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Software AG Adabas vs Model 204

Software AG Adabas: Inverted-list, multi-value mainframe database paired with Natural, run as a standalone Software AG business. Model 204: Rocket Software's mainframe inverted-list DBMS, in production since 1972 and still getting releases.

key differences

  • Software AG Adabas is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than Model 204 (≤ 10 TB).
  • Horizontal scaling is addon in Software AG Adabas and none in Model 204.
  • Transactions: Software AG Adabas offers full ACID; Model 204 offers limited.
  • Only Software AG Adabas has change data capture, compression, encryption at rest.
  • Only Model 204 has stored procedures.

choose adabas for

  • +Government tax and social-security systems
  • +Banking and insurance back ends on IBM Z
  • +Rehosting Adabas/Natural applications to Linux

best at · OLTP

choose model-204 for

  • +Maintaining existing government and defense mainframe systems
  • +High-volume record retrieval and update on z/OS
  • +Web-enabling legacy M204 applications through Janus

best at · OLTP

Software AG AdabasInverted-list, multi-value mainframe database paired with Natural, run as a standalone Software AG business.
Model 204Rocket Software's mainframe inverted-list DBMS, in production since 1972 and still getting releases.
overview
Primary model
Multivalue (Pick)
Multivalue (Pick)
Also supports
–
–
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Software AG (Adabas & Natural business, owned by Silver Lake)
Rocket Software
First release
1971
1972
Latest version
8.6.1 (z/OS) (Oct 2025)
8.0 (2026)
License
ProprietaryProprietary commercial license
ProprietaryCommercial (Rocket Software)
Free tier
—
—
popularity
WhichDB Score
8.4
4.4
Rank
#325
#407
GitHub stars
–
–
Stack Overflow questions
7
–
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
Addon
None
Multi-region
Read replicas
None
ACID
Full
Limited
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Flexible
Flexible
Architecture
Client server, Shared storage, Primary replica
Single node, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
–
–
capabilities
Transactions
✓
✓
Joins
—
—
Secondary indexes
✓
✓
Full-text search
—
—
Vector search
—
—
Geospatial
—
—
JSON
—
—
Change data capture
✓
—
Triggers
—
—
Stored procedures
—
✓
Materialized views
—
—
TTL / expiry
—
—
Pub/Sub
—
—
Columnar storage
—
—
In-memory
—
—
Durable persistence
✓
✓
Compression
✓
—
Encryption at rest
✓
—
Role-based access
✓
✓
Time travel
—
—
Branching
—
—
Online schema changes
—
—
Streaming ingest
—
—
Offline sync
—
—
Runs in WebAssembly
—
—
interfaces
Query languages
Natural, Adabas direct call interface, SQL (via Adabas SQL Gateway)
SOUL (User Language), SQL (via Model 204 SQL Server)
Client languages
Natural, COBOL, Java, C, Assembly
SOUL
Best for
OLTP
OLTP
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Software AG Adabas vs Model 204: FAQ

What is the difference between Software AG Adabas and Model 204?

Software AG Adabas: Inverted-list, multi-value mainframe database paired with Natural, run as a standalone Software AG business. Model 204: Rocket Software's mainframe inverted-list DBMS, in production since 1972 and still getting releases. Software AG Adabas is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than Model 204 (≤ 10 TB). Horizontal scaling is addon in Software AG Adabas and none in Model 204. Transactions: Software AG Adabas offers full ACID; Model 204 offers limited.

When should I choose Software AG Adabas over Model 204?

Choose Software AG Adabas for government tax and social-security systems; banking and insurance back ends on IBM Z; and rehosting Adabas/Natural applications to Linux. Choose Model 204 for maintaining existing government and defense mainframe systems; high-volume record retrieval and update on z/OS; and web-enabling legacy M204 applications through Janus.

Is Software AG Adabas or Model 204 more popular?

Software AG Adabas ranks #325 on the WhichDB Score (8.4/100) and Model 204 ranks #407 (4.4/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Software AG Adabas and Model 204 open source?

No. Software AG Adabas is proprietary, closed-source software. No. Model 204 is proprietary, closed-source software. License: Commercial (Rocket Software).