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IBM Db2 on Cloud vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 12, 2024

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 on Cloud
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
20th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
134
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of IBM Db2 on Cloud is 2.0%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 9.2%, down from 14.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database as a Service (DBaaS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Azure SQL Database9.2%
IBM Db2 on Cloud2.0%
Other88.8%
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

FM
Database Engineer at Meezan Bank
Multi-node architecture and it is good from a security point of view
I would rate the stability a seven out of ten. Most of the issues we faced during troubleshooting were due to specific bugs in the environment, and the only solution was to upgrade the database environment or services. But it is not easy to upgrade the database level when third-party applications are involved, as they are not always comfortable with upgrading. There should be some cumulative solution provided by IBM for their customers, just like other vendors. Upgrading to a certain version doesn't always resolve the issue. It might get resolved at the database level, but what about the other applications integrated with that database that are only compatible with older versions?
Thomas Sawyer - PeerSpot reviewer
Executive Director, Platform Architecture at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation – SMBC Group
Automatic tuning and multi-region availability have reduced manual workloads and improved performance management
The features of Microsoft Azure SQL Database that I like the most are easy scaling and high availability. I appreciate those features because it's easy to make Microsoft Azure SQL Database readily available in a multi-region infrastructure. Using Microsoft Azure SQL Database is very easy; it's much easier than SQL on-premise because I don't have to worry about deploying infrastructure, and I can rapidly deploy via infrastructure as code. I am using the automatic tuning feature in Microsoft Azure SQL Database. We are using the new feature of data encryption in Microsoft Azure SQL Database with customer-managed keys only. The reliability and stability of Microsoft Azure SQL Database platform are rock-solid; it's as good, if not better, than what our on-premise stability has been from an uptime perspective.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The reliability is the most valuable feature. It is also user-friendly."
"Multiple business departments rely on reports and predictive analysis to make decisions for future business based on their data warehouse and Db2 network analytics tool. It helps our business department make decisions."
"The backup solution in Azure is great, the firewall settings in SQL are very easy to use and work very well. Additionally, the turning process is very good and has improved the SQL services and queries."
"The scalability and simple management of the infrastructure are the most valuable features."
"Microsoft is very efficient and forward-looking, making it less expensive to build the setup for Azure SQL."
"The Power Virtual Agents help us go through documents and load data into SQL."
"The main valuable feature is the auto scaling, and the security features they've implemented on cloud make it a little easier compared to on-prem SQL, enabling added scalability while making costing more reliable, flexible, and cost effective."
"In my current role, I consider SQL Azure the leader for cloud-based RDBMS solutions, far ahead of any other cloud-based RBMS offering."
"The solution effectively handles storing and maintaining information in databases."
"Its technical support team is good."
 

Cons

"Nobody is going to like the price."
"I would give their support a ten if they had more tutorials available."
"In other environments like Oracle or Teradata, they provide their own solutions for troubleshooting issues. They provide built-in AI services or autonomous databases, which I don't see in the Db2 environment."
"I think this product can improve its integrations with business intelligence software. The integrations are always cumbersome due to the approvals, passwords, et cetera."
"Pricing could be improved to make Microsoft Azure SQL Database more accessible."
"Its compatibility with existing applications can be improved. Its compatibility is currently a little bit imbalanced."
"I'm disappointed that it is not in the simple plan and I have to buy a higher plan."
"My only concern regarding the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is that we have a large database size but limited compute requirements, which has forced us to move towards a higher core just to meet our database sizing requirements."
"I need Microsoft to allow their network to access open source technologies."
"They can maybe make it a bit easier to educate people on how to develop SQL Server in Azure."
"I feel that the price is high and it could be reduced."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The pricing is flexible and can be adapted based on our requirements but the pricing options are complex especially if we are using a VM."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"SQL Azure's licensing cost is expensive."
"It's reasonably priced and when you compare it with other products in the cloud environment, it's cheaper."
"When you go with SQL Azure Database, you can create a small database, which is around $4 to $5 per month for development purposes."
"Microsoft services are costly, which is the only problem we face. So, pricing is an area of improvement."
"SQL Azure is an expensive solution."
"The price could be slightly cheaper."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
13%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business60
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise61
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SQL Azure?
I would say I am at a basic experience level with the pricing, setup costs and licensing because while I am the administrator for the service, I do not provision the services and worry about the co...
What needs improvement with SQL Azure?
I have no comments at the moment on how Microsoft Azure SQL Database can be improved. I have no comments on additional features that I would like to see released in the next release. I do not have ...
What is your primary use case for SQL Azure?
My main use cases for Microsoft Azure SQL Database are third-party applications.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Owens-Illinois, KONE Corp., Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue, Canon Europe, Delhaize America, Wimbledon
adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Db2 on Cloud vs. Microsoft Azure SQL Database and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.