are very good. The tool's most valuable features are disaster recovery, high availability and scalability."

"The tool is very easy to use and configure."

"Amazon RDS makes it easier for me to manage databases compared to traditional databases like MongoDB or local host servers."

"It's a fully managed database, so that makes our life easier from the operational standpoint. That is the key, basically."

More Amazon RDS pros

"Multiple business departments rely on reports and predictive analysis to make decisions for future business based on their data warehouse and Db2 network analytics tool. It helps our business department make decisions."

"The reliability is the most valuable feature. It is also user-friendly."

Cons

"The backup and restore processes take more time compared to other providers. For instance, if DigitalOcean takes two minutes to restore or create a backup, AWS will take 2 to 3 minutes."

"The setup might be a bit challenging for multi-level applications."

"In the next release, it would be great to see RDS provide connection pooling out of the box."

"For improvements, Amazon RDS could work on more features for multi-availability zone deployment to enhance higher availability, and on simplifying migration for those transitioning from on-premises to cloud environments."

"There are a few aspects of database management that have room for improvement. There are a few parameters in the solution that are a bit unclear at our end as it's not understandable."

"There are some advanced monitoring queries that we cannot execute because Amazon doesn't give admin privileges to the end users."

"One of the challenges of AWS RDS is that it doesn't support performance insight. So we need to write our own script or use third-party tools."

"AWS support is decent, but it's not as good as before. Sometimes, we get junior staff who are unable to answer our questions. It also depends on the support team you get. Support based in Europe and Australia is better than US support. For example, European support is quick to deliver the right answer. US support handles routine maintenance issues, and it's mostly junior staff who don't know the product well."

More Amazon RDS cons

"In other environments like Oracle or Teradata, they provide their own solutions for troubleshooting issues. They provide built-in AI services or autonomous databases, which I don't see in the Db2 environment."

"I would give their support a ten if they had more tutorials available."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is fairly priced."

"We are paying for a service license."

"The price could be better."

"On a scale from one to ten, where ten is the most expensive, and one is the cheapest, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."

"It is less expensive than SQL Server. We pay based on the usage on a monthly basis."

"The solution's pricing needs improvement."

"In my case, MySQL is free, and if there are any costs, then it is much less than other solutions since all such things usually come bundled with the hardware."

"The price of Amazon RDS is reasonable."

More Amazon RDS pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

University

Manufacturing Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	22
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	23

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon RDS?

The product's installation phase is easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon RDS?

The pricing for Amazon RDS is reasonable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Amazon RDS?

I don't really see any disadvantages of Amazon RDS. With Oracle, I think AWS doesn't provide the RAC stability. If you have Oracle installed in your own data centers, you can set up various cluster...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Db2 on Cloud?

In other environments like Oracle or Teradata, they provide their own solutions for troubleshooting issues. They provide built-in AI services or autonomous databases, which I don't see in the Db2 e...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering IBM Db2 on Cloud?

Since I have worked with almost every product, including IBM, Teradata is far better than any other data warehouse product. It's a separate database with its own features, architecture, and working...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Db2 on Cloud?

It's a multi-node logical database clustered in three physical nodes. We use a lot of services already provided in our private cloud environment. It's a multi-node architecture.

See all answers

Comparisons

MongoDB Atlas vs Amazon RDS

Compared 20% of the time

Google Cloud SQL vs Amazon RDS

Compared 17% of the time

Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs Amazon RDS

Compared 14% of the time

Oracle Database as a Service vs Amazon RDS

Compared 14% of the time

SingleStore vs Amazon RDS

Compared 3% of the time

More Amazon RDS Competitors

Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs IBM Db2 on Cloud

Compared 30% of the time

Google Cloud SQL vs IBM Db2 on Cloud

Compared 22% of the time

More IBM Db2 on Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Amazon RDS

November 2025

Download Amazon RDS product report

Buyer's Guide

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

October 2025

Download IBM Db2 on Cloud product report

Also Known As

RDS

No data available

Overview

Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) is a web service that makes it easier to set up, operate, and scale a relational database in the cloud. It provides cost-efficient, resizeable capacity for an industry-standard relational database and manages common database administration tasks.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

A fully-managed cloud SQL database. Powered by a turbo-charged Db2 engine.

IBM

Sample Customers

Edmodo

Owens-Illinois, KONE Corp., Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue, Canon Europe, Delhaize America, Wimbledon

Buyer's Guide

Amazon RDS vs. IBM Db2 on Cloud

November 2025

Free Report: Amazon RDS vs. IBM Db2 on Cloud

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