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

IBM Informix vs InterSystems IRIS comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 Informix
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
28th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (9th)
InterSystems IRIS
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
4.2
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Database Management Systems (DBMS) (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Informix is 1.9%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of InterSystems IRIS is 0.9%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
InterSystems IRIS0.9%
IBM Informix1.9%
Other97.2%
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Nasir Niamat - PeerSpot reviewer
DB Consultant at i2c
Has offered a cost-effective option despite frequent technical issues and limited market demand
We find some bugs in IBM Informix. Maybe we are using it more aggressively than others. Every month or every second month, we find some bugs in it, which is not ideal. It should be rare, not this frequent. The good thing is they cover those bugs in the next release within weeks or days on demand. IBM Informix should become hybrid and should include AI features similar to other DBMS systems such as Snowflake, Redshift, and DataBricks. This would help its value rise with the market.
reviewer2892648 - PeerSpot reviewer
Developer/Database Administrator at a transportation company with 201-500 employees
Robust multidimensional database has enabled smooth API integrations and modern data workflows
I think InterSystems IRIS is a continuation of the Caché legacy. Since I have been working with it since 2005 with Caché, I think it is a really amazing tool. It is a very robust and very scalable database. It is very good to work with, and I am already used to working with it. Where it falls a bit short is in the availability of manpower and professionals who work with InterSystems IRIS or Caché. There are few professionals who work with it. Another thing is the cost and the license cost. I think there could be some kind of package that could serve smaller companies and small and medium-sized companies. That would reach a larger slice of the market, because the cost to work with Caché, InterSystems IRIS, and so on is high. I would make this remark about putting together a package and a new product that could serve small and medium-sized companies. The area where InterSystems IRIS falls a bit short is in the cost and the licensing cost. The licensing cost is the main issue I have already mentioned.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Flexible Grid provides the ability to automatically create database objects, such as tables, indexes, and stored procedures on all nodes within the grid as a single operation."
"So far, we do not have a lot of issues. It's pretty problem-free."
"It supports multiple applications and business intelligence tools."
"This solution has made financial reporting possible by allowing financial people the opportunity to set Informix to "Auto Pilot" so that they can attend other duties."
"We don't have any problems with the Informix Database."
"My advice is to take it; you will never regret it."
"The solution is quite stable and reliable; we use it mainly due to its general stable nature."
"OLTP processing capacity and the availability of information with high availability implementation have been significantly improved."
"InterSystems IRIS has had a positive impact on my organization by improving performance and data security."
"The best features InterSystems IRIS offers are its powerful database and speed, which contribute greatly to my work."
"The best features that InterSystems IRIS offers in my opinion are the speed in querying data, and due to our system, which requires a large query with a large volume of data, InterSystems IRIS stands out for its query speed, making my work easier."
"In my opinion, the best features that InterSystems IRIS offers are its very optimized database, which I found amazing, and the observability it provides for checking messages and how the data is being transferred, which I find very interesting."
"The best features InterSystems IRIS offers, in my experience, include being a really powerful engine and a really good database."
"InterSystems IRIS as a database is very efficient, with its best features being its speed and high performance, along with an easy understanding of its data searching functionalities."
"My final observation is that everyone should use InterSystems IRIS; it is an amazing tool on the market."
"The best features that InterSystems IRIS offers are its capability to function as both a relational and non-relational database, with performance and speed as specific functionalities that serve as differentiators."
 

Cons

"There should be more intelligence surrounding discovering data to be able to automatically create indexes."
"The solution doesn't include functionality like data anonymization."
"Every month or every second month, we find some bugs in it, which is not ideal."
"The solution really doesn't add new features very often. Other solutions are much more actively pushing out upgrades and improvements."
"It would be helpful to have IBM salespeople know that Informix exists, and sell it. Currently, it is completely ignored by IBM."
"I would like to see backups from secondary servers."
"The pricing is a bit expensive."
"The support team could include local engineers to establish efficient communication. It will help us speed up the escalation process."
"InterSystems IRIS could be improved, particularly the internal interface of the database."
"InterSystems IRIS can be improved since its studio is very poor."
"InterSystems IRIS can be improved by addressing the lack of libraries, mainly mathematical ones, where we would save a lot of time on some formulas that we have to build by hand every time we need them."
"The area where InterSystems IRIS falls a bit short is in the cost and the licensing cost."
"Python support can be enhanced further, as it's really clunky at the moment, considering that the use of Python is pretty much all over the world and nobody knows ObjectScript really thoroughly and deeply."
"I cannot determine a very positive impact or a beneficial result from InterSystems IRIS, although this observability part is important because we were able to find problems much faster."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For me, it's always too expensive."
"I am not aware of the licensing costs or terms."
"The free edition can be enough to handle moderate-size implementations, but you may want a pay for edition to benefit from more functionality, such as replication."
"The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license."
Information not available
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Relational Databases Tools solutions are best for your needs.
921,523 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
12%
Construction Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
26%
Comms Service Provider
16%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Informix?
There is a cost reason to move from IBM Informix. It is relatively cheaper than Oracle. The second reason is that moving the whole application to a new database would require significant cost. The ...
What needs improvement with IBM Informix?
We find some bugs in IBM Informix. Maybe we are using it more aggressively than others. Every month or every second month, we find some bugs in it, which is not ideal. It should be rare, not this f...
What is your primary use case for IBM Informix?
We are using IBM Informix for OLTP systems. We are using IBM Informix although it is a technology that is not very popular compared to others. We are using it because our application was initially ...
What needs improvement with InterSystems IRIS?
InterSystems IRIS has already improved in many areas, and I enjoy using it. My work is sufficient for what I use, and I do not have anything more specific to make InterSystems IRIS better.
What is your primary use case for InterSystems IRIS?
My main use case for InterSystems IRIS is to manage bugs in the system when they are in production. A quick, specific example of how I use InterSystems IRIS to manage bugs in production is when the...
What advice do you have for others considering InterSystems IRIS?
Regarding InterSystems IRIS's AI capabilities, I believe the governance and security are positive. In my experience with its governance and security, I feel my data is well-protected, which is ...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Informix
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Shaspa, Hildebrand, Kaifa, Ranhill Powertron, Federaci‹ Farmacutica (FedeFarma), Camden Council, The German Aerospace Center (DLR), Myers, Votorantim Group, Doosan Infracore, GreenIvory
Global Investment Bank, Parkview Medical Center
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Informix vs. InterSystems IRIS and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
921,523 professionals have used our research since 2012.