IBM WebSphere Application Server vs IBM WebSphere Message Broker comparison

IBM WebSphere Application Server and IBM WebSphere Message Broker are both solutions in the Application Infrastructure category. IBM WebSphere Application Server is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.7, while IBM WebSphere Message Broker is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.0. IBM WebSphere Application Server holds a 9.8% mindshare in AIS, compared to IBM WebSphere Message Broker’s 1.9% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of IBM WebSphere Application Server users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 84% of IBM WebSphere Message Broker users who would recommend it.

IBM WebSphere Application S...

Read 31 IBM WebSphere Application Server reviews

3,477 Views
1,530 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

IBM WebSphere Message Broker

Read 13 IBM WebSphere Message Broker reviews

891 Views
285 Comparison Views

84% willing to recommend

IBM WebSphere Application S...

IBM WebSphere Message Broker

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 2025

IBM WebSphere Application Server and IBM WebSphere Message Broker compete in the enterprise application integration and management space. IBM WebSphere Message Broker has the upper hand in messaging protocol integration and data transformation for complex messaging solutions, while IBM WebSphere Application Server excels in application deployment and administration efficiency.

Features: IBM WebSphere Application Server provides powerful capabilities like scalability, reliability, and efficient deployment and management of enterprise applications. On the other hand, IBM WebSphere Message Broker is adept at supporting various protocols, handling data transformation, and optimizing cross-platform communication and message routing.

Room for Improvement: IBM WebSphere Application Server could improve by simplifying complex configurations and enhancing user-friendly elements for better accessibility. Also, reducing its resource consumption would benefit users. IBM WebSphere Message Broker can enhance its ease of deployment to match its integration prowess, streamline its user interface for more intuitive use, and offer improved documentation covering intricate scenarios for diverse users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM WebSphere Application Server is recognized for straightforward deployment with comprehensive customer service, easing setup time and resources. IBM WebSphere Message Broker, although slightly more complex to deploy, provides extensive integration support crucial for complex messaging workflows.

Pricing and ROI: IBM WebSphere Application Server typically offers a lower initial setup cost and favorable ROI for organizations aiming to reduce deployment expenses. The IBM WebSphere Message Broker, while potentially more costly, delivers high ROI in environments needing advanced messaging and integration, making the investment worthwhile for businesses requiring complex messaging solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. IBM WebSphere Message Broker Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. IBM WebSphere Message Broker

September 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 WebSphere Application S...

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

3rd

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Server (5th)

IBM WebSphere Message Broker

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

17th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) (9th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 9.8%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM WebSphere Message Broker is 1.9%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Infrastructure Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM WebSphere Application Server	9.8%
IBM WebSphere Message Broker	1.9%
Other	88.3%

Application Infrastructure

Featured Reviews

BharathirajaSukumar

Senior Lead Analyst at Radial

Efficient load balancing and the clustering, achieved by using the deployment manager, is valuable

I believe that the system is already good. However, for improvement or enhancement, it is user-friendly, but it could offer better choices on the front end for different aspects or options. Sometimes, I have to search extensively for features, as there are no upfront tabs. There is a lack of visible, easy, user-friendly, and straightforward options for the number of features.

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BrajendraKumar

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.

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

"We needed this type of integration and WebShepere is the best tool for it."

"IBM WAS is extremely scalable. It is easy to add additional servers and to divide the load over servers in all kinds of ways."

"The performance is good."

"The VPN service is quite useful."

"The thing about WebSphere, as opposed to other ones that I am aware of such as JBoss and Liberty, is that WebSphere has the most comprehensive scaffolding available to it."

"Network Deployment is the most useful feature for scalability. It has many features within the standard WebSphere Application Server edition."

"The integration between IBM tools and applications is very well executed."

"Without the Admin Console it would be very hard to configure JVM settings, JDBC datasources, mail session settings, and security providers."

More IBM WebSphere Application Server pros

"It has many interfaces and you can connect to any backend source that has another format, and convert it to the desired format."

"The most valuable feature of IBM WebSphere Message Broker is the ability to facilitate communication with legacy systems, offering a multitude of great capabilities. For example, if there is a mainframe system in place with a web service serving as the front end. In that case, the solution enables efficient protocol transformations to convert all request payloads into a format that the legacy systems can accept, rendering the integration and transformation processes seamless and highly effective."

"It is a scalable solution...The setup is easy."

"We only use the basic features, but the most valuable one for us is the Publish-subscribe pattern."

"The solution has good integration."

"The transactions and message queuing are the most valuable features of the solution."

"The documentation, performance, stability and scalability of the tool are valuable."

"Message Broker is valuable because most of the applications are using MQ. Even in my current engagement, the few applications which I audit to onboard the bank are using MQ."

More IBM WebSphere Message Broker pros

Cons

"In spite of the solution's robustness, it is expensive and a bit difficult to support."

"IBM needs to pay attention to market changes more quickly. We now have Java 9 and very soon Java EE8. We do not want to wait for two or three years after their release until they are supported by the new version."

"The security could be better."

"Some things are very difficult to do, so the interface and usage could be more intuitive for those."

"In the next release of this solution, I would like to see support for the Arabic language."

"When compared with WebLogic, Weblogic is lighter and consumes less memory."

"The solution could improve the integration."

"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."

More IBM WebSphere Application Server cons

"The installation configuration is quite difficult."

"The images and size of the containers are too big and I think that they should be more lightweight."

"As our business requirements evolve, we require more dynamic capabilities to adapt and scale our services accordingly."

"There is some lag in the GUI. There have been some performance issues and maybe it's because of the application data."

"Today I probably wouldn't go for Message Broker because of the cost structure, support, and the whole ecosystem around IBM."

"The user interface is designed mainly for experts, much in the way a BPM or another integration tool is."

"Technical support is good but they could have a better response time."

"Stability and pricing are areas with shortcomings that need improvement."

More IBM WebSphere Message Broker cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of this product is higher than that of competitors."

"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."

"The solution is quite expensive."

"The pricing is a little expensive."

"WebSphere Application Server is expensive, so it may not be a good option for small companies."

"There is an Eclipse Plugin provided by IBM, so no need to buy IBM Rational Application Developer or Rational Software Architect tools."

"It is very expensive."

"IBM WAS base is part of the deal when you purchase IBM FileNet P8 Content Engine."

More IBM WebSphere Application Server pricing and cost advice

"The price is very high and it's the main reason that we are searching for alternatives."

"I feel with IBM, when you want certain functions or features, you have to continuously purchase add-ons. There are always additional fees."

"IBM software can be costly, but having a contract has helped manage and potentially lower costs over time."

"IBM products are generally more stable and have more features, but also come at a greater cost."

"The solution is expensive."

"This product is more expensive than competing products."

"The solution is expensive."

"The licensing cost of IBM WebSphere Message Broker needs to be reduced"

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

34%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Insurance Company

Financial Services Firm

21%

Computer Software Company

11%

Insurance Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	23

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Large Enterprise	10

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.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM WebSphere Application Server?

In Korea, when you buy IBM iOS, the WebSphere base version is included with iOS. That means no additional cost.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM WebSphere Application Server?

I find the server okay, however, using the Maker instance, the Moving instance, and the Change instance is a little bit complicated without WebSphere knowledge.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

Comparisons

JBoss Enterprise Application Platform vs IBM WebSphere Application Server

Compared 26% of the time

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) vs IBM WebSphere Application Server

Compared 20% of the time

Tomcat vs IBM WebSphere Application Server

Compared 15% of the time

Oracle WebLogic Server vs IBM WebSphere Application Server

Compared 8% of the time

IBM DataPower Gateway vs IBM WebSphere Application Server

Compared 5% of the time

More IBM WebSphere Application Server Competitors

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Compared 40% of the time

webMethods.io vs IBM WebSphere Message Broker

Compared 15% of the time

IBM BPM vs IBM WebSphere Message Broker

Compared 11% of the time

Mule ESB vs IBM WebSphere Message Broker

Compared 10% of the time

IBM DataPower Gateway vs IBM WebSphere Message Broker

Compared 9% of the time

More IBM WebSphere Message Broker Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM WebSphere Application Server

October 2025

Download IBM WebSphere Application Server product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM WebSphere Message Broker

October 2025

Download IBM WebSphere Message Broker product report

Also Known As

WebSphere Application Server

WebSphere Message Broker

Overview

IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS) is a middleware platform developed by IBM. It provides a range of services and tools to help organizations develop, deploy, and manage Java-based applications. WAS is part of IBM's WebSphere product family and provides a secure, scalable, and highly available platform for developing and running web-based applications. WAS provides a secure, scalable, and highly available platform, making it an attractive solution for organizations looking to develop and deploy enterprise-grade applications.

IBM WebSphere Application Server Features

IBM WebSphere Application Server has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

Application deployment: IBM WAS enables organizations to deploy and manage applications in a secure and scalable environment.

Clustering: The clustering feature can help organizations ensure high availability and improve application performance.

Load balancing: The solution Includes load balancing capabilities to distribute application workloads and improve performance.

Security: IBM WAS offers a range of security features, including authentication, authorization, and encryption, to help organizations secure their applications and data.

Monitoring and management: The solution’s range of tools for monitoring and managing applications, including the IBM WebSphere Administrative Console allows organizations to optimize application performance and resolve issues easily.

Integration: IBM WAS integrates with a range of IBM and third-party products, including IBM WebSphere MQ, IBM DB2, and more, to provide a comprehensive platform for developing and running web-based applications.

IBM WebSphere Application Server Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing IBM WebSphere Application Server. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

Improved application performance: The IBM WAS platform offers a scalable and secure platform for deploying and managing applications, enabling organizations to improve application performance and reduce downtime.

High availability: IBM WAS provides clustering and load-balancing capabilities to help organizations ensure high availability.

Improved security: With a large range of security features, including authentication, authorization, and encryption, the solution helps organizations secure their applications and data.

Simplified management: IBM WAS is designed with a set of tools for monitoring and managing applications, enabling organizations to optimize performance and resolve issues efficiently.

Increased flexibility: The solution integrates with a range of IBM and third-party products, providing organizations with a flexible platform for developing and running web-based applications.

Improved developer productivity: It supports the latest Java EE specifications, allowing developers to use the latest technologies and development methodologies when building applications.

Better customer experience: Organizations can deliver faster and more reliable applications, improving the overall customer experience.

Scalability: IBM WAS provides a scalable and secure platform for deploying and managing applications, so organizations can quickly respond to changing business requirements.

Reviews from Real Users

IBM WebSphere Application Server is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Some of its major advantages are that it is stable, supports many languages, and is resilient.

Princewill O., Head Banking Application Customization and Reporting at a financial services firm, states, “[The solution is] very stable, supports many languages, and helpful for faster time to market.”

"What's most valuable in IBM WebSphere Application Server is its resilience. When you use the solution, you know that after the communication has been done, there will be no doubt that the data has reached its destination,” says Nicolae C., System and Solutions Architect at Seidor.

Another PeerSpot reviewer, an Enterprise Technical Leader at a tech services company mentions, “[It is an] enterprise-level product with extensive console capabilities, including the ability to control multiple JVM containers.”

IBM

WebSphere Message Broker is an enterprise service bus (ESB) providing connectivity and universal data transformation for service-oriented architecture (SOA) and non-SOA environments. It allows businesses of any size to eliminate point-to-point connections and batch processing regardless of platform, protocol or data format.

IBM

Sample Customers

TalkTalk, Property management group, E.SUN Bank, Ohio National Financial Services, Aviarc, Cincom Systems, FJA-US, D+H, Staples, Michigan Municipal League

WestJet, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Sharp Corporation, Michelin Tire

Buyer's Guide

IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. IBM WebSphere Message Broker

September 2025

Free Report: IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. IBM WebSphere Message Broker

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