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IBM Db2 Database vs IBM Informix 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

IBM Db2 Database
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Informix
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
23rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Db2 Database is 6.7%, up from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Informix is 1.8%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM Db2 Database6.7%
IBM Informix1.8%
Other91.5%
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

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.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The IBM Db2 multi-workload helps me manage diverse business applications with easy management."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."
"The initial setup was easy."
"Your iOS, your throughputs, your performance cycles, you cannot touch it with Microsoft or with Oracle scalability-wise. That is far and away the most scalable systems and the highest performing systems of the set of them."
"When you submit a ticket the response time is quick."
"I can easily export that to further work on it in Snowflake."
"The valuable features include access path optimization, excellent performance, a robust locking mechanism, parallelism, and effective buffering in memory."
"It's a very mature product."
"The scalability is very good."
"This solution has made financial reporting possible by allowing financial people the opportunity to set Informix to "Auto Pilot" so that they can attend other duties."
"For IoT business cases, having Informix Enterprise Edition work on edge computers, like Raspberry Pi and using Informix replication, makes complex situations simple to build and maintain."
"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."
"So far, we do not have a lot of issues. It's pretty problem-free."
"It supports in-house-built applications in .NET and VB6"
"The stability is incredible. I have customers with uptimes of several years."
"Replication, all levels of replication, query charting, and the MongoDB embedded are the most valuable features of this solution."
 

Cons

"The solution could be more modern and have updated database technology."
"Also, the website could be more intuitive. I didn't find it easy to find documentation on the website."
"IBM Db2 Database could improve with better security."
"There are some issues with Db2's database file system not being readable. The storage could also be increased, and the monitoring could be improved."
"There could be more user-friendly tools with features such as drag-and-drop functionality, visual basics, and low-code capabilities."
"The technical support team is not very good when compared to the efficiency of Oracle's support."
"The vendor should offer a free version"
"GUI needs improvement."
"It would be helpful to have IBM salespeople know that Informix exists, and sell it. Currently, it is completely ignored by IBM."
"The solution lacks some functionality."
"The solution really doesn't add new features very often."
"The technical support services need substantial improvement."
"I really would love to have a QT plugin."
"Every month or every second month, we find some bugs in it, which is not ideal."
"This solution is in need of more current tools."
"In my opinion, the packages could be improved. The version I use doesn't allow for packages. I can do some general procedures, but no packages like in Oracle. So, develop separate modules in SQL language. This would be most beneficial for me."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They are competitive and honest (compared to how peer firms approach licensing conversations). ​"
"There is a license for this solution and we pay every three years."
"It is expensive."
"It's very expensive for West African countries like ours."
"We purchase the product's yearly license."
"The solution costs less than other products."
"We did not buy it. It came with our hardware without any complimentary maintenance. If I compare Db2 Database with Oracle Database, its price is lower than Oracle Database."
"It is expensive when compared to other products."
"The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license."
"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."
"For me, it's always too expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
8%
University
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise48
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Db2 Database?
Db2 database scalability and performance capabilities match our database needs. It covers pretty much everything a database administrator or engineer might need.
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 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 ...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

DB2
Informix
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
Shaspa, Hildebrand, Kaifa, Ranhill Powertron, Federaci‹ Farmacutica (FedeFarma), Camden Council, The German Aerospace Center (DLR), Myers, Votorantim Group, Doosan Infracore, GreenIvory
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Db2 Database vs. IBM Informix and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.