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IBM Db2 Database vs MariaDB 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

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
MariaDB
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Db2 Database is 7.1%, up from 6.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MariaDB is 6.9%, down from 9.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

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.
KumarManish - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to deploy, cost-effective, and integrates seamlessly with other products
We had planned for an RDBMS version and not NoSQL. We use MariaDB Galera Cluster. It's a good product. It is cheap, scalable, performs well, and is efficient. We use GCP’s BigQuery for machine learning. We must follow the best practices of the tool. We missed some best practices like the storage engine and InnoDB. It was very difficult to identify why we were having performance issues. Then, we realized that some of our tables were still on MyISAM, the default storage engine. When we switched it back to the InnoDB, it was very smooth. InnoDB is the recommended one. We must follow the best practices given in the documentation during the initial setup. Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is easy to install and simple to maintain. The most valuable aspect of the solution is its general user-friendliness for users of all kinds."
"The solution can scale."
"The newly added feature of ALSM is one of the top features"
"I like that its true active-active. For example, if there are two instances within a cluster, we can take one of them down and there's no failover or switch over. There's no primary and secondary, it's true active-active. We can take one side down and we can upgrade that with new maintenance or a new version, obviously testing coexistence beforehand, without impacting the business."
"Reliable, robust with great features."
"We had a crash of the backup system and the IBM DB2 was always up and consistent. It's robust, and for us, it was always up and running."
"Its robustness, scalability, availability, and performance are valuable. All these are the major attributes of a relational database for supporting a very high-volume business, and Db2 is very good in all those areas and in all those attributes."
"The most valuable feature of IBM Db2 Database is its ability to perform automatic self-management, reducing the need for manual tasks such as managing logs and folders."
"It is a stable solution."
"There is the need for a robust IDE for MongoDB. The existing PHP admin console doesn't meet the client's requirements effectively."
"MariaDB has a straightforward initial setup with easy-to-understand documentation."
"The speed and functionality are the most valuable features."
"It's open source."
"The integration with other products is seamless."
"MariaDB is a user-friendly solution. Performance wise, it's better than SQL. With SQL, I would need to write a number of queries. In contrast, MariaDB is light."
"One of the great features of MariaDB is its scalability. It's easy to handle even with large databases."
 

Cons

"It would be helpful to have more querying tools and more development tools for us to work easily with Microsoft."
"I would like to see some artificial intelligence brought into the solution."
"The data table names are very short which is not user-friendly compared to the Oracle SQL server. It should have longer column and table names."
"We just want a bit more integration with Linux. That said, we are already seeing Linux more readily available on the mainframe environment."
"The solution no longer supports POWER8."
"There are some issues with Db2's database file system not being readable. The storage could also be increased, and the monitoring could be improved."
"The only drawback that we see in Db2 Database is the crash recovery. When there is a crash and somebody has to do the recovery, Db2 Database first stops, and then it does any crash recovery. In Oracle Database, crash recovery happens within the database. The database is not shut down."
"The management of Db2 should be simplified because there are not too many specialists in this area, and the learning curve of Db2 specialists is very long. After the courses, probably it takes one and a half or two years to get to the point when you are using the product properly in the production systems. So, the complexity is very high, and the most important thing is to simplify the management of the product, including self-maintenance. They should simplify the installation, management, and monitoring to simplify the product. It takes too long for a person to be a specialist in this product."
"MariaDB can improve by adding more features. There are a lot of features, which are available in Oracle, and which are not available in MariaDB. We hope they will introduce the features soon."
"MariaDB doesn't handle long or complex SQL queries quite as well as Oracle Database."
"It doesn't have the same level of maturity metrics as Postgres."
"The configuration could be improved. It should be easier."
"MariaDB could be improved by adding more automation."
"The solution is not scalable."
"I'd like to see improved materialized views, like the ability to save select queries. This feature is missing in MariaDB compared to other relational databases like Oracle and SQL Server."
"Master-master replication is something that needs to be simplified."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the product pricing a nine out of ten."
"The total cost of the solution depends upon the PVU licensing"
"Licensing fees are on a yearly basis."
"The solution costs less than other products."
"It is expensive when compared to other products."
"Compared to Oracle, it is so much cheaper."
"I would rate the pricing a five out of ten. It's not super expensive, but also not cheap."
"I rate the price of the IBM Db2 Database an eight out of ten."
"We pay for a yearly license."
"When it comes to MariaDB, it should have a more cost-effective license."
"The price could be less expensive."
"The licensing cost is approximately $4000.00 per year and the licensing is based on the software and the number of posts that you make."
"There is a monthly subscription to use MariaDB."
"The cost is quite good. You can have the open source, free version, which has adequate capacity."
"The price of this solution represents a very good compromise between the cost and what it offers."
"I rate the product's price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price, and ten is high price since there are some support costs involved, even though it isn't an open-source solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
62%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
4%
Government
4%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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.
What do you like most about MariaDB?
The integration with other products is seamless.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MariaDB?
I have found the price of commercial MariaDB to be pretty steep, although not as high as Oracle. Customers often prefer the Community Edition because it's free.
What needs improvement with MariaDB?
The only potential area for improvement could be the pricing model, which might benefit from being more flexible or a bit cheaper.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

DB2
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Db2 Database vs. MariaDB and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.