Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer comparison

Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer

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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

Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

134

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Oracle Exadata Cloud at Cus...

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

10th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

4.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 10.5%, down from 15.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is 3.9%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database as a Service (DBaaS) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Azure SQL Database	10.5%
Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer	3.9%
Other	85.6%

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

Featured Reviews

Thomas Sawyer

Executive Director, Platform Architecture at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation – SMBC Group

Automatic tuning and multi-region availability have reduced manual workloads and improved performance management

The features of Microsoft Azure SQL Database that I like the most are easy scaling and high availability. I appreciate those features because it's easy to make Microsoft Azure SQL Database readily available in a multi-region infrastructure. Using Microsoft Azure SQL Database is very easy; it's much easier than SQL on-premise because I don't have to worry about deploying infrastructure, and I can rapidly deploy via infrastructure as code. I am using the automatic tuning feature in Microsoft Azure SQL Database. We are using the new feature of data encryption in Microsoft Azure SQL Database with customer-managed keys only. The reliability and stability of Microsoft Azure SQL Database platform are rock-solid; it's as good, if not better, than what our on-premise stability has been from an uptime perspective.

Read full review

WALID BOUHAJJA

Oracle DBS at Bpifrance

Positive experience with virtual cloud network creation and database migration highlights patching challenges

The best feature of Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is that it can be managed without needing only DBAs. We have many features, including the observability feature that helps check performance and generates numerous reports about performance. We have also implemented APIs, enabling us to create and perform many operations. This means we need DBAs who can work with APIs. We are autonomous in the patching process and don't need Oracle for patching. If you configure the process of patching, it will be executed automatically. We are using dynamic scaling which is implemented on an external virtual machine, helping us to downscale or upscale the CPU. Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer has supported our organization's compliance and data sovereignty without problems. I have observed some limitations. For example, regarding encryption, though it is mandatory for Exadata Cloud at Customer, we cannot encrypt the database with external keys. Currently, with Exadata Cloud at Customer, using external keys is not possible.

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 Power Virtual Agents help us go through documents and load data into SQL."

"I'd give Microsoft Azure SQL Database a nine out of ten."

"The most valuable aspect of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is its accessibility."

"The solution is quire more stable than other tools."

"Using Azure Active Directory is a great feature for securing our connectivity for any clients or users connecting to our data."

"This solution provides more comfort to the end-user compared to a normal SQL server."

"We've cut costs by around 70 percent."

"The biggest return on investment from my perspective when using Microsoft Azure SQL Database comes from how easy it is to set up and how much of a foundation it already has in terms of being a trusted platform."

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database pros

"The most valuable feature is that it is based on Exadata infrastructure, which is Oracle 's leading engineered system that is trusted, fault-tolerant, and has unique performance features."

"Performance has significantly improved."

"I am particularly fond of the intelligent capabilities that enhance the backend, utilizing technology to analyze SQL queries."

"Exporting and importing is easy because of its cleanliness, making the process easier. However, setting up the Data Guard was more difficult. Despite this, the client experienced lower downtime."

"The operation model is the most valuable feature."

"I like that Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is a stable, well-positioned product in the market today, and it's very scalable."

"The best feature of Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is that it can be managed without needing only DBAs, with observability features to check performance, generate reports, and implement APIs for creating and performing many operations."

Cons

"There is so much information that it becomes confusing at times. The information can be more friendly. They could also provide additional training, especially at the beginning."

"The latency and availability of Microsoft Azure SQL Database can be problematic when connecting to an instance in a geographically distant location."

"Microsoft Azure SQL Database could be improved by offering an easier way to view all existing roles in the database without needing complex queries found online."

"In terms of support, they don't give much support."

"A potential area for improvement could be integrating with third-party clouds. Adding a feature to bring Azure SQL in Azure with SQL on-premises would be helpful."

"One area for improvement could be expanding the search queries using vectors or AI inside the database."

"Azure SQL can improve by adding more machine learning features like other databases, such as Cassandra or Cosmos DB."

"If there are areas for improvement, one aspect could be the user interface. It could be made more user-friendly and similar to Google BigQuery's interface."

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database cons

"A room for improvement in Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is that they need to train more partners to gain more knowledge because currently, they are keeping a lot to themselves. For example, they are still keeping a lot of information on their campus, so information sharing is limited."

"The solution is expensive."

"As a customer, you can't see the boot messages of your virtualized guest machines."

"For the data migration, we used ZDM. It was not integrated with the databases, and the documentation lacks clarity."

"We had some problems in the developer's environment. We had some problems with the initial installation environment."

"Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer is stable, but the only problem occurs during OS patching. If you encounter issues, the VMC (virtual machine cluster) becomes unusable."

"Scalability is not straightforward."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It only has a subscription-based license."

"From a licensing benefit standpoint, we have clients who are coming with their own SQL licensing with Software Assurance, and they are able to use those licenses for their Azure SQL and reduce costs."

"With one being expensive and five being competitive, I would give the product a four out of five as it's relatively competitive. It is also important to note that pricing is based on usage."

"It is reasonable."

"The price in general of Azure SQL could improve."

"We have had some issues with the licensing of the solution."

"I'm not sure what the exact price is, but it's a moderate amount. It's not too expensive."

"We have the licensing fee, and we are also paying a third party to maintain it with an SLA. There is no infrastructure cost, but its running costs are higher than expected. There is the cost of the Azure cloud, which is pricier than expected, but it is not specific to SQL Azure. It is specific to the cloud. You expect it to be cheaper, but it is more expensive to run it."

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database pricing and cost advice

"The machine and the cloud model itself already have licensing advantages."

"The price is too much."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Marketing Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Outsourcing Company

Financial Services Firm

32%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	60
Midsize Enterprise	17
Large Enterprise	61

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Large Enterprise	4

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SQL Azure?

The automated scalability feature of SQL Azure has proven to be highly beneficial, particularly when deployed in the cloud.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SQL Azure?

I would say I am at a basic experience level with the pricing, setup costs and licensing because while I am the administrator for the service, I do not provision the services and worry about the co...

What needs improvement with SQL Azure?

I have no comments at the moment on how Microsoft Azure SQL Database can be improved. I have no comments on additional features that I would like to see released in the next release. I do not have ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer?

The pricing is reasonable due to a universal agreement, which often positions Oracle solutions better against others. I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten.

What needs improvement with Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer?

In future updates for Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer, I would like to see another feature for the different costs for the non-CDB models, because if you are not using the non-CDB models, you have...

What is your primary use case for Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer?

The use cases for Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer are based on our actual solution. We have the Exadata, but it has reached its end of life. The X5 has attained the end of life, so we discussed mi...

Google Cloud SQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Comparisons

Compared 17% of the time

Amazon RDS vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 14% of the time

MongoDB Atlas vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 12% of the time

Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 11% of the time

Google Cloud Spanner vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 5% of the time

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database Competitors

MongoDB Atlas vs Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer

Compared 20% of the time

Amazon RDS vs Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer

Compared 19% of the time

Google Cloud SQL vs Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer

Compared 11% of the time

Google Cloud Spanner vs Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer

Compared 9% of the time

Oracle Database as a Service vs Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer

Compared 9% of the time

More Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer Competitors

Product Reports

Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Download Microsoft Azure SQL Database product report

Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer

Download Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer product report

Overview

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is a relational database-as-a-service that delivers predictable performance, scalability, business continuity, data protection, and near-zero administration to cloud developers and solution architects. This is the deep technical library for Azure SQL Database.

Microsoft

Oracle Cloud@Customer brings Oracle’s complete portfolio of public cloud infrastructure, fully managed cloud services, and Oracle Fusion SaaS applications into your data center. It enables you to run applications faster and lower your costs using the same high-performance capabilities, autonomous operations, and low-cost subscription pricing in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). You get all this while maintaining complete control of your data so you can address data residency, security, and connectivity concerns.

Oracle

Sample Customers

adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH

IBVI, illycaffe, Scottish Water, trueblue, AirAsia, droptank

Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. Oracle Exadata Cloud at Customer