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IBM Informix vs Oracle Database In-Memory comparison

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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
9th
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
28th
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
2nd
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
18th
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 November 2026, in the Embedded Database category, the mindshare of IBM Informix is 4.1%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Database In-Memory is 12.1%, up from 9.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Embedded Database Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Oracle Database In-Memory12.1%
IBM Informix4.1%
Other83.8%
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

"OLTP processing capacity and the availability of information with high availability implementation have been significantly improved."
"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."
"The stability is incredible. I have customers with uptimes of several years."
"The solution's stability, performance, enhanced functionality, and replication are all great features."
"The initial setup is very simple."
"Overall, this is a great product. It works really well, is very stable, and is very scalable."
"We don't have any problems with the Informix Database."
"It supports in-house-built applications in .NET and VB6"
"The scalability is very good."
"The on-premise version is stable."
"We can integrate it with any data sources as well."
"I cannot imagine IT today without Oracle databases."
"Oracle is the best database, but I love open-source software."
"We are using Oracle Database In-Memory as an indirect approach to improving response times, and in mixed-workload environments, we use the In-Memory column store to support OLAP-type queries without harming the latency-critical OLTP operations the systems earn money with."
"Security is the most valuable feature."
"It efficiently handles low-code data and supports read-and-write operations for clustering."
 

Cons

"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."
"For me, it's always too expensive. The problem is that Informix sometimes competes with free products, so yes, it's very expensive, but when we're talking about licensed products like SQL Server or anything, the midsize pricing could be significantly improved."
"This solution is in need of more current tools."
"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 support team could include local engineers to establish efficient communication. It will help us speed up the escalation process."
"The pricing is a bit expensive."
"I would like to see backups from secondary servers."
"The platform’s pricing needs improvement."
"The product could benefit from enhancements in its graphical user interface."
"It would be good if Oracle could reduce downtime when transferring from non-In-Memory to In-Memory."
"The query optimization and backup features should be added."
"Technical support is below our expectations currently. It could be improved."
"Technical support is useful with the My Oracle Support website. But when I have to open a service request, I have to find a solution on my own because technical support usually doesn't understand my problem or they always ask for the same logs, same questions, and I ultimately waste my time."
"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."
"Oracle Database In-Memory is more expensive than Azure, and the support from the Oracle team is not very good, especially since they do not have a support team in our region."
 

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."
"The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license."
"For me, it's always too expensive."
"The pricing is pretty good so I rate it an eight out of ten."
"It's quite costly and it comes with a fixed price."
"The platform's licensing cost needs improvement."
"Oracle Database In-Memory is expensive."
"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."
"Database In-Memory is priced a bit higher than its competitors like Microsoft."
"The solution's pricing is high."
"I rate the pricing a zero out of ten because Database In-Memory is too costly."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
12%
Construction Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Manufacturing 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 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 ...
What is your primary use case for Oracle Database In-Memory?
The major use case for Oracle Database In-Memory is real-time applications that need a fast response between the application and the database directly without any latency.
 

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: November 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.