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Oracle Database In-Memory vs SAP HANA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.0
Oracle Database In-Memory provides varying ROI, with significant benefits but some users report challenges with support costs affecting returns.
Sentiment score
6.1
SAP HANA users saw financial and speed benefits, but mid-sized businesses faced mixed feelings about integration costs and challenges.
We do not feel we're getting value for the investment due to the additional resources needed for integration and maintenance.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.1
Oracle Database In-Memory support experience varies, with regional differences and reliance on self-solutions due to inconsistent assistance.
Sentiment score
6.0
SAP HANA customer service is well-received but varies; improvements needed in response speed, solution accuracy, and expert access.
Support quality varies across regions, with more advanced solutions from the U.S. and UK compared to Asian region support.
I rate the technical support of Oracle an eight or nine out of ten.
The community support is better than the official SAP support.
We often do not know when our ticket will be handled or who is handling it, and we can wait from one to four days for a reply, which is unexpected.
While issues are resolved eventually, the first level of support is not as good as we would like.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Oracle Database In-Memory scales efficiently for thousands of users, supporting large setups with minimal performance impact and high satisfaction.
Sentiment score
7.8
SAP HANA efficiently scales for various user loads, supports growing data, and manages enterprise transactions across industries.
Our operations have grown from a hundred data operations a day to as many in a couple of seconds.
There is enough scalability offered by SAP to meet our deployment needs.
The scalability rating is based on the ability to expand.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Oracle Database In-Memory is highly rated for stability, reliability, and support, suitable for high-transaction systems with resource needs.
Sentiment score
7.8
SAP HANA is generally stable and reliable, but some users face occasional performance issues linked to external factors.
It was very difficult to move data from on-site to cloud in one attempt at the start, because we didn't have sufficient bandwidth to copy the data files to the cloud.
We recently faced customer data loss during the cluster handover or failover fallback.
We have not had any problems in the last seven to eight years.
Regarding stability, they are using legacy systems and have implemented SAP HANA.
 

Room For Improvement

Oracle Database In-Memory needs enhancements in analytics, scalability, security, cost efficiency, interface, and AI integration for optimal use.
SAP HANA faces criticism for high cost, complex deployment, resource limitations, and a challenging interface, affecting adoption and usability.
Allowing in-memory support features to handle processes without relying heavily on vector databases.
The setup process and deployment process for SAP HANA is complex.
The problem is the price; it's too expensive for what it actually delivers.
Licensing costs with SAP HANA are very high.
 

Setup Cost

Oracle Database In-Memory is costly, justified by performance, but may deter smaller companies despite recent cloud cost reductions.
SAP HANA's high pricing favors larger enterprises, requiring careful budgeting, with some opting for alternatives due to costs.
Recent reductions in cloud costs and learning opportunities, such as free portals for students, make the pricing reasonable without hindering access to powerful features and performance.
The pricing for Oracle Database In-Memory is more affordable.
It's a recurring subscription model, which is expensive compared to legacy systems with just a maintenance fee.
SAP is not a cheap company, and its licenses are expensive.
I would rate the price for SAP HANA as high.
 

Valuable Features

Oracle Database In-Memory enhances performance, real-time analytics, security, flexibility, and transaction efficiency for large data volumes and data warehouses.
SAP HANA offers real-time analytics, integration, scalability, and a user-friendly interface, supporting large enterprises with efficient data handling.
The valuable features of Oracle Database In-Memory include its capability to bypass disk storage for faster memory operations, which is critical for transactions and analytics.
This architecture allows for faster data processing and real-time analytics that were not possible with traditional databases.
It allows some tables to be stored in a column base, others in a row base, and the In-Memory functionalities are mostly the highlight of SAP HANA, especially compared to disk-based memory users.
The concept enhances speed, allowing the database to serve and move data quickly.
 

Categories and Ranking

Oracle Database In-Memory
Ranking in Embedded Database
3rd
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
9th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP HANA
Ranking in Embedded Database
4th
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
89
Ranking in other categories
Data Virtualization (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Embedded Database category, the mindshare of Oracle Database In-Memory is 9.1%, down from 12.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HANA is 9.1%, down from 10.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Embedded Database
 

Featured Reviews

Laksiri Bala - PeerSpot reviewer
Faster processing and improved memory operations have enhanced transaction and analytics efficiency
The valuable features of Oracle Database In-Memory include its capability to bypass disk storage for faster memory operations, which is critical for transactions and analytics. It also offers specific memory areas, like in-memory cache, that act as intermediaries between disk and buffer cache. This feature helps organizations handle real-time memory requirements effectively.
Dhiraj Jankar - PeerSpot reviewer
Users appreciate the mix of in-memory architecture and ease of backend management
The most valuable SAP HANA features are that, compared to Oracle, there is less administrative work and less complex work to handle, making it very straightforward. The tool itself takes care of the backend work. The main benefits SAP HANA provides to users include its architecture, which combines both column store and row store capabilities. Some places find the row feature important, whereas others find column store important. It allows some tables to be stored in a column base, others in a row base, and the In-Memory functionalities are mostly the highlight of SAP HANA, especially compared to disk-based memory users. This was the main reason SAP HANA was introduced initially.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 currently don't know how Oracle Database In-Memory has benefited my organization. We recently received this query from our high management to use this In-Memory function, so we are currently in p...
What are the biggest benefits of using SAP HANA?
Based on my work with SAP HANA, the biggest benefit that it can bring to your business is total data management. This product is by SAP - a company that serves almost all needs a client may have co...
Is SAP HANA’s customer and technical support reliable?
We have been using SAP HANA for a fairly short period of time and have only taken advantage of their customer support. So far, we have not had issues that required specialized help from technical s...
Is SAP HANA difficult to set up and start using?
SAP HANA is fairly easy to set up, however, I do not think a complete beginner can do it. You certainly need some preparation - either you need to have experience with similar solutions, or with ot...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance, HANA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Shanghai Customs
Unilever, NHS 24, adidas Group, CHIO Aachen, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited
Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle Database In-Memory vs. SAP HANA and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,164 professionals have used our research since 2012.