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IBM Watson Machine Learning vs Microsoft Azure Machine Learning 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

IBM Watson Machine Learning
Ranking in AI Development Platforms
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure Machine Lea...
Ranking in AI Development Platforms
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Data Science Platforms (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the AI Development Platforms category, the mindshare of IBM Watson Machine Learning is 1.9%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio is 5.3%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
AI Development Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Anurag Mayank - PeerSpot reviewer
A highly efficient solution that delivers the desired results to its users
I had not considered how the solution could be improved because I was focused on how it was helping me to solve my issues. If I consider how we want to use it in our organization, certain areas of improvement can be addressed. For instance, we want to use it with Generative AI, not like ChatGPT, but in a way intended for industrial use. It would be beneficial to incorporate more AI into the solution.
Takayuki Umehara - PeerSpot reviewer
Streamlined workflows with drag and drop convenience but needs enhancements in AI
I use Machine Learning Studio for system reselling and integration Machine Learning Studio is easy to use, with a significant feature being the drag and drop interface that enhances workflow without any complaints. It provides a return on investment and cost savings, proving beneficial for…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable aspect of the solution's the cost and human labor savings."
"I was particularly interested in trying the AutoML feature to see how it handles data and proposes new models. The variety of models it provides is impressive."
"It is has a lot of good features and we find the image classification very useful."
"It has improved self-service and customer satisfaction."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution ten out of ten."
"The solution is very valuable to our organization due to the fact that we can work on it as a workflow."
"We can enable and change developer productivity with artificial intelligence-recommended code based on natural language input or exciting source code."
"I've developed a couple of chatbots using Azure OpenAI, leveraging its documented solutions and APIs. The tools available make it straightforward to implement machine learning solutions. However, there are challenges, such as hallucinations and security issues, but overall, it works well and is quite fast, allowing for the development of interesting projects."
"Their web interface is good."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the ability to use all of the cognitive services, prebuilt from Azure."
"One of the notable advantages is that it offers both a visual designer, which is user-friendly, and an advanced coding option."
"In terms of what I found most valuable in Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio, I especially love the designer because you can just drag and drop items there and apply the logic that's already available with the designer. I love that I can use the libraries in Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio, so I don't have to search for the algorithms and all the relevant libraries because I can see them directly on the designer just by dragging and dropping. Though there's a bit of work during data cleansing, that's normal and can't be avoided. At least it's easy to find the relevant algorithm, apply that algorithm to the data, then get the desired output through Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio. I also like the API feature of the solution which is readily available for me to expose the output to any consuming application, so that takes out a lot of headache. Otherwise, I have to have a developer who knows the API, and I have to have an API app, so all that is completely taken care of by the Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio designer. With the solution, I can concentrate on how to improve the data quality to get quality recommendations, so this lets me concentrate on my job rather than focusing on the regular development of APIs or the pipelines, in particular, the data pipelines pulling the data from other sources. All the data is taken care of and you can also concentrate on other required auxiliary activities rather than just concentrating on machine learning."
"Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio offers a hands-on experience with lots of flexibility."
"The most valuable feature is the knowledge bank, which allows us to ask questions and the AI will automatically pull the pre-prescribed responses."
"It is a scalable solution…It is a pretty stable solution…The solution's initial setup process was pretty straightforward."
 

Cons

"The supporting language is limited."
"Scaling is limited in some use cases. They need to make it easier to expand in all aspects."
"They should add more GPU processing power to improve performance, especially when dealing with large amounts of data."
"Sometimes training the model is difficult."
"Honestly, I haven't seen any comparative report that has run the same data through two different artificial intelligence or machine learning capabilities to get something out of it. I would love to see that."
"In future releases, I would like to see a more flexible environment."
"If I consider how we want to use it in our organization, certain areas of improvement can be addressed. For instance, we want to use it with Generative AI, not like ChatGPT, but in a way intended for industrial use."
"It would be great if the solution integrated Microsoft Copilot, its AI helper."
"Enable creating ensemble models easier, adding more machine learning algorithms."
"This solution could be improved if they could integrate the data pipeline scheduling part for their interface."
"​It could use to add some more features in data transformation, time series and the text analytics section."
"In the Machine Learning Studio, particularly the Designer part, which is essentially Azure's demo designer, there is room for improvement. Many customers and users tend to switch to Microsoft Azure Multi-Joiners, which is a more basic version, but they do so internally. One area that could use enhancement is the process of connecting components. Currently, every time you want to connect a component, such as linking it to your storage or an instance like EC2, you have to input your username and password repeatedly. This can be quite cumbersome. Google, for instance, has made it more user-friendly by allowing easy access for connecting services within a workspace. In a workspace, you can set up various resources like storage, a database cluster, machine learning studio, and more. When connecting these services, there's no need to enter your username and password each time, making it a more efficient process. Another aspect to consider is the role of the designer, and they were to integrate a large language model to handle various tasks, it could significantly enhance the overall scalability and usability of the platform."
"I personally would prefer if data could be tunneled to my model through a SAP ERP system, and have features of Excel, such as Pivot Tables, integrated."
"The speed of deployment should be faster, as should testing."
"I would like to see modules to handle Deep Learning frameworks."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing model is good."
"I've only been using the free tier, but it's quite competitive on a service basis."
"The solution operates on a pay-per-use model."
"In terms of pricing, for any cloud solution, you should know the tricks of the trade and how to use it, otherwise, you'll end up paying a lot of money irrespective of the cloud provider, so at least for Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio pricing versus AWS, I would rate it three out of five, with one being the most expensive, and five being the cheapest. It could be cheaper, but you also have to be careful when choosing the plans, for example, consider the architecture and a lot of other factors before choosing your plan, if you don't want to end up paying more. If your cloud provider has an optimizer that seems to be available in every provider, that would keep alerting you in terms of resources not being used as much, then that would help you with budgeting."
"I rate the product price as a nine on a scale of one to ten, where ten means it is very expensive."
"The pricing for Microsoft products can be complex due to changes and being cloud-based, so it's not straightforward. I've been familiar with it for years, but sometimes details about product licenses and distribution can be unclear. For Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio specifically, I would rate the price a six out of ten."
"There is a license required for this solution."
"Last year, we paid 60,000 for Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio in our department."
"There isn’t any such expensive costs and only a standard license is required."
"On a scale from one to ten, with ten being overpriced, I would rate the price of this solution at six."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
University
13%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Educational Organization
10%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Watson Machine Learning?
I was particularly interested in trying the AutoML feature to see how it handles data and proposes new models. The variety of models it provides is impressive.
What needs improvement with IBM Watson Machine Learning?
Sometimes training the model is difficult. We need to have at least a few different components to evaluate and understand the behavior of different users to have a very, very high accuracy in the m...
Which do you prefer - Databricks or Azure Machine Learning Studio?
Databricks gives you the option of working with several different languages, such as SQL, R, Scala, Apache Spark, or Python. It offers many different cluster choices and excellent integration with ...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio?
The learning curve is very low. Operationalizing the model is also very easy within the Azure ecosystem.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio?
The pricing for Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio is reasonable since it's pay as you go, meaning it won't cost excessively unless specific resources are used.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Azure Machine Learning, MS Azure Machine Learning Studio
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Schneider Electric, BP
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Watson Machine Learning vs. Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.