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IBM Informix vs SAP SQL Anywhere 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 (10th)
SAP SQL Anywhere
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
35th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 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 SAP SQL Anywhere is 1.4%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Informix1.8%
SAP SQL Anywhere1.4%
Other96.8%
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.
Crewmem67 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Consultant at College Notre Dame de Nazareth
Reliable and able to expand but needs to be more secure
It is not as good as a SQL Server. I prefer to work with the SQL Server for Microsoft or Oracle. These are better as there are some comments on SQL Anywhere that makes me feel that I'm blocked. We'd like to have them update to a new version. They should update more often. I find I can't move to a new version without running tests as there are chances of bugs that can get into my system. The initial setup is not simple or straightforward, and it took a while to deploy. It is not as secure as it could be. This is an aspect they need to improve. There needs to be more encryption.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It supports multiple applications and business intelligence tools."
"Overall, this is a great product. It works really well, is very stable, and is very scalable."
"Not looking at Informix would really mean a shot in your own leg before walking a long distance."
"Informix can support huge quantities of data with less memory and less capacity."
"Replication, all levels of replication, query charting, and the MongoDB embedded are the most valuable features of this solution."
"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 scalability is very good."
"Every version is faster than the previous."
"The most valuable features of SAP SQL Anywhere are the ease of use and the user interface is intuitive."
"We've found the solution very reliable overall. It's very fast."
"SAP SQL Anywhere is very helpful."
"It's a great product to use if you are already have an integration with SAP's ERP/CRM systems."
"It works well in general."
"The auto-backup replication is a perfect feature. That is the feature I liked the most."
"SQL Anywhere is easy and it did not cost as much as SQL Microsoft."
 

Cons

"This product could be made easier to use for beginners."
"I experienced poor input/output (IO) performance."
"The solution doesn't include functionality like data anonymization."
"The technical support services need substantial improvement."
"Informix is very sturdy, but the problem for us is the marketing action around Informix."
"Every month or every second month, we find some bugs in it, which is not ideal."
"The solution lacks some functionality."
"The solution should offer replication. It would be helpful if the solution would allow us to access third-party tools."
"Performance issues when syncing the MBO packages to the server."
"A problem we are experiencing now is when doing a backup in SQL 2012 and 14 there's a problem with the license."
"It is not as secure as it could be."
"It is not as secure as it could be; there needs to be more encryption and we can find passwords very easily."
"SAP SQL Anywhere needs to incorporate functionalities like SAP S/4HANA."
"The interface is not easy in comparison to the SQL Server. It could be more user-friendly."
"We have had some stability issues with SAP SQL Anywhere, but I am not sure if it is an application or network issue. We sometimes have a large amount of data being queried and it cannot handle it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I am not aware of the licensing costs or terms."
"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."
"The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license."
"SQL Anywhere cost us about $400."
"SAP SQL Anywhere is affordable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Healthcare Company
9%
Construction Company
9%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise8
No data available
 

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 ...
Ask a question
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Also Known As

Informix
Sybase SQL Anywhere
 

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
AOK Bundesverband, Surgutneftegas Open Joint Stock Company, Molson Coors Brewing Company, City of Buenos Aires, ASR Group, Citrix, EarlySense, Usha International Limited, Automotive Resources International, Wªrth Group, Takisada-Osaka Co. Ltd., Coelba, RZD Russian Railways, National Basketball Association, TALLY WEiJL
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Informix vs. SAP SQL Anywhere and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.