CockroachDB vs IBM Db2 Database comparison

Cockroach and IBM are both solutions in the Relational Databases Tools category. Cockroach is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.4, while IBM is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.2. Cockroach holds a 3.6% mindshare in SQL, compared to IBM’s 7.0% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of Cockroach users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of IBM users who would recommend it.

CockroachDB

Read 12 CockroachDB reviews

2,809 Views
1,932 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

IBM Db2 Database

Read 73 IBM Db2 Database reviews

7,396 Views
4,674 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

CockroachDB

IBM Db2 Database

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between CockroachDB and IBM Db2 Database based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Relational Databases Tools solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed CockroachDB vs. IBM Db2 Database Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

CockroachDB vs. IBM Db2 Database

March 2025

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Helped 839,319 peers since 2012

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

CockroachDB

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

12th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM Db2 Database

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

6th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of CockroachDB is 3.6%, up from 2.4% 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

Antonio Tringali

Software Engineer at a consultancy with self employed

Open source with extensive documentation and a University for training

I am a freelancer. A client of mine wanted a solution that would allow them to scale yet not abandon the familiar PostgreSQL front-end (and rewrite a part of their source code). Scalability aside, CockroachDB is a fine way forward from PostgreSQL and is not changing the client source code part of the system. If you are lucky and you do not use newer features from recent versions of PostgreSQL or PostgreSQL extensions, it's fine. There are nice-to-have features for big organizations like regional tables. At the moment, my client simply does not use these. However, the serverless offer from CockroachDB is reacting well as data grows.

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SimonHiggins

Mainframe Technical Manager/Service Integration Lead at Saudi Business Machines

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The tool's most valuable feature is node syncing, which takes only 0.54 milliseconds."

"The initial setup and deployment are simple."

"The most valuable feature is that CockroachDB is a distributed database, which can deploy nodes running in different regions."

"The availability and the easy to use feature is the most valuable. The documentation is also good."

"The most valuable features of the solution are its resiliency features and the geo-partitioning capabilities."

"The best feature of CockroachDB is the ability to keep the nodes in different locations."

"The product has valuable security features."

"What I like best is its ability to solve data residency issues. The main advantage is auto geo partitioning, built into the product. This means we don't have to spin up separate servers in each region, which would be much more costly."

More CockroachDB pros

"It is a scalable solution."

"It's easy to search and extract data from the warehouse using queries."

"The most valuable feature of the IBM Db2 Database is security."

"It has a good, stable performance."

"The initial setup was easy."

"Scales well enough for a relational database."

"The performance of the solution is valuable."

"Some of the most valuable features are the scaling from a small very cheap installation to a very large enterprise installation. In addition, the backups and assistance are good."

More IBM Db2 Database pros

Cons

"We are looking for more features to support distributed high availability and geo-partitioning."

"CockroachDB needs to improve store processes."

"I would like CockroachDB to have more compatibility with PostgreSQL, especially with the connection string and technical integrations."

"I find the serverless offer a bit confusing."

"The closer they can make CockroachDB to being completely compatible with Postgres, the better. It's almost compatible, but not completely. If it was, it would be nice to just be able to use Postgres libraries without any fiddling."

"I think the engine itself could be improved. If you miss a partition key, it should be able to be modeled. This is where AI could be really helpful. For example, if a user is from Australia, the system should know to look for their data there first instead of searching in the US or another continent."

"The platform could be more extensible."

"The product must improve its disaster recovery features."

More CockroachDB cons

"The technical support can be faster."

"In terms of improvements, IBM Db2 can improve its interface and its functionality. Also, the embedded functions should be much richer than the current ones - the functions which are embedded in the engine itself."

"The initial setup could be improved."

"IBM Db2 Database could improve in the steps it takes for upgrades. It is not an easy process. The process of upgrading the version is lengthy and requires a lot of time. To make it more efficient, I suggest implementing some automation on the solution side. This will greatly reduce the time required for the upgrade."

"IBM's support isn't as strong as it used to be, especially when it comes to providing fixes."

"The backup solution lacks flexibility."

"I would say that the tool has to be made more cloud-friendly and should have agreements with AWS, Microsoft, or Google to run things on hyperscalers."

"Db2 interface could be improved a bit. Comparing it to Oracle, Db2's interfaces could be improved."

More IBM Db2 Database cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's pricing is not cheap. However, the good thing is that customers are willing to pay for it if they want it."

"The platform is affordable even for the enterprise version. It provides value for investment in terms of performance."

"The pricing is good but can be made cheaper. I would rate the pricing a five out of ten."

"I've used CockroachDB at a small scale on the free accounts because we are only testing."

"The product's price depends on the user's company and the contract model they enter into with CockroachDB. Depending on the contract model one enters into with CockroachDB, the product may or may not be expensive."

"The solution costs less than other products."

"We did not buy it. It came with our hardware without any complimentary maintenance. If I compare Db2 Database with Oracle Database, its price is lower than Oracle Database."

"The solution's pricing is fine."

"I rate the price of the IBM Db2 Database an eight out of ten."

"It is expensive when compared to other products."

"The solution's hardware and subscription model for support are very expensive."

"There is a license for this solution and we pay every three years."

"The total cost of the solution depends upon the PVU licensing"

More IBM Db2 Database pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

38%

Computer Software Company

14%

Retailer

University

Educational Organization

62%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about CockroachDB?

The subset of SQL that my client is using is completely supported.

See all answers

What needs improvement with CockroachDB?

I would like CockroachDB to have more compatibility with PostgreSQL, especially with the connection string and technical integrations.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for CockroachDB?

I am studying how to deploy CockroachDB and YugaByteDB, and learning some basic information about them. I am testing these databases as part of my school application to find a suitable database for...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

Comparisons

Citus Data vs CockroachDB

Compared 19% of the time

Neon vs CockroachDB

Compared 18% of the time

Oracle Database vs CockroachDB

Compared 12% of the time

YugabyteDB vs CockroachDB

Compared 10% of the time

SQL Server vs CockroachDB

Compared 9% of the time

More CockroachDB Competitors

SQL Server vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 33% of the time

Oracle Database vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 19% of the time

SAP HANA vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 17% of the time

Teradata vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 13% of the time

MySQL vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM Db2 Database Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

CockroachDB

March 2025

Download CockroachDB product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Database

February 2025

Download IBM Db2 Database product report

Also Known As

No data available

DB2

Overview

CockroachDB is a distributed SQL database built on a transactional and strongly-consistent key-value store. It scales horizontally; survives disk, machine, rack, and even datacenter failures with minimal latency disruption and no manual intervention; supports strongly-consistent ACID transactions; and provides a familiar SQL API for structuring, manipulating, and querying data.

CockroachDB is inspired by Google’s Spanner and F1 technologies, and it’s completely open source.

Cockroach

DB2 Enterprise for Linux, UNIX, and Windows is the ideal data server for the most demanding workloads. New XML support is designed to help firms minimize the time and effort it takes to persist and use their XML data reducing development costs and improving business agility.

IBM

Sample Customers

Baidu, Kindred, Tierion, Heroic Labs, Gorgias

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

Buyer's Guide

CockroachDB vs. IBM Db2 Database

March 2025

Free Report: CockroachDB vs. IBM Db2 Database

Find out what your peers are saying about CockroachDB vs. IBM Db2 Database and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.

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