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IIS 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

IIS
Ranking in Application Server
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Application Infrastructure (1st)
Tomcat
Ranking in Application Server
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Application Server category, the mindshare of IIS is 6.8%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tomcat is 19.9%, down from 20.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Server
 

Featured Reviews

DanielWildermuth - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides integration with Eggplant but problems with stability
We use Windows Server only for Eggplant Manager. Otherwise, I'm not using it   At the moment, we have big problems with stability, and I'm not very happy at the moment. So, the stability could be improved. I have been using it for a few years.  The initial setup is complex.  We have an…
Erick  Karanja - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers high availability, straightforward deployment and easy to use
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. Some other solutions are doing better right now, maybe because they have come up with MicroProfile, which I think is moving forward. It may actually beat Tomcat because of the lightweight nature of the framework, the MicroProfile. They're coming up with new solutions. So, for the future of Tomcat and to maintain the market share they might be looking for, they need to come up with initiatives to ensure that several of us have a lightweight framework to deploy applications on.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"IIS is scalable."
"The solution is simple and very easy to manage compared to Linux."
"The graphical user interface makes it easy for users to configure the sites."
"It is a lightweight web host that is easy to configure for simple webpages."
"The tool shows us the operating systems where our servers and applications are running."
"It's very easy to publish."
"The product's most valuable features are performance and security."
"The solution is very easy to use and offers a quick deployment."
"It is a scalable platform."
"Tomcat has connectors like REST requests to connect the front end. Also, some parts of the inter-system communication go through REST. External connections with third parties occasionally involve both REST and SOAP protocols. Tomcat is versatile in accommodating these various communication methods."
"I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten, where one is high price and ten is low price. The pricing is pretty low."
"I find the quick startup valuable, particularly the static quick startup."
"It is easy to manage at a basic level."
"Tomcat is reliable and secure, which makes it valuable for our application deployment."
"Tomcat is secure, reliable, and stable."
"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."
 

Cons

"We'd like future versions to be more stable."
"The cost is a bit too high."
"The price of the solution could be less to improve."
"Performance-wise, certain improvements in IIS are needed...IIS is not scalable. Its scalability is less."
"Sometimes if you are using IIS in large-scale scenarios, meaning that if you are deploying an application within IIS service and you are expecting a large number of users to use this application, you can sometimes find some problems, meaning that the service can shut down by itself unexpectedly if you don't configure your IIS with the correct configuration that can handle this number of users."
"The solution is slow and could have better performance."
"There is an issue with the network. The tool's price is also high."
"The solution's black box is not fast."
"Tomcat's performance is less than other solutions like IBM WebSphere or JBoss."
"Java functions should be built better into the solution."
"Our biggest challenge is that the Tomcat servers are not hosted locally."
"Perhaps there could be an easier way to configure some advanced features."
"The stability must be improved."
"The solution cannot host .NET applications."
"Tomcat needs to improve its stability."
"Tomcat is not user-friendly. I would also like to be able to have multiple applications run at the same time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This solution comes included with Windows Server."
"The solution provides multiple licensing options."
"The cost for IIS is already included in Windows services. We don't have to pay anything extra."
"I didn't need to get an additional license for the solution since it was included in my server."
"We pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution."
"The product's price is not high."
"There is an annual license to use this solution and the price could be better."
"The tool's pricing is on a yearly basis."
"There are no additional costs apart from the standard license."
"I give the pricing an eight out of ten."
"It is an expensive product."
"The tool is free."
"The solution is free."
"We are currently using the open-source version."
"It is an open-source tool and is free of cost."
"Tomcat is an open source solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
43%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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?
If you have a Windows license, there is no additional cost for IIS. However, you may need to pay for SSL publishing at times.
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?
Resource configuration like JNDI and queue configuration, similar to other servers, should be provided from the admin console for Tomcat. Currently, it is done manually. The server config file must...
What is your primary use case for Tomcat?
I am using the solution at running level three. It is for running web applications.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Windows Server IIS
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Erste Bank Group, NJVC, Samsung Electronics, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Tata Steel Europe, Urban Software Institute
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 IIS vs. Tomcat and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,716 professionals have used our research since 2012.