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Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service comparison

Microsoft and Oracle are both solutions in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.7, while Oracle is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.8. Microsoft holds a 15.9% mindshare in DS, compared to Oracle’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of Oracle users who would recommend it.
Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Read 117 Microsoft Azure SQL Database reviews
  • 5,959 Views
  • 2,686 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
Oracle Exadata Express Clou...
Read 11 Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service reviews
  • 91 Views
  • 61 Comparison Views
87% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 12, 2024

Microsoft Azure SQL Database and Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service are two prominent cloud-based database solutions. Microsoft Azure SQL Database appears to have the upper hand in pricing and deployment based on user reviews, while Oracle Exadata is recognized for its superior features that justify its higher cost.

Features: Microsoft Azure SQL Database offers scalability, integration with Microsoft tools, and AI-driven performance insights. Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service stands out with robust analytics, high availability, and extensive support for complex queries.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Azure SQL Database users suggest improvements in automated backups, advanced query optimization, and better user interface design. Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service users express the need for a more user-friendly setup process, better documentation, and enhanced customer support options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Azure SQL Database is praised for its simpler, faster deployment process and responsive support. Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service, although having a steeper learning curve and slower deployment times, provides knowledgeable support.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Azure SQL Database is generally viewed as cost-effective with straightforward pricing and positive ROI. Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service, while more expensive, is considered worth the investment by users who need its advanced capabilities.

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To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service Report (Updated: April 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service
April 2025
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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

Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
117
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle Exadata Express Clou...
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 15.9%, down from 18.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service is 0.4%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database as a Service (DBaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Charley Hanania - PeerSpot reviewer
It is very easy to implement, manage, and offers great insights into what is happening inside the engine
Microsoft Azure SQL Database is integrated into other Azure capabilities and has a great foundation being on SQL Server with a long history of security, performance, and usability from a DBA perspective. Once you've set up a server, adding databases is easy. There's a minor challenge with having data in separate databases that you want to connect like we do on premises. I'm looking forward to using some of these new AI-driven functions that have come out around vectorization. Having the data closer to my transactional databases or data makes it easy to augment and enhance the Database and applications I currently use. It's great that Azure SQL now seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Fabric. It's a first-tier service in the cloud that connects to web applications and other databases. The data transformation orchestration capabilities within Database Factory and similar capabilities make it effortless to move that stuff forward.
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Shrikant Navelkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhances performance without fine tuning databases
They need to simplify the monitoring of the Exadata services. They have to make it more simple for the users to operate or manage. And one more thing, I would expect that other databases of Oracle, like MySQL Enterprise Edition, if technologically, Oracle makes some advancement and allows MySQL Enterprise Edition to run on Exadata, I think that will improve their market share exponentially. Today, on Exadata, you run Oracle databases, which is given. Apart from that, Oracle also has Oracle MySQL database, open source. If that open-source database also runs on Exadata, I think that will help a lot of customers. In the next release, Oracle can provide a script-level solution to migrate or consolidate cross-platform databases from Unix platform to Oracle Exadata on Linux platform; if they can provide some migration tools, I think that will help.
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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most useful feature of Azure SQL is the queries for manipulating the data, such as the tables and the storage processors."
"In terms of stability, because Microsoft is the underlying technology, they are much more stable than say Oracle. Since 2014 they did a great job in offering stability, performance and high visibility on the solution, especially in comparison to the other competitors."
"The tool set is familiar since I've used SQL Server on-premises for quite a few years."
"We're a Microsoft customer, so it fits in with everything else we work with."
"Microsoft Azure SQL Database is fairly easy to use and set up for our DBA teams, who use it for various applications and tools like RabbitMQ."
"Azure Portal is most valuable."
"The on-premise SQL Server licenses can be used since it is on Azure, so it's a significant savings for the customers."
"I rate Microsoft Azure SQL Database nine out of 10."
More Microsoft Azure SQL Database pros
"The solution is very stable and offers great performance."
"It is a scalable product."
"In the cloud, Exadata is more scalable. The on-prem version was limited. It wasn't that scalable because it only came in a quarter rack, half rack, and full rack. In the cloud, it scales to what you need."
"The performance of the tool is valuable."
"I highly recommend Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service as a very good solution if you can afford it."
"I would rate Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service ten out of ten for its overall solution."
"One of the most valuable parts of the solution is the high availability within the system and the performance enhancement without making any changes or fine-tuning the databases."
"Having the prediction happen in the modular format allows you to start with a lower version of Exadata and then you can keep on upgrading it as per your requirement."
More Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service pros
 

Cons

"The preset configuration switches we can select on SQL Azure should be made more liberal to work on."
"Improvement could be made in the performance tools, offering a better overview of core issues like process activity and latency, as we currently rely on third-party tools and SQL jobs for monitoring and alerts. A comprehensive built-in solution for performance analysis would be beneficial."
"The only problem we have with Azure is regarding the price."
"Azure SQL can improve by adding more machine learning features like other databases, such as Cassandra or Cosmos DB."
"SQL Azure's performance monitoring features need to be improved. It has a pricing calculator, but it would be great if we could get a rough estimate of the pricing based on fewer parameters, like the data size and the scale of the company."
"There is a need for dynamic scaling support without losing current transactions. That should be part of the standard offering to SKUs."
"I would like to see more compatibility with SSMS and more backward compatibility with regular on-prem SQL."
"They could improve Azure SQL by adding some of the features available on-prem, such as cross-database queries and the ability to run particular jobs. We need to migrate those to something else, like a function or logic app."
More Microsoft Azure SQL Database cons
"We use artificial intelligence for deep learning, and it would be a huge benefit to implement this in Oracle Exadata."
"Oracle's support could be better."
"The only downside is the difficulty in monitoring, and that's why I would like to implement MySQL database."
"The product's installation process needs improvement. It could be more accessible."
"I feel there is a need for better integration with Google Maps and Google Earth. This is crucial for me in the geographical facilities of the environment."
"The solution's pricing could be improved."
"Scaling Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service can be done, but the process is a little tedious, which could be an area for improvement in the solution."
"The customer's default choice is the on-premise version of this solution. Only when Oracle or the partners like us, can explain to customers the cloud value proposition, and if the compliance authorities allow, they can look into this cloud solution. It will take some time for Oracle to change its perception of customers' de-facto standards. Exadata used to be treated as a black box, which is not the case now. The customer is aware of what is happening inside, how the configurations have been made, and what patching has been applied. Oracle needs to market the cloud version better."
More Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a three-year contract. The cost was somewhere around $70-80,000 for the original deployment, which was about two years ago"
"I recommend considering a pay-as-you-go pricing model initially."
"It requires a license. As compared to its competitors, such as Oracle, it is affordable and reasonable."
"The price in general of Azure SQL could improve."
"I would like it to be cheaper, but comparatively, it is reasonably priced."
"It is reasonable."
"SQL Azure's licensing cost is expensive."
"The solution is more cost-effective than Google BigQuery. Compared to Google BigQuery, downloading data can be more expensive."
More Microsoft Azure SQL Database pricing and cost advice
"The tool is not cheap, but it is not really expensive."
"The price of this solution is very comparative to others on the market. There is no direct comparison between this solution and with something else because I do not see any other similar product."
"I think Oracle pricing is usually above average market price."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
71%
Computer Software Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
4%
Manufacturing Company
2%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SQL Azure?
The automated scalability feature of SQL Azure has proven to be highly beneficial, particularly when deployed in the cloud.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SQL Azure?
The pricing of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is not cheap, affecting user uptake. A gradual reduction in price could improve accessibility and user numbers, making it easier for users to adopt the s...
See all answers
What needs improvement with SQL Azure?
Pricing could be improved to make Microsoft Azure SQL Database ( /products/microsoft-azure-sql-database-reviews ) more accessible. A reduction in price might encourage more users and bring more pro...
See all answers
What do you like most about Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service?
The performance of the tool is valuable.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service?
Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service is a very expensive database solution. The cost is high due to on-premise licenses. However, it offers a premium solution without issues or problems.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service?
I am not the perfect person to discuss improvements needed because I am not responsible for the database. I use it as a developer, and everything works fine for me. However, there might be others i...
See all answers
 

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Compared 16% of the time
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Compared 8% of the time
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Compared 3% of the time
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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure SQL Database
April 2025
Microsoft Azure SQL Database reportDownload Microsoft Azure SQL Database product report
Buyer's Guide
Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service
April 2025
Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service reportDownload Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service product report
 

Overview

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is a relational database-as-a-service that delivers predictable performance, scalability, business continuity, data protection, and near-zero administration to cloud developers and solution architects. This is the deep technical library for Azure SQL Database.

Microsoft

Oracle Database Exadata Express Cloud Service delivers a managed Oracle Database 12c Release 2 Enterprise Edition with options, running on Oracle Exadata engineered systems – all at a highly affordable entry-level price. It is a full Oracle Database experience, compatible with what you get on-premises or in other Oracle Database Cloud Services, provisioned within minutes, and suitable for small to medium sized data.

Oracle
 

Sample Customers

adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH
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Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service
April 2025
Free Report: Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
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