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 7.4% mindshare in SQL, compared to Microsoft’s 2.3% 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 74 IBM Db2 Database reviews

5,504 Views
2,309 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

LocalDB

Read 6 LocalDB reviews

1,830 Views
1,336 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: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Database vs. LocalDB

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:

Categories and Ranking

IBM Db2 Database

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

6th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

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 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 LocalDB is 2.3%, down from 2.8% 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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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 features of this solution are security and stability."

"The most valuable feature is PowerPC support."

"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."

"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."

"The solution is easy to install and simple to maintain. The most valuable aspect of the solution is its general user-friendliness for users of all kinds."

"The most valuable features are with the industrial side."

"it is very stable and runs smoothly once it is deployed and it is almost maintenance-free."

"The performance of the solution is valuable."

More IBM Db2 Database pros

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

"The solution is fast."

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

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

"The initial setup was simple."

Cons

"Not very solid compared to its competitors' products."

"The queries can be difficult for beginners because there are so many. I would like to see more use cases for flow analysis that enable us to correlate the flow with events. Adding this feature in a QI format would be good for beginners."

"There could be better integration with some cloud solutions."

"The solution's UI hasn't been upgraded. The solution’s UI is an area to improve because the solution was developed long ago."

"They should simplify the management of Db2 as a relational database system. There should be the simplification of management. This is probably one of the most important asks for being successful in the future."

"The application development requires a Java developer and not every company has these resources."

"The licensing fees can be reduced."

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

More IBM Db2 Database cons

"The internal connection features of LocalDB could improve."

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

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

"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."

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"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."

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

"It is expensive when compared to other products."

"I think that everyone knows that with IBM the standard price is higher than the others."

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

"Clients are required to purchase a license."

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

More IBM Db2 Database pricing and cost advice

"The licensing cost is too high for LocalDB."

"The fees are fair."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

37%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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.

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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 capabilities or products like those from BMC, which many installations might also purchase.

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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 well since banks typically do not move quickly with leading-edge technology.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for LocalDB?

It's free of cost.

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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...

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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...

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Comparisons

SQL Server vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 33% of the time

Oracle Database vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 18% 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

More IBM Db2 Database Competitors

SQL Server vs LocalDB

Compared 79% of the time

MySQL vs LocalDB

Compared 12% of the time

MariaDB vs LocalDB

Compared 5% of the time

Oracle Database In-Memory vs LocalDB

Compared 4% of the time

More LocalDB Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Database

June 2025

Download IBM Db2 Database product report

Buyer's Guide

Relational Databases Tools

June 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

June 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: June 2025.

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