Compare · mainframe midrange

IBM i VS z/OS_

As of 4 November 2026, z/OS is named by 257 companies and IBM i by 1,000; IBM i skews to companies under 200 people (22% vs 32%), z/OS to companies over 1,000 (48% vs 52%).

As of 4 November 2026 · refreshed daily · counts move as websites, DNS and career sites are re-read.

The website-and-DNS footprint is not comparable between a marketing suite and a CRM: IBM i's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, z/OS rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.

IBM i: 2–200 employees
22%
z/OS: 2–200 employees
32%
IBM i: 1,000+ employees
52%
z/OS: 1,000+ employees
48%
Postings per company, 90 days
3.7 · 4.1
Website or DNS footprint
0 · 0
1,000companies name IBM i
257companies name z/OS
25name both
3,733 · 1,045postings in 90 days, IBM i · z/OS
02 — Side by side

Who chooses which

Share of each tool's companies in every segment. "Leans" marks a gap of more than two points.

By company size
SegmentIBM isharez/OSshareLeans
Self-employed131%42%even
2-10 employees394%156%even
11-50 employees455%3212%z/OS
51-200 employees13313%3614%even
201-500 employees14014%249%IBM i
501-1000 employees11411%239%IBM i
1001-5000 employees24324%3413%IBM i
5001-10000 employees778%145%IBM i
10,001+ employees19620%7529%z/OS
By industry
SegmentIBM isharez/OSshareLeans
Manufacturing & industry24725%73%IBM i
Commerce & trade16416%62%IBM i
Business & finance services15315%9838%z/OS
Technology & software12913%11545%z/OS
Transport, logistics & rental818%31%IBM i
Automotive677%21%IBM i
Property & construction273%31%even
Health care263%10%IBM i
Public, community & associations242%94%even
Utilities & infrastructure192%21%even
Consumer services & leisure182%31%even
Hospitality & travel182%––outside top 12
Media & content––83%outside top 12
By country
SegmentIBM isharez/OSshareLeans
United States61461%12850%IBM i
Canada576%42%IBM i
France515%249%z/OS
Germany414%145%even
United Kingdom384%83%even
Italy354%––outside top 12
Australia131%62%even
Spain121%42%even
India101%––outside top 12
Netherlands101%––outside top 12
Belgium81%31%even
Austria71%––outside top 12
Portugal––52%outside top 12
Denmark––42%outside top 12
Poland––42%outside top 12
Sweden––42%outside top 12
Postings by team (share of each tool's postings)
SegmentIBM isharez/OSshareLeans
logistics warehouse and transport70815%10%IBM i
IT operations & business systems48410%56735%z/OS
Finance & accounting4209%131%IBM i
Software engineering4129%45728%z/OS
Retail & store operations2595%––outside top 12
Customer service & success2114%30%IBM i
Sales1834%40%IBM i
manufacturing and production1724%121%IBM i
General management & consulting1613%––outside top 12
Quality, safety & environment1162%10%IBM i
Administration & office972%10%even
Product, program & project management812%473%even
skilled trades and field service752%––outside top 12
Engineering (non-software)722%413%even
procurement and purchasing711%––outside top 12
Data & AI611%191%even
hospitality and food service331%––outside top 12
healthcare support and caregiving230%––outside top 12
Legal, compliance & risk180%––outside top 12
Unclassified180%50%even
research and science130%––outside top 12
healthcare clinical120%––outside top 12
Human resources110%––outside top 12
Travel, leisure & events110%––outside top 12
construction and civil80%20%even
Marketing & communications80%––outside top 12
Business development & strategy70%––outside top 12
Education & training60%10%even
social care and community60%––outside top 12
arts media and entertainment20%––outside top 12
Cite this

Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.

z/OS is named by 257 companies in job postings and IBM i by 1,000; 25 name both. (Breaknorm, 4 November 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/ibm-i-vs-z-os)
How we know

Read from the source, not self-reported

Every number on this page can be traced to a page we crawled or a posting we read. Full methodology →

  • Job postingsRead hourly from career sites. A tool counts when the employer's own text names it as the team's system; both tools can count for one company.
  • Website and DNSScripts and embeds on the company's pages, plus SPF, DKIM, MX and CNAME records of its domain that point at the vendor.
  • SegmentsCountry, size and industry from the company profile built from its website.
  • Not a reviewNo ratings, prices or feature claims. For those, read the vendors.
FAQ

IBM i vs z/OS: questions

Which is more used, IBM i or z/OS?

By companies naming it in their own job postings, IBM i (1,000) over z/OS (257). By website-and-DNS footprint, z/OS (0 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.

Who chooses IBM i?

22% of IBM i companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 32% for z/OS. 52% of IBM i companies have over 1,000 employees, against 48% for z/OS.

Do companies run both?

25 companies name both in their postings, usually IBM i in marketing and z/OS in sales, or during a migration.

Where do these numbers come from?

From the employer's own text in job postings read hourly from career sites, and from scripts found on company websites in our crawl. No vendor data, no surveys.

Companies and people

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