IBM Db2 Database vs MySQL vs Oracle Database comparison

IBM and Oracle are both solutions in the Relational Databases Tools category. IBM is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.1, while Oracle is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.6. IBM holds a 7.1% mindshare in SQL, compared to Oracle’s 8.5% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Oracle users who would recommend it.

IBM Db2 Database

Read 73 IBM Db2 Database reviews

6,854 Views
4,346 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

MySQL

Read 148 MySQL reviews

7,193 Views
5,585 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Oracle Database

Read 289 Oracle Database reviews

11,609 Views
9,638 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

IBM Db2 Database

MySQL

Oracle Database

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Executive Summary

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

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Oracle, SAP and others in Relational Databases Tools.

To learn more, read our detailed Relational Databases Tools Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Relational Databases Tools

March 2025

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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:

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 MySQL is 8.5%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Database is 12.8%, down from 15.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Relational Databases Tools

Featured Reviews

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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Muzzamil Hussain

Assistant Vice President at National Bank of Pakistan

Native encryption ensures secure data management with a simple deployment

The most valuable feature is the on-premises data encryption facilities. By default, we can provide encryption, and this feature in MySQL is why we prefer it over other databases. The native encryption in MySQL encourages us to use this database model more frequently compared to Oracle and other databases. With Oracle, we have to buy another solution for encryption and masking, but MySQL supports native encryption, which enhances our return on investment. It perfectly supports our ROI, and we have no issues with its functionality.

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Ismail Aboulezz

Chief Executive Officer at LeaseWeb

Continuous updates improve performance and add valuable features to meet workload demands

Oracle Database ( /products/oracle-database-reviews ) is easy to install, customize, troubleshoot, and maintain. Its data management capabilities include data quality, data integration, data architecture, modeling, and data security, which are very important for data-driven companies. Furthermore, Oracle Database's performance and scalability features meet workload demands, and its continuous updates improve performance and add valuable features.

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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 scalability and availability of this solution are the most valuable features."

"The solution has many beneficial features, such as security, support, and stability."

"The stability of IBM Db2 Database is stable. We have not faced any downtime in one year. Our work is mostly during business hours and during that time, we haven't faced any downtime."

"I have found the most valuable feature to be its availability."

"The newly added feature of ALSM is one of the top features"

"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."

"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."

"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

"MySQL has cross-platform support for multiple operating systems. The backups on a Linux machine can be restored on a Windows machine, and vice versa."

"The deployment process is pretty fast."

"It is a scalable solution."

"The solution is free to use, which is its most valuable aspect."

"It has a remote access feature to manage the database from a remote location. This enables in-work collaboration."

"The solution is easy to use."

"The most valuable feature of MySQL is auto-scaling."

"MySQL's most significant attribute is its capability to create, modify, and maintain databases. This is crucial and advantageous in procedures, such as SOAR. Therefore, all SQL functions are beneficial to any backend developer or developer who requires data storage."

More MySQL pros

"The autonomous database simplifies everything."

"Oracle Database is very stable. In terms of stability and performance, Oracle is super. On the database side, Oracle is number one in our tests."

"The solution has great security."

"Oracle enables us to handle more than a million daily transactions."

"This solution is very reliable. The performance is great."

"Performance is the best key value. Oracle provides Exadata, the engineered system designed for Oracle Database, where you can achieve maximum performance."

"The thing that probably stands out the most about Oracle Database is reliability. I have been working with Oracle Databases for over 25 years, and I have never lost any data due to a machine going down or any events that were not stupid human tricks. I've never lost anybody's data using Oracle. It gets the job done and doesn't fail."

"The solution is scalable."

More Oracle Database pros

Cons

"The solution could improve by providing more integration."

"We need some time to improve the performance. We have to perform a weekly REORG, or else RUNSTATS for the databases."

"They could enhance the product's cloud integration and general-purpose database capabilities."

"The initial setup could be improved."

"IBM's products tend to be quite costly, especially given the availability of free, open-source alternatives."

"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."

"GUI needs improvement."

"IBM Db2 Database could improve the user-defined functions. There are some user-defined functions that are missing, such as the spring functions. I used to have Teradata for my projects and I was used to working in the environment. They had a good set of user-defined functions."

More IBM Db2 Database cons

"The manuals or documentation could be better."

"I would like to see more integrations of the solution with other platforms and improve the support on different data types."

"In terms of what I'd like to see in the next release, one thing that's always missing is dash boarding. There's no real BI tool for MySQL, like there is in Yellowfin and all the different tools that you get. They all have MySQL connectors, but there's no specific BI tool for MySQL. These open source projects have sprung up, but they're more general purpose."

"Stability needs improvement and the backup needs to be enhanced."

"I did the implementation of the solution myself and I used community support. The support from the vendor costs money."

"The GUI could improve to make MySQL better."

"Even for the best database, we always want the database to perform much better, so we wish MySQL would be much better, in terms of performance."

"Some problems with big table operations, and a struggle to keep the servers responding in peak situations."

More MySQL cons

"A lot of features have bugs or choose the wrong way to process data."

"The product is expensive."

"The solution can be quite expensive."

"The adaptability to various APIs is something that needs to be improved."

"Their support portal requires a person to become well-trained in how to use it. They are pretty good at handling absolute critical emergencies, but with the exception of absolute critical emergencies, getting problems solved from their support system is difficult and takes a long time."

"The pricing needs to be improved."

"Cheap and easy solutions for startups need to be made available."

"I believe that the simplicity of installation and configuration for logging in to Microsoft and PostgreSQL could be improved."

More Oracle Database cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Clients are required to purchase a license."

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

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

"Db2 is less expensive than Oracle."

"It is expensive when compared to other products."

"We purchase the product's yearly license."

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

"It is expensive."

More IBM Db2 Database pricing and cost advice

"This is an open-source product that can be used free of charge."

"There is no licensing fee."

"The solution is open source so is free."

"Can range from free to quite expensive, depending on the environments and requirements, so better to really set goals ahead of setting it up."

"MySQL is a cheap solution."

"The tool is open source."

"It's an open-source database management system that can be used free of charge."

"It is an open source platform."

More MySQL pricing and cost advice

"The pricing model could be better."

"It is an excellent product, as long as the organization can afford the price tag."

"For us as a bank, the price is not too high, but for a small business, it would be an expensive solution."

"Seeing as a lot of our applications use Oracle, our team has been able to negotiate a better deal."

"The main issue where I feel that Oracle still has a problem is with the licensing. Licensing is still expensive and the reason why today most startups use other, cheaper databases. Those other databases are much less sophisticated than Oracle."

"Definitely, it's an expensive product."

"It's expensive. I would say that it is more expensive than other competing products."

"Our licensing costs are between $40,000 and $50,000 per year. Those are the costs that cover maintenance and licensing."

More Oracle Database pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

60%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Government

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

21%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

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 da...

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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 capabili...

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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 s...

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Why are MySQL connections encrypted and what is the biggest benefit of this?

MySQL encrypts connections to protect your data and the biggest benefit from this is that nobody can corrupt it. If y...

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Considering that there is a free version of MySQL, would you invest in one of the paid editions?

I may be considered a MySQL veteran since I have been using it since before Oracle bought it and created paid version...

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What is one thing you would improve with MySQL?

One thing I would improve related to MySQL is not within the product itself, but with the guides to it. Before, when ...

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How do you run Oracle Database at your organization and why?

My company has been using Oracle Exadata Database Service for some years now, and we are happy with it. I will allow ...

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Do you know of any disadvantages of Oracle Database?

Undoubtedly, Oracle Database is a top product in its category. But it does have its disadvantages, and for me and my ...

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What is the best use for Oracle Database?

Oracle Database is flexible and can be used for many things. My company's main use case for this product is for stori...

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Comparisons

SQL Server vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 31% of the time

SAP HANA vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 16% of the time

Teradata vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 13% of the time

IBM Informix vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 2% of the time

Oracle Multitenant vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 2% of the time

More IBM Db2 Database Competitors

Firebird SQL vs MySQL

Compared 28% of the time

PostgreSQL vs MySQL

Compared 15% of the time

SAP HANA vs MySQL

Compared 8% of the time

MariaDB vs MySQL

Compared 6% of the time

SQLite vs MySQL

Compared 2% of the time

More MySQL Competitors

SAP HANA vs Oracle Database

Compared 22% of the time

SQL Server vs Oracle Database

Compared 13% of the time

MariaDB vs Oracle Database

Compared 8% of the time

Tibero vs Oracle Database

Compared 8% of the time

Amazon Aurora vs Oracle Database

Compared 5% of the time

More Oracle Database Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Database

April 2025

Download IBM Db2 Database product report

Buyer's Guide

MySQL

April 2025

Download MySQL product report

Buyer's Guide

Oracle Database

March 2025

Download Oracle Database product report

Also Known As

DB2

No data available

Oracle 12c, RDBMS

Overview

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

MySQL is a cost-efficient and scalable relational database management system widely used in web, mobile applications, and academic projects.

MySQL is utilized for backend operations, data analysis, reporting, financial transactions, and ERP databases. It supports deployment on local servers, Cloud, and Kubernetes. Its free, open-source nature along with strong community support make it popular among companies. MySQL's compatibility with multiple platforms and programming languages enhances its appeal. While it remains stable and easy to use, areas such as replication, clustering, and backup require improvement to better serve enterprise applications. Enhanced security, error messages, and monitoring tools are also desired for a better user experience.

What are the most important features of MySQL?

Free and Open-Source: No licensing costs, perfect for budget-conscious projects.
Compatibility: Works with multiple platforms and programming languages.
High Performance: Efficient performance across large datasets.
Scalability: Easily scales to meet growing business needs.
Clustering and Replication: Ensures data availability and redundancy.
Easy Installation: Quick setup process on various operating systems.
Community Support: Extensive resources and community assistance.
Cross-Platform: Operates seamlessly on different operating systems.
Data Management Interface: Simplifies data handling and manipulation.

What are the benefits of using MySQL?

Cost Efficiency: Reduce expenses with a free, open-source database.
Scalability: Adapt to increasing data demands effortlessly.
Performance: Handle large datasets with ease and speed.
Community Support: Access a vast pool of knowledge and resources.
Flexibility: Integrate with various platforms and languages for diverse use cases.
Data Reliability: Clustering and replication for high data availability.

In multiple industries, MySQL supports internal applications, billing systems, academic teaching purposes, and ERP databases. Companies leverage MySQL for Cloud and local deployments, ensuring effective data manipulation and backend operations in diverse projects. Its role in financial transactions and reporting further emphasizes its versatility.

Oracle

Oracle Database is a top-ranking multi-model database management system by Oracle Corporation. Through Oracle database services and products, clients receive cost-optimized and high-performing versions of Oracle Database, as well as in-memory, NoSQL, and MySQL databases. The solution is available by several service providers on premises, in the cloud, or as a hybrid installation. It can be run on vendor servers as well as on Oracle hardware, including Exadata on-premise, Oracle Cloud, or Cloud at Customer.

Users can select from various types of Oracle Database solutions, depending on what they aim to do with this product. Based on their specific needs, they can choose among options that include:

Autonomously managed Oracle databases: This type of database eliminates the complexity of operating and securing Oracle Database, while simultaneously ensuring high levels of performance, scalability, and availability for users.
Oracle Database on Exadata: Users who seek particularly fast platforms can select this type of running solution. Exadata is a computing platform that is optimized for running Oracle Databases and it serves as the fastest platform for Oracle Database.
Oracle Database on-premises deployment: The product allows for deployment on-premises for clients who have data residency and network latency concerns. This option also offers customers the benefit of updated Oracle Cloud technology, including Exadata and Autonomous Database.
Oracle Database in the cloud: Organizations can use a specific version of this tool in the cloud, benefiting from complete control over the versions they run and when these versions change.

Part of this product is a fully automated database service called Oracle Autonomous Database, which facilitates the development and deployment of application workloads for organizations. It is built on Oracle Database as well as on Oracle Exadata. This service supports various data types and simplifies application development and deployment from modeling and coding to extract, transform, load process (ETL), data analysis, and database optimization. The service achieves high results in:

Performance
Availability
Security for online transaction processing (OLTP)
Analytics
Batch
Internet of Things (IoT) workloads

Oracle Database Features

Oracle Database has various features which users can utilize in their work with the solution. Among these features are the following:

Backup and recovery: Oracle Database ensures the integrity of users' data in system failure situations. This feature utilizes a tool named Recovery Manager (RMAN), which allows administrators to perform cold, hot, and incremental database backups, as well as point-in-time recoveries.
Clustering: This feature enables high availability of systems in order to run without interruption of services on occasions when one or more servers in a cluster fail. Included is a tool called Oracle Real Application Clusters.
Data dictionary: Through this set of internal tables and views, Oracle Database can be administered more efficiently.
Logical data structure: Through its feature for logical data structure, Oracle Database stores data in a way that allows users to interact with the database without knowing where the physical storage of the data is located.
Memory catching: Through the memory caching architecture feature, users can scale up very large databases and still perform at a considerably high speed.
Partitioning: This feature allows users to divide large tables into different pieces and store the pieces across storage devices.

Oracle Database Benefits

Oracle Database offers its users various benefits. Some of these include:

The solution decreases costs for organizations and provides a high return on investment (ROI) through the multiple services and features it offers.
Oracle Database has high-security protection which includes encryption, key management, data masking, and activity monitoring, that secures organizations' data within the tool.
The tool offers users the ability to use a single database for all data types, simplifying the process for them.
Oracle Database can be deployed in multiple places, including data centers and public and private clouds, which allows great flexibility for users.
The product allows applications from different platforms to communicate with the database through its networking stack.
Oracle Database is ACID-compliant, which helps maintain data reliability and integrity.

Reviews from Real Users

Paul S., president at Advance Consulting Enterprise, likes Oracle Database because it gets the job done, doesn't fail, and suitable for massively scalable applications.

An Oracle DBA at a computer software company describes Oracle Database as reliable with good performance and very good stability.

Oracle

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

Facebook, Tumblr, Scholastic, MTV Networks, Wikipedia, Verizon Wireless, Sage Group, Glassfish Open Message Queue, and RightNow Technologies.

Agncia Nacional de guas, Anbima, Aria Systems, Asiana Airlines, Astelit LLC, Australian Finance Group, Banco Occidental de Descuento, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, BT, Caja de Seguros S.A., Casas GEO S.A.B. de C.V., Comic Relief UK, Corsair Components Inc., CSAM Health AS, CSOB Group, Datacraft Solutions, DenizBank A.S., Department of Treasury and Finance WA, Office of State Revenue, Deutsche B_rse AG, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Deutsche Messe AG, Digicel Haiti, DPR COSEA, Essar Group, Essatto Software Pty Ltd, Farmšcia e Drogaria Nissei Ltda., Fomento Econ‹mico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA), FundaÊo Petrobras de Seguridade Social, Future Group, GFKL Financial Services AG, Grupo Posadas S.A.B. de C.V., Grupo Sinosserra, Guerra S.A. Implementos Rodovišrios, Hanatour International Service, Hays plc, Henan Mobile Co. Ltd, Hochschule Hof, Hong Kong and China Technology (Wuhan) Co. Ltd (Towngas Technology), Industries Corpa_al C.A., Infrastructure Development Finance Company Limited, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatstica, Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial, Kcell, LinkShare Corporation, MercadoLibre Inc., MetLife Inc., Nextgen Distribution, €BB-IKT GmbH, Octagon Research Solutions, Pacific Lutheran University, Paragon Data GmbH, Ping ltd., PJSC Trustbank, Prodaub _ Processamento de Dados de Uberl_ndia, Purdue University, Redknee Inc., Robi Axiata Limited, Shanghai Infoservice Technology Co. Ltd, Shanghai Sihua Technologies Co. Ltd, Sistema de Aguas de la Ciudad de M_xico, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Suddenlink Communications, Suprajit Engineering Limited, Tallink Grupp, Terminales Ro de la Plata S.A., Therap Services LLC, Think Passenger Inc., Trafigura, Transmed S.A.L Lebanon, ValeShop, VelQuest Corporation, Vodafone Group plc, West Virginia Network, WIND Hellas Telecommunications S.A

Buyer's Guide

Relational Databases Tools

March 2025

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