IBM Db2 Database vs LocalDB comparison

IBM and Microsoft are both solutions in the Relational Databases Tools category. IBM is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.3, while Microsoft is ranked #14 with an average rating of 10.0. IBM holds a 7.5% mindshare in SQL, compared to Microsoft’s 1.8% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

IBM Db2 Database

Read 75 IBM Db2 Database reviews

4,188 Views
4,020 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

LocalDB

Read 6 LocalDB reviews

1,379 Views
1,379 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Db2 Database

LocalDB

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

IBM Db2 and LocalDB compete in the database management systems category, with IBM Db2 having the upper hand due to its extensive features and enterprise resilience, which provide strong ROI despite higher costs.

Features: IBM Db2 Database offers powerful SQL dialects, supports multiple platforms, and provides advanced self-tuning capabilities. It also guarantees a secure environment, benefits from IBM support, and integrates extensively. LocalDB is valued for its simplicity and ease of integration, running comfortably as a process with minimal memory footprint, ideal for lightweight applications.

Room for Improvement: IBM Db2 could improve its ease of use with simplified interfaces and management tools, address licensing complexity, and offer better training resources. LocalDB would benefit from enhanced connectivity features, broader integration capabilities, and simplified deployment processes for larger environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Db2, predominantly deployed on-premises, offers flexibility for hybrid environments, though complexity may rise with larger deployments. While customer service is satisfactory, faster response times would be beneficial. LocalDB is easier to deploy, supporting lightweight on-premises and cloud environments, but relies heavily on documentation, which could be more comprehensive.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Db2 is expensive compared to competitors like Oracle and SQL Server, yet provides great ROI for large businesses due to its comprehensive features. LocalDB offers cost-efficiencies with free distribution, presenting high ROI for development environments and budget-conscious projects, albeit lacking enterprise features that justify Db2's higher pricing.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Db2 Database vs. LocalDB Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Database vs. LocalDB

September 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

IBM Db2 Database

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

6th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

LocalDB

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

14th

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Db2 Database is 7.5%, up from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of LocalDB is 1.8%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Relational Databases Tools Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM Db2 Database	7.5%
LocalDB	1.8%
Other	90.7%

Relational Databases Tools

Featured Reviews

Michael Raz

Consultant at Discount Bank

Efficient access path optimization and performance excellence with helpful support

IBM Db2 for zOS serves as the central database for all the core business applications in the two banks I work with. All applications use Db2 as a data server. We fully implement and utilize most of Db2's functionalities and capabilities for core banking business applications IBM Db2 has…

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Srini-Dhanaraj

Founder & CEO at imfine.club

The database always has structured data, like rows, columns, and bases

LocalDB is an excellent solution for learners, beginners, and projects of negligible size; it is very good. Any startup can use a local database to start. Once they grow beyond its limits, they can migrate to a MS SQL server that's also available on-premises. I rate it ten out of ten.

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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

"The most valuable feature of the solution is its compatibility with IBM Power Systems."

"Db2 Database has given us good results since we have started to use it. We predominantly use IBM hardware, and this is one of the reasons why we started to use Db2 Database. Db2 Database has a very good HADR capability. High availability resilience is also good in this solution. It also has pureScale, which allows you to upgrade one node to get very good and high-level resilience. If you are using a database on five nodes, you can take one node down, upgrade that, and let that node up. You can then bring the second node down, upgrade that, and so on."

"I believe that because the support is good, they jump in and assist us in determining the root cause."

"IBM DB2 pureScale Feature is valuable."

"The newly added feature of ALSM is one of the top features"

"It's very secure."

"The self-management and optimization features are probably the best on the market"

"The stability of IBM Db2 Database is stable. We have not faced any downtime in one year. Our work is mostly during business hours and during that time, we haven't faced any downtime."

More IBM Db2 Database pros

"The initial setup is very straightforward. The guidelines are very easy to follow. Maintenance is very easy and requires very little manpower."

"LocalDB is an excellent solution for learners, beginners, and projects of negligible size; it is very good."

"The solution is fast."

"The most valuable feature of LocalDBis the connection between the application and DB."

"The initial setup was simple."

Cons

"The backup solution lacks flexibility."

"IBM Db2 Database could improve in the steps it takes for upgrades. It is not an easy process. The process of upgrading the version is lengthy and requires a lot of time. To make it more efficient, I suggest implementing some automation on the solution side. This will greatly reduce the time required for the upgrade."

"The technical support team is not very good when compared to the efficiency of Oracle's support."

"I would say that the tool has to be made more cloud-friendly and should have agreements with AWS, Microsoft, or Google to run things on hyperscalers."

"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."

"The solution could improve by providing more integration."

"The initial setup could be improved."

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

More IBM Db2 Database cons

"The internal connection features of LocalDB could improve."

"The ALM features can be improved, but the database by itself is reliable."

"The solution needs to create a management tool. Right now, the solution has tools for creating a local installation, but it's too simplistic. We need something that's a bit more complex so that we can extend the tools with our scripts."

"The initial setup is complex and requires a skilled person."

"It is only for a small amount of data. Local DB is made for the purpose of small-volume optics."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"We purchase the product's yearly license."

"I would rate the pricing a five out of ten. It's not super expensive, but also not cheap."

"It is expensive when compared to other products."

"We don't see what the specific price of the DB2 license is because we pay for the backup license as a package."

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

"It's very expensive."

"If I consider the price of IBM Db2 Database, I would say there are cheaper products in the market."

More IBM Db2 Database pricing and cost advice

"The fees are fair."

"The licensing cost is too high for LocalDB."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

20%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	20
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	48

No data available

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 database administrator or engineer might need.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Db2 Database?

The IBM Db2 Database is a good solution, but now there is a high maintenance charge. The IBM Db2 Database needs improved support, and there are many difficulties in using it. We tend to use the clo...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for LocalDB?

It's free of cost.

See all answers

What needs improvement with LocalDB?

Technically speaking, you don't need to get any updates because it's not online. It's on-premise. So once it is installed, then you get a desktop-grade version. But the purpose of LocalDB is not th...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for LocalDB?

There were multiple systems, some planned, like the mainframe, the gold database, a website, and a manual Excel spreadsheet. These were the various data sources, and we wanted to bring everything i...

See all answers

Comparisons

SQL Server vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 36% of the time

Oracle Database vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 19% of the time

Teradata vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 13% of the time

SAP HANA vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 13% of the time

MySQL vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM Db2 Database Competitors

SQL Server vs LocalDB

Compared 73% of the time

MySQL vs LocalDB

Compared 19% of the time

MariaDB vs LocalDB

Compared 8% of the time

More LocalDB Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Database

September 2025

Download IBM Db2 Database product report

Buyer's Guide

Relational Databases Tools

August 2025

Download LocalDB product report

Also Known As

DB2

No data available

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

LocalDB is a lightweight version of the SQL Server Express Database Engine that is targeted for program development. LocalDB starts on demand and runs in user mode, so there is no complex configuration.

Microsoft

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

AstraZeneca, Kienzle Automotive GmbH, Kodak Alaris, Unilever, Floatel International and Kongsberg Maritime, MyHero

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Database vs. LocalDB

September 2025

Free Report: IBM Db2 Database vs. LocalDB

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Db2 Database vs. LocalDB and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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