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IBM Informix vs Oracle 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

IBM Informix
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
23rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (9th)
Oracle Database
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
289
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Informix is 1.9%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Database is 12.8%, down from 15.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Nazzareno Maria Rezzini - PeerSpot reviewer
Supports multiple business intelligence tools, but the technical support services need improvement
IBM Informix is a central database solution across various environments, supporting multiple applications and business intelligence tools The key areas for improvement revolve around understanding the current customer trends and demands, particularly in software and database requirements. The…
Duy AnhMai - PeerSpot reviewer
Good storage and reliable but needs a better dashboard
I use Oracle Database just for storage of the corporate database data and the finance data I use Oracle Database just for storage of the corporate database data and the finance data. However, I find the dashboard to be complicated and not user-friendly. The dashboard is not user-friendly, and I…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Every version is faster than the previous."
"It supports multiple applications and business intelligence tools."
"The scalability is very good."
"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."
"It supports in-house-built applications in .NET and VB6"
"The initial setup is pretty easy."
"Replication is a valuable feature and easy to use."
"It is reliable. It's very stable."
"I found the ease of backup, partitioning, and robust indexing most valuable. The main feature of Oracle is the structure of the database. The way your backups are taken on the online backup system and the way it restores and handles partitioning of your data are also valuable. Its performance is great, and it is also very flexible."
"It is user-friendly. Its performance and security are also very good. There are 300 million records for our one-year data, and we can easily query this data. You can use Oracle Database as a source for easily integrating with different databases and applications. It supports Java platforms and other applications very well. It works with SAP products better than Microsoft SQL Server."
"It gives DB consistency, supports disaster recovery (DR), is tunable, and handles large DB sizes."
"The concurrency, consistency, and security features are the most valuable. It is also a very robust solution."
"The product provides high availability."
"Technical support is great."
"When we are not able to solve a problem we immediately contacted Oracle support team to help us solve it."
 

Cons

"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."
"There should be more intelligence surrounding discovering data to be able to automatically create indexes."
"The technical support services need substantial improvement."
"I experienced poor input/output (IO) performance."
"This product could be made easier to use for beginners."
"The solution really doesn't add new features very often."
"The solution lacks some functionality."
"This solution is in need of more current tools."
"CRM could be improved."
"The initial setup was very complex - best case, it takes between four and six hours to set up."
"Their local support can be better. Local support is a challenge in Africa for all IT companies."
"The pricing needs to be improved."
"Oracle Database could improve by making migration less difficult and having better integration. For example, having the ability to communicate, using native features, to different databases. Mostly connectivity to different databases, such as open-source databases or any other database."
"It should have more monitoring features. There should be features to be able to analyze the performance with a query. In Microsoft SQL Server, when you are running any stored procedure, if you want to analyze the performance, you just run the query analyzer. You can easily find out that something is missing in a joint condition, or clustering needs to be added because of a delay. I can't find such features in Oracle Database. They should be added."
"I have been looking for a virtualization database engine from Oracle. They have third-party vendors that can do it but if Oracle comes with its own virtual engine, it would be helpful. Additionally, the solution could be more user-friendly and improve the Transparent Data Encryption."
"The solution could be more scalable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"I am not aware of the licensing costs or terms."
"For me, it's always too expensive."
"The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license."
"The tool's pricing is high and yearly."
"We pay for an annual license as well as monthly support."
"Its licensing is yearly. It is expensive, and it should be cheaper."
"It is expensive."
"It was purchased by our client. It might have been a one-time payment. It doesn't seem to be very expensive."
"Our customers buy licenses from Oracle directly."
"When you consider the services, Oracle is reasonably priced."
"It could be cheaper. We pay for the license on a yearly basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
66%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Computer Software Company
4%
Retailer
3%
Financial Services Firm
22%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Informix?
It supports multiple applications and business intelligence tools.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Informix?
The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license.
What needs improvement with IBM Informix?
The key areas for improvement revolve around understanding the current customer trends and demands, particularly in software and database requirements. The product's performance could be better com...
How do you run Oracle Database at your organization and why?
My company has been using Oracle Exadata Database Service for some years now, and we are happy with it. I will allow myself to answer your questions about why and what benefits it provides us with ...
Do you know of any disadvantages of Oracle Database?
Undoubtedly, Oracle Database is a top product in its category. But it does have its disadvantages, and for me and my organization, that has been the limitations of the product. When it comes to Ora...
What is the best use for Oracle Database?
Oracle Database is flexible and can be used for many things. My company's main use case for this product is for storing data. We benefit from its high level of security as well as from the fact tha...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Informix
Oracle 12c, RDBMS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Shaspa, Hildebrand, Kaifa, Ranhill Powertron, Federaci‹ Farmacutica (FedeFarma), Camden Council, The German Aerospace Center (DLR), Myers, Votorantim Group, Doosan Infracore, GreenIvory
Agncia Nacional de guas, Anbima, Aria Systems, Asiana Airlines, Astelit LLC, Australian Finance Group, Banco Occidental de Descuento, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, BT, Caja de Seguros S.A., Casas GEO S.A.B. de C.V., Comic Relief UK, Corsair Components Inc., CSAM Health AS, CSOB Group, Datacraft Solutions, DenizBank A.S., Department of Treasury and Finance WA, Office of State Revenue, Deutsche B_rse AG, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Deutsche Messe AG, Digicel Haiti, DPR COSEA, Essar Group, Essatto Software Pty Ltd, Farmšcia e Drogaria Nissei Ltda., Fomento Econ‹mico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA), FundaÊo Petrobras de Seguridade Social, Future Group, GFKL Financial Services AG, Grupo Posadas S.A.B. de C.V., Grupo Sinosserra, Guerra S.A. Implementos Rodovišrios, Hanatour International Service, Hays plc, Henan Mobile Co. Ltd, Hochschule Hof, Hong Kong and China Technology (Wuhan) Co. Ltd (Towngas Technology), Industries Corpa_al C.A., Infrastructure Development Finance Company Limited, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatstica, Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial, Kcell, LinkShare Corporation, MercadoLibre Inc., MetLife Inc., Nextgen Distribution, €BB-IKT GmbH, Octagon Research Solutions, Pacific Lutheran University, Paragon Data GmbH, Ping ltd., PJSC Trustbank, Prodaub _ Processamento de Dados de Uberl_ndia, Purdue University, Redknee Inc., Robi Axiata Limited, Shanghai Infoservice Technology Co. Ltd, Shanghai Sihua Technologies Co. Ltd, Sistema de Aguas de la Ciudad de M_xico, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Suddenlink Communications, Suprajit Engineering Limited, Tallink Grupp, Terminales Ro de la Plata S.A., Therap Services LLC, Think Passenger Inc., Trafigura, Transmed S.A.L Lebanon, ValeShop, VelQuest Corporation, Vodafone Group plc, West Virginia Network, WIND Hellas Telecommunications S.A
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Informix vs. Oracle Database and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.