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IBM Informix vs Oracle Database In-Memory 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 Embedded Database
10th
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
23rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle Database In-Memory
Ranking in Embedded Database
4th
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
10th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Embedded Database category, the mindshare of IBM Informix is 2.7%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Database In-Memory is 10.9%, up from 7.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Embedded Database Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Oracle Database In-Memory10.9%
IBM Informix2.7%
Other86.4%
Embedded Database
 

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.
Hosney Osman - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Solution Architect at Vodafone
Real-time analytics have transformed response times and support huge data volumes with compression
I do not have any comment related to the improvement of the solution; for sure, it needs improvement, but for my use cases, it is very sufficient, and I think for the biggest companies, it needs a very powerful infrastructure. The area where improvement is required the most in the product is the UI. The problem with the UI is that it is not complex for understanding, but it needs some training to know what each button does, how it works, and the many variables needed.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is concurrency and locking because my customers usually use databases in OLTP mode. So, for a large number of competitive users. Other features that are well valued are quick large-scale data types. It is better than Oracle."
"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."
"It is very easy to install IBM Informix, very easy to scale, and support is quite better."
"It supports multiple applications and business intelligence tools."
"The initial setup is pretty easy."
"It supports in-house-built applications in .NET and VB6"
"The scalability is very good."
"Every version is faster than the previous."
"I find the performance features of Oracle Database In-Memory to be most beneficial."
"The scalability of the solution is very good. It's able to support large amounts of data."
"The solution's ROI is excellent."
"We can provide a high standard with this solution to our customers by using such products."
"It accelerates query processing, which in turn speeds up operations and streamlines workflow, and ultimately enhancing productivity."
"The application development is very user-friendly."
"The most valuable feature of Database In-Memory is that it's really fast."
"The on-premise version is stable. We have different teams and resources for the server side, for admin, and for development. We can easily take care of all the services and applications."
 

Cons

"I experienced poor input/output (IO) performance."
"Every month or every second month, we find some bugs in it, which is not ideal."
"The pricing is a bit expensive."
"The solution lacks some functionality."
"This product could be made easier to use for beginners."
"The support team could include local engineers to establish efficient communication. It will help us speed up the escalation process."
"The technical support services need substantial improvement."
"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."
"Additionally, once we put data into Oracle, it's very hard to move it out to another solution, so we have to stay with Oracle."
"You need to have platinum service to get good support. Otherwise, you'll have to struggle a bit."
"Oracle Database In-Memory could improve by better supporting generative AI challenges, such as hallucination management."
"The product could be more economical."
"The platform’s pricing needs improvement."
"They should lower the price. My customers think that it's too expensive."
"Especially, if you have large data, then it's not very efficient."
"Multitenant, to be honest, is a little adolescent at this point."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"For me, it's always too expensive."
"The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license."
"The pricing is pretty good so I rate it an eight out of ten."
"There is a need to make a yearly payment towards the licensing costs, after which there is any to pay towards the support cost attached to the solution."
"I rate the pricing a zero out of ten because Database In-Memory is too costly."
"The product is expensive."
"Database In-Memory is priced a bit higher than its competitors like Microsoft."
"Oracle Database In-Memory is expensive."
"It's quite costly and it comes with a fixed price."
"The solution's pricing is high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
University
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

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 Business6
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise23
 

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 do you like most about Oracle Database In-Memory?
We can integrate it with any data sources as well.
What needs improvement with Oracle Database In-Memory?
I do not have any comment related to the improvement of the solution; for sure, it needs improvement, but for my use cases, it is very sufficient, and I think for the biggest companies, it needs a ...
 

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
Shanghai Customs
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Informix vs. Oracle Database In-Memory and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.