Azure SQL Database vs IBM Db2
Azure SQL Database
azure.microsoft.com
IBM Db2
ibm.comSide by side
| Figure | Azure SQL Database | IBM Db2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $630/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 7 |
| Spec score · Relational Databases | 8.9 (#3) | 8.4 (#10) |
| Spec score · Database Software | 9.0 (#7) | 8.6 (#22) |
| Spec score · Spatial Databases | 9.0 (#4) | 8.5 (#10) |
| Spec score · Transaction Data Store Software | 8.8 (#6) | 8.4 (#12) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Azure SQL Database can connect to Azure services such as Azure Functions and replicate SQL data into Microsoft Fabric for near-real-time querying and analysis. | IBM documents connections through drivers and integrations with DataStage, Segment, Cognos Analytics, Looker, Tableau, Excel, SPSS Statistics, SAS, and R. |
| Security | Its security and governance features include a multilayered approach that includes Microsoft Defender for SQL. | IBM describes access controls, encryption for data in motion and at rest, behavior monitoring, and data masking features for Db2. |
Plans
Azure SQL Database
- Free offerFree
- Azure SQL Database free offerFree
- Azure SQL Database free tierFree
- Azure SQL Database pay-as-you-goPrice not published
- Pay as you goPrice not published
IBM Db2
- FreeFree
- Performance$630 a month
- Db2 AI CommunityFree
- Db2 Database SaaS FreeFree
- Db2 Database SaaS Performance$630 a month
- Db2 AI AdvancedPriced on request
- Db2 AI StandardPriced on request
In their own words
Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Database is a cloud-native relational database service built on the SQL Server engine and delivered as a fully managed PaaS. Microsoft manages provisioning, patching, backups, monitoring, and high availability. The service supports standard T-SQL and can be accessed through the Azure portal, SQL Server Management Studio, Visual Studio Code's MSSQL extension, and compatible application frameworks. It supports native JSON and REST and GraphQL APIs through Data API builder. Hyperscale independently scales compute and storage and supports scale-out with up to 30 named replicas. For AI application development, it offers native vector search and connections to Azure OpenAI and Azure AI Search. It can connect to Azure Functions and replicate SQL data into Microsoft Fabric for near-real-time querying and analysis. Security and governance include a multilayered approach with Microsoft Defender for SQL; recovery features include disaster recovery and snapshot-based backups. The free offer allows up to 10 General Purpose databases per subscription, each with 100,000 vCore seconds, 32 GB of data, and 32 GB of backup storage monthly. Once limits are reached, a database can auto-pause or remain online with excess use billed at standard rates.
IBM Db2
IBM Db2 is a database for low-latency transactions, real-time analytics, and mission-critical workloads. It supports transactional, analytical, and operational work on the same database and can feed Db2 Warehouse and watsonx.data. AI-powered query optimization uses historical query patterns to adjust execution plans and automate tuning. Db2 12.1.2.0 adds a VECTOR type and SQL vector-distance queries for semantic search, retrieval-augmented generation, and recommendation systems. Db2 pureScale supports continuous availability on premises or in the cloud, with Pacemaker integration. Security features include access controls, encryption in transit and at rest, behavior monitoring, and data masking. IBM documents integrations with DataStage, Segment, Cognos Analytics, Looker, Tableau, Excel, SPSS Statistics, SAS, and R. Supported deployments include self-hosting and Amazon RDS for Db2. Free plans are available; Performance is listed at $630 a month, billed hourly.