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IBM Watson Studio vs TensorFlow 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 AI Development Platforms
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Data Science Platforms (12th)
TensorFlow
Ranking in AI Development Platforms
6th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the AI Development Platforms category, the mindshare of IBM Watson Studio is 1.5%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of TensorFlow is 3.8%, down from 7.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
AI Development 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.
Ashish Upadhyay - PeerSpot reviewer
A robust tools for model visualization and debugging with superior scalability and stability, and an intuitive user-friendly interface
The one feature we find most valuable at our company is its robust and flexible machine-learning capabilities. It empowers us to seamlessly create and deploy machine learning models, offering a versatile solution for implementing sophisticated environments and various types of AI solutions. The ability to develop and fine-tune models, such as risk assessment for detection and market protection, as well as the creation of recommendation systems, is paramount. This versatility extends to providing personalized identity-relevant applications for our enterprise clients, delivering valuable insights to the market. Its exceptional support for deep learning and its efficient resource utilization enable us to undertake complex financial and data analyses. The flexibility it provides is crucial for meeting industrial requirements and crafting solutions tailored to our client's specific needs.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Stability-wise, it is a great tool."
"Watson Studio is the most complete tool for AI projects."
"The solution is very easy to use."
"The system's ability to take a look at data, segment it and then use that data very differently."
"It is a stable, reliable product."
"It has a lot of data connectors, which is extremely helpful."
"The main benefit is the ease of use. We see a lot of engineers in our site and customers that really like the way the tools are able to work with the people."
"Watson Studio is very stable."
"The available documentation is extensive and helpful."
"It provides us with 35 features like patch normalization layers, and it is easy to implement using the Kras library when the Kaspersky flow is running behind it."
"I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. I am not a developer but more of an account manager. I can find what I want with TensorFlow. I haven’t contacted technical support for any issues. Since TensorFlow is vastly documented on the internet, I usually find some good websites where people exchange their views about the solution and apply that."
"Google is behind TensorFlow, and they provide excellent documentation. It's very thorough and very helpful."
"TensorFlow is easy to implement and offers inbuilt functions for various tasks."
"TensorFlow provides Insights into both data and machine learning strategies."
"TensorFlow is an efficient product for building neural networks."
"The most valuable feature of TensorFlow is deep learning. It is the best tool for deep learning in the market."
 

Cons

"I think maybe the support is an area where it lacks."
"The solution's interface is very slow at times."
"Initially, it was quite complex. For us, it was not only a matter of getting it installed, that was just a start. It was also trying to come up with a standard way of implementing it across the entire organization, which had been a challenge."
"I want IBM's technical support team to provide more specific answers to queries."
"More features in data virtualization would be helpful. The solution could use an interactive dashboard that could make exploration easier."
"Watson Studio would be improved with a clearer path for the deployment of docker images."
"One area that could be improved is the backup and restoration of the database and the overall database configuration."
"We would like to see it more web-based with more functionality."
"The solution is hard to integrate with the GPUs."
"JavaScript is a different thing and all the websites and web apps and all the mobile apps are built-in JavaScript. JavaScript is the core of that. However, TensorFlow is like a machine learning item. What can be improved with TensorFlow is how it can mix in how the JavaScript developers can use TensorFlow."
"There are a lot of problems, such as integrating our custom code. In my experience model tuning has been a bit difficult to edit and tune the graph model for best performance. We have to go into the model but we do not have a model viewer for quick access."
"Enhancements could include increasing use cases and improving the accuracy of previously built models in TensorFlow. For instance, when we run certain models, the computing power of laptops becomes high."
"There are connection issues that interrupt the download needed for the data sets. We need to prepare them ourselves."
"It would be nice to have more pre-trained models that we can utilize within layers. I utilize a Mac, and I am unable to utilize AMD GPUs. That's something that I would definitely be like to be able to access within TensorFlow since most of it is with CUDA ML. This only matters for local machines because, in Azure, you can just access any GPU you want from the cloud. It doesn't really matter, but the clients that I work with don't have cloud accounts, or they don't want to utilize that or spend the money. They all see it as too expensive and want to know what they can do on their local machines."
"We encountered version mismatch errors while using the product."
"Personally, I find it to be a bit too much AI-oriented."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"IBM Watson Studio is a reasonably priced product"
"Watson Studio's pricing is reasonable for what you get."
"TensorFlow is free."
"I am using the open-source version of TensorFlow and it is free."
"I rate TensorFlow's pricing a five out of ten."
"It is an open-source solution, so anyone can use it free of charge."
"The solution is free."
"We are using the free version."
"It is open-source software. You don't have to pay all the big bucks like Azure and Databricks."
"I think for learners to deploy a project, you can actually use TensorFlow for free. It's just amazing to have an open-source platform like TensorFlow to deploy your own project. Here in Russia no one really cares about licenses, as it is totally open source and free. My clients in the United States were also pleased to learn when they enquired, that licensing is free."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
8%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
University
9%
Educational Organization
8%
 

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...
What do you like most about TensorFlow?
It empowers us to seamlessly create and deploy machine learning models, offering a versatile solution for implementing sophisticated environments and various types of AI solutions.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for TensorFlow?
I am not familiar with the pricing setup cost and licensing.
What needs improvement with TensorFlow?
Providing more control by allowing users to build custom functions would make TensorFlow a better option. It currently offers inbuilt functions, however, having the ability to implement custom libr...
 

Also Known As

Watson Studio, IBM Data Science Experience, Data Science Experience, DSx
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

GroupM, Accenture, Fifth Third Bank
Airbnb, NVIDIA, Twitter, Google, Dropbox, Intel, SAP, eBay, Uber, Coca-Cola, Qualcomm
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Watson Studio vs. TensorFlow and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.