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Amazon Aurora vs IBM Db2 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

Amazon Aurora
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Db2 Database
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
73
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of Amazon Aurora is 3.3%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Db2 Database is 7.0%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Rajitha Jatothu - PeerSpot reviewer
Achieve high performance with fault-tolerant and highly available database management
Aurora is a key pillar for us, offering performance and availability. It is faster than RDS and supports multi-region clusters and scalability. One feature we value is Aurora's ability to provide a reader endpoint, allowing applications to connect without tracking replicas. It supports auto-scaling and offers several options for monitoring and optimizing database performance. Aurora's fault tolerance and ability to handle multiple replicas contribute to its reliability and high performance.
SimonHiggins - PeerSpot reviewer
Very scalable with high availability and excellent technical support
The good thing is that there are improvements coming with later function levels for the z/OS Db2. I'd like it if, with the operating system that we've got, z/OS, on the mainframe, it would allow us to refresh the hardware to run Linux dockers on the mainframe. This means this might give us opportunities for different ways of coming into the Db2 environment in the future. We just want a bit more integration with Linux. That said, we are already seeing Linux more readily available on the mainframe environment. Not only have we got the premium operating systems on OS. We can run LPARs on the same mainframe footprint that is also supporting Linux. This is what has improved and made the mainframe environment more competitive. We're also looking at AI for Db2 as well, and machine learning for the future. We know that AI has come out, that we're going to get that, and we're going to evaluate that product next year for Db2. That said, I haven't got any real complaints about Db2 on the mainframe. For the most part, a lot of the problems we have nowadays are to do with communication between the various teams that you would class as stakeholders.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The provision of custom read and write endpoints eliminates the need for managing a separate proxy load balancer."
"The solution’s scalability is good since we don’t need to take a maintenance window during unpredictable workloads. I like the solution’s behind-the-scenes happenings. It is a great feature."
"The most valuable feature is that the maintainability is offloaded to the service provider. I don't have to maintain a database or do any administrative tasks, which comes in handy."
"One of the standout features of Amazon Aurora is that we do not need to maintain disaster recovery or manage availability zones."
"One of the most valuable features is storage scaling."
"We had better control over the parameters that we could tweak in terms of intermediate storage and better indexing capabilities."
"Amazon Aurora stands out for its ease of use in a managed environment, inbuilt security, continuous backups, numerous read replicas, multi-region automated replication, and seamless integration with other AWS services."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to do multiple-read and single-write. These are the kinds of features that we were interested in, and Aurora takes care of that natively."
"The performance of the solution is valuable."
"When you submit a ticket the response time is quick."
"Its functionality and availability are valuable. Its availability is great. It is available 99.99% of the time."
"Reliable, robust with great features."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the integration with other IBM products."
"It has a good, stable performance."
"It's the best solution in terms of security, performance, and availability because the system is available 24/7."
"Db2's best features are that it's self-maintaining and self-monitoring, which means I have to view and monitor the database far less often."
 

Cons

"I would like to see performance insights on the database based on the queries. Currently, we use SolarWinds as the monitoring tool. I would like to leverage SolarWinds’ performance insights in AWS services. SolarWinds gives larger insights when we run performance issues."
"One of the most valuable features is storage scaling."
"The pricing could improve. It should be reduced."
"There are tuning challenges."
"It would have been helpful if they had provided some benchmarking numbers."
"I would like to see more AI-related features in future releases."
"While Amazon Aurora meets your current scaling and storage needs, there is room for improvement in cryptography and scalability compared to other databases."
"Room for improvement might be in the UI, integrations, or data working capabilities for better user experience."
"The user interface is not user-friendly."
"The vendor should offer a free version"
"The product needs to improve its configuration and storage."
"The GUI interface is not particularly friendly for those who do not have experience with the product."
"​Not very solid compared to its competitors' products.​"
"The product’s user interface is not easy to use."
"It would be helpful to have a hybrid data storage facility that includes NoSQL technologies."
"The solution's UI hasn't been upgraded. The solution’s UI is an area to improve because the solution was developed long ago."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution."
"It is quite expensive."
"There is no need to buy a license for the product. We can pay as per the use case."
"The price could be lower compared to its competitors."
"The tool’s pricing depends on the instance type. For cost optimization purposes, we use the result instance category."
"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"Clients are required to purchase a license."
"Compared to other databases, Db2 is relatively cheaper."
"We normally handle large size businesses and as far as I am aware, the license is negotiable based on the number of users and the quantitative data."
"Db2 is less expensive than Oracle."
"It's very expensive."
"The total cost of the solution depends upon the PVU licensing"
"We purchase the product's yearly license."
"It is expensive. The price depends on the size of the machine on which you are installing the Db2 and the features you are using. It also depends on the country. IBM has different policies and different options for payment for this product."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
26%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Educational Organization
62%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
4%
Manufacturing Company
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon Aurora?
Aurora's compatibility with MySQL or PostgreSQL benefited our database management. The migration from on-premise MySQL to Aurora was similar, so we didn't need to change our source code.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Amazon Aurora?
The pricing for Amazon Aurora is nearly the same as RDS, with Aurora offering additional functionalities. This makes the product cost-effective.
What needs improvement with Amazon Aurora?
There are tuning challenges. The same methods used for tuning in RDS might not work in Aurora, and some functionalities available in MySQL may not be compatible with Aurora. There's also a concern ...
What do you like most about IBM Db2 Database?
Db2 database scalability and performance capabilities match our database needs. It covers pretty much everything a database administrator or engineer might need.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Db2 Database?
IBM Db2 is an expensive solution. While I am not heavily involved with pricing, additional companies provide capabilities or products like those from BMC, which many installations might also purchase.
What needs improvement with IBM Db2 Database?
The user interface is old and needs to be improved. It doesn't match the responsive and suggestion-rich UI of cloud solutions. New functions don't come to mind.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
DB2
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Dow Jones, Arizona State University, Verizon, Capital One, United Nations, Nielsen, Autodesk, Fanduel
Knorr-Bremse, Mizuho Bank Ltd., Australian Government Department of Defence, SCHWENK Zement, Friedhelm Loh Group, YAZAKI Europe Limited, Ekornes ASA, Baldor Electric, VSN Systemen BV, Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC, PLANSEE Group, TE Connectivity, Hansgrohe SE, Openmatics, University of Toronto
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Aurora vs. IBM Db2 Database and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
841,431 professionals have used our research since 2012.