IBM Db2 Database vs MySQL vs Oracle Database comparison

IBM and Oracle are both solutions in the Relational Databases Tools category. IBM is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.1, while Oracle is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.6. IBM holds a 7.1% mindshare in SQL, compared to Oracle’s 8.4% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Oracle users who would recommend it.

IBM Db2 Database

Read 73 IBM Db2 Database reviews

6,854 Views
4,346 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

MySQL

Read 148 MySQL reviews

7,193 Views
5,585 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Oracle Database

Read 289 Oracle Database reviews

11,609 Views
9,638 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

IBM Db2 Database

MySQL

Oracle Database

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM Db2 Database, MySQL, 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: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Relational Databases Tools

March 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 May 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Db2 Database is 7.1%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MySQL is 8.4%, down from 8.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Database is 12.8%, down from 15.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Relational Databases Tools

Featured Reviews

SimonHiggins

Mainframe Technical Manager/Service Integration Lead at Saudi Business Machines

Very scalable with high availability and excellent technical support

The good thing is that there are improvements coming with later function levels for the z/OS Db2. I'd like it if, with the operating system that we've got, z/OS, on the mainframe, it would allow us to refresh the hardware to run Linux dockers on the mainframe. This means this might give us opportunities for different ways of coming into the Db2 environment in the future. We just want a bit more integration with Linux. That said, we are already seeing Linux more readily available on the mainframe environment. Not only have we got the premium operating systems on OS. We can run LPARs on the same mainframe footprint that is also supporting Linux. This is what has improved and made the mainframe environment more competitive. We're also looking at AI for Db2 as well, and machine learning for the future. We know that AI has come out, that we're going to get that, and we're going to evaluate that product next year for Db2. That said, I haven't got any real complaints about Db2 on the mainframe. For the most part, a lot of the problems we have nowadays are to do with communication between the various teams that you would class as stakeholders.

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Muzzamil Hussain

Assistant Vice President at National Bank of Pakistan

Native encryption ensures secure data management with a simple deployment

The most valuable feature is the on-premises data encryption facilities. By default, we can provide encryption, and this feature in MySQL is why we prefer it over other databases. The native encryption in MySQL encourages us to use this database model more frequently compared to Oracle and other databases. With Oracle, we have to buy another solution for encryption and masking, but MySQL supports native encryption, which enhances our return on investment. It perfectly supports our ROI, and we have no issues with its functionality.

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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

"Your iOS, your throughputs, your performance cycles, you cannot touch it with Microsoft or with Oracle scalability-wise. That is far and away the most scalable systems and the highest performing systems of the set of them."

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

"The most valuable feature of the IBM Db2 Database is the ease of use, and the ability to do query writing of any SQL statement and have an output."

"It has a good, stable performance."

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

"Very good for performance and scalability."

"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."

"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."

More IBM Db2 Database pros

"The ML modules in MySQL are advantageous since they make data handling easy and quick at MNQM."

"It is easy to use."

"We use MySQL for enterprise data storage as well as part of the back-end of websites and web applications."

"The most valuable feature is the on-premises data encryption facilities."

"The solution is very simple. It's easy to use. That's the most important feature."

"The one interesting thing about this product is that it is open source. It comes from an open source product. MySQL has been positioned as open source, but it also provides support."

"I use MySQL for employee service in an OLTP database."

"Setup is easy. MySQL of various flavours has community editions to easily test, deploy, and run."

More MySQL pros

"It is a stable product. In terms of recovery, if there is a failure or some kind of fault, we can recover the data. We do not lose it."

"I use Oracle Database just for storage of the corporate database data and the finance data."

"I've never faced any stability issues with the product. I don't recall any bugs, glitches, or crashes. I'd say it's fairly stable and shouldn't cause anyone issues in that regard."

"The reliability is the solution's most valuable feature. We've had great success with the solution."

"The tool is efficient and fast compared to other alternatives. The tool's processing speed is fast, and we've experienced minimal hang-ups. This enables us to address queries within a shorter time frame. I wouldn't say it's just one particular feature, but overall, the efficiency and speed of Oracle Database have had a significant impact. Our support systems are more efficient, allowing us to accomplish tasks quickly."

"Oracle is somewhat user-friendly, and most customization or integration with Oracle-related projects is simple."

"Partitioning is most valuable."

"It has good features for performance tuning."

More Oracle Database pros

Cons

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

"End-to-end encryption specifically is something the solution needs to have in the next release."

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

"Also, the website could be more intuitive. I didn't find it easy to find documentation on the website."

"Db2 interface could be improved a bit. Comparing it to Oracle, Db2's interfaces could be improved."

"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 vendor should offer a free version"

"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

"From a user perspective, the initial setup could be simplified a bit."

"The interface could be improved."

"Could use some additional JSON query support in the solution."

"The GUI interface probably can be improved. Let us say I want to see the relationships in the database. In the query analyzer, I would like to go and drop the tables and create relationships between the tables. I haven't found a feature like that in MySQL. It was a shortcoming even in SQL Server. MySQL can have more performance monitoring tools. I know Google has these tools, but within MySQL, there are not that many tools to monitor things like performance and database locking. They might be in there, and I might not be familiar enough to know where they are. I am a pretty new user of MySQL."

"The solution could have better integration and security features."

"The solution could be more secure."

"The analytics features are in need of improvement."

"It could be more secure."

More MySQL cons

"The licensing could be cheaper and clearer."

"If you want to scale, it will get even more expensive."

"Auditing could be improved, especially granular auditing. The unified audit trail in 12c is great, however its extraction in a highly busy environment is quite a challenge."

"Oracle Database is expensive."

"The tool's deployment and configuration is difficult. Sometimes, the network DNS settings aren't connected, so we need to check and enable the configuration, which is the difficult part. Maintenance requires a bit of effort. We need to monitor the database performance, check the number of concurrent users on Oracle, and handle any unwanted queries from users. You need at least two people to do it."

"The licensing cost could be better."

"The pricing needs to be improved."

"The integration with other vendor solutions needs improvement. It is difficult to connect to other hardware."

More Oracle Database cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Db2 is less expensive than Oracle."

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

"The solution costs less than other products."

"Licensing fees are on a yearly basis."

"It is expensive. The price depends on the size of the machine on which you are installing the Db2 and the features you are using. It also depends on the country. IBM has different policies and different options for payment for this product."

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

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

"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."

More IBM Db2 Database pricing and cost advice

"I am using the Community Edition, which is available free of charge."

"This is an open-source product that can be used free of charge."

"I use the open-source free community version."

"The tool is open source."

"I use a free version at present."

"MySQL is a free and open-source solution."

"We are using the free community version of the solution."

"When you know the setup will continue to grow, make sure you have the paid support."

More MySQL pricing and cost advice

"The pricing should be cheaper."

"We have a subscription."

"It is expensive."

"The price of Oracle Database could improve, it is expensive and they are paid annually. We are looking for lower pricing and flexible pricing plans, they are very rigid in the price."

"Oracle Database is expensive. We also need to buy additional products."

"You buy it when you need it, and then you pay the maintenance. We bought the licenses over 10 years ago. We haven't changed our licenses. We are not buying new licenses, and we are not looking at other devices. So, it is difficult to say whether it is cheap or expensive. There is nothing to compare to."

"There are licensing costs."

"The licensing is on a monthly basis. Improvement in pricing would be nice."

More Oracle Database pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

59%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Government

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

21%

Computer Software Company

11%

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?

The user interface is old and needs to be improved. It doesn't match the responsive and suggestion-rich UI of cloud s...

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Why are MySQL connections encrypted and what is the biggest benefit of this?

MySQL encrypts connections to protect your data and the biggest benefit from this is that nobody can corrupt it. If y...

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Considering that there is a free version of MySQL, would you invest in one of the paid editions?

I may be considered a MySQL veteran since I have been using it since before Oracle bought it and created paid version...

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What is one thing you would improve with MySQL?

One thing I would improve related to MySQL is not within the product itself, but with the guides to it. Before, when ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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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...

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Comparisons

SQL Server vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 32% of the time

SAP HANA vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 16% of the time

Teradata vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 12% of the time

IBM Informix vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 2% of the time

Oracle Multitenant vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 2% of the time

More IBM Db2 Database Competitors

Firebird SQL vs MySQL

Compared 26% of the time

PostgreSQL vs MySQL

Compared 14% of the time

SAP HANA vs MySQL

Compared 9% of the time

MariaDB vs MySQL

Compared 6% of the time

SurrealDB vs MySQL

Compared 2% of the time

More MySQL Competitors

SAP HANA vs Oracle Database

Compared 22% of the time

SQL Server vs Oracle Database

Compared 13% of the time

Tibero vs Oracle Database

Compared 9% of the time

MariaDB vs Oracle Database

Compared 8% of the time

Amazon Aurora vs Oracle Database

Compared 5% of the time

More Oracle Database Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Database

April 2025

Download IBM Db2 Database product report

Buyer's Guide

MySQL

April 2025

Download MySQL product report

Buyer's Guide

Oracle Database

March 2025

Download Oracle Database product report

Also Known As

DB2

No data available

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

MySQL is a cost-efficient and scalable relational database management system widely used in web, mobile applications, and academic projects.

MySQL is utilized for backend operations, data analysis, reporting, financial transactions, and ERP databases. It supports deployment on local servers, Cloud, and Kubernetes. Its free, open-source nature along with strong community support make it popular among companies. MySQL's compatibility with multiple platforms and programming languages enhances its appeal. While it remains stable and easy to use, areas such as replication, clustering, and backup require improvement to better serve enterprise applications. Enhanced security, error messages, and monitoring tools are also desired for a better user experience.

What are the most important features of MySQL?

Free and Open-Source: No licensing costs, perfect for budget-conscious projects.
Compatibility: Works with multiple platforms and programming languages.
High Performance: Efficient performance across large datasets.
Scalability: Easily scales to meet growing business needs.
Clustering and Replication: Ensures data availability and redundancy.
Easy Installation: Quick setup process on various operating systems.
Community Support: Extensive resources and community assistance.
Cross-Platform: Operates seamlessly on different operating systems.
Data Management Interface: Simplifies data handling and manipulation.

What are the benefits of using MySQL?

Cost Efficiency: Reduce expenses with a free, open-source database.
Scalability: Adapt to increasing data demands effortlessly.
Performance: Handle large datasets with ease and speed.
Community Support: Access a vast pool of knowledge and resources.
Flexibility: Integrate with various platforms and languages for diverse use cases.
Data Reliability: Clustering and replication for high data availability.

In multiple industries, MySQL supports internal applications, billing systems, academic teaching purposes, and ERP databases. Companies leverage MySQL for Cloud and local deployments, ensuring effective data manipulation and backend operations in diverse projects. Its role in financial transactions and reporting further emphasizes its versatility.

Oracle

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

Facebook, Tumblr, Scholastic, MTV Networks, Wikipedia, Verizon Wireless, Sage Group, Glassfish Open Message Queue, and RightNow Technologies.

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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Relational Databases Tools

March 2025

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