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IBM Informix vs SQL Server 2014 Express comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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)
SQL Server 2014 Express
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
24th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

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 SQL Server 2014 Express is 0.4%. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SQL Server 2014 Express0.4%
IBM Informix1.8%
Other97.8%
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.
reviewer2805456 - PeerSpot reviewer
Student at a university with 501-1,000 employees
Practical database projects have strengthened my query skills and improved real data handling
However, I also realized its limitation when I tried working on a large database. It is not perfect because it provides 10 GB per database. If we are storing a large database or large data, 10 GB is not proper for storing. Overall, I would recommend SQL Server 2014 Express for a student and as a free version you can use it, but not for a large database or a company database. There are also performance issues. SQL Server 2014 Express is fast, but it is not perfectly scalable because it provides only 10 GB per database size. However, it has proper error handling. I think SQL Server 2014 Express can be improved by first improving the database size. Making the maximum size a user can have per database is needed. Right now it is 10 GB. Increase it to a maximum so a user can save as much data as they want, approaching unlimited data storage. Additionally, the operating system should be supported on every Windows variation, including Linux and every other operating system. A backup option is also needed because SSMS is not providing built-in backup features.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"It supports in-house-built applications in .NET and VB6"
"So far, we do not have a lot of issues. It's pretty problem-free."
"The stability is incredible. I have customers with uptimes of several years."
"OLTP processing capacity and the availability of information with high availability implementation have been significantly improved."
"The solution's stability, performance, enhanced functionality, and replication are all great features."
"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."
"We don't have any problems with the Informix Database."
"SQL Server 2014 Express has positively impacted my organization by improving my knowledge in SQL coding and making my work faster."
"SQL Server 2014 Express has provided a return on investment by saving money and time compared to other SQL servers such as MySQL and PostgreSQL, which are similar but more expensive and less user-friendly for non-technical clients."
"SQL Server 2014 Express has impacted my organization positively because it is time-saving."
"SQL Server 2014 Express helped me gain a real-world application and practical database skills."
"The best features of SQL Server 2014 Express are that it can be downloaded, it is open source, can be downloaded on any desktop, and it is a free version with no charge for downloads, making it highly useful for students and developers building applications for standalone or enterprise applications."
 

Cons

"The solution should offer replication. It would be helpful if the solution would allow us to access third-party tools."
"It would be helpful to have IBM salespeople know that Informix exists, and sell it. Currently, it is completely ignored by IBM."
"Every month or every second month, we find some bugs in it, which is not ideal."
"I experienced poor input/output (IO) performance."
"Informix is very sturdy, but the problem for us is the marketing action around Informix."
"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."
"The solution lacks some functionality."
"This product could be made easier to use for beginners."
"SQL Server 2014 Express can be improved by increasing the maximum 10 gigabytes for a database, as it would be better if this limit were increased."
"SQL Server 2014 Express could be improved by offering multiple authentication methods."
"However, I also realized its limitation when I tried working on a large database. It is not perfect because it provides 10 GB per database."
"Whenever we put more data, the query time is more because it is not an Enterprise version and the data storage is limited to 10 GB, which is the only drawback I can identify."
"SQL Server 2014 Express can be improved as there are some resource limits. There are limitations on database size, memory, and CPU usage which restrict scalability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license."
"For me, it's always too expensive."
"I am not aware of the licensing costs or terms."
"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."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
9%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
University
7%
Construction Company
38%
Healthcare Company
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

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 Business2
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
 

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 SQL Server 2014 Express?
However, I also realized its limitation when I tried working on a large database. It is not perfect because it provides 10 GB per database. If we are storing a large database or large data, 10 GB i...
What is your primary use case for SQL Server 2014 Express?
My main use case for SQL Server 2014 Express is that I use it for my internship. In the company, I am also working with SQL Server 2014 version, and I also use it for my academic project. As a stud...
What advice do you have for others considering SQL Server 2014 Express?
Overall, I would recommend SQL Server 2014 Express for a student. I advise others looking into using SQL Server 2014 Express that if you are storing a structured database, then you have to use SQL ...
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

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
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Informix vs. SQL Server 2014 Express and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.