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IBM WebSphere Application Server vs JBoss Enterprise Application Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 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 Infrastructure
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Application Server (5th)
JBoss Enterprise Applicatio...
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
7th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 8.9%, down from 10.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of JBoss Enterprise Application Platform is 7.1%, down from 7.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM WebSphere Application Server8.9%
JBoss Enterprise Application Platform7.1%
Other84.0%
Application Infrastructure
 

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.
Gustavo Magni - PeerSpot reviewer
Stable solution with an easy initial setup process
We use the solution for the deployment of Java-based applications The solution helps my organization with simple and fast deployments. The solution is easy to configure and deploy. The solution's architecture needs improvement. Also, there could be more integration with container platforms. We…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"Without the Admin Console it would be very hard to configure JVM settings, JDBC datasources, mail session settings, and security providers."
"It does integrate well with the Tivoli Federated Identity Management system."
"High availability, alert management, and deployments are the most valuable features for us. We have the ND version so we can do deployments."
"Security: It is compatible with the latest Java 8 security features, supports FIPS 140-2 and NIST SP 800-53 with strong ciphers and cryptography keys, and supports TLS 1.2 completely. Also, configuring client and server certificates is relatively easy."
"Network Deployment is the most useful feature for scalability. It has many features within the standard WebSphere Application Server edition."
"The solution is robust. The connection management and the scalability, which IBM provides to the Stack, are also valuable."
"IBM WebSphere Application Server is the best in terms of scalability and performance, as well as the support for managing distributed transactions."
"The most valuable features of this solution are scalability and performance."
"Stable and easy to handle in terms of hosting applications."
"JBoss Enterprise Application Platform works very well."
"It's convenient and barebone."
"Its technical support is excellent."
"The solution is quite stable."
 

Cons

"They should make the solution more lightweight and not bundle everything into a single product."
"It should be able to serve more concurrent requests like Oracle. Oracle has more powerful stability, availability, and real-time serving."
"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."
"Some things are very difficult to do, so the interface and usage could be more intuitive for those."
"While WebSphere mostly supports IBM HTTP Server (IHS) as the web server plugin, I think it would be beneficial if it also supported Apache and NGINX web servers. That would give customers more flexibility in their choices."
"WebSphere is very cumbersome and not user-friendly."
"WebSphere is very cumbersome and not user-friendly. It used to have its own JVM, which presented challenges such as different architecture and memory leaks."
"The licensing could be improved, and I would like it to give the longevity of the lifespan of the visions. In the next release, I would like to be able to download and extract the files so that I can just use my application server."
"Its architecture needs improvement."
"This solution needs better management UI."
"Lacks some functional requirements."
"It's hard to find out the root cause of errors."
"Sometimes, I observe the memory usage at 100% for the server, and this issue could be improved."
"A graphic user interface can be added."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It costs more than some of the others, but, you get what you pay for."
"It's expensive."
"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."
"It is very expensive."
"The licensing policy is based on the PVU base."
"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 licensing cost is 1,000 of euros for a 30-year table."
"IBM WAS base is part of the deal when you purchase IBM FileNet P8 Content Engine."
"The solution is cost-effective."
"It is an open-source solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
34%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
7%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
33%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise23
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise4
 

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 needs improvement with JBoss Enterprise Application Platform?
The memory usage and memory RAM could be improved. JBoss Enterprise Application Platform could improve the use of memory on a server. Sometimes, I observe the memory usage at 100% for the server, a...
What is your primary use case for JBoss Enterprise Application Platform?
I deploy the application as .war or .ear, which is part of Java Enterprise. I use it for resources for the server, and I coordinate with the developer for deployment of the web application. In my j...
 

Also Known As

WebSphere Application Server
JBoss EAP, Red Hat EAP
 

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
APD, Banco Azteca, Roche, Tata Sky, Frost Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. JBoss Enterprise Application Platform and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,778 professionals have used our research since 2012.