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IBM Watson Studio vs Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

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 Watson Studio
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
11th
Ranking in AI Development Platforms
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure Machine Lea...
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
5th
Ranking in AI Development Platforms
3rd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Data Science Platforms category, the mindshare of IBM Watson Studio is 2.0%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio is 5.2%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Science Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Abilio Duarte - PeerSpot reviewer
A highly robust and well-documented platform that simplifies the complex world of AI
The main challenge lies in visibility and ease of use. Providing training sessions can be immensely helpful in helping users navigate and understand the tool's potential. This approach would empower users to explore and make the most of the tools and technologies at their disposal. Another area where IBM could enhance its offering is by providing more visibility to end users regarding the vast potential that Watson offers.
Takayuki Umehara - PeerSpot reviewer
Streamlined workflows with drag and drop convenience but needs enhancements in AI
I use Machine Learning Studio for system reselling and integration Machine Learning Studio is easy to use, with a significant feature being the drag and drop interface that enhances workflow without any complaints. It provides a return on investment and cost savings, proving beneficial for…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Watson Studio is very stable."
"It is a very stable and reliable solution."
"The solution is very easy to use."
"It stands out for its substantial AI capabilities, offering a broad spectrum of features for crafting solutions that meet specific requirements."
"Watson Studio is the most complete tool for AI projects."
"It is a stable, reliable product."
"Stability-wise, it is a great tool."
"IBM Watson Studio consistently automates across channels."
"The solution is very easy to use, so far as our data scientists are concerned."
"The most valuable feature is data normalization."
"The most valuable feature of Azure Machine Learning Studio for me is its convenience. I can quickly start using it without setting up the environment or buying a lot of devices."
"Machine Learning Studio is easy to use, with a significant feature being the drag and drop interface that enhances workflow without any complaints."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the ability to use all of the cognitive services, prebuilt from Azure."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the availability of ChatGPT in the solution."
"The product's initial setup phase is easy."
"One of the notable advantages is that it offers both a visual designer, which is user-friendly, and an advanced coding option."
 

Cons

"IBM Watson Studio, while powerful, lacks user-friendliness. It is not easy to use, particularly for medium or small enterprises or less experienced staff."
"I think maybe the support is an area where it lacks."
"It's sometimes easy to get lost given the number of images the solution opens up when you click on the mouse and the amount of different tabs."
"We would like to see it less as one big, massive product, but more based on smaller services that we can then roll out to consumers."
"One area that could be improved is the backup and restoration of the database and the overall database configuration."
"I want IBM's technical support team to provide more specific answers to queries."
"Some of the solutions are really good solutions but they can be a little too costly for many."
"More features in data virtualization would be helpful. The solution could use an interactive dashboard that could make exploration easier."
"This solution could be improved if they could integrate the data pipeline scheduling part for their interface."
"The AutoML feature is very basic and they should improve it by using a more robust algorithm."
"Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio worked okay for me, so right now, I don't have any room for improvement in mind for it. What I'd like added to Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio in its next version is a categorization for use cases or a template that makes the use cases simple to map out, for example, for healthcare, medical, or finance use cases, etc. This would be very helpful for users of Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio, especially for beginners."
"The interface is a bit overloaded."
"Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio could improve by adding pixel or image analysis. This is a priority for me."
"Overall, the icons in the solution could be improved to provide better guidance to users. Additionally, the setup process for the solution could be made easier."
"If you want to be able to deploy your tools outside of Microsoft Azure, this is not the best choice."
"In the future, I would like to see more AI consultation like image and video classification, and improvement in the presentation of data."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Watson Studio's pricing is reasonable for what you get."
"IBM Watson Studio is a reasonably priced product"
"The pricing is generally reasonable and straightforward but can vary significantly depending on the specific workloads in use."
"IBM Watson Studio is an expensive solution."
"From a developer's perspective, I find the price of this solution high."
"The solution operates on a pay-per-use model."
"I used the free student license for a few months to operate the solution, but I'll have to pay for it if I want to do more now."
"I rate the product price as a nine on a scale of one to ten, where ten means it is very expensive."
"There is a license required for this solution."
"To use MLS is fairly cheap. Even the paid account is something like $20/month, unless you are provisioning large numbers of VMs for a Hadoop cluster. The main MS makes money with this solution is forcing the user to deploy their model on REST API, and being charged each time the API is accessed. There are several pricing tiers for the API. If you do not use the API, then value of MLS is to create rapid experiments ($20/month). The resulting model is not exportable to use, thus you’ll have to recreate the algorithms in either R or Python, which is what I did. MLS results gave me a direction to work with, the actual work is mostly done in R and Python outside of MLS."
"On a scale from one to ten, with ten being overpriced, I would rate the price of this solution at six."
"The platform's price is low."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
8%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Watson Studio?
The pricing of Watson Studio is justified by the benefits and power it offers.
What needs improvement with IBM Watson Studio?
One area that could be improved is the backup and restoration of the database and the overall database configuration. There were also challenges with programming the network extension in the last p...
Which do you prefer - Databricks or Azure Machine Learning Studio?
Databricks gives you the option of working with several different languages, such as SQL, R, Scala, Apache Spark, or Python. It offers many different cluster choices and excellent integration with ...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio?
The learning curve is very low. Operationalizing the model is also very easy within the Azure ecosystem.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio?
Pricing is considered to be top-segment and should be improved. I rate the pricing as three or four on a scale of one to ten in terms of affordability.
 

Also Known As

Watson Studio, IBM Data Science Experience, Data Science Experience, DSx
Azure Machine Learning, MS Azure Machine Learning Studio
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

GroupM, Accenture, Fifth Third Bank
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Schneider Electric, BP
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Watson Studio vs. Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,671 professionals have used our research since 2012.