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IBM WebSphere Message Broker vs Microsoft .NET Framework comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 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 Message Broker
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
17th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) (9th)
Microsoft .NET Framework
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Message Broker is 2.1%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft .NET Framework is 4.6%, down from 5.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft .NET Framework4.6%
IBM WebSphere Message Broker2.1%
Other93.3%
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

BrajendraKumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Architect at HCL Technologies
Offers large-sized business information processing with a time-saving setup and impressive stability
I primarily use two previews of the product for Dev and two for QA as part of the production process. Whatever tools our company is using, the cost of a license in IBM WebSphere Message Broker is about 80% of all these software or tools. The message routing capabilities satisfy workflow efficiency. The product supports message formats of XML, JSON, and SSID, which are around 24 KB to 50 KB in size. The solution supports communication protocols like STTP and TCP. Features like DataGraph need to be introduced in IBM WebSphere Message Broker. Some of the clients of our organization are using an outdated version of IBM WebSphere Message Broker for which the vendor doesn't provide direct support anymore. For the aforementioned version, our company professionals can solve the queries on their own without seeking support from IBM. During the installation of a prior version of IBM WebSphere Message Broker, sometimes I have to configure the failovers through the cluster, where issues arise, and I often seek help from the support team. The solution is being used by some medicine companies in our organization that receive sales orders from the EDR or JDE. I would not recommend the product to others as its becoming obsolete and they can rather choose a middleware solution from Amazon or Azure. But I would overall rate the product a nine out of ten.
Muhammad Qasim - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions Architect at Diyar United Company
Has enabled building responsive multi-threaded applications while supporting rapid deployment workflows
Microsoft .NET Framework has already made significant improvements by becoming open source. Many developers are contributing to Microsoft .NET Framework, not just Microsoft itself. They have ported it to many platforms and allow a healthy ecosystem of open source tools. They have moved from Visual SourceSafe to supporting Git with Microsoft Visual Studio. Their IDE, Visual Studio Code, is open source and multi-platform. There are many third-party tools available, including AI-based tools such as Cursor and Bolt, which are forks of Visual Studio Code. Based on my understanding, I don't have any suggestions for improvement as they are already doing an excellent job.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We only use the basic features, but the most valuable one for us is the Publish-subscribe pattern."
"Performance-wise, this solution is really good."
"IBM WebSphere Message Broker is one of the best middleware solutions"
"Straightforward development and deployment."
"It has many interfaces and you can connect to any backend source that has another format, and convert it to the desired format."
"The solution has good integration."
"It's reliable for our day-to-day operations, ensuring fast and secure data integration across different systems."
"It is a scalable solution...The setup is easy."
"The most valuable features for us are web frameworks like MVC, Web API, and WCS."
"The solution's technical support is very good...The product's initial setup phase was easy."
"The solution has assisted our organization in the full-stack development process. The tool can be deployed on all types of devices, including mobiles and desktops. The MAUI capabilities of the solution have been the most beneficial feature for our organization's development needs."
"Firstly, I appreciate the decision to use Microsoft .NET Framework. I find it to be an excellent language, with a history rooted in providing an alternative to Java, albeit with initial challenges. It is gaining popularity and may be voted the most desirable programming language. What I particularly like about .NET is its language efficiency. While C# is the primary language, the platform also supports others, catering to those inclined towards functional programming. Although I started with Shell, I'm still grasping the concept of functional programming. Despite initial reservations about object-oriented programming, I acknowledge its advantages. .NET is a safer option, and despite criticisms, it has evolved over the years. One notable aspect is .NET's transition to an open platform in recent years, distancing itself from being exclusive to Microsoft engineers. I appreciate the versatility of .NET, enabling code production for a wide range of platforms, presenting a strong competition to Java. It allows targeting practically any physical platform, showcasing its flexibility. These qualities contribute to my positive view of .NET, totaling thirteen aspects that I find appealing."
"The new .NET Core has those middlewares, which are awesome from a security standpoint. With the old Framework or the newer Framework, middleware is basically an event pipeline. You configure and register it, and it handles things centrally. A simple example is logging. With the old Framework, you needed to try/catch blocks everywhere. Here, you configure the logging handler once, and it captures exceptions across the application. I really like the middleware pattern."
"The tool offers a lot of support, and there is a lot of knowledge material available, along with a lot of community groups."
"The .NET framework is a mature platform that is very helpful and saves time during the software development process."
"It facilitates running Windows business applications and leveraging enterprise application development."
 

Cons

"As our business requirements evolve, we require more dynamic capabilities to adapt and scale our services accordingly."
"Technical support is good but they could have a better response time."
"The solution can add container engines such as docker."
"The user interface is designed mainly for experts, much in the way a BPM or another integration tool is."
"The installation configuration is quite difficult."
"There is some lag in the GUI. There have been some performance issues and maybe it's because of the application data."
"Technical support is very slow and needs to be improved."
"It is currently a weighty product."
"The product could have a better framework for application development."
"This solution should include Power BI so that we don't have to use any third-party tools."
"They should have more training materials available that are specific to .NET. We spend a lot of money training our engineers."
".NET Is still heavy or dependant on other Microsoft libraries and frameworks."
"One thing that could be improved is the tooling and IDE for .NET in non-Windows environments like Mac."
"The solution is difficult to learn if someone is learning it for the first time."
"The significant challenge is that you need an enterprise-level company to maintain software in Microsoft .NET Framework with a proper structure."
"There is room for Microsoft .NET Framework to improve cloud platform capabilities."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I feel with IBM, when you want certain functions or features, you have to continuously purchase add-ons. There are always additional fees."
"The licensing cost of IBM WebSphere Message Broker needs to be reduced"
"This product is more expensive than competing products."
"IBM software can be costly, but having a contract has helped manage and potentially lower costs over time."
"The solution is expensive."
"IBM products are generally more stable and have more features, but also come at a greater cost."
"The price is very high and it's the main reason that we are searching for alternatives."
"The solution is expensive."
"The pricing could be cheaper."
"The solution is a bit costly when compared to open source products or open gear licenses."
"For the moment I can only give the product a rating of five out of ten since only some of the customers will be satisfied, those that have the financial resources for hosting a platform on Windows Server."
"I rate the solution's pricing a two out of ten because .NET is an open-source framework. You don't have to pay for a license."
"Microsoft .NET Framework is a free, open-source solution."
"The product’s pricing is a bit high."
"If you want to develop an enterprise-level application, you have to purchase the enterprise-level development license."
"Microsoft .NET Framework is free of cost."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
22%
Computer Software Company
11%
Insurance Company
10%
Government
6%
Construction Company
16%
Real Estate/Law Firm
13%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise23
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM WebSphere Message Broker?
IBM software can be costly, but having a contract has helped manage and potentially lower costs over time.
What needs improvement with IBM WebSphere Message Broker?
There could be greater flexibility and agility in service creation for the product. As our business requirements evolve, we require more dynamic capabilities to adapt and scale our services accordi...
What is your primary use case for IBM WebSphere Message Broker?
We use the product for exposing services at the application level, integrating with various architectures like WebSphere, and handling static service creation.
What do you like most about Microsoft .NET Framework?
Microsoft .NET Framework continually innovates, particularly in Visual Studio, which focuses on improving languages, debugging, and .NET functionality.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft .NET Framework?
I don't know about pricing. I'm paying for Visual Studio, even though I'm not using the new version yet. Prices can always be better, but I think for the environment provided, the prices are accept...
What needs improvement with Microsoft .NET Framework?
Microsoft .NET Framework has already made significant improvements by becoming open source. Many developers are contributing to Microsoft .NET Framework, not just Microsoft itself. They have ported...
 

Also Known As

WebSphere Message Broker
MS .NET Framework
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

WestJet, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Sharp Corporation, Michelin Tire
Curtin University, Rockwell Automation, Aruba Networks, Insurity Inc., City of Barcelona, Pennsylvania DCNR, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, A1 Telekom Austria AG, Eastman Chemical Company
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM WebSphere Message Broker vs. Microsoft .NET Framework and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,435 professionals have used our research since 2012.