IBM Db2 Database vs SQL Server comparison

IBM and Microsoft are both solutions in the Relational Databases Tools category. IBM is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.2, while Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.3. IBM holds a 7.1% mindshare in SQL, compared to Microsoft’s 17.9% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

IBM Db2 Database

Read 73 IBM Db2 Database reviews

6,202 Views
4,021 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

SQL Server

Read 268 SQL Server reviews

16,970 Views
12,982 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

IBM Db2 Database

SQL Server

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

SQL Server and IBM Db2 are prominent players in the database management system category. While SQL Server stands out for its user-friendliness, IBM Db2 excels in cross-platform flexibility and advanced features.

Features: SQL Server offers dynamic resource allocation for better performance, a robust OLAP service for data warehousing, and an intuitive usability that minimizes technical support needs. IBM Db2 is recognized for its strong support for multiple platforms, a secure and stable environment, and self-tuning memory management, ensuring efficient operation.

Room for Improvement: SQL Server users note latency issues, a need for faster data processing, and pricing improvements, while its documentation and security can be enhanced. IBM Db2 faces challenges in ease of learning, lacks in analytics support, and has complex licensing, which users find expensive and cumbersome.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SQL Server supports diverse deployment options, including on-premises and hybrid cloud, with generally reliable support but rooms for better response times. IBM Db2 is mainly deployed on-premises, offering less flexibility in cloud environments. However, its robust support from IBM caters well to enterprise needs despite complex interfaces.

Pricing and ROI: SQL Server has varied pricing, with the advanced versions being costly, yet it remains a cost-effective option compared to Oracle. Its significant ROI derives from its stability and enterprise-grade functionality. IBM Db2, with high pricing and complex cloud licensing models, competes well with Oracle, particularly with comprehensive offerings, though cost considerations are decisive for users.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Db2 Database vs. SQL Server Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Database vs. SQL Server

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

IBM Db2 Database

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

6th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SQL Server

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

268

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Db2 Database is 7.1%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SQL Server is 17.9%, down from 23.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Relational Databases Tools

Featured Reviews

SimonHiggins

Mainframe Technical Manager/Service Integration Lead at Saudi Business Machines

Very scalable with high availability and excellent technical support

The good thing is that there are improvements coming with later function levels for the z/OS Db2. I'd like it if, with the operating system that we've got, z/OS, on the mainframe, it would allow us to refresh the hardware to run Linux dockers on the mainframe. This means this might give us opportunities for different ways of coming into the Db2 environment in the future. We just want a bit more integration with Linux. That said, we are already seeing Linux more readily available on the mainframe environment. Not only have we got the premium operating systems on OS. We can run LPARs on the same mainframe footprint that is also supporting Linux. This is what has improved and made the mainframe environment more competitive. We're also looking at AI for Db2 as well, and machine learning for the future. We know that AI has come out, that we're going to get that, and we're going to evaluate that product next year for Db2. That said, I haven't got any real complaints about Db2 on the mainframe. For the most part, a lot of the problems we have nowadays are to do with communication between the various teams that you would class as stakeholders.

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AhmadTalha

Product owner at Digitt Plus (AFT)

A robust and secure solution that helps to store data

The GUI needs improvement. From a technical perspective, it's quite complex, which may not be a problem for individuals with technical backgrounds like ours, especially since we've encountered similar interfaces. However, navigating the GUI can be challenging for newcomers or product owners without technical experience. For example, as someone transitioning from a developer role to a product management role, I find it relatively easy to use the GUI. But for those without a technical background, it's much more challenging to grasp what's happening.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."

"I believe that because the support is good, they jump in and assist us in determining the root cause."

"I have found the most valuable feature to be its availability."

"As part of your licensing with IBM, you get access to their case system, which lets you raise incidents related to software or hardware. This system is helpful for problem determination and quickly identifying issues."

"The solution is stable."

"The self-management and optimization features are probably the best on the market"

"I like that its true active-active. For example, if there are two instances within a cluster, we can take one of them down and there's no failover or switch over. There's no primary and secondary, it's true active-active. We can take one side down and we can upgrade that with new maintenance or a new version, obviously testing coexistence beforehand, without impacting the business."

More IBM Db2 Database pros

"The most valuable feature of SQL Server is that it is easy to set up."

"The performance is great."

"I have found SQL Server easy to use."

"The most valuable aspect of the solution is that it's integrated with the Visual Studio and also with Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio. It's a tool they have and it's quite easy to use and understand. It's the interface for programming for SQL Services."

"The solution has the capability to scale."

"The documentation and manuals are very good."

"It is secure, and it is fast. For our present database size, we are using the Always-On feature on SQL Server so that our transactions are replicated among three servers. If one server goes down, we can find the data from other servers. We have benefited from this feature."

"The solution is configurable."

More SQL Server pros

Cons

"We just want a bit more integration with Linux. That said, we are already seeing Linux more readily available on the mainframe environment."

"The GUI interface is not particularly friendly for those who do not have experience with the product."

"Performance is something that can be improved with DB2."

"Do not use support. Freely available documentation is a bit weak."

"The usage of Db2 could be simplified, as it is quite complex and requires substantial knowledge of Db2 and zOS."

"I would say that the tool has to be made more cloud-friendly and should have agreements with AWS, Microsoft, or Google to run things on hyperscalers."

"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."

"I would like to see better support for advanced analytics."

More IBM Db2 Database cons

"The tool needs to improve its pricing and technical support."

"I would like to see SQL Server add the ability to write to multiple sites or support replication between multiple sites at the transaction level."

"In my experience, I've found that scalability can be improved."

"It can be better if it enables the use of AI functions."

"Although I am satisfied with the solution, some clients have asked us to resolve technical issues, such as those involving silver solution and replication."

"In the next releases, I would only like more enhanced backups and more restore points."

"The pricing and quality of the product could be improved."

"It will be very useful to have high-level database monitoring. It should also have built-in business intelligence reporting."

More SQL Server cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a license for this solution and we pay every three years."

"I rate the product pricing a nine out of ten."

"We purchase the product's yearly license."

"If I consider the price of IBM Db2 Database, I would say there are cheaper products in the market."

"Compared to other databases, Db2 is relatively cheaper."

"It is expensive. The price depends on the size of the machine on which you are installing the Db2 and the features you are using. It also depends on the country. IBM has different policies and different options for payment for this product."

"Db2 is less expensive than Oracle."

"I think that everyone knows that with IBM the standard price is higher than the others."

More IBM Db2 Database pricing and cost advice

"This is a downside of enterprise Microsoft products."

"The price of the solution is very expensive. If I went with the cloud version of SQL a license would cost me approximately 11,000 Riyals per month."

"The solution is on a pay-per-use pricing model."

"The price could be better. Aside from the basic features, if you need any additional features that can be extended, for example, if you want to connect with the heterogeneous databases, they are being managed as separate services and not included in the package. If you manage a database in Azure, it's not providing SFS and reporting services. However, on-premises, if you purchase the SQL Server license, it includes SFIS and SFRS services. If you take Postgre SQL and MySQL, they provide almost all the same features even though they are both open source databases."

"Historically, SQL Server has been much more affordable than Oracle, which is overpriced."

"The licensing is on an annual basis."

"Synapse is a bit costly. If I compare it with different databases, I think it's a reasonable price"

"The free version is cumbersome to use and maintain. But $5000 for a licence is more expense than the benefit I would get from a licensed version. A licence might be worth the price to simplify management and speed up searches."

More SQL Server pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

57%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

48%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Db2 Database?

The user interface is old and needs to be improved. It doesn't match the responsive and suggestion-rich UI of cloud solutions. New functions don't come to mind.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

Oracle Database vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 18% of the time

SAP HANA vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 16% of the time

Teradata vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 13% of the time

MySQL vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 6% of the time

IBM Informix vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 2% of the time

More IBM Db2 Database Competitors

SAP HANA vs SQL Server

Compared 14% of the time

MariaDB vs SQL Server

Compared 14% of the time

Oracle Database vs SQL Server

Compared 9% of the time

LocalDB vs SQL Server

Compared 8% of the time

Teradata vs SQL Server

Compared 8% of the time

More SQL Server Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Database

May 2025

Download IBM Db2 Database product report

Buyer's Guide

SQL Server

March 2025

Download SQL Server product report

Also Known As

DB2

Microsoft SQL Server, MSSQL, MS SQL

Overview

DB2 Enterprise for Linux, UNIX, and Windows is the ideal data server for the most demanding workloads. New XML support is designed to help firms minimize the time and effort it takes to persist and use their XML data reducing development costs and improving business agility.

IBM

SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBMS) by Microsoft. The product's main purposes are to store data and retrieve it as requested by other software applications - on the same computer or on another computer across a shared network. The solution is built on top of Structured Query Language (SQL), which is a standardized programming language used for relational database management.

The product is tied to Transact-SQL (T-SQL), which is an implementation of SQL from Microsoft that adds several proprietary programming extensions to the standard language. SQL Server is built similarly to other RDBMS products, as its structure is a row-based table that connects related data elements in different tables to one another. One of its most important components is the SQL Server Database Engine, as it controls data processing, storage, and security. Beneath the Database Engine is the SQL Server Operating System, which is used for memory and I/O management, locking data to avoid unneeded upgrades, and job scheduling.

The solution has four editions with different sets of services and tools. They include:

SQL Server Developer
SQL Server Expression
SQL Server Standard
SQL Server Enterprise

The first two are available for free and are typically utilized by smaller companies, as they work with fewer functions and storage. The second two editions are generally used by bigger organizations and enterprises and offer more features.

The solution has several functions through which users can facilitate different data-related processes. These include:

Aggregate functions: These functions are used to calculate one or more values and return a single value.
Window functions: Window functions calculate an aggregate value based on a group of rows and return multiple rows for each involved group.
Date functions: These functions allow clients to handle data and time data efficiently.
String functions: Through the string functions, SQL Server processes an input string and returns a string or numeric value.
System functions: The system functions of the product return objects, values, and settings.

SQL Server Services

SQL Server has a wide range of add-on services that provide additional benefits beyond database management. These services include:

Machine learning: SQL Server machine learning services allow users to do machine learning and data analytics within the product.
Service broker: This feature is a part of the database engine and offers messaging and message queuing for applications on the platform.
Replication: This feature consists of transaction replication, merge replication, and snapshot replication.
Analysis: SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) adds online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining capabilities to SQL Server databases.
Reporting: This feature supports the development of custom reporting applications.
Notifications: This feature generates data-driven notifications which are sent to subscribers of Notification Services.
Integration: This SQL Server feature provides capabilities for data integration, data import, and data warehousing.
Full-text search: Through this feature, users can utilize specialized indexing and query for unstructured text stored in the solution.
Visual studio: This feature supports data programming with SQL Server.
Azure Data Studio: This is a cross-platform query editor that can be downloaded and used alongside SQL Server.

SQL Server Benefits

The solution has many benefits for users. These include the following:

The platform ensures a consistent experience across other platforms while being fast and agile.
Through the built-in intelligence features, users can understand their data better.
The solution has enterprise-level security, which ensures the smooth and safe performance of users' data.
SQL Server offers the ability to retrieve large amounts of data quickly and efficiently.
The product installation process is fairly easy, and it offers a user-friendly interface.
SQL Server offers improved data storage and retrieval functions through frequent upgrades.
The solution reduces the risk of database server attacks, since it is not an open-source database.

Reviews from Real Users

A president at a consultancy evaluates SQL Server as a veteran solution with critical log shipping feature.

Harkamal S., a user at a manufacturing company, rates SQL Server with a high mark because it is a stable, scalable, and easy-to-deploy solution that pretty much covers everything.

Microsoft

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

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.

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Database vs. SQL Server

April 2025

Free Report: IBM Db2 Database vs. SQL Server

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