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IBM Informix vs MySQL 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 Informix
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
23rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (9th)
MySQL
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
148
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of IBM Informix is 1.9%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MySQL is 8.5%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Nazzareno Maria Rezzini - PeerSpot reviewer
Supports multiple business intelligence tools, but the technical support services need improvement
IBM Informix is a central database solution across various environments, supporting multiple applications and business intelligence tools The key areas for improvement revolve around understanding the current customer trends and demands, particularly in software and database requirements. The…
Muzzamil  Hussain - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It supports multiple applications and business intelligence tools."
"The solution's stability, performance, enhanced functionality, and replication are all great features."
"So far, we do not have a lot of issues. It's pretty problem-free."
"It supports in-house-built applications in .NET and VB6"
"The stability is incredible. I have customers with uptimes of several years."
"This solution has made financial reporting possible by allowing financial people the opportunity to set Informix to "Auto Pilot" so that they can attend other duties."
"The scalability is very good."
"Every version is faster than the previous."
"The solution is a small application and is very easy to deploy."
"The initial setup for the SQL database is not complex and it even integrates into the platform. You set up the recipe and then just follow the runbook, the build book. Then it works as long as you follow the procedures."
"The IO segregation in CGE is valuable."
"For starters, it's free, which is always nice, and it's also pretty straightforward to use. It's a nice conventional database."
"MySQL's clustering features are very strong, and you can automate scripting, so that helps. We wrote a Terraform script and ran it."
"MySQL is easy to integrate. It works with just about every language."
"Support for enterprise-grade features like clustering, master-slave replication, even Sharding (to some extent) which is an advanced feature."
"I use MySQL for employee service in an OLTP database."
 

Cons

"The technical support services need substantial improvement."
"The support team could include local engineers to establish efficient communication. It will help us speed up the escalation process."
"Continue extending the SQL language for compatibility with the competition's language, including Stored Procedure Language."
"It would be helpful to have IBM salespeople know that Informix exists, and sell it. Currently, it is completely ignored by IBM."
"The solution really doesn't add new features very often."
"The solution lacks some functionality."
"I experienced poor input/output (IO) performance."
"This product could be made easier to use for beginners."
"The solution could have better integration and security features."
"In an upcoming release, there should be something added similar to EPL. For example, when using the flow diagram, we can create a schema. We have two useful features to add or create the table, but there should be some UI features to allow us to drag and drop to create other schemas. This would be very helpful."
"I would like to see more integrations of the solution with other platforms and improve the support on different data types."
"Scalability could be improved."
"The solution is expensive."
"The interface could be improved."
"​MySQL is not easily scalable on cost effective consumer grade hardware.​"
"Could use some additional JSON query support in the solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license."
"I am not aware of the licensing costs or terms."
"For me, it's always too expensive."
"The free edition can be enough to handle moderate-size implementations, but you may want a pay for edition to benefit from more functionality, such as replication."
"The solution is open source so is free."
"The tool is open source."
"The price of the solution is good because we have a good partner."
"The solution does not come with a licensing fee."
"MySQL is a cheap solution."
"There is no licensing fee."
"It is open-source."
"The pricing is not much expensive, it's cheap."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
66%
Financial Services Firm
4%
Computer Software Company
4%
Retailer
3%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Informix?
It supports multiple applications and business intelligence tools.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Informix?
The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license.
What needs improvement with IBM Informix?
The key areas for improvement revolve around understanding the current customer trends and demands, particularly in software and database requirements. The product's performance could be better com...
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 you move information over a network without encryption, you are endangering it, m...
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 versions. So back in my day, it was all free, it was open-source and the best among sim...
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 it was free, everyone was on their own, seeking tutorials and how-to videos onli...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Informix
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Shaspa, Hildebrand, Kaifa, Ranhill Powertron, Federaci‹ Farmacutica (FedeFarma), Camden Council, The German Aerospace Center (DLR), Myers, Votorantim Group, Doosan Infracore, GreenIvory
Facebook, Tumblr, Scholastic, MTV Networks, Wikipedia, Verizon Wireless, Sage Group, Glassfish Open Message Queue, and RightNow Technologies.
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Informix vs. MySQL and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.