IBM Db2 Database vs LocalDB comparison

IBM and Microsoft are both solutions in the Relational Databases Tools category. IBM is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.4, while Microsoft is ranked #17 with an average rating of 10.0. IBM holds a 6.6% mindshare in SQL, compared to Microsoft’s 1.5% 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

3,607 Views
3,463 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

LocalDB

Read 6 LocalDB reviews

1,135 Views
1,135 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: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Database vs. LocalDB

December 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

5th

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

17th

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Db2 Database is 6.6%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of LocalDB is 1.5%, down from 2.7% 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	6.6%
LocalDB	1.5%
Other	91.9%

Relational Databases Tools

Featured Reviews

reviewer2708292

Associate Director, Data Architecture at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Support improves setup and maintenance while pricing influences decision

If you have a similar use case and the same deal with IBM as our company, it is definitely a good option and choice. The company I work with has more than 50,000 people and more than 500 support staff. We are not locked into one database vendor. We typically work with multiple database vendors simultaneously, selecting the top choice based on the deals we make and other considerations. We do not use IBM Db2 Database related to AI at this moment because our AI project PLC is still very small scale. We may consider it in the future if we have enough scale. Overall rating for IBM Db2 Database is 8.5 out of 10.

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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

"It's easy to search and extract data from the warehouse using queries."

"As part of your licensing with IBM, you get access to their case system, which lets you raise incidents related to software or hardware. This system is helpful for problem determination and quickly identifying issues."

"It's a very mature product."

"Very good for performance and scalability."

"The scalability and availability of this solution are the most valuable features."

"It has a good, stable performance."

"The solution's querying feature is most valuable. It allows me to retrieve data quickly."

"I can easily export that to further work on it in Snowflake."

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

"It would be helpful to have more querying tools and more development tools for us to work easily with Microsoft."

"The only drawback that we see in Db2 Database is the crash recovery. When there is a crash and somebody has to do the recovery, Db2 Database first stops, and then it does any crash recovery. In Oracle Database, crash recovery happens within the database. The database is not shut down."

"IBM's support isn't as strong as it used to be, especially when it comes to providing fixes."

"IBM Db2 Database could improve the user-defined functions. There are some user-defined functions that are missing, such as the spring functions. I used to have Teradata for my projects and I was used to working in the environment. They had a good set of user-defined functions."

"The technical support can be faster."

"The GUI interface is not particularly friendly for those who do not have experience with the product."

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

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

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

"The internal connection features of LocalDB could improve."

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

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's very expensive."

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

"Clients are required to purchase a license."

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

"We did not buy it. It came with our hardware without any complimentary maintenance. If I compare Db2 Database with Oracle Database, its price is lower than Oracle Database."

"Licensing fees are on a yearly basis."

"Compared to Oracle, it is so much cheaper."

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

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

18%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Government

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

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 40% of the time

Oracle Database vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 17% of the time

SAP HANA vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 9% of the time

Teradata vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 9% of the time

MySQL vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 5% of the time

More IBM Db2 Database Competitors

SQL Server vs LocalDB

Compared 54% of the time

MySQL vs LocalDB

Compared 14% of the time

Oracle Database vs LocalDB

Compared 12% of the time

MariaDB vs LocalDB

Compared 8% of the time

Infobright DB vs LocalDB

Compared 6% of the time

More LocalDB Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Database

January 2026

Download IBM Db2 Database product report

Buyer's Guide

Relational Databases Tools

January 2026

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

December 2025

Free Report: IBM Db2 Database vs. LocalDB

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