IBM Db2 Database 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 8.2, while Oracle is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.2. IBM holds a 7.0% mindshare in SQL, compared to Oracle’s 13.2% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Oracle users who would recommend it.

IBM Db2 Database

Read 73 IBM Db2 Database reviews

7,396 Views
4,674 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Oracle Database

Read 288 Oracle Database reviews

12,592 Views
10,432 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

IBM Db2 Database

Oracle Database

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IBM Db2 Database and Oracle 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 IBM Db2 Database vs. Oracle Database Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Database vs. Oracle Database

January 2025

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Helped 839,255 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

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

Oracle Database

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

288

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Db2 Database is 7.0%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Database is 13.2%, down from 15.7% 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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Duy AnhMai

Product Owner at Heineken

Good storage and reliable but needs a better dashboard

I use Oracle Database just for storage of the corporate database data and the finance data I use Oracle Database just for storage of the corporate database data and the finance data. However, I find the dashboard to be complicated and not user-friendly. The dashboard is not user-friendly, and I…

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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 most valuable features are the simplicity of the database and the access to Db2 and Db2 information."

"The solution can scale."

"The most valuable feature of the IBM Db2 Database is the ease of use, and the ability to do query writing of any SQL statement and have an output."

"IBM Db2 Database has good performance."

"The initial setup was easy."

"The most valuable feature is PowerPC support."

"I can easily export that to further work on it in Snowflake."

"Reliable, robust with great features."

More IBM Db2 Database pros

"Oracle is a good database with decent performance, which is fortunate because we are required to use this database for our ERP system. Even if we thought Oracle was the worst database in the world, we would still have to use it."

"The autonomous database simplifies everything."

"In general, the product is strong enough and offers high performance."

"Oracle can quickly expand its capacity to handle growing data needs by adding additional server resources."

"One of the most valuable features is the stability."

"The database is very secure, robust, and scalable. It has all the features that you need, such as disaster recovery, replication, backup, etc. It comes with all the features."

"The most valuable features of this solution are the cost optimizer and partition exchanges."

"The solution is stable and has good performance."

More Oracle Database pros

Cons

"The solution could be more modern and have updated database technology."

"The GUI interface is not particularly friendly for those who do not have experience with the product."

"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 command line part of this solution could be much better."

"The pricing could be improved, it's expensive."

"The product needs to improve its configuration and storage."

"Also, the website could be more intuitive. I didn't find it easy to find documentation on the website."

"We just want a bit more integration with Linux. That said, we are already seeing Linux more readily available on the mainframe environment."

More IBM Db2 Database cons

"They could improve the storage and network overhead."

"Oracle could improve the finance system."

"The licensing cost could be better."

"Oracle could improve by providing better integration with other solutions, such as Angular platforms."

"I would like to see more integration with other databases and the cloud as well as Microsoft's Office 365."

"The high price of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."

"The solution’s integration could be improved."

"They could improve the scalability a bit. There are other options that are more scalable, for example."

More Oracle Database cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to Oracle, it is so much cheaper."

"They are competitive and honest (compared to how peer firms approach licensing conversations). "

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

"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."

"It's very expensive for West African countries like ours."

"It is expensive."

"We don't see what the specific price of the DB2 license is because we pay for the backup license as a package."

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

More IBM Db2 Database pricing and cost advice

"The price of Oracle Database could improve, it is expensive and they are paid annually. We are looking for lower pricing and flexible pricing plans, they are very rigid in the price."

"I do not have first-hand knowledge of the price of the support. However, I have heard from my seniors or the experienced people who work on the pricing and scaling, the price of Oracle is a bit higher. The reason is Oracle provides enterprise-level applications, only large enterprises can afford Oracle applications or tools."

"The price of Oracle Database is too expensive and especially for individual environments. The pricing model is not clear, if I want to run it on a virtual environment, I still need to license the whole physical box."

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

"You buy it initially, and then you pay for yearly support if you need support. If you don't need support, you can also use it without the support."

"Oracle Database could make the documentation better around licensing. The way you have to access software from Oracle is difficult. You have to go through the licensing lawyer to understand what your reach is when you subscribe to one unit. I wish the documents were easier to understand for everyone. This is a problem I have always grappled with and it's not changed. Having clarity is even more important now that I'm thinking of having a hybrid setup for the database in the cloud for high availability."

"The price of Oracle Database is too expensive."

"The tool is expensive. Compared to its stability and eligibility, the tool is expensive, but if I consider the tool's ROI to be better, the tool is affordable with its set of features."

More Oracle Database pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

62%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

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 database administrator or engineer might need.

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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 capabilities or products like those from BMC, which many installations might also purchase.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Db2 Database?

The usage of Db2 could be simplified, as it is quite complex and requires substantial knowledge of Db2 and zOS. Modern features are being implemented, but further simplification and the inclusion o...

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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 myself to answer your questions about why and what benefits it provides us with ...

See all answers

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 organization, that has been the limitations of the product. When it comes to Ora...

See all answers

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 storing data. We benefit from its high level of security as well as from the fact tha...

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Comparisons

SQL Server vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 33% 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

IBM Informix vs IBM Db2 Database

Compared 2% of the time

More IBM Db2 Database Competitors

SAP HANA vs Oracle Database

Compared 23% of the time

SQL Server vs Oracle Database

Compared 13% of the time

MariaDB vs Oracle Database

Compared 10% of the time

MySQL vs Oracle Database

Compared 7% of the time

Tibero vs Oracle Database

Compared 6% of the time

More Oracle Database Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Db2 Database

February 2025

Download IBM Db2 Database product report

Buyer's Guide

Oracle Database

February 2025

Download Oracle Database product report

Also Known As

DB2

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

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

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

IBM Db2 Database vs. Oracle Database

January 2025

Free Report: IBM Db2 Database vs. Oracle Database

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

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