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IBM Db2 Database vs kdb+ comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

IBM Db2 Database
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
kdb+
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
39th
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Db2 Database is 6.6%, down from 7.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of kdb+ is 0.9%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Db2 Database6.6%
kdb+0.9%
Other92.5%
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Sathyan K - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder, Director at perfTech Solutions Pvt Ltd
Database has secured high-volume transactions and supports fast, compliant workflow processing
Sterling B2B Integrator is a highly transactional-oriented application, which can be described as an OLTP application. Any data that flows through the application is stored in the database for each step that it performs. IBM Db2 Database helps the application work much faster from an OLTP perspective. IBM Db2 Database is SSL enabled, which means that from the security point of view, any access to the database is through SSL. Additionally, all compliance-related aspects have been taken care of from the database point of view, including database encryption and security-related features. It is highly scalable, and its performance related to database pruning is very good. It can be scaled vertically or horizontally so that data insertions and data access are much faster and more secure compared to how Oracle or other databases work.
Nitin Garg - PeerSpot reviewer
Vice President - Financial Services at Evalueserve
An easy-to-deploy solution that can be used for data ingestion and usage
I work for a fintech company where we create several strategies generally built on finance data, which are like one-time series data. We deal with huge bulk data on a daily basis, and we use kdb+ for data ingestion and usage The most valuable feature of kdb+ is the speed at which it returns 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 is PowerPC support."
"It was very simple to get up and running."
"We use DB2 HADR to replicate data on LAN to another site, and it is easy to takeover to the other site with easy integration with TSM."
"The product is very reliable and stable, and we used to receive prompt responses from IBM on support."
"I like that its true active-active. For example, if there are two instances within a cluster, we can take one of them down and there's no failover or switch over. There's no primary and secondary, it's true active-active. We can take one side down and we can upgrade that with new maintenance or a new version, obviously testing coexistence beforehand, without impacting the business."
"It's very secure."
"Db2's best features are that it's self-maintaining and self-monitoring, which means I have to view and monitor the database far less often."
"Db2 is a robust relational database with great features."
"The solution returns data quickly, and data retrieval is fast in kdb+."
 

Cons

"The data table names are very short which is not user-friendly compared to the Oracle SQL server. It should have longer column and table names."
"From an educational perspective, it is difficult for people to understand IBM Db2 Database much faster compared to databases such as Oracle or other applications that have been used."
"There could be more user-friendly tools with features such as drag-and-drop functionality, visual basics, and low-code capabilities."
"From a performance perspective, I prefer SAP HANA for performance."
"The backup solution lacks flexibility in some situations and could be improved."
"Learning and understanding DB2 is a difficult process because no more resources are available for knowledge base."
"Its process of building up queries could be more accessible."
"The problem with this environment is that any software that you install is very costly because there are no free tools for this environment."
"The solution should have a more user-friendly user interface."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's very expensive."
"It's very expensive for West African countries like ours."
"We normally handle large size businesses and as far as I am aware, the license is negotiable based on the number of users and the quantitative data."
"Compared to Oracle, it is so much cheaper."
"The total cost of the solution depends upon the PVU licensing"
"The solution's hardware and subscription model for support are very expensive."
"It is expensive."
"I would rate the pricing a five out of ten. It's not super expensive, but also not cheap."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Construction Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
44%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Educational Organization
5%
Energy/Utilities Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise48
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 capabilities or products like those from BMC, which many installations might also purchase.
What needs improvement with IBM Db2 Database?
A potential area of improvement is better documentation. From an educational perspective, it is difficult for people to understand IBM Db2 Database much faster compared to databases such as Oracle ...
What is your primary use case for IBM Db2 Database?
We use IBM Db2 Database for B2B Integrator, specifically Sterling B2B Integrator, which requires a database to store all configuration details. Any workflow that is created, any configuration messa...
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Comparisons

 

Also Known As

DB2
No data available
 

Overview

 

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
UniCredit, AIRBUS
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Oracle, SAP and others in Relational Databases Tools. Updated: August 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.