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Google Cloud AI Platform vs IBM Watson Studio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

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

Google Cloud AI Platform
Ranking in AI Development Platforms
10th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Watson Studio
Ranking in AI Development Platforms
17th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Data Science Platforms (18th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the AI Development Platforms category, the mindshare of Google Cloud AI Platform is 3.2%, down from 5.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Watson Studio is 1.5%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
AI Development Platforms Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Google Cloud AI Platform3.2%
IBM Watson Studio1.5%
Other95.3%
AI Development Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

TJ
Owner at Go knowledge
Streamlines app development with dynamic databases and an easy setup
I used Oracle APEX before Google Cloud AI Platform. Oracle APEX is a free tool, except for the Oracle database, which I can only use with it. To have more freedom, I chose Firebase and Google's solutions as it allows me to run it on a hosted server if I want to.
AA
Director, Channel and Alliances at Akinon
Automated processes improve efficiency while user interface and accessibility need enhancements
IBM Watson Studio, while powerful, lacks user-friendliness. It is not easy to use, particularly for medium or small enterprises or less experienced staff. Another aspect that requires improvement is the complexity involved in computer vision tasks. The integration capabilities have not significantly impacted workflow since there are simpler tools like Alteryx and Nine. The platform is associated with a complicated setup process and demands heavy hardware, making it expensive to scale. IBM should work on optimizing the user interface and enhancing the product's accessibility for medium and small enterprises.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"A range of a a wide range of algorithms, EIM voice mails, which can be plugged in right away into your solution into into into our solution, and then have platform that provides know, to to come up with an operational solution really quick."
"I think the user interface is quite handy, and it is easy to use as compared to the other cloud platforms."
"Since the model could be trained in just a couple of hours and deploying it took only a few minutes, the entire process took less than an hour."
"The solution is able to read 90% of the documents correctly with a 10% error rate."
"The feedback left about these tools was really helpful and informative for us"
"The platform's Google Vision API is particularly valuable."
"Some of the valuable features are the vast amount of services that are available, such as load balancer, and the AI architecture."
"The initial setup is very straightforward."
"It is a very stable and reliable solution."
"In my experience, AutoML is the most valuable feature of IBM Watson Studio."
"IBM Watson Studio has positively impacted my organization by increasing work efficiency, as it is an end-to-end ML pipeline in one place."
"Technical support is great. We have had weekly teleconferences with the technical people at IBM, and they have been fantastic."
"It is a stable, reliable product."
"The shortcomings that I mentioned do not overshadow the benefits that I gain from using IBM Watson Studio, which continues to provide substantial value for my projects."
"The most important thing is that it's a multi-faceted solution. It's a kind of specialist, not a generalist. It can produce very specific information for the customer. It's totally different from Google or any search engine that produces generic information. It's specialty is that it's all on video."
"IBM Watson Studio consistently automates across channels."
 

Cons

"The solution can be improved by simplifying the process to make your own models."
"The initial setup was straightforward for me but could be difficult for others."
"Customizations are very difficult, and they take time."
"The technical support from Google is not very fast. I think it is about a five out of ten even though they have courses online where I can learn a lot, if I really need support, I have to wait a very long time."
"At first, there were only the user-managed rules to identify the best attributes of the individual. Then, we came up with a truth set and developed different machine learning models with the help of that truth set, so now it's completely machine learning."
"Improvements in text extraction accuracy and pricing adjustments would be helpful."
"One thing that I found is that Azure ML does not directly provide you with features on Google Cloud AI Platform, whereas Vertex provides some features of the platform."
"I think it's the it it also has has evolved quite a bit over the last few years, and Google Cloud folks have been getting, more and more services. But I think from a improvement standpoint, so maybe they can look at adding more algorithms, so adding more AI algorithms to their suite."
"IBM Watson Studio, while powerful, lacks user-friendliness. It is not easy to use, particularly for medium or small enterprises or less experienced staff."
"The initial setup was complex."
"More features in data virtualization would be helpful. The solution could use an interactive dashboard that could make exploration easier."
"We would like to see it more web-based with more functionality."
"I think maybe the support is an area where it lacks."
"Some of the solutions are really good solutions but they can be a little too costly for many."
"So a better user interface could be very helpful"
"We would like to see it less as one big, massive product, but more based on smaller services that we can then roll out to consumers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For every thousand uses, it is about four and a half euros."
"The licenses are cheap."
"The solution has an attractive starting program, which costs only 300 USD for a duration of three months. During this period, one can accomplish a lot of work on the solution."
"The price of the solution is competitive."
"The pricing is on the expensive side."
"IBM Watson Studio is an expensive solution."
"IBM Watson Studio is a reasonably priced product"
"The pricing is generally reasonable and straightforward but can vary significantly depending on the specific workloads in use."
"Watson Studio's pricing is reasonable for what you get."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
University
8%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud AI Platform?
For the most part, the pricing is perfect sinceit grows with the use of my app. In some cases, they could be more specific about the pricing, especially for some AI features.
What is your primary use case for Google Cloud AI Platform?
I use Google Cloud AI Platform due to Firebase and the many APIs that are available with it.
What advice do you have for others considering Google Cloud AI Platform?
I have knowledge of it, and I do recommend Google Cloud AI Platform to other people. I would definitely rate the overall solution as an eight out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Watson Studio?
IBM Watson Studio is considered rather expensive, with a rating of six or seven. The pricing could be optimized relative to the features and capabilities of the product.
What needs improvement with IBM Watson Studio?
I think IBM Watson Studio can be improved. I wish learning IBM Watson Studio could be easier and more gradual, as it is a complex task. Also, I think pricing is a bit high.
What is your primary use case for IBM Watson Studio?
My main use case for IBM Watson Studio is the end-to-end ML life cycle. A specific example of a project where I used IBM Watson Studio for the end-to-end machine learning life cycle is that I built...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Watson Studio, IBM Data Science Experience, Data Science Experience, DSx
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Carousell
GroupM, Accenture, Fifth Third Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Google Cloud AI Platform vs. IBM Watson Studio and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.