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Firebird SQL vs IBM Informix comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 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

Firebird SQL
Ranking in Embedded Database
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (6th)
IBM Informix
Ranking in Embedded Database
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (28th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Embedded Database category, the mindshare of Firebird SQL is 11.3%, down from 20.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Informix is 4.0%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Embedded Database Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Firebird SQL11.3%
IBM Informix4.0%
Other84.7%
Embedded Database
 

Featured Reviews

SS
Research and Development Project Manager at Sixense Monitoring
Efficient data storage with reliable and easy management
We are working on monitoring software that involves making a lot of measurements with sensors. We store all the data in Firebird, which is why we use It primarily for data storage It's difficult to describe how it has improved our organization because we have been using Firebird for a very long…
Nasir Niamat - PeerSpot reviewer
DB Consultant at i2c
Has offered a cost-effective option despite frequent technical issues and limited market demand
We find some bugs in IBM Informix. Maybe we are using it more aggressively than others. Every month or every second month, we find some bugs in it, which is not ideal. It should be rare, not this frequent. The good thing is they cover those bugs in the next release within weeks or days on demand. IBM Informix should become hybrid and should include AI features similar to other DBMS systems such as Snowflake, Redshift, and DataBricks. This would help its value rise with the market.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We are satisfied with Firebird SQL, and we will keep on using it."
"I find the ease of deployment to be the most valuable aspect of this solution."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is reliable, offers good performance, and is easy to use."
"I appreciate the fact that, once the database is embedded, it doesn't need to be administered, and removes the requirement for a specific server."
"We are happy with the event capabilities of Firebird SQL database. We can raise events from it and display them in our application."
"Robustness is the absolutely main feature."
"The solution has worked perfectly; I've never run into issues or had to reach out to technical support for troubleshooting."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution."
"It supports multiple applications and business intelligence tools."
"Every version is faster than the previous."
"Flexible Grid provides the ability to automatically create database objects, such as tables, indexes, and stored procedures on all nodes within the grid as a single operation."
"The most valuable feature is concurrency and locking because my customers usually use databases in OLTP mode. So, for a large number of competitive users. Other features that are well valued are quick large-scale data types. It is better than Oracle."
"My advice is to take it; you will never regret it."
"OLTP processing capacity and the availability of information with high availability implementation have been significantly improved."
"Informix can support huge quantities of data with less memory and less capacity."
"For IoT business cases, having Informix Enterprise Edition work on edge computers, like Raspberry Pi and using Informix replication, makes complex situations simple to build and maintain."
 

Cons

"Database sharing is a capability that Firebird SQL lacks."
"Firebird SQL's performance has slowed since Firebird SQL 3 or 3.5 versions, where they developed over-the-wire encryption."
"It would be interesting if they added functionality with redundancy, reputation, and variability."
"This solution isn't very user-friendly, or intuitive, which could be improved when it is developed."
"It would be good to have more automation and integration with the tools from other vendors."
"It is not easy to integrate the tool with Visual Studio."
"The main feature I expect is to be able to work with different databases at the same time because that's a wishlist item for me."
"The solution could improve by providing partitioning and encryption. It is not at the higher level of database solution but it could be with some upgrades."
"The support team could include local engineers to establish efficient communication. It will help us speed up the escalation process."
"For me, it's always too expensive. The problem is that Informix sometimes competes with free products, so yes, it's very expensive, but when we're talking about licensed products like SQL Server or anything, the midsize pricing could be significantly improved."
"The product needs a lot more marketing involvement from IBM."
"It would be helpful to have IBM salespeople know that Informix exists, and sell it. Currently, it is completely ignored by IBM."
"The solution lacks some functionality."
"The pricing is a bit expensive."
"This product could be made easier to use for beginners."
"Informix is very sturdy, but the problem for us is the marketing action around Informix."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's open-source and free."
"There is no licensing cost for this solution, as it is open-source."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution, which means it is a free product."
"The tool is open source."
"I was using the free version of Firebird SQL."
"It is a public domain system as every customer can install it on their system without paying any license fee."
"We are using the free solution, so there is no cost involved."
"It is okay."
"I am not aware of the licensing costs or terms."
"The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license."
"The free edition can be enough to handle moderate-size implementations, but you may want a pay for edition to benefit from more functionality, such as replication."
"For me, it's always too expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Construction Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

How does Firebird SQL compare with PostgreSQL?
PostgreSQL was designed in a way that provides you with not only a high degree of flexibility but also offers you a cheap and easy-to-use solution. It gives you the ability to redesign and audit yo...
What needs improvement with Firebird SQL?
We would like to improve the management of very large databases. We have databases up to three or four terabytes, and it's not so easy to manage such large databases.
What is your primary use case for Firebird SQL?
We are working on monitoring software that involves making a lot of measurements with sensors. We store all the data in Firebird, which is why we use It primarily for data storage.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Informix?
There is a cost reason to move from IBM Informix. It is relatively cheaper than Oracle. The second reason is that moving the whole application to a new database would require significant cost. The ...
What needs improvement with IBM Informix?
We find some bugs in IBM Informix. Maybe we are using it more aggressively than others. Every month or every second month, we find some bugs in it, which is not ideal. It should be rare, not this f...
What is your primary use case for IBM Informix?
We are using IBM Informix for OLTP systems. We are using IBM Informix although it is a technology that is not very popular compared to others. We are using it because our application was initially ...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Informix
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Elekt Labs, Streamsoft, wobe-systems GmbH, DRB Systems, Moscow City Hospital #31
Shaspa, Hildebrand, Kaifa, Ranhill Powertron, Federaci‹ Farmacutica (FedeFarma), Camden Council, The German Aerospace Center (DLR), Myers, Votorantim Group, Doosan Infracore, GreenIvory
Find out what your peers are saying about Firebird SQL vs. IBM Informix and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,325 professionals have used our research since 2012.