Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service comparison

Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service

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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:

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

116

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Oracle Exadata Express Clou...

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

13th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 15.9%, down from 18.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service is 0.4%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

Featured Reviews

Charley Hanania

Data Platform Specialist at QS2 AG - Quality Software Solutions

It is very easy to implement, manage, and offers great insights into what is happening inside the engine

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is integrated into other Azure capabilities and has a great foundation being on SQL Server with a long history of security, performance, and usability from a DBA perspective. Once you've set up a server, adding databases is easy. There's a minor challenge with having data in separate databases that you want to connect like we do on premises. I'm looking forward to using some of these new AI-driven functions that have come out around vectorization. Having the data closer to my transactional databases or data makes it easy to augment and enhance the Database and applications I currently use. It's great that Azure SQL now seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Fabric. It's a first-tier service in the cloud that connects to web applications and other databases. The data transformation orchestration capabilities within Database Factory and similar capabilities make it effortless to move that stuff forward.

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Shrikant Navelkar

Director at Clover Infotech

Enhances performance without fine tuning databases

They need to simplify the monitoring of the Exadata services. They have to make it more simple for the users to operate or manage. And one more thing, I would expect that other databases of Oracle, like MySQL Enterprise Edition, if technologically, Oracle makes some advancement and allows MySQL Enterprise Edition to run on Exadata, I think that will improve their market share exponentially. Today, on Exadata, you run Oracle databases, which is given. Apart from that, Oracle also has Oracle MySQL database, open source. If that open-source database also runs on Exadata, I think that will help a lot of customers. In the next release, Oracle can provide a script-level solution to migrate or consolidate cross-platform databases from Unix platform to Oracle Exadata on Linux platform; if they can provide some migration tools, I think that will help.

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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 initial setup was straightforward. Deployment takes about one hour."

"The most valuable aspect of SQL Azure is the SQL language itself. It's open and everybody can use it at my company. Also, we thought in the beginning that the response time would be inadequate, but it's actually decent. It's much better than expected. Then again, I'm not a programmer, but that's what I hear from our development team."

"The stability is excellent because it is easier for us to connect to the cloud rather than connecting to MSSP."

"It is good for scalability and high availability. It is also secure because of Microsoft's cloud investment. It is easy to use because it is on the cloud. Creation or making it available through web services is super easy. Azure SQL can be quickly published as web services for APIs to connect with other applications. Because it is in Microsoft Cloud, you can easily integrate with Microsoft stack."

"SQL is easy to use and easily integrates with many systems. There aren't many code changes needed when you're using SQL databases. Integrating Azure SQL with other Microsoft applications is instant because they're all Microsoft solutions."

"I rate Microsoft Azure SQL Database 10 out of 10."

"The solution has become easier to use over time and it's also reasonably priced."

"We don't have to manage it much. It is managed by Microsoft, which makes it easy for us because there is no admin overhead for managing the servers. It is also easily scalable. During peak hours, it can scale higher."

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database pros

"I highly recommend Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service as a very good solution if you can afford it."

"Having the prediction happen in the modular format allows you to start with a lower version of Exadata and then you can keep on upgrading it as per your requirement."

"The solution is very stable and offers great performance."

"One of the most valuable parts of the solution is the high availability within the system and the performance enhancement without making any changes or fine-tuning the databases."

"In the cloud, Exadata is more scalable. The on-prem version was limited. It wasn't that scalable because it only came in a quarter rack, half rack, and full rack. In the cloud, it scales to what you need."

"The performance of the tool is valuable."

"It is a scalable product."

"I like that Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service is easier to use and is a cost-saving solution because you won't need to hire people to run and maintain it."

Cons

"The price is a little higher."

"One area for improvement is setting up logs, especially for servers like VM SQL. It was also tricky to connect services on VNets to on-premise."

"Microsoft could improve its documentation and support."

"The managed SQL MI does not allow us to control the zone it runs in, which affects latency."

"They could improve Azure SQL by adding some of the features available on-prem, such as cross-database queries and the ability to run particular jobs. We need to migrate those to something else, like a function or logic app."

"From a security perspective, although their features are decent, they can always be improved upon, updated, and refined to help protect clients better."

"The only problem we have with Azure is regarding the price."

"Microsoft Azure SQL Database could be improved by offering an easier way to view all existing roles in the database without needing complex queries found online."

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database cons

"The customer's default choice is the on-premise version of this solution. Only when Oracle or the partners like us, can explain to customers the cloud value proposition, and if the compliance authorities allow, they can look into this cloud solution. It will take some time for Oracle to change its perception of customers' de-facto standards. Exadata used to be treated as a black box, which is not the case now. The customer is aware of what is happening inside, how the configurations have been made, and what patching has been applied. Oracle needs to market the cloud version better."

"Oracle's support could be better."

"Scaling Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service can be done, but the process is a little tedious, which could be an area for improvement in the solution."

"We use artificial intelligence for deep learning, and it would be a huge benefit to implement this in Oracle Exadata."

"The only downside is the difficulty in monitoring, and that's why I would like to implement MySQL database."

"The solution's pricing could be improved."

"The support must be faster."

"The product's installation process needs improvement. It could be more accessible."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"With one being expensive and five being competitive, I would give the product a four out of five as it's relatively competitive. It is also important to note that pricing is based on usage."

"Offers options for paying the license on a yearly or a monthly basis."

"It is expensive for us. We are looking for something less expensive and thinking of migrating the whole system."

"SQL Azure's licensing cost is expensive."

"SQL Azure is an expensive solution."

"In terms of the cost, SQL Azure is a pay-per-use solution, particularly because it's a cloud subscription, so you pay as much as you use it."

"The pricing is actually complicated, and that is probably one downside of it. In some respects, although we can plan for the costs on a month-by-month basis, we are finding it hard to project our costings for it. Fundamentally, Microsoft is offering two pricing models, and it is challenging to understand the differences between the two. We're basically on the DTU model at the moment. That may change in the future as the size grows, but it is one of those things that we'll end up monitoring as we progress. At the moment, to get a reasonable response, generally, the price is a little high for us, but it is one of those things for which we know that we can do improvements on our code. So, it is not just the service that's the problem; it is some of the things that we need to do as well."

"There is a license required to use the solution and it cost $30 to do the installation."

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database pricing and cost advice

"The tool is not cheap, but it is not really expensive."

"I think Oracle pricing is usually above average market price."

"The price of this solution is very comparative to others on the market. There is no direct comparison between this solution and with something else because I do not see any other similar product."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

73%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SQL Azure?

The automated scalability feature of SQL Azure has proven to be highly beneficial, particularly when deployed in the cloud.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SQL Azure?

The price for running the server increased more than expected in recent months, and better alignment of pricing expectations is needed. Notably, costs related to IT staff coming into the office on ...

What needs improvement with SQL Azure?

We're trying to manage our costs better. We've noticed an unexpected increase in the cost of running the server over the past few months. Addressing pricing clarity and alignment would help us. Als...

What do you like most about Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service?

The performance of the tool is valuable.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service?

We can pay the licensing fee monthly. We can also choose to pay upfront for a year. The tool is not cheap, but it is not really expensive. It depends on our usage. I rate the pricing a seven to eig...

What needs improvement with Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service?

The support must be faster.

Google Cloud SQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Comparisons

Compared 45% of the time

Amazon RDS vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 27% of the time

MongoDB Atlas vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 14% of the time

Oracle Database as a Service vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 7% of the time

vCloud Air vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 2% of the time

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database Competitors

No data available

Product Reports

Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Download Microsoft Azure SQL Database product report

Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service

Download Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service product report

Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service report

Overview

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is a relational database-as-a-service that delivers predictable performance, scalability, business continuity, data protection, and near-zero administration to cloud developers and solution architects. This is the deep technical library for Azure SQL Database.

Microsoft

Oracle Database Exadata Express Cloud Service delivers a managed Oracle Database 12c Release 2 Enterprise Edition with options, running on Oracle Exadata engineered systems – all at a highly affordable entry-level price. It is a full Oracle Database experience, compatible with what you get on-premises or in other Oracle Database Cloud Services, provisioned within minutes, and suitable for small to medium sized data.

Oracle

Sample Customers

adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH

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Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs. Oracle Exadata Express Cloud Service