IBM Db2 Database vs IBM Informix vs Oracle Database comparison

IBM Db2 Database and IBM Informix are both solutions in the Relational Databases Tools category. IBM Db2 Database is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.3, while IBM Informix is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.0. IBM Db2 Database holds a 7.4% mindshare in SQL, compared to IBM Informix’s 1.9% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of IBM Db2 Database users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of IBM Informix users who would recommend it.

IBM Db2 Database

Read 74 IBM Db2 Database reviews

5,504 Views
2,309 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

IBM Informix

Read 16 IBM Informix reviews

1,578 Views
754 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Oracle Database

Read 289 Oracle Database reviews

9,655 Views
4,022 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

IBM Db2 Database

IBM Informix

Oracle Database

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM Db2 Database, IBM Informix, and Oracle Database based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Oracle, SAP and others in Relational Databases Tools.

To learn more, read our detailed Relational Databases Tools Report (Updated: June 2025).

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Relational Databases Tools

June 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:

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Db2 Database is 7.4%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Informix is 1.9%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Database is 12.9%, down from 15.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Relational Databases Tools

Featured Reviews

ArpitKhare

Database Admin Senior Consultant at Capgemini

Offers optimizer plan and ALSM features along with exceptional stability

The TSA version of IBM Db2 Database doesn't meet my stability expectations. Every time when a switch over occurs, some stability issues can be noticed. The vendor should offer a free version of IBM Db2 Database. For instance, if our company wants to train new individuals on all the features of IBM Db2 Database, they can only be trained after purchasing the paid version of the solution. About ten years ago, a trial version was available for the solution that was highly beneficial for companies. The vendor can add AI or ML features in the future version of IBM Db2 Database.

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Nazzareno Maria Rezzini

Senior Oracle Database and Systems Administrator at Dedagroup

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…

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Ismail Aboulezz

Chief Executive Officer at LeaseWeb

Continuous updates improve performance and add valuable features to meet workload demands

Oracle Database ( /products/oracle-database-reviews ) is easy to install, customize, troubleshoot, and maintain. Its data management capabilities include data quality, data integration, data architecture, modeling, and data security, which are very important for data-driven companies. Furthermore, Oracle Database's performance and scalability features meet workload demands, and its continuous updates improve performance and add valuable features.

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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

"IBM Db2 was much cheaper as a package than using other products. This is because IBM supplied a package with its product. It's an application. So it was much more efficient and a stronger competitor in that regard."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the integration with other IBM products."

"The valuable features include access path optimization, excellent performance, a robust locking mechanism, parallelism, and effective buffering in memory."

"We had a crash of the backup system and the IBM DB2 was always up and consistent. It's robust, and for us, it was always up and running."

"Its functionality and availability are valuable. Its availability is great. It is available 99.99% of the time."

"The initial setup was easy."

"The most valuable aspect of this solution is its stability. We have never had any problems and have never had to contact technical support."

"The solution is very stable, in both hardware and database."

More IBM Db2 Database pros

"The solution's stability, performance, enhanced functionality, and replication are all great features."

"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."

"The scalability is very good."

"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."

"IBM Informix benefits users with high availability and good integration capabilities."

"The initial setup is pretty easy."

"Replication, all levels of replication, query charting, and the MongoDB embedded are the most valuable features of this solution."

"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."

More IBM Informix pros

"The solution is stable and has good performance."

"Compared to other databases, Oracle Database is very simple to manage in terms of the database itself."

"The features that I have found most valuable are things like cluster setup and RAC One. We are using the main CQN and third party plugin support right now. We are relying on different languages support that we are getting from the Oracle side. It is one of the major areas in which Oracle excels compared to other databases."

"Its performance is good. It is also stable and scalable."

"The initial setup isn't too difficult."

"Oracle Database has many useful functions and features suitable for big programs and complex business models."

"The solution is very stable."

"Oracle Database has good performance dynamics with respect to oncoming data and fetching of data which gets loaded."

More Oracle Database pros

Cons

"It might be slightly slower than other database vendors, but it works well since banks typically do not move quickly with leading-edge technology."

"The user interface is not user-friendly."

"The licensing fees can be reduced."

"Performance is something that can be improved with DB2."

"The usage of Db2 could be simplified, as it is quite complex and requires substantial knowledge of Db2 and zOS."

"The solution could improve by providing more integration."

"It would be helpful to have a hybrid data storage facility that includes NoSQL technologies."

"The management of Db2 should be simplified because there are not too many specialists in this area, and the learning curve of Db2 specialists is very long. After the courses, probably it takes one and a half or two years to get to the point when you are using the product properly in the production systems. So, the complexity is very high, and the most important thing is to simplify the management of the product, including self-maintenance. They should simplify the installation, management, and monitoring to simplify the product. It takes too long for a person to be a specialist in this product."

More IBM Db2 Database cons

"This solution is in need of more current tools."

"The solution really doesn't add new features very often."

"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."

"I experienced poor input/output (IO) performance."

"There should be more intelligence surrounding discovering data to be able to automatically create indexes."

"The support team could include local engineers to establish efficient communication. It will help us speed up the escalation process."

"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."

More IBM Informix cons

"The licensing could be cheaper and clearer."

"Since the solution is from Oracle it tends to be complex when trying to integrate with other solutions."

"More integration, in my opinion, would be beneficial."

"Oracle's technical support is not very effective. Opening support tickets does not yield satisfactory results, whether dealing with Oracle directly or their regional partners."

"The solution could be cheaper."

"The integration could be improved. If you are integrating with other Oracle products, it is fine, however, if your goal is to integrate with third-party products, Oracle isn't as good."

"The licensing model is complicated and could be improved."

"The cost needs to be reduced because right now, all of our customers are asking us about how they can migrate to any open-source database."

More Oracle Database cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The total cost of the solution depends upon the PVU licensing"

"There is a license for this solution and we pay every three years."

"I rate the price of the IBM Db2 Database an eight out of ten."

"Compared to other databases, Db2 is relatively cheaper."

"They are competitive and honest (compared to how peer firms approach licensing conversations). "

"It's very expensive for West African countries like ours."

"Db2 is less expensive than Oracle."

"The solution's hardware and subscription model for support are very expensive."

More IBM Db2 Database pricing and cost advice

"For me, it's always too expensive."

"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."

"It is quite expensive."

"The price is relative. Licensing costs differ based on how often you'll use the product. They also provide discounts based on the bandwidth or the use cases you want to run on it."

"We have a yearly license, and it could be cheaper."

"Oracle is also very expensive."

"The price of Oracle Database is too expensive and especially for individual environments. The pricing model is not clear, if I want to run it on a virtual environment, I still need to license the whole physical box."

"We are on an annual license for the use of this solution."

"Our customers buy licenses from Oracle directly."

"Seeing as a lot of our applications use Oracle, our team has been able to negotiate a better deal."

More Oracle Database pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

48%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

Government

Educational Organization

49%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Retailer

Financial Services Firm

21%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Db2 Database?

Db2 database scalability and performance capabilities match our database needs. It covers pretty much everything a da...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Db2 Database?

IBM Db2 is an expensive solution. While I am not heavily involved with pricing, additional companies provide capabili...

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What needs improvement with IBM Db2 Database?

IBM is implementing some release improvements. It might be slightly slower than other database vendors, but it works ...

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What do you like most about IBM Informix?

It supports multiple applications and business intelligence tools.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Informix?

The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Informix?

The key areas for improvement revolve around understanding the current customer trends and demands, particularly in s...

See all answers

How do you run Oracle Database at your organization and why?

My company has been using Oracle Exadata Database Service for some years now, and we are happy with it. I will allow ...

See all answers

Do you know of any disadvantages of Oracle Database?

Undoubtedly, Oracle Database is a top product in its category. But it does have its disadvantages, and for me and my ...

See all answers

What is the best use for Oracle Database?

Oracle Database is flexible and can be used for many things. My company's main use case for this product is for stori...

See all answers

Comparisons

SQL Server vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 33% of the time

SAP HANA vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 15% of the time

Teradata vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 13% of the time

MySQL vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 5% of the time

Oracle Multitenant vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 2% of the time

More IBM Db2 Database Competitors

SQL Server vs IBM Informix

Compared 32% of the time

MySQL vs IBM Informix

Compared 10% of the time

MariaDB vs IBM Informix

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM Informix Competitors

SAP HANA vs Oracle Database

Compared 21% of the time

SQL Server vs Oracle Database

Compared 14% of the time

Tibero vs Oracle Database

Compared 9% of the time

MariaDB vs Oracle Database

Compared 8% of the time

CockroachDB vs Oracle Database

Compared 3% of the time

More Oracle Database Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Database

May 2025

Download IBM Db2 Database product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Informix

May 2025

Download IBM Informix product report

Buyer's Guide

Oracle Database

March 2025

Download Oracle Database product report

Also Known As

DB2

Informix

Oracle 12c, RDBMS

Overview

DB2 Enterprise for Linux, UNIX, and Windows is the ideal data server for the most demanding workloads. New XML support is designed to help firms minimize the time and effort it takes to persist and use their XML data reducing development costs and improving business agility.

IBM

IBM Informix is a widely used and scalable relational database management system designed to handle large amounts of data and high transaction volumes. It is known to provide exceptional performance, thanks to its Parallel Data Query Engine (PDQ) that enables parallel processing of queries and operations, significantly reducing response times for complex queries and large data sets. Additionally, Informix supports online operations like backup, restore, index maintenance, and table reorganization, minimizing downtime and ensuring continuous availability.

Informix provides robust high availability and replication features, including shared-disk clustering, remote data replication, and high-availability data replication (HDR). These features ensure data redundancy, failover protection, and disaster recovery capabilities, making it a reliable choice for mission-critical applications. Furthermore, Informix offers specialized features for data warehousing and analytics, such as in-database analytics, data compression, and parallel load capabilities, making it suitable for business intelligence (BI) and data analysis applications.

Informix can be deployed as an embedded database, allowing it to be tightly integrated with applications and systems, reducing overhead and simplifying deployment. It includes workload management capabilities, enabling organizations to prioritize and manage different types of workloads, such as online transaction processing (OLTP) and analytical queries, ensuring efficient resource utilization and meeting service-level agreements (SLAs). Informix also provides robust security features, including role-based access control, data encryption, auditing, and compliance with industry standards like FIPS 140-2 and Common Criteria.

IBM

Oracle Database is a top-ranking multi-model database management system by Oracle Corporation. Through Oracle database services and products, clients receive cost-optimized and high-performing versions of Oracle Database, as well as in-memory, NoSQL, and MySQL databases. The solution is available by several service providers on premises, in the cloud, or as a hybrid installation. It can be run on vendor servers as well as on Oracle hardware, including Exadata on-premise, Oracle Cloud, or Cloud at Customer.

Users can select from various types of Oracle Database solutions, depending on what they aim to do with this product. Based on their specific needs, they can choose among options that include:

Autonomously managed Oracle databases: This type of database eliminates the complexity of operating and securing Oracle Database, while simultaneously ensuring high levels of performance, scalability, and availability for users.
Oracle Database on Exadata: Users who seek particularly fast platforms can select this type of running solution. Exadata is a computing platform that is optimized for running Oracle Databases and it serves as the fastest platform for Oracle Database.
Oracle Database on-premises deployment: The product allows for deployment on-premises for clients who have data residency and network latency concerns. This option also offers customers the benefit of updated Oracle Cloud technology, including Exadata and Autonomous Database.
Oracle Database in the cloud: Organizations can use a specific version of this tool in the cloud, benefiting from complete control over the versions they run and when these versions change.

Part of this product is a fully automated database service called Oracle Autonomous Database, which facilitates the development and deployment of application workloads for organizations. It is built on Oracle Database as well as on Oracle Exadata. This service supports various data types and simplifies application development and deployment from modeling and coding to extract, transform, load process (ETL), data analysis, and database optimization. The service achieves high results in:

Performance
Availability
Security for online transaction processing (OLTP)
Analytics
Batch
Internet of Things (IoT) workloads

Oracle Database Features

Oracle Database has various features which users can utilize in their work with the solution. Among these features are the following:

Backup and recovery: Oracle Database ensures the integrity of users' data in system failure situations. This feature utilizes a tool named Recovery Manager (RMAN), which allows administrators to perform cold, hot, and incremental database backups, as well as point-in-time recoveries.
Clustering: This feature enables high availability of systems in order to run without interruption of services on occasions when one or more servers in a cluster fail. Included is a tool called Oracle Real Application Clusters.
Data dictionary: Through this set of internal tables and views, Oracle Database can be administered more efficiently.
Logical data structure: Through its feature for logical data structure, Oracle Database stores data in a way that allows users to interact with the database without knowing where the physical storage of the data is located.
Memory catching: Through the memory caching architecture feature, users can scale up very large databases and still perform at a considerably high speed.
Partitioning: This feature allows users to divide large tables into different pieces and store the pieces across storage devices.

Oracle Database Benefits

Oracle Database offers its users various benefits. Some of these include:

The solution decreases costs for organizations and provides a high return on investment (ROI) through the multiple services and features it offers.
Oracle Database has high-security protection which includes encryption, key management, data masking, and activity monitoring, that secures organizations' data within the tool.
The tool offers users the ability to use a single database for all data types, simplifying the process for them.
Oracle Database can be deployed in multiple places, including data centers and public and private clouds, which allows great flexibility for users.
The product allows applications from different platforms to communicate with the database through its networking stack.
Oracle Database is ACID-compliant, which helps maintain data reliability and integrity.

Reviews from Real Users

Paul S., president at Advance Consulting Enterprise, likes Oracle Database because it gets the job done, doesn't fail, and suitable for massively scalable applications.

An Oracle DBA at a computer software company describes Oracle Database as reliable with good performance and very good stability.

Oracle

Sample Customers

Knorr-Bremse, Mizuho Bank Ltd., Australian Government Department of Defence, SCHWENK Zement, Friedhelm Loh Group, YAZAKI Europe Limited, Ekornes ASA, Baldor Electric, VSN Systemen BV, Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC, PLANSEE Group, TE Connectivity, Hansgrohe SE, Openmatics, University of Toronto

Shaspa, Hildebrand, Kaifa, Ranhill Powertron, Federaci‹ Farmacutica (FedeFarma), Camden Council, The German Aerospace Center (DLR), Myers, Votorantim Group, Doosan Infracore, GreenIvory

Agncia Nacional de guas, Anbima, Aria Systems, Asiana Airlines, Astelit LLC, Australian Finance Group, Banco Occidental de Descuento, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, BT, Caja de Seguros S.A., Casas GEO S.A.B. de C.V., Comic Relief UK, Corsair Components Inc., CSAM Health AS, CSOB Group, Datacraft Solutions, DenizBank A.S., Department of Treasury and Finance WA, Office of State Revenue, Deutsche B_rse AG, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Deutsche Messe AG, Digicel Haiti, DPR COSEA, Essar Group, Essatto Software Pty Ltd, Farmšcia e Drogaria Nissei Ltda., Fomento Econ‹mico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA), FundaÊo Petrobras de Seguridade Social, Future Group, GFKL Financial Services AG, Grupo Posadas S.A.B. de C.V., Grupo Sinosserra, Guerra S.A. Implementos Rodovišrios, Hanatour International Service, Hays plc, Henan Mobile Co. Ltd, Hochschule Hof, Hong Kong and China Technology (Wuhan) Co. Ltd (Towngas Technology), Industries Corpa_al C.A., Infrastructure Development Finance Company Limited, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatstica, Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial, Kcell, LinkShare Corporation, MercadoLibre Inc., MetLife Inc., Nextgen Distribution, €BB-IKT GmbH, Octagon Research Solutions, Pacific Lutheran University, Paragon Data GmbH, Ping ltd., PJSC Trustbank, Prodaub _ Processamento de Dados de Uberl_ndia, Purdue University, Redknee Inc., Robi Axiata Limited, Shanghai Infoservice Technology Co. Ltd, Shanghai Sihua Technologies Co. Ltd, Sistema de Aguas de la Ciudad de M_xico, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Suddenlink Communications, Suprajit Engineering Limited, Tallink Grupp, Terminales Ro de la Plata S.A., Therap Services LLC, Think Passenger Inc., Trafigura, Transmed S.A.L Lebanon, ValeShop, VelQuest Corporation, Vodafone Group plc, West Virginia Network, WIND Hellas Telecommunications S.A

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June 2025

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