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IBM Informix vs Oracle Database 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 Informix
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
24th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (10th)
Oracle Database
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
291
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Informix is 1.9%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Database is 12.6%, down from 14.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Oracle Database12.6%
IBM Informix1.9%
Other85.5%
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Nasir Niamat - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Praful Kolekar - PeerSpot reviewer
Has developed advanced procedures and improved flexibility through extensive experience
One existing feature that distinguishes Oracle Database from others is its ability to log errors in the database itself. We can directly log the errors, which I have observed and used. Another improvement could be the ability to predict the actual time required to execute a particular query or procedure. This would be very helpful. If it has already been predicted that a particular query will take a specific amount of time, then there is no point in waiting for execution, especially during testing. For instance, if we are doing improvement or optimization for a particular query, and we are aware that this query will take one hour, we can stop it immediately and do more optimization instead of waiting.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"The stability is incredible. I have customers with uptimes of several years."
"IBM Informix benefits users with high availability and good integration capabilities."
"Replication is a valuable feature and easy to use."
"The solution's stability, performance, enhanced functionality, and replication are all great features."
"Replication, all levels of replication, query charting, and the MongoDB embedded are the most valuable features of this solution."
"It supports multiple applications and business intelligence tools."
"For IoT business cases, having Informix Enterprise Edition work on edge computers, like Raspberry Pi and using Informix replication, makes complex situations simple to build and maintain."
"The initial setup isn't too difficult."
"Partitioning is most valuable."
"The most valuable features are stability, its backup and recovery, and its performance."
"We find technical support to be very responsive. They briefly describe everything on phone and we handle the operations. I'd say we've been more than satisfied with their level of service. They're quite helpful and knowledgeable."
"The integration is a good aspect of Oracle."
"One of the most valuable aspects of Oracle Database is the maturity of the solution."
"We use the relational databases for government contracts."
"The solution is definitely very good for our consultancy on payroll and human resource."
 

Cons

"I would like to see backups from secondary servers."
"The technical support services need substantial improvement."
"I really would love to have a QT plugin."
"Continue extending the SQL language for compatibility with the competition's language, including Stored Procedure Language."
"This product could be made easier to use for beginners."
"The pricing is a bit expensive."
"In my opinion, the packages could be improved. The version I use doesn't allow for packages. I can do some general procedures, but no packages like in Oracle. So, develop separate modules in SQL language. This would be most beneficial for me."
"The solution really doesn't add new features very often."
"Oracle Cloud has a bit of a learning curve, so from an improvement perspective, we need to have a simple way to connect to computing in Oracle Cloud."
"Oracle Database could improve security to make the solution better in the future."
"It is expensive."
"The solution can be quite expensive for small and medium-sized enterprises. Not too many companies can actually afford the pricing."
"Cloud installations using Oracle are not supported by SAP.​​"
"The initial setup could be easier."
"Frankly speaking, Oracle Database is very expensive."
"We don't really find that any features are lacking."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license."
"For me, it's always too expensive."
"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."
"I am not aware of the licensing costs or terms."
"We are on an annual license for the use of this solution."
"I do not have first-hand knowledge of the price of the support. However, I have heard from my seniors or the experienced people who work on the pricing and scaling, the price of Oracle is a bit higher. The reason is Oracle provides enterprise-level applications, only large enterprises can afford Oracle applications or tools."
"Oracle is also very expensive."
"​The license cost need to be optimized. The licensing cost is very high compared to other RDBMS."
"The price is a little high for the solution, especially when you try and configure it in certain ways."
"The price of the solution could be reduced."
"It is quite expensive."
"It's expensive. I would say that it is more expensive than other competing products."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

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 Business87
Midsize Enterprise64
Large Enterprise178
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Informix?
It supports multiple applications and business intelligence tools.
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...
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 myself to answer your questions about why and what benefits it provides us with ...
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 organization, that has been the limitations of the product. When it comes to Ora...
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 storing data. We benefit from its high level of security as well as from the fact tha...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Informix
Oracle 12c, RDBMS
 

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
Agncia 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), FundaÊo 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 Estatstica, 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 Ro 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
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Informix vs. Oracle Database and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.