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IBM WebSphere Application Server vs IIS comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 2, 2025

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 WebSphere Application S...
Ranking in Application Server
5th
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
5th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IIS
Ranking in Application Server
4th
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Application Server category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 12.4%, up from 11.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IIS is 6.9%, down from 7.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Server
 

Featured Reviews

BharathirajaSukumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient load balancing and the clustering, achieved by using the deployment manager, is valuable
I believe that the system is already good. However, for improvement or enhancement, it is user-friendly, but it could offer better choices on the front end for different aspects or options. Sometimes, I have to search extensively for features, as there are no upfront tabs. There is a lack of visible, easy, user-friendly, and straightforward options for the number of features.
VikramSingh6 - PeerSpot reviewer
A simple and easy-to-use solution but not recommended for public apps
I would rate the overall solution a six out of ten. We have around five to six developers and engineers for the solution’s deployment and maintenance. You can use the solution if your website is not too big or complicated. However, if it is big and complicated, then you need to use Apache or Red Hat. This tool can be used for internal purposes. But if you plan to host a public app, then I wouldn’t recommend the tool.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"IBM WebSphere Application Server is the best in terms of scalability and performance, as well as the support for managing distributed transactions."
"We needed this type of integration and WebShepere is the best tool for it."
"IBM WebSphere Application Server is easy to use."
"It has good stability of the application server in the long term compared to other solutions."
"Security: It is compatible with the latest Java 8 security features, supports FIPS 140-2 and NIST SP 800-53 with strong ciphers and cryptography keys, and supports TLS 1.2 completely. Also, configuring client and server certificates is relatively easy."
"The solution is very stable and robust."
"The VPN service is quite useful."
"The thing about WebSphere, as opposed to other ones that I am aware of such as JBoss and Liberty, is that WebSphere has the most comprehensive scaffolding available to it."
"Windows Server IIS is stable."
"The graphical user interface makes it easy for users to configure the sites."
"It has an intuitive user interface and provides a lot of options for building reports."
"IIS's most valuable feature is user-friendliness."
"The product is flexible."
"It helps scan and mitigates our vulnerabilities using the best protocols to secure our environment."
"The solution is the easiest way to publish applications which have been designed by older development tools."
"Microsoft's technical support has always been very good."
 

Cons

"The licensing could be improved, and I would like it to give the longevity of the lifespan of the visions. In the next release, I would like to be able to download and extract the files so that I can just use my application server."
"They should make the solution more lightweight and not bundle everything into a single product."
"In spite of the solution's robustness, it is expensive and a bit difficult to support."
"Some things are very difficult to do, so the interface and usage could be more intuitive for those."
"IBM WebSphere Application Server hasn't changed much. It's still a heavyweight for any company compared to what you get. Unless your code base is deeply linked with it, I don't think it's a great idea to go with this solution. The current trend is toward modularity and containerization, and given the product's requirements, containerization will be difficult. There is a memory requirement as well."
"What could be improved in IBM WebSphere Application Server is its interconnection with other products, for example, Kafka. What I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is a better graphical user interface."
"Based on the field and based on the build that was provided, we've noticed a lot of constraints in terms of the performance now."
"When compared with WebLogic, Weblogic is lighter and consumes less memory."
"Compared to Linux, the solution’s Windows patching is slower. I would like to improve it."
"The scalability depends on how you have set it up. If you're running IIS on a single server, it might not be as capable as if you are on many in a cluster or with load balancing and so on."
"The solution should improve the cluster environment and load balancing."
"Scalability issues and security concerns need attention from Microsoft."
"It would be beneficial if you could automate security certificate monitoring with IIS."
"IIS has some stability issues and needs restarting."
"The areas of this solution that need improvement are monitoring, debugging, and troubleshooting."
"The solution must improve the integration between its databases."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When you purchase Maximo, you get WebSphere for free."
"The price of IBM WebSphere Application Server could be less expensive and there is an annual license required for this solution."
"My company is on a perpetual or permanent license agreement with IBM WebSphere Application Server. There's also a pay-per-use option, but customers rarely choose that option. Most of the customers are on the perpetual license deal that's all-inclusive. As the license cost is quite expensive, I'm rating it two out of five."
"IBM WAS base is part of the deal when you purchase IBM FileNet P8 Content Engine."
"I don't remember the price, but there are no additional costs."
"It is very expensive."
"We used to pay about $100,000-$120,000 US or somewhere around there. That was a bit cost-prohibitive for us to continue."
"There is an Eclipse Plugin provided by IBM, so no need to buy IBM Rational Application Developer or Rational Software Architect tools."
"There is an annual license to use this solution and the price could be better."
"The yearly licensing cost is very high. The solution is very expensive."
"Users can get a subscription-based license or a perpetual license for IIS."
"The cost for IIS is already included in Windows services. We don't have to pay anything extra."
"The licensing cost is dependent on the usage."
"The price of the cloud system is a bit high."
"The price of Windows Server IIS is expensive. They have a large user base, and they charge a little bit too much."
"I give the price of the solution a five out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
30%
Computer Software Company
13%
Insurance Company
7%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM WebSphere Application Server?
Network Deployment is the most useful feature for scalability. It has many features within the standard WebSphere Application Server edition.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM WebSphere Application Server?
In Korea, when you buy IBM iOS, the WebSphere base version is included with iOS. That means no additional cost.
What needs improvement with IBM WebSphere Application Server?
I find the server okay, however, using the Maker instance, the Moving instance, and the Change instance is a little bit complicated without WebSphere knowledge.
Which is better - IIS or NGINX Plus?
IIS is a flexible, secure, and manageable web server to host anything on the web. IIS’s scalable and open architecture can handle the most demanding tasks. From media streaming to web applications,...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IIS?
They offer a one-time payment model for the product license, and we pay annually for support. I rate the pricing an eight out of ten.
 

Also Known As

WebSphere Application Server
Windows Server IIS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

TalkTalk, Property management group, E.SUN Bank, Ohio National Financial Services, Aviarc, Cincom Systems, FJA-US, D+H, Staples, Michigan Municipal League
Erste Bank Group, NJVC, Samsung Electronics, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Tata Steel Europe, Urban Software Institute
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. IIS and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
841,004 professionals have used our research since 2012.