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Oracle Database In-Memory vs SQL Server 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.0
Oracle Database In-Memory provides varying ROI, with significant benefits but some users report challenges with support costs affecting returns.
Sentiment score
7.3
SQL Server offers high ROI through cost-effectiveness, automation, and ease of deployment, with returns often within a year.
All applications need our repository to provide services for our online business or our customers, so the return is good.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.1
Oracle Database In-Memory support experience varies, with regional differences and reliance on self-solutions due to inconsistent assistance.
Sentiment score
6.5
Microsoft support offers valuable online resources, but experiences vary with concerns about wait times and language issues.
Support quality varies across regions, with more advanced solutions from the U.S. and UK compared to Asian region support.
I rate the technical support of Oracle an eight or nine out of ten.
When we created support tickets, the experience was very positive.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Oracle Database In-Memory scales efficiently for thousands of users, supporting large setups with minimal performance impact and high satisfaction.
Sentiment score
7.0
SQL Server is generally scalable and effective, but large datasets and costs pose challenges requiring maintenance and infrastructure adjustments.
The server where we installed it has grown from 64 gigabytes in RAM to 256 gigabytes, demonstrating significant scalability capabilities.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Oracle Database In-Memory is highly rated for stability, reliability, and support, suitable for high-transaction systems with resource needs.
Sentiment score
7.6
SQL Server is highly stable and reliable, with most issues resolved by updates, receiving high satisfaction ratings.
It was very difficult to move data from on-site to cloud in one attempt at the start, because we didn't have sufficient bandwidth to copy the data files to the cloud.
 

Room For Improvement

Oracle Database In-Memory needs enhancements in analytics, scalability, security, cost efficiency, interface, and AI integration for optimal use.
SQL Server needs better pricing, integration, security, performance, and support, with improvements in Management Studio, encryption, and cloud services.
Enhancing features like CAG augmentation and cache augmentation could significantly optimize performance for large language models.
I would appreciate using Microsoft Pro as it can integrate with Excel or, with a simple query, consume information from the database using Microsoft Excel.
When we consider the price for replication in another site, the pricing becomes prohibitive.
 

Setup Cost

Oracle Database In-Memory is costly, justified by performance, but may deter smaller companies despite recent cloud cost reductions.
SQL Server pricing is costly but cheaper than Oracle, with various licensing options and a free Developer Edition available.
Recent reductions in cloud costs and learning opportunities, such as free portals for students, make the pricing reasonable without hindering access to powerful features and performance.
The pricing for Oracle Database In-Memory is more affordable.
 

Valuable Features

Oracle Database In-Memory enhances performance, real-time analytics, security, flexibility, and transaction efficiency for large data volumes and data warehouses.
SQL Server offers dynamic resource allocation, high availability, performance, security, integration, ease of use, scalability, and extensive support.
The valuable features of Oracle Database In-Memory include its capability to bypass disk storage for faster memory operations, which is critical for transactions and analytics.
The always-on feature provides high availability in SQL Server.
I have been working with SQL Server for a long time, and it works well for me as I am using it in different applications, such as web applications, Windows applications, or the data warehouse reporting.
 

Categories and Ranking

Oracle Database In-Memory
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
9th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (2nd)
SQL Server
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
270
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of Oracle Database In-Memory is 1.8%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SQL Server is 15.8%, down from 22.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SQL Server15.8%
Oracle Database In-Memory1.8%
Other82.4%
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Laksiri Bala - PeerSpot reviewer
Faster processing and improved memory operations have enhanced transaction and analytics efficiency
The valuable features of Oracle Database In-Memory include its capability to bypass disk storage for faster memory operations, which is critical for transactions and analytics. It also offers specific memory areas, like in-memory cache, that act as intermediaries between disk and buffer cache. This feature helps organizations handle real-time memory requirements effectively.
Gus Mtz - PeerSpot reviewer
Availability and financial reporting thrive with robust integration tools
The best features of SQL Server are availability and stability. We never have concerns about the database. The ability of SQL Server to integrate with other Microsoft services, such as Azure for supporting business intelligence or data analytics, is primarily through Power BI for analytics tools. We use Power BI, but not in the cloud. We have interfaces with other databases. We extensively use the ETL tools of SQL Server for integrating with other databases or text files. The ETL tools are excellent for making jobs that run daily or hourly. For disaster recovery features supporting mission-critical applications in our organization, we have implemented the high availability feature of SQL Server. The always-on feature provides high availability in SQL Server. We use this tool daily for our risk management application.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise21
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business121
Midsize Enterprise58
Large Enterprise112
 

Questions from the Community

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 currently don't know how Oracle Database In-Memory has benefited my organization. We recently received this query from our high management to use this In-Memory function, so we are currently in p...
Would you say the price of SQL Server is high compared to that of similar products?
SQL Server is fairly priced because it has various editions, depending on the number of users, servers, or core packs you are using. If you compare the product to others in this category, the price...
Has using SQL Server helped your organization in any way?
SQL Server has helped my organization through partitioning to distribute the workload, as it splits them up into smaller pieces so the machines can easily deal with it. However, this comes with a h...
Which authentication mode is best for SQL Server?
My company connects through SQL Server authentication. We have company Windows accounts, but we do not want to connect the two, out of security concerns and to keep things separated for our own pur...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft SQL Server, MSSQL, MS SQL
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Shanghai Customs
Microsoft SQL Server is used by businesses in every industry, including Great Western Bank, Aviva, the Volvo Car Corporation, BMW, Samsung, Principality Building Society, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario.
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle Database In-Memory vs. SQL Server and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
867,497 professionals have used our research since 2012.