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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

"It has greatly improved the performance because it is standardized across the company."
"Watson Studio is the most complete tool for AI projects."
"For me, the valuable feature of the solution is the one that I used, which was Jupyter notebooks."
"The solution is very easy to use."
"In my experience, AutoML is the most valuable feature of IBM Watson Studio."
"The most important thing is that it's a multi-faceted solution. It's a kind of specialist, not a generalist. It can produce very specific information for the customer. It's totally different from Google or any search engine that produces generic information. It's specialty is that it's all on video."
"IBM Watson Studio consistently automates across channels."
"The scalability of IBM Watson Studio is great."
"The notebook feature allows you to write inquiries and create dashboards. These dashboards can integrate with multiple databases, such as Excel, HANA, or SQL Server."
"It is a scalable solution…It is a pretty stable solution…The solution's initial setup process was pretty straightforward."
"The visualizations are great. It makes it very easy to understand which model is working and why."
"The most valuable feature is the knowledge bank, which allows us to ask questions and the AI will automatically pull the pre-prescribed responses."
"The graphical nature of the output makes it very easy to create PowerPoint reports as well."
"When you import the dataset you can see the data distribution easily with graphics and statistical measures."
"The product's standout feature is a robust multi-file network with limited availability."
"Regarding the technical support for the solution, I find the documentation provided comprehensive and helpful."
 

Cons

"The main challenge lies in visibility and ease of use."
"The decision making in their decision making feature is less good than other options."
"The initial setup was complex."
"One area that could be improved is the backup and restoration of the database and the overall database configuration."
"More features in data virtualization would be helpful. The solution could use an interactive dashboard that could make exploration easier."
"Some of the solutions are really good solutions but they can be a little too costly for many."
"I want IBM's technical support team to provide more specific answers to queries."
"So a better user interface could be very helpful"
"They should have a desktop version to work on the platform."
"The initial setup time of the containers to run the experiment is a bit long."
"I think it should be made cheaper for certain people…It may appear costlier for those who don't consider time important."
"It would be great if the solution integrated Microsoft Copilot, its AI helper."
"I have found Databricks is a better solution because it has a lot of different cluster choices and better integration with MLflow, which is much easier to handle in a machine learning system."
"n the solution, there is the concept of workspaces, and there is no means to share the computing infrastructure across those workspaces."
"Stability-wise, you may face certain problems when you fail to refresh the data in the solution."
"I think they should improve two things. They should make their user interface more user-friendly. Integration could also be better. Because Microsoft Machine Learning is a Microsoft product, it's fully integrated with Microsoft Azure but not fully supported for other platforms like IBM or AWS or something else."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"IBM Watson Studio is an expensive solution."
"Watson Studio's pricing is reasonable for what you get."
"The pricing is generally reasonable and straightforward but can vary significantly depending on the specific workloads in use."
"IBM Watson Studio is a reasonably priced product"
"ML Studio's pricing becomes a numbers game."
"There is a lack of certainty with the solution's pricing."
"The licensing cost is very cheap. It's less than $50 a month."
"When we got our first models and were ready for the user acceptance testing, our licensing fees were between €2,500 ($2,750 USD) and €3,000 ($3,300 USD) monthly."
"The solution operates on a pay-per-use model."
"The product's pricing is reasonable."
"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."
"The product is not that expensive."
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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.
850,491 professionals have used our research since 2012.
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