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JBoss 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

JBoss
Ranking in Application Server
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
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 JBoss is 17.7%, up from 17.3% 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

Srinadh  Puli - PeerSpot reviewer
Automation aids installation while management consolidation needs improvement
We are currently using Ansible for Jira installations and all the management tasks. We perform some tasks manually, however, Ansible helps in automating some of these processes I find JBoss to be lightweight and easier to manage compared to WebSphere. It allows for simple modification of…
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

"JBoss has made it very easy to implement web applications."
"The support is fast and reliable."
"We can deploy the applications on the JBoss server, so it is easy to manage. It's also easy to add new certificates to the config."
"The stability is good. I would rate it a nine out of ten."
"The greatest benefit of JBoss is that it was procured by IBM, thereby offering exceptional support for our banking operations."
"The tool's most beneficial feature is its scalability. People with limited technical knowledge can quickly grasp its functions with a brief introduction. The tool's ease of use makes it a plug-and-play solution, reducing the effort required to train users on its usage."
"JBoss is more flexible and keeps up with modern technologies, supporting newer versions of different libraries."
"The solution has flexibility and stability."
"Tomcat is reliable and secure, which makes it valuable for our application deployment."
"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."
"Tomcat is a lightweight application server, which makes it easy to deploy and install small applications."
"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."
"Tomcat is a simple, light environment, whereas the full Red Hat Fuse solution is heavier."
"The most valuable feature is how simple it is to deploy the solution."
"The deployment process is very fast."
"The product's initial setup phase was simple."
 

Cons

"The initial setup is a bit complex."
"The stability of the solution could improve with Microsoft Windows."
"I would like to see improved booting of applications altogether on one page to manage all data instances from one location, similar to an AWS console."
"JBoss is not as reliable and stable as WebLogic."
"The price could be improved. Customers don't want to buy the license easily."
"It can have automation features. Everybody is focused right now on automation. In terms of saving cost, automation is always the first thing that comes to light."
"Sometimes the console has a glitch."
"Having the support combined with Red Hat support would be an improvement."
"The interface is not user-friendly."
"I have no recommendations for improvements."
"Tomcat needs to improve its user interface."
"Java functions should be built better into the solution."
"If Apache can come up with a better solution to provide better security, that would be ideal."
"I would also like to see a dashboard with some integrations in order to see the logs and trace performance easier."
"Tomcat needs to improve its stability."
"The stability must be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the product price as eight on a scale, where one means it is a very cheap solution, and ten points mean that it is a very expensive tool."
"We pay for a maintenance license, but it is not expensive."
"There is no licensing cost. The solution is free to use."
"The solution is cost-efficient compared to other products. Pricing is rated an eight out of ten."
"JBoss is an expensive solution."
"The pricing of JBoss is more reasonable than that of WebLogic."
"Despite the price increase after being acquired by IBM, JBoss still maintains its competitiveness. The package provided is more geared towards cloud-based deployments, whereas our setup is more traditional, which makes it slightly more expensive for us. As most vendors are transitioning towards cloud-centric solutions, companies like ours need to adapt accordingly."
"It is an open-source solution."
"I give the pricing an eight out of ten."
"The price of the solution is good."
"There are no additional costs apart from the standard license."
"It is an open-source tool and is free of cost."
"Tomcat is an open source solution."
"The tool is free."
"Tomcat is an open-source server."
"We are using the open-source version."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
47%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
6%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about JBoss?
The product's initial setup phase is easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for JBoss?
JBoss is the cheaper option out of the three when compared to WebSphere and WebLogic. Though I haven't done a detailed price comparison, the licensing fee is cheaper, and due to its flexibility, th...
What needs improvement with JBoss?
They are trying to make it less heavyweight since app servers often deliver a lot of functionality. Still, if we aren't leveraging them, they can be too much for certain use cases. Making it lighte...
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

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Tata Sky, Nissan, Swedish Board of Agriculture, Novamedia, American Product Distributors, Advanced Micro Devices, Emirates Group, E*TRADE
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 JBoss vs. Tomcat and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.