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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
25th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (9th)
Oracle Database
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
292
Ranking in other categories
Database Management Systems (DBMS) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Informix is 1.8%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Database is 10.9%, down from 12.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Oracle Database10.9%
IBM Informix1.8%
Other87.3%
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.
Muhammad Usman Muzaffar - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Vice President IT Operations at ZTBL
Running secure internal banking applications has been reliable and supports fast deployments
I am still working with Oracle products. I am still using Enterprise Manager 14c. I am using Oracle Database, Oracle ExaCC, Oracle EBS, Oracle WebLogic, Oracle Enterprise Manager, and Oracle Linux. I can answer questions about my experience with WebLogic Suite. I use it in my company. I have not used WebLogic's diagnostic tools. I do not utilize its lifecycle management features. I do not have much experience with WebLogic Java EE support, as I just deploy the application and the other team utilizes this server. I am not directly involved in WebLogic. I have been using Oracle Linux myself. The deployment is local, on-premises. I have been working with Enterprise Manager as well. All the components of Oracle I am using are on-premises. I use Oracle 19c database, Oracle ExaCC, Exadata on Cloud at Customer. I have been using Oracle Linux, Enterprise Manager, and databases as well. I have been working with Oracle Database for about 20 years. My experience has been 100% positive with Oracle Database. I have utilized its Real Application Clusters along with Data Guard. I do not use Oracle's Advanced Analytics and machine learning features right now. I have given this review an overall rating of 9 out of 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The scalability is very good."
"Not looking at Informix would really mean a shot in your own leg before walking a long distance."
"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."
"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."
"Informix can support huge quantities of data with less memory and less capacity."
"Overall, this is a great product. It works really well, is very stable, and is very scalable."
"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."
"Because we're servicing end clients, I need to have the SLA, the performance is the key point for us, and when a customer logs in to the website, it needs to be within a few seconds, so that's how it's helping us, improved performance and, ultimately, gaining customer satisfaction."
"When we are not able to solve a problem we immediately contacted Oracle support team to help us solve it."
"The most valuable feature of Oracle Database is its responsiveness."
"Scalability, reliability, and performance are what we are getting with this solution; it is highly scalable and has very good performance, with in-built monitoring and an optimized optimizer."
"It is flexible, scalable, and a true Enterprise RDBMS."
"The product provides high availability."
"The scalability of the Oracle Database is very good, as it is easy to scale and you can have a tremendous amount of users, such as our entire workforce accessing systems like payroll on one solution."
"Oracle Database, particularly PL/SQL, is a staple product for getting information out and putting information in."
 

Cons

"Informix is very sturdy, but the problem for us is the marketing action around Informix."
"The solution really doesn't add new features very often. Other solutions are much more actively pushing out upgrades and improvements."
"I experienced poor input/output (IO) performance."
"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."
"This solution is in need of more current tools."
"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 price of Oracle Database could improve, it is expensive and they are paid annually."
"Customer support could be faster, you currently have to write your issue to them and then they will get back to you after 24-hours."
"Frankly speaking, Oracle Database is very expensive."
"I would like to see lower costs. It has expensive annual maintenance."
"The cost needs to be reduced because right now, all of our customers are asking us about how they can migrate to any open-source database."
"The initial setup should be improved."
"The previous version was a little clunky."
"We'd like for its price to be a bit lower, both for licensing and support. As it is a top-of-the-line product, it's a bit expensive."
 

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."
"It is expensive."
"There are licensing costs."
"Our customers buy licenses from Oracle directly."
"You buy it initially, and then you pay for yearly support if you need support. If you don't need support, you can also use it without the support."
"The licensing and support pricing for Oracle Database is a bit expensive, as it is a top-of-the-line product. We'd like for its price to be lower."
"Its cost is astronomical. They charge by the size of the server rather than what you're actually using. It is just a terrible business model. It has got a ton of features that are great, but you have to pay for them, and we don't want to spend a lot of money. If you use any of their additional products, you have to pay for those. Almost everything extra is at an additional charge. We also use RAC, and there is an additional charge for that."
"The price of Oracle Database is too expensive."
"The licenses could definitely be cheaper."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
9%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Construction Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
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 Enterprise65
Large Enterprise179
 

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 ...
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: April 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.