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IBM WebSphere Application Server vs Tomcat 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
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Application Infrastructure (3rd)
Tomcat
Ranking in Application Server
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
53
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Application Server category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 9.1%, down from 12.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tomcat is 13.2%, down from 19.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Server Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Tomcat13.2%
IBM WebSphere Application Server9.1%
Other77.7%
Application Server
 

Featured Reviews

CF
Senior Manager, MW & DB Automation at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Has worked seamlessly in complex clustered environments and supports long-term development efforts
IBM WebSphere Application Server is currently at version 9.0.5.23. In recent months, they released fix 23, as they periodically release fixes. Previously, they frequently increased versions, but now they maintain 9.0.5 with different releases. It's based on Java J2EE 7 and Java SDK 1.8. Oracle announced that 2030 will be the last year when Java SDK 1.8 will be supported. Oracle currently deploys Java 2.x in parallel, with the latest being version 25. The future of IBM WebSphere Application Server remains uncertain since it's based on Java 1.8 and Java 7. I haven't found any white papers or official documentation from IBM outlining their trajectory post-2030.
Sanjay Sahu - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager at Capgemini
Customization and flexibility enhance web applications while support effectively resolves queries
Regarding improvements in Tomcat, I personally haven't used it very extensively, but all Apache products are very useful for our web applications. Although the web server setup is a little different, it has everything we have been using, and as of now, everything is good with no deficiencies that need improvement. I think that Tomcat needs a more robust logging error details feature; the current logging feature is available, but it should be more user-friendly. This improvement would make error handling more user-friendly.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We needed this type of integration and WebShepere is the best tool for it."
"The solution is very stable and robust."
"Network Deployment is the most useful feature for scalability. It has many features within the standard WebSphere Application Server edition."
"The most valuable features are its user-friendliness and reliability in terms of application hosting."
"This solution is easy to use with a GUI that is intuitive and very helpful."
"The solution has good performance."
"IBM WAS is the backbone for our enterprise content management suite which delivers the primary processes for our customers. Without a good application server, it would be hard to provide a secure layer of midddleware upon which the other applications run. IBM WAS improves the stability of the entire solution and provides a high quality platform for running web-based solutions."
"The scalability of the product is quite good."
"I find the quick startup valuable, particularly the static quick startup."
"Tomcat is easy to handle, its installation process does not take much time, and its server speed is also very good compared to other servers."
"The solution is readily available and open-source."
"The product is easy to use."
"The most valuable feature of Tomcat is its ability to export libraries into different instances so that I can use it not only in one application but in multiple applications."
"One of the most valuable features of Tomcat is its compatibility with the Apache web server and its ease of configuration. It is simple to set up and maintain and allows for easy management of database connections, transactions, and isolation. Overall, Tomcat is a user-friendly application server that makes it easy to manage various aspects of database interactions."
"The solution has very robust functionality."
"The solution integrates smoothly with the development environment. The integration process is straightforward. You only need to configure the project in your IDE. With intelligent features, the integration becomes even easier. Once integrated, deployment into our application is straightforward. Previously, we sometimes relied on manual deployment processes or used a separate application manager. However, with this solution, deployment is simplified."
 

Cons

"I think in some moments, the security was a little bit more complex to configure when it was delegated to other systems, making it an area where improvements are required."
"The main issue we faced was its limited compatibility with non-Java technologies, which can result in difficulty detecting potential bugs and requiring additional integration efforts."
"The solution could improve the integration."
"The current trend is to move to Liberty because of the portability of its cloud and its Kubernetes, which containerize the application."
"In spite of the solution's robustness, it is expensive and a bit difficult to support."
"When compared with WebLogic, Weblogic is lighter and consumes less memory."
"The footprint could be reduced so that we can use a smaller virtual machine to run the application. We could also use more scripts. I would like this solution to be more script oriented, rather than GUI oriented."
"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."
"The interface is not user-friendly."
"Tomcat could be a little bit more innovative. Tomcat could come up with a framework that's more lightweight and purely targeted at Java applications."
"If it could support the driver's VIN, they can run natively without the GBM. Now, we can run what we call the native cloud application that doesn't require GBM. If Tomcat can support that, it's going to improve performance and backup."
"Tomcat's performance is less than other solutions like IBM WebSphere or JBoss."
"Perhaps there could be an easier way to configure some advanced features."
"Technical support is limited."
"The high availability is not as robust as the competition is such as WebLogic and Jboss."
"In the solution, we are using the terminal to enter command line codes for operations and management, this is difficult for me. It would be better if we had some administrator UI tools for this."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is very expensive."
"Room for improvement would only be in the licensing. As with all IBM products the licensing can be complex and expensive. Bargain well and try to get as much discount as possible. Discounts of 85% are possible. Without the discount, I think the product is overrated."
"There is an Eclipse Plugin provided by IBM, so no need to buy IBM Rational Application Developer or Rational Software Architect tools."
"The licensing cost is 1,000 of euros for a 30-year table."
"We used to pay about $100,000-$120,000 US or somewhere around there. That was a bit cost-prohibitive for us to continue."
"The price of this product is higher than that of competitors."
"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."
"If your application is just a web app that does not need to scale big, you can obtain a single core license of WAS Express edition, which has almost the same features with limited processing cores. If you manage a very big application farm (i.e. need to run 10 or more WAS servers) it is better to get IBM WAS Hypervisor Edition."
"This is an open-source product and it's free to use."
"It is an open-source tool and is free of cost."
"Tomcat is an open-source server."
"It is an expensive product."
"The solution is free."
"Tomcat's pricing is very cheap."
"There are no additional costs apart from the standard license."
"The solution is open source so is free."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
33%
Computer Software Company
9%
Insurance Company
7%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
23%
Government
13%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise23
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise28
 

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?
At Royal Bank, which is a major IBM customer with mainframes and numerous IBM products, they have a specific agreement regarding pricing. The pricing structure for large enterprise customers differ...
What needs improvement with IBM WebSphere Application Server?
IBM WebSphere Application Server is currently at version 9.0.5.23. In recent months, they released fix 23, as they periodically release fixes. Previously, they frequently increased versions, but no...
What do you like most about Tomcat?
Tomcat's ease of use has positively impacted project timelines. Tomcat already has high availability – it doesn't go down so often and doesn't require a lot of maintenance. As long as your applicat...
What needs improvement with Tomcat?
Tomcat lacks a visual tool for configuring. Everything is from the command line. I would like a visual tool for configuration to be added to Tomcat, as I see this feature missing.
What is your primary use case for Tomcat?
I work with Tomcat as a programmer, but not as an administrator. My major use case involves using Tomcat, mostly enclosed in any Java image for a Java application for REST API. I do not work with t...
 

Also Known As

WebSphere Application Server
No data available
 

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
1. Adobe Systems 2. Amazon 3. Apple 4. AT&T 5. Bank of America 6. Boeing 7. Cisco Systems 8. Citigroup 9. Dell 10. eBay 11. Facebook 12. General Electric 13. Google 14. Hewlett-Packard 15. IBM 16. Intel 17. JPMorgan Chase 18. Microsoft 19. Netflix 20. Oracle 21. PayPal 22. Salesforce 23. Samsung 24. Sony 25. Target 26. Twitter 27. Uber 28. Verizon 29. Visa 30. Volkswagen 31. Walmart 32. Yahoo
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. Tomcat and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,455 professionals have used our research since 2012.