IBM Open Liberty vs IIS comparison

IBM and Microsoft are both solutions in the Application Server category. IBM is ranked #7 with an average rating of 10.0, while Microsoft is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.6. IBM holds a 2.1% mindshare in AppS, compared to Microsoft’s 5.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

IBM Open Liberty

Read 2 IBM Open Liberty reviews

1,894 Views
133 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IIS

Read 59 IIS reviews

2,965 Views
1,127 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

IBM Open Liberty

IIS

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 31, 2025

IIS and IBM Open Liberty are competing web server platforms. IBM Open Liberty generally has the upper hand due to its robust features and flexible deployment.

Features: IIS provides seamless integration with Windows environments, strong security protocols, and easy manageability. IBM Open Liberty offers flexible configuration, microservices support, and enhanced scalability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Open Liberty supports a cloud-native deployment model, allowing for integration with various environments and is supported by proactive customer service. IIS is straightforward within Windows systems, providing dependable but less dynamic service.

Pricing and ROI: IIS presents a lower initial setup cost, which benefits Windows-based organizations, and offers a balanced return on investment. IBM Open Liberty, despite its higher setup cost, yields a significant return due to its scalable architecture and efficient resource utilization.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Open Liberty vs. IIS Report (Updated: October 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Open Liberty vs. IIS

October 2025

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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 Open Liberty

Ranking in Application Server

7th

Average Rating

10.0

Reviews Sentiment

2.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IIS

Ranking in Application Server

4th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Infrastructure (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Application Server category, the mindshare of IBM Open Liberty is 2.1%. The mindshare of IIS is 5.6%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Server Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IIS	5.6%
IBM Open Liberty	2.1%
Other	92.3%

Application Server

Featured Reviews

FABIO LUIS VELLOSO DA SILVA

Partner at SouJava

Has enabled flexible deployment of modular services with high availability and smooth dynamic updates

The best features of IBM Open Liberty are the implementation of MicroProfile and Jakarta EE, along with fault tolerance and high availability. It's easy to use and deploy new features. The profile is easy to configure and set up features. For example, using fault tolerance from MicroProfile or using servlets or JAX-RS allows for easy configuration and creation of modular applications. The configuration is modular. The main point for us in this project was high availability, high performance, and the implementation of MicroProfile and Jakarta EE. We utilized the modular architecture of IBM Open Liberty by creating different microservices using different environments. We created different configurations for different services using the configuration of IBM Open Liberty. This was very beneficial. We created different environments only by changing the configuration, depending on the functionality we needed. It was good and very flexible for us. I used the dynamic updates feature of IBM Open Liberty and different configurations in different services and servers, based on the functionality we provided for our clients. The flexibility to create different services in different environments using IBM Open Liberty was important. The high availability is guaranteed by the architecture of IBM Open Liberty, Java, and MicroProfile. The architecture guaranteed high availability, and the flexibility comes from being able to configure needed features. There's no need to load all WebSphere or functionalities in all environments. I can configure it and create a more highly available and scalable process. I implemented monitoring tools for IBM Open Liberty using Grafana and OpenTracing using the functionalities from MicroProfile and IBM Open Liberty. The monitoring tools helped with managing system performance.

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Krishnakumar Natarajan

Systems Engineer at Atos

Designs and manages multiple websites while ensuring data backup and disaster recovery

I have experience with AWS, and I am most familiar with the server environment, as we just use the server environment and then use Microsoft products on an AWS environment. I have experience with Windows Server IIS, which I ran on my own on-premise data center. The website was developed and then hosted, and through IIS, we managed the servers. The manageability within the IIS environment is not very difficult. For server management, you need to ensure data backup, data restore, and you have a DR configured to keep the database intact. It was done on-premises, so I had no problem doing that. If you have to go to the cloud, then you should have the storage connected to the IIS server and also have a DR set up for that. I didn't use Microsoft Azure tools, but since it is a Microsoft product, Azure has all the portability, so you don't have to worry about compatibility on the cloud. On a scale of 1-10, I would rate this solution a 10.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a stable solution compared to other vendors."

"The flexibility to create different services in different environments using IBM Open Liberty was important."

"The initial setup is simple."

"It is a lightweight web host that is easy to configure for simple webpages."

"The product is easy to use."

"It is an easy-to-use and secure program."

"Windows Server IIS is stable."

"We use the solution for our customer's web applications."

"IIS is useful for the deployment of web applications...Its stability is good."

"The product's initial setup phase is straightforward."

More IIS pros

Cons

"Its support documentation could have detailed information on database integration."

"To improve IBM Open Liberty, more integration with Kafka and message systems, and asynchronous messaging would be beneficial."

"The price of the solution could be less to improve."

"The security must be improved."

"The documentation is not very detailed. They need to improve it and add to it. They should ensure there are lots of visuals to help users better understand the solution."

"The solution must improve the integration between its databases."

"The customer service and support team can be improved."

"We'd like future versions to be more stable."

"The level of technical support the solution offers could be improved."

"IIS's memory management could be improved."

More IIS cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is less costly than one of its competitors."

"This solution comes included with Windows Server."

"The product's price is not high."

"The tool is included with Windows."

"The price is good."

"They offer a one-time payment model for the product license, and we pay annually for support."

"There is no license required for the product as it is role-based. Whenever you go for a Windows platform server, the role has to be installed directly from the server manager. There is no additional cost that has to be paid for that. It is free to use."

"The solution provides multiple licensing options."

"The price of Windows Server IIS is expensive. They have a large user base, and they charge a little bit too much."

More IIS pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

51%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	28
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	21

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Open Liberty?

To improve IBM Open Liberty, more integration with Kafka and message systems, and asynchronous messaging would be beneficial. Having more integration with Kafka, Mongo, and middleware systems that ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Open Liberty?

I used IBM Open Liberty for an application for financial services using IBM Open Liberty and MicroProfile to process data for financial services work.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Open Liberty?

I used IBM Open Liberty in the past in a project, but today I'm not using it anymore. I had a good experience working with it in a financial services company. This was very beneficial. My review ra...

See all answers

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,...

See all answers

What do you like most about IIS?

The product is flexible.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IIS?

For the pricing, setup cost, and licensing for IIS, as a Microsoft product, I didn't think much about separately purchasing an IIS product as it is part of Microsoft Windows. We bought a developmen...

See all answers

Comparisons

Spring Boot vs IBM Open Liberty

Compared 78% of the time

IBM WebSphere Liberty vs IBM Open Liberty

Compared 7% of the time

Helidon vs IBM Open Liberty

Compared 5% of the time

Tomcat vs IBM Open Liberty

Compared 3% of the time

Spring MVC vs IBM Open Liberty

Compared 3% of the time

More IBM Open Liberty Competitors

Apache Web Server vs IIS

Compared 30% of the time

NGINX Plus vs IIS

Compared 27% of the time

Tomcat vs IIS

Compared 10% of the time

Oracle WebLogic Server vs IIS

Compared 8% of the time

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) vs IIS

Compared 6% of the time

More IIS Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Server

September 2025

Download IBM Open Liberty product report

Buyer's Guide

IIS

September 2025

Download IIS product report

Also Known As

No data available

Windows Server IIS

Overview

IBM Open Liberty is a highly adaptable and lightweight Java runtime, designed to cater to modern cloud-native applications. Its flexibility and commitment to open source makes it a valuable asset for developers seeking ease of deployment and scalability.

IBM Open Liberty stands out for its ease of integration into cloud environments and its emphasis on developer productivity. It permits quick iterations with minimal overhead, thanks in part to its support for MicroProfile and Jakarta EE. This allows for streamlined deployment processes, making contemporary software development more efficient.

What are the valuable features of IBM Open Liberty?

Lightweight Server: Minimizes resource consumption, enabling faster performance.
Dev Mode: Provides a real-time feedback loop, simplifying development cycles.
MicroProfile Support: Assists in building microservices architecture effectively.
Jakarta EE Support: Ensures compatibility with enterprise standards.

What are the benefits or ROI to consider?

Scalability: Adapts easily to increasing workloads while maintaining performance.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces operational costs by optimizing server usage.
Developer Productivity: Accelerates development through intuitive tooling.
Cloud Readiness: Facilitates seamless integration with cloud platforms.

IBM Open Liberty finds applications across multiple industries. In finance, it supports robust transactional systems. In telecommunications, it enhances service delivery with reliable microservices infrastructure. Health care benefits from its compliance capabilities, facilitating secure data management and faster application delivery.

IBM

Internet Information Services (IIS) provides a secure, easy-to-manage, modular and extensible platform for reliably hosting websites, services and applications. With IIS, you get choice and control without giving up reliability or security.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Erste Bank Group, NJVC, Samsung Electronics, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Tata Steel Europe, Urban Software Institute

Buyer's Guide

IBM Open Liberty vs. IIS

October 2025

Free Report: IBM Open Liberty vs. IIS

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