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Exasol Data Warehouse vs IBM Db2 Database 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

Exasol Data Warehouse
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
31st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Db2 Database
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of Exasol Data Warehouse is 1.5%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Db2 Database is 6.3%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Db2 Database6.3%
Exasol Data Warehouse1.5%
Other92.2%
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2132565 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of Engineering Commercial Planning & Trading Data Platform at Zalando SE
Fast, reliable, and rock solid
The solution is intended as the backend for our reporting solution MicroStrategy. It's also used for ad-hoc analysis or to fuel other tools with data as it's the only place where some of the data points are available within an acceptable SLO We used it to decouple ETL and reporting databases. The…
reviewer2708292 - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Director, Data Architecture at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Support improves setup and maintenance while pricing influences decision
If you have a similar use case and the same deal with IBM as our company, it is definitely a good option and choice. The company I work with has more than 50,000 people and more than 500 support staff. We are not locked into one database vendor. We typically work with multiple database vendors simultaneously, selecting the top choice based on the deals we make and other considerations. We do not use IBM Db2 Database related to AI at this moment because our AI project PLC is still very small scale. We may consider it in the future if we have enough scale. Overall rating for IBM Db2 Database is 8.5 out of 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The speed is very good compared to other databases, like SQL Server or Oracle."
"The speed is very good compared to other databases, like SQL Server or Oracle."
"The most valuable feature of Exasol is its speed."
"Performance is a top priority, and it excels in this aspect."
"This solution is extremely fast and very stable; you set it up and put your data on it and as long as it's structured, it self-tunes queries and doesn't require a database administrator."
"We can quickly scale the solution as it works on an MPP system."
"Its speed is great."
"The solution is hands-off; you set it up insert your data and it self tunes queries."
"It is quite a stable solution."
"The solution is very stable, in both hardware and database."
"The most valuable features are the simplicity of the database and the access to Db2 and Db2 information."
"It is highly scalable, and its performance related to database pruning is very good, and it can be scaled vertically or horizontally so that data insertions and data access are much faster and more secure compared to how Oracle or other databases work."
"The most valuable features are with the industrial side."
"The product, the support of the product, the high availability that it offers, the active-active, plus how we're managing it, has been great."
"Ease of use and robust automated security administration and reporting are features any mainframe shop needs and should have."
"The solution can scale."
 

Cons

"You have to install Exasol drivers, and it's not easy to find or implement a driver into different systems."
"They don't talk very well to with other products when it comes to connectivity. Integration is lacking."
"Lacks a cloud-based platform."
"They should improve the security features for MPP processing."
"The price is quite expensive relative to other similar solutions, it could be more accessible in that sense."
"The only area where we found it could improve was in custom role creation and security, and it was difficult to work with."
"It would be beneficial if the updates would occur more often."
"It's not cloud-native so many maintenance operations require downtime."
"The solution's data retrieval speed could be improved, especially for heavy queries. Better optimization or indexing might also be involved."
"Microsoft SQL Server is comparatively very simple to use. I wish IBM would move towards making Db2 easy to use for both basic and advanced users. This is where I see room for advancement. Db2 is also more expensive than Microsoft SQL Server, and its price can be reduced. The replication feature needs to be there in Db2. Microsoft provides similar functionality in SQL Server. IBM also has similar functionality, but it exists in a different product. So, to have the replication ability, you have to buy a different product. It makes sense to have this functionality within Db2 instead of a different product. It will also be helpful in terms of competition. In Africa, the problem for Db2 is competition. Oracle Database and Microsoft SQL Server have been in this market for a very long time. These companies have built the ecosystem and the brand within this market for a very long time. So, they are very popular with users. Db2 or IBM came a little later in the game, and that's where the problem lies. They also don't do a lot of marketing for it, which is also a problem."
"It would be ideal if the solution offered backup functionality. Many similar tools already do, which means Db2 is somewhat behind the curve in terms of what a customer might expect from it."
"The initial set up was complex."
"Do not use support. Freely available documentation is a bit weak.​"
"The application development requires a Java developer and not every company has these resources."
"The initial setup could be improved."
"The management of Db2 should be simplified because there are not too many specialists in this area, and the learning curve of Db2 specialists is very long. After the courses, probably it takes one and a half or two years to get to the point when you are using the product properly in the production systems. So, the complexity is very high, and the most important thing is to simplify the management of the product, including self-maintenance. They should simplify the installation, management, and monitoring to simplify the product. It takes too long for a person to be a specialist in this product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's cost is mid-ranged."
"It's very expensive."
"They are competitive and honest (compared to how peer firms approach licensing conversations). ​"
"It's very expensive for West African countries like ours."
"The solution costs less than other products."
"Db2 is less expensive than Oracle."
"There is a license for this solution and we pay every three years."
"It is expensive."
"We don't see what the specific price of the DB2 license is because we pay for the backup license as a package."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise48
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Db2 Database?
IBM Db2 is an expensive solution. While I am not heavily involved with pricing, additional companies provide capabilities or products like those from BMC, which many installations might also purchase.
What needs improvement with IBM Db2 Database?
The IBM Db2 Database is a good solution, but now there is a high maintenance charge. The IBM Db2 Database needs improved support, and there are many difficulties in using it. We tend to use the clo...
What is your primary use case for IBM Db2 Database?
I use the IBM Db2 Database for development applications. Many clients in our company have business applications currently working on it.
 

Also Known As

No data available
DB2
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

1&1 Internet SE 11880 Internet Services AG AB Svenska Spel Accarda AG Aera Technology Inc. AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG Apotheken-Rechen-Zentrum GmbH AQR Capital Management, LLC arvato distribution GmbH ARZ Allgemeines Rechenzentrum GmbH Badoo Limited Baur Versand (GmbH & Co. KG) BIScience Ltd Blocket Blue Yonder GmbH Codilink UK Ltd T/A Coniq crealytics GmbH dailyme TV GmbH Dailymotion S.A. Dataforce Verlagsgesellschaft für Business Information mbH Deutsche Postbank AG Digitales Rezept Zentrum GmbH DIKW Groep direct services Gütersloh GmbH DR Technologies Ltd. dress-for-less GmbH econda GmbH emetriq GmbH empiriecom GmbH & Co. KG Flaconi GmbH Fresenius Netcare GmbH Fyber GmbH GfK SE Grant Street Group, Inc. Gruner + Jahr GmbH Gymshark UK Hahn Air Lines GmbH Hermes Einrichtungs Service GmbH & Co. KG INNOVATIVE SCHEDULING, LLC internetstores GmbH INTERSPORT Deutschland eG IQVIA Commercial GmbH & Co. OHG IQVIA Commercial Sp. z o.o. IQVIA Incorporated iVantage Health Analytics K - Mail Order GmbH & Co. KG LIQ CORP SA Manor AG Basel Match2Lists Limited MEDION AG Midasplayer AB Monsoon Accessorize Limited m-pathy GmbH msales Ltd. MTG Modern Services AB MW Aviation GmbH & Co. KG Myntra Designs Pvt Ltd Netzeffekt GmbH New Company Services Ltd. NOVENTI HealthCare GmbH Olympus Europa SE & Co. KG Operation Fistula OpsDataStore OTTO (GmbH & Co KG) Panda Retail Co. PAPSTAR GmbH Piedmont Healthcare, Inc. Questback GmbH RatePAY GmbH Revolut Ltd. Saarland-Sporttoto GmbH Sagarmatha Ltd. SIA Damara Technologies Supermärkte Nord Vertriebs GmbH & Co. KG The National Research Center for College & University Admissions, Inc. United Utilities Water Ltd. Verlag C.H. Beck oHG Vocal Planet Ltd. Vodafone Group Services GmbH Webtrekk GmbH wer liefert was? GmbH Windeln.de SE Wooga GmbH XING SE Zalando SE
Knorr-Bremse, Mizuho Bank Ltd., Australian Government Department of Defence, SCHWENK Zement, Friedhelm Loh Group, YAZAKI Europe Limited, Ekornes ASA, Baldor Electric, VSN Systemen BV, Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC, PLANSEE Group, TE Connectivity, Hansgrohe SE, Openmatics, University of Toronto
Find out what your peers are saying about Exasol Data Warehouse vs. IBM Db2 Database and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.