No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

IBM Db2 Database vs Oracle Multitenant comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

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
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle Multitenant
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
21
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Db2 Database is 6.3%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Multitenant is 1.1%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Db2 Database6.3%
Oracle Multitenant1.1%
Other92.6%
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2708292 - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
YB
BI manager at Clarivate
Has successfully supported tenant data separation and enabled strong analytics capabilities
We use VPD, Virtual Private Database, for the multitenancy. We are selling products and using Oracle Multitenant for tenants, for building the product for our customers. We have many customers, actually thousands, and the main objective is to separate data from one customer to another The…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The solution helps secure the database."
"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."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the integration with other IBM products."
"Due to the stability, the applications can have a very long uptime, even with modifications in the application."
"Its functionality and availability are valuable. Its availability is great. It is available 99.99% of the time."
"IBM Db2 was much cheaper as a package than using other products, because IBM supplied a package with its product, making it much more efficient and a stronger competitor in that regard."
"Db2 is a very old product, but also a very stable product."
"The solution's initial setup is straightforward."
"Multitenant has a container database with many pluggable databases."
"With the right configurations, you can maintain an environment without retaining the risk of losing any kind of data."
"Our primary use of Oracle includes writing queries for retrieving data for customers without worrying about the customer ID, user ID, as it is automatically connected to each query."
"The best thing about Oracle Multitenant is its ability to consolidate multiple databases into one engine."
"The plug/unplug is the great feature, that doesn't even need the Multitenant option."
"The analytics tool, Oracle Analytics Server (OAS), is the main important component of this solution and in the analytics part, the VPD handles all the necessary functions effectively."
"The most valuable features are the speed and ease of use."
"The most valuable features are the speed and ease of use."
 

Cons

"They could enhance the product's cloud integration and general-purpose database capabilities."
"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."
"I would like to see some artificial intelligence brought into the solution."
"The user interface is not user-friendly."
"The user interface is old and needs to be improved."
"There are some issues with Db2's database file system not being readable. The storage could also be increased, and the monitoring could be improved."
"It would be ideal if the solution offered backup functionality. Many similar tools already do, which means Db2 is somewhat behind the curve in terms of what a customer might expect from it."
"The usage of Db2 could be simplified, as it is quite complex and requires substantial knowledge of Db2 and zOS."
"Stability and full feature coverage will come with future release."
"Even though we say Unplug Plug Upgrade is a very good feature and it does work, we are seeing that sometimes it takes longer than what we expect for larger databases."
"The user interface for this solution can be made better."
"Technical support could be faster."
"From the scope of improvement, I would say that people are adopting new query options. Certain databases like MongoDB adopt new query options so that they can just pull the data."
"The main area for improvement is regarding backup and recovery. Today, it’s difficult to set a pluggable database to a former point in time because flashback pluggable database doesn’t exist."
"There is room for improvement in customer service and support."
"The user interface for this solution can be made better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's pricing is fine."
"It is expensive."
"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."
"Among Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and Db2, Microsoft SQL Server is the cheapest one, and Oracle is the most expensive one. Db2 is in the middle. As compared to SQL Server, its price could go down. It will be good for customers."
"Compared to other databases, Db2 is relatively cheaper."
"We purchase the product's yearly license."
"I think that everyone knows that with IBM the standard price is higher than the others."
"We don't see what the specific price of the DB2 license is because we pay for the backup license as a package."
"This solution is a little bit pricey."
"For me, I will go with it if I have the budget. Some features are nicer than before, but at the end of the day, you always have a limited budget. I prefer to upgrade and get a specific hardware when possible. At the end, you will have to make a compromise. You will not get everything you would have liked to have."
"The price is worth the quality."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Relational Databases Tools solutions are best for your needs.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Construction Company
9%
Energy/Utilities Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise48
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise9
 

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?
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...
What is your primary use case for IBM Db2 Database?
I use the IBM Db2 Database for development applications. Many clients in our company have business applications currently working on it.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Multitenant?
I am only involved in the development part and not familiar with the pricing details.
What needs improvement with Oracle Multitenant?
There are no improvements needed in Oracle Multitenant, but improvements could be made in the AI part. We feel that the server, OAS, the analytics server, is missing an AI component which exists in...
What is your primary use case for Oracle Multitenant?
We use VPD, Virtual Private Database, for the multitenancy. We are selling products and using Oracle Multitenant for tenants, for building the product for our customers. We have many customers, act...
 

Also Known As

DB2
Oracle Pluggable Database
 

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
An Post, National Oilwell Varco, SAS Institute, Sportmaster, Y-Telecom
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Db2 Database vs. Oracle Multitenant and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.