Google Cloud Spanner vs IBM Db2 on Cloud comparison

Google and IBM are both solutions in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category. Google is ranked #9 with an average rating of 9.0, while IBM is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.0. Google holds a 4.5% mindshare in DS, compared to IBM’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Google users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Google Cloud Spanner

Read 5 Google Cloud Spanner reviews

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649 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Db2 on Cloud

Read 2 IBM Db2 on Cloud reviews

195 Views
140 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Google Cloud Spanner

IBM Db2 on Cloud

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 12, 2024

Google Cloud Spanner and IBM Db2 on Cloud are two prominent cloud database solutions. IBM Db2 on Cloud appears superior due to its robust features and positive user reviews on pricing and support.

Features: Google Cloud Spanner is praised for its horizontal scalability, global transactions, and multi-region replication. IBM Db2 on Cloud is noted for its high availability, efficient indexing, and advanced query performance. IBM Db2 on Cloud stands out with more advanced features that meet diverse business needs effectively.

Room for Improvement: Users mention performance latency and the need for a more intuitive deployment process for Google Cloud Spanner. For IBM Db2 on Cloud, suggestions include enhancing integration capabilities and simplifying migration paths. Google Cloud Spanner requires significant performance and deployment improvements compared to IBM Db2 on Cloud's need for better integration and migration processes.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Google Cloud Spanner's deployment is appreciated for its simplicity but criticized for latency issues. Customer service is praised for responsiveness. IBM Db2 on Cloud's deployment model is favored for thorough documentation, and customer service is praised for in-depth technical support. IBM Db2 on Cloud offers a more streamlined deployment experience and superior customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Google Cloud Spanner users find the pricing reasonable but point out the high initial setup cost. The ROI is seen as moderate due to performance issues. IBM Db2 on Cloud is viewed as offering good value for money with lower setup costs and higher ROI due to better performance and features. IBM Db2 on Cloud provides a more favorable pricing model with better ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Google Cloud Spanner vs. IBM Db2 on Cloud Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud Spanner vs. IBM Db2 on Cloud

April 2025

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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

Google Cloud Spanner

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

9th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM Db2 on Cloud

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

11th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Google Cloud Spanner is 4.5%, up from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Db2 on Cloud is 1.1%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

Featured Reviews

Ethan Lo

Infrastructuer Security at Premise Data

A stable and scalable relational database that ensures a return on investment for its users

The most valuable feature of the solution is its scalability. Scalability comes with two options, among which Google Cloud Spanner can scale horizontally, compared to other relational databases that scale vertically. You can change Google Cloud Spanner's resource configuration, which is done through processing units. Suppose you set up Google Cloud Spanner initially with a hundred processing units, and then you run out of resources since your database used too much CPU. In the aforementioned scenario, you can scale up or down and face no downtime in the production phase. The solution's features are important when running a company twenty-four hours, seven days a week.

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?

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Google Cloud Spanner is stable."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is its scalability. Scalability comes with two options, among which Google Cloud Spanner can scale horizontally, compared to other relational databases that scale vertically."

"The application deployment in the cloud is the best feature of the infrastructure."

"It is a very scalable solution."

"We can scale the solution if we need to."

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

"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."

Cons

"The cost can be a bit high."

"The tool lacks to offer AI features."

"I want to improve the deployment of cameras and surveillance infrastructure."

"The tool needs to improve horizontal scaling."

"Google came up with something called Cloud Spanner Emulator, which fails to work like the real product if I want to develop some code and run a database locally on my machine."

"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 expensive."

"Price-wise, I heard that Google Cloud Spanner is on the higher side."

"Google Cloud Spanner is an expensive solution."

"It is expensive."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

20%

Computer Software Company

15%

Retailer

Manufacturing Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your primary use case for Google Cloud Spanner?

Google Cloud Spanner has all the features of a traditional relational database, including schemas, SQL queries, ACID transactions, and provides excellent integration and monitoring tools as well as...

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What do you like most about Google Cloud Spanner?

Google Cloud Spanner is stable.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Spanner?

Price-wise, I heard that Google Cloud Spanner is on the higher side. I am not sure if this is a rumor or if it's fake news, but I believe that having BigQuery and GCP together could be a little cos...

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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...

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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...

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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

Amazon RDS vs Google Cloud Spanner

Compared 32% of the time

MongoDB Atlas vs Google Cloud Spanner

Compared 16% of the time

Google Cloud SQL vs Google Cloud Spanner

Compared 14% of the time

SingleStore vs Google Cloud Spanner

Compared 14% of the time

Redis vs Google Cloud Spanner

Compared 9% of the time

More Google Cloud Spanner Competitors

Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs IBM Db2 on Cloud

Compared 52% of the time

Amazon RDS vs IBM Db2 on Cloud

Compared 48% of the time

More IBM Db2 on Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

March 2025

Download Google Cloud Spanner product report

Buyer's Guide

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

March 2025

Download IBM Db2 on Cloud product report

Also Known As

Google Spanner

No data available

Overview

Cloud Spanner is the first and only relational database service that is both strongly consistent and horizontally scalable. With Cloud Spanner you enjoy all the traditional benefits of a relational database: ACID transactions, relational schemas (and schema changes without downtime), SQL queries, high performance, and high availability. But unlike any other relational database service, Cloud Spanner scales horizontally, to hundreds or thousands of servers, so it can handle the highest of transactional workloads. With automatic scaling, synchronous data replication, and node redundancy, Cloud Spanner delivers up to 99.999% (five 9s) of availability for your mission critical applications. In fact, Google’s internal Spanner service has been handling millions of queries per second from many Google services for years.

Google

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

IBM

Sample Customers

Streak, Optiva, Mixpanel

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

Buyer's Guide

Google Cloud Spanner vs. IBM Db2 on Cloud

April 2025

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