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IBM Informix vs Oracle Database In-Memory 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 Embedded Database
10th
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
23rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Oracle Database In-Memory
Ranking in Embedded Database
4th
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
10th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Embedded Database category, the mindshare of IBM Informix is 2.7%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Database In-Memory is 10.9%, up from 7.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Embedded Database Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Oracle Database In-Memory10.9%
IBM Informix2.7%
Other86.4%
Embedded Database
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Hosney Osman - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Solution Architect at Vodafone
Real-time analytics have transformed response times and support huge data volumes with compression
I do not have any comment related to the improvement of the solution; for sure, it needs improvement, but for my use cases, it is very sufficient, and I think for the biggest companies, it needs a very powerful infrastructure. The area where improvement is required the most in the product is the UI. The problem with the UI is that it is not complex for understanding, but it needs some training to know what each button does, how it works, and the many variables needed.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It supports in-house-built applications in .NET and VB6"
"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."
"Replication is a valuable feature and easy to use."
"The initial setup is pretty easy."
"IBM Informix benefits users with high availability and good integration capabilities."
"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."
"Replication, all levels of replication, query charting, and the MongoDB embedded are the most valuable features of this solution."
"The most valuable feature is that Database-In-Memory is more consistent and faster than traditional databases as it requires fewer CPUs to process instructions."
"We find the dashboard and the speed of data processing very valuable in Oracle Database In-Memory."
"The benefits of data compression in Oracle Database In-Memory are great because we are using data, and it saves a lot regarding sizing."
"It efficiently handles low-code data and supports read-and-write operations for clustering."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its performance optimization within our hardware environment."
"We have recently deployed our database on cloud with Oracle Database In-Memory; we have a single standby on cloud, and on contingency occasions, we switch over to cloud and use it for four to five months."
"We use the tool for real-time data transfer for risk management purposes. In a trading system, conversions happen fast. We use the product to handle fast transactions with low latency."
"We can integrate it with any data sources as well."
 

Cons

"There should be more intelligence surrounding discovering data to be able to automatically create indexes."
"The technical support services need substantial improvement."
"This product could be made easier to use for beginners."
"I really would love to have a QT plugin."
"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."
"The solution really doesn't add new features very often."
"I experienced poor input/output (IO) performance."
"The solution lacks some functionality."
"The high cost of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The product could be more economical."
"Oracle Database In-Memory could improve by better supporting generative AI challenges, such as hallucination management."
"We often have to find solutions on our own through the support site, so there's room for improvement in this regard."
"The query optimization and backup features should be added."
"Oracle Database In-Memory is more expensive than Azure, and the support from the Oracle team is not very good, especially since they do not have a support team in our region."
"The pricing could be improved. It would ideal if it was more reasonable."
"Lacks sufficient integration with other tools."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license."
"For me, it's always too expensive."
"The platform's licensing cost needs improvement."
"I rate the pricing a zero out of ten because Database In-Memory is too costly."
"Database In-Memory is priced a bit higher than its competitors like Microsoft."
"The product is expensive."
"The pricing is pretty good so I rate it an eight out of ten."
"It's quite costly and it comes with a fixed price."
"Oracle Database In-Memory is expensive."
"The solution's pricing is high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
University
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Marketing Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise23
 

Questions from the Community

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 ...
What do you like most about Oracle Database In-Memory?
We can integrate it with any data sources as well.
What needs improvement with Oracle Database In-Memory?
I do not have any comment related to the improvement of the solution; for sure, it needs improvement, but for my use cases, it is very sufficient, and I think for the biggest companies, it needs a ...
 

Also Known As

Informix
No data available
 

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
Shanghai Customs
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Informix vs. Oracle Database In-Memory and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.