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Firebird SQL vs IBM Informix comparison

 

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
1st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (3rd)
IBM Informix
Ranking in Embedded Database
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (23rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Embedded Database category, the mindshare of Firebird SQL is 24.0%, up from 23.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Informix is 1.3%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Embedded Database
 

Featured Reviews

Doug Meuross - PeerSpot reviewer
A reliable tool that offers good performance and is easy to use
I have had no issues with the stability of the product since it has always been a 100 percent reliable product and much better than the other databases available in the market. The multi-platform part is not good, especially when locked into things like Windows. You can judge your platform with Linux or Unix or whatever since they are good.
Nazzareno Maria Rezzini - PeerSpot reviewer
Supports multiple business intelligence tools, but the technical support services need improvement
IBM Informix is a central database solution across various environments, supporting multiple applications and business intelligence tools The key areas for improvement revolve around understanding the current customer trends and demands, particularly in software and database requirements. The…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Firebird SQL is the creation of databases."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is reliable, offers good performance, and is easy to use."
"We are happy with the event capabilities of Firebird SQL database. We can raise events from it and display them in our application."
"I find the ease of deployment to be the most valuable aspect of this solution."
"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."
"The reliability and ease of management are very valuable."
"I like that we don't have to pay external fees to migrate this data. So, we are looking to relocate from Postgres or EDB."
"It helps us in detecting all kinds of problems in the code, such as bad quality, unclear code, or any violation in the code or best practices."
"The scalability is very good."
"The initial setup is pretty easy."
"The solution's stability, performance, enhanced functionality, and replication are all great features."
"This solution has made financial reporting possible by allowing financial people the opportunity to set Informix to "Auto Pilot" so that they can attend other duties."
"Replication is a valuable feature and easy to use."
"The stability is incredible. I have customers with uptimes of several years."
"IBM Informix benefits users with high availability and good integration capabilities."
"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

"It is not easy to integrate the tool with Visual Studio."
"It would be nice to have a graphical user interface to handle the product."
"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."
"Firebird SQL's performance has slowed since Firebird SQL 3 or 3.5 versions, where they developed over-the-wire encryption."
"In the next release, it should support JSON, XML, and replication with third-party tools."
"Database sharing is a capability that Firebird SQL lacks."
"It would be good to have more automation and integration with the tools from other vendors."
"I don't think the solution is very scalable, because the scalability of the performance when using more than one process is not very good."
"I really would love to have a QT plugin."
"In my opinion, the packages could be improved. The version I use doesn't allow for packages. I can do some general procedures, but no packages like in Oracle. So, develop separate modules in SQL language. This would be most beneficial for me."
"Continue extending the SQL language for compatibility with the competition's language, including Stored Procedure Language."
"I would like to see backups from secondary servers."
"It would be helpful to have IBM salespeople know that Informix exists, and sell it. Currently, it is completely ignored by IBM."
"The pricing is a bit expensive."
"There should be more intelligence surrounding discovering data to be able to automatically create indexes."
"I experienced poor input/output (IO) performance."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution, which means it is a free product."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is freely available."
"The tool is open source."
"It is okay."
"There is a yearly maintenance fee for the use of the solution."
"We are using the free solution, so there is no cost involved."
"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."
"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
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
60%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
5%
Retailer
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 do you like most about Firebird SQL?
Firebird SQL is an open-source solution.
What do you like most about IBM Informix?
It supports multiple applications and business intelligence tools.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Informix?
The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license.
What needs improvement with IBM Informix?
The key areas for improvement revolve around understanding the current customer trends and demands, particularly in software and database requirements. The product's performance could be better com...
 

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: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.