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IBM WebSphere Application Server vs JBoss 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

IBM WebSphere Application S...
Ranking in Application Server
4th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Application Infrastructure (3rd)
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
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Application Server category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 13.0%, up from 11.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of JBoss is 16.8%, down from 17.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Server
 

Featured Reviews

BharathirajaSukumar - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
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…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"IBM WebSphere Application Server is one of the best servers due to its stability and paid license."
"The most valuable features are its user-friendliness and reliability in terms of application hosting."
"Starting with version 8, WAS provides a special folder called monitor deployment. Once you put the .war or .ear file in there, it is deployed automatically without human intervention. This greatly helps us in our continuous integration server. Once the deployment binary is ready, we write a script to copy it to that folder and then, voila! The application is up and running and accessible from its context root."
"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."
"The product offers good performance."
"The scalability of the product is quite good."
"One of the most valuable features might be the stability of the IBM WebSphere Application Server."
"High availability, alert management, and deployments are the most valuable features for us. We have the ND version so we can do deployments."
"The most valuable thing about JBoss is how easy it is to install and manage it on-premise, making the process simple."
"The solution's technical support is good."
"JBoss is a scalable tool."
"JBoss has made it very easy to implement web applications."
"JBoss's configuration is straightforward and easy."
"The most valuable feature is the UI."
"The solution's support is very good for repairing components."
"JBoss is more flexible and keeps up with modern technologies, supporting newer versions of different libraries."
 

Cons

"Based on the field and based on the build that was provided, we've noticed a lot of constraints in terms of the performance now."
"The security could be better."
"The availability of the solution needs improvement."
"Sometimes, I feel WebSphere runs a bit slow. It might be loading unnecessary libraries, impacting its performance compared to other application servers."
"I think in some moments, the security was a little bit more complex to configure when it was delegated to other systems, making it an area where improvements are required."
"WebSphere Application Server doesn't have an automated deployment option, forcing us to use third-party tools like Jenkins UCD and Palo Automated Deployment."
"WebSphere is very cumbersome and not user-friendly."
"Initial setup is very simple. Just use the IBM Installation Manager and add the packages. The install wizard takes care of the rest. The only thing that can be difficult is to find the right packages on the IBM website, because of all the changes that IBM does on its website(s)."
"There is not much ability inside of the solution. The world is going beyond different micro and data-type things like Microsoft Office, so we are not seeing much ability within the solution."
"The stability of the solution could improve with Microsoft Windows."
"Having the support combined with Red Hat support would be an improvement."
"JBoss is not as reliable and stable as WebLogic."
"The initial setup is a bit complex."
"The price could be improved. Customers don't want to buy the license easily."
"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."
"The solution sometimes crashed and had some compatibility issues with the DevOps JAR file."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"My company is on a perpetual or permanent license agreement with IBM WebSphere Application Server. There's also a pay-per-use option, but customers rarely choose that option. Most of the customers are on the perpetual license deal that's all-inclusive. As the license cost is quite expensive, I'm rating it two out of five."
"We pay around $200,000 annually."
"There is an Eclipse Plugin provided by IBM, so no need to buy IBM Rational Application Developer or Rational Software Architect tools."
"When you purchase Maximo, you get WebSphere for free."
"We used to pay about $100,000-$120,000 US or somewhere around there. That was a bit cost-prohibitive for us to continue."
"The solution is quite expensive."
"It costs more than some of the others, but, you get what you pay for."
"Room for improvement would only be in the licensing. As with all IBM products the licensing can be complex and expensive. Bargain well and try to get as much discount as possible. Discounts of 85% are possible. Without the discount, I think the product is overrated."
"The pricing of JBoss is more reasonable than that of WebLogic."
"The solution is cost-efficient compared to other products. Pricing is rated an eight out of ten."
"Since the solution is freeware, our customers don't need to pay any licensing fees."
"There is no licensing cost. The solution is free to use."
"It is an open-source solution."
"JBoss is an expensive solution."
"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."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
34%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
7%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
29%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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.
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.
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.
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...
 

Also Known As

WebSphere Application Server
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

TalkTalk, Property management group, E.SUN Bank, Ohio National Financial Services, Aviarc, Cincom Systems, FJA-US, D+H, Staples, Michigan Municipal League
Tata Sky, Nissan, Swedish Board of Agriculture, Novamedia, American Product Distributors, Advanced Micro Devices, Emirates Group, E*TRADE
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. JBoss and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,481 professionals have used our research since 2012.