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IBM WebSphere Application Server vs Oracle WebLogic Server vs Tomcat comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Application Server category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 8.0%, down from 12.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle WebLogic Server is 10.5%, down from 24.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tomcat is 12.4%, down from 19.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Server Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Tomcat12.4%
Oracle WebLogic Server10.5%
IBM WebSphere Application Server8.0%
Other69.1%
Application Server
 

Featured Reviews

CF
Senior Manager, MW & DB Automation at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Has worked seamlessly in complex clustered environments and supports long-term development efforts
IBM WebSphere Application Server is currently at version 9.0.5.23. In recent months, they released fix 23, as they periodically release fixes. Previously, they frequently increased versions, but now they maintain 9.0.5 with different releases. It's based on Java J2EE 7 and Java SDK 1.8. Oracle announced that 2030 will be the last year when Java SDK 1.8 will be supported. Oracle currently deploys Java 2.x in parallel, with the latest being version 25. The future of IBM WebSphere Application Server remains uncertain since it's based on Java 1.8 and Java 7. I haven't found any white papers or official documentation from IBM outlining their trajectory post-2030.
Thomas Waltair - PeerSpot reviewer
Regional Head And Director Product Development at Neptune Software Group
Stable and scalable enterprise deployment with Cloud-Native support
Oracle WebLogic Server helps with my deployment strategy in both monolithic as well as Cloud-Native ways. I think it is useful; this Cloud-Native support helps with deployment in both on-prem and cloud. For container deployment, we are not very rich. We are in the process of moving our business logic to containerization. But in terms of this being a big product, a core banking system, I prefer on-prem rather than cloud. The use cases and the scrum help me a lot in an iterative, incremental manner. I would recommend this product; it is an enterprise, large volume, and of course, it is worth it to deploy. I am providing this review with a rating of 9.
Sanjay Sahu - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager at Capgemini
Customization and flexibility enhance web applications while support effectively resolves queries
Regarding improvements in Tomcat, I personally haven't used it very extensively, but all Apache products are very useful for our web applications. Although the web server setup is a little different, it has everything we have been using, and as of now, everything is good with no deficiencies that need improvement. I think that Tomcat needs a more robust logging error details feature; the current logging feature is available, but it should be more user-friendly. This improvement would make error handling more user-friendly.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have about 3,000 users concurrently using this application, and it has achieved more than 99.9% up time which has resulted in increased productivity and efficiency."
"The technical support from IBM is very good and responsive."
"The solution is robust, and the connection management and the scalability which IBM provides to the stack are also valuable."
"Once you deploy your application, it will be very stable with no issues at all."
"We needed this type of integration and WebShepere is the best tool for it."
"WebSphere Application Server is very stable."
"One of the most valuable features might be the stability of the IBM WebSphere Application Server."
"IBM WebSphere Application Server is one of the best servers due to its stability and paid license."
"The technical support is responsive and they are always ready to help by various communication channels, such as Zoom calls."
"Another valuable feature is the ability to automate tasks through scripts, making our environment highly efficient."
"The biggest benefit I see from Oracle WebLogic Server is that it is beneficial; we are stable through a large volume of transactions, I am able to have a highly scalable, highly demanding, enterprise deployment, and I am able to increase the volume based on the demand."
"The solution works well in load balancing."
"One of the good features of Oracle WebLogic Server was the ability to add some custom parameters to its deployment and performance."
"WebLogic is a mature Java application server and when compared to competitors, it excels in speed, scalability and stability."
"It is quite robust in comparison to other application servers."
"I mostly like the stability."
"The solution integrates smoothly with the development environment. The integration process is straightforward. You only need to configure the project in your IDE. With intelligent features, the integration becomes even easier. Once integrated, deployment into our application is straightforward. Previously, we sometimes relied on manual deployment processes or used a separate application manager. However, with this solution, deployment is simplified."
"I like the solution’s ease of use."
"It is a scalable platform."
"Tomcat is secure, reliable, and stable."
"We can use Apache Tomcat for Java server applications."
"The most valuable features of this solution are the general web server features; it's simple and easy to use."
"The solution is scalable."
"I love Tomcat for its scalability, reliability, availability, and steadiness."
 

Cons

"IBM WebSphere Application Server hasn't changed much. It's still a heavyweight for any company compared to what you get. Unless your code base is deeply linked with it, I don't think it's a great idea to go with this solution. The current trend is toward modularity and containerization, and given the product's requirements, containerization will be difficult. There is a memory requirement as well."
"In spite of the solution's robustness, it is expensive and a bit difficult to support, which is why companies nowadays tend to use more lightweight products such as Tomcat or cloud versions of the products."
"What could be improved in IBM WebSphere Application Server is its interconnection with other products, for example, Kafka. What I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is a better graphical user interface."
"In the next release of this solution, I would like to see support for the Arabic language."
"The main issue we faced was its limited compatibility with non-Java technologies, which can result in difficulty detecting potential bugs and requiring additional integration efforts."
"The solution is very expensive compared to an open-source stack."
"They should make the solution more lightweight and not bundle everything into a single product."
"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."
"There are always ways to improve. But it's getting better every time, with every new release, and every new patch, it's getting better."
"Oracle WebLogic Server is not fully integrated with Oracle Enterprise Manager."
"The pricing is a little bit higher compared to other products."
"There are always ways to improve."
"Having clearer mechanisms to directly map a database-level connection problem to the corresponding WebLogic thread would greatly enhance the administrator's convenience."
"The Oracle team is not a good provider when it comes to supporting. They do not have good knowledge of the technical aspects, so Google is better."
"The solution is very expensive, and its pricing could be improved."
"Its pricing should be better. We are analyzing other options, such as JBoss, because of the cost of WebLogic."
"Tomcat needs to improve its stability."
"Sometimes we face issues with the private and public networks and ensuring that once Tomcat is installed, that it is secure."
"Scalability is a major problem with Tomcat."
"The disability and memory management is a problem with the solution and has room for improvement."
"The product's pricing needs improvement."
"If it could support the driver's VIN, they can run natively without the GBM. Now, we can run what we call the native cloud application that doesn't require GBM. If Tomcat can support that, it's going to improve performance and backup."
"Vulnerability is one of the areas that can be considered an issue in the solution."
"The high availability is not as robust as the competition is such as WebLogic and Jboss."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We used to pay about $100,000-$120,000 US or somewhere around there. That was a bit cost-prohibitive for us to continue."
"IBM WAS base is part of the deal when you purchase IBM FileNet P8 Content Engine."
"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."
"I don't remember the price, but there are no additional costs."
"WebSphere Application Server is expensive, so it may not be a good option for small companies."
"The price of IBM WebSphere Application Server could be less expensive and there is an annual license required for this solution."
"The licensing cost is 1,000 of euros for a 30-year table."
"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."
"In our country, this is an expensive product."
"Its high expense is a significant drawback"
"It is expensive."
"The licensing fees are annual and depend on the model."
"I would not compare WebSphere and WebLogic because both servers are really good. The only difference is that Weblogic is lighter and consumes less memory."
"Fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"The licensing of the product is expensive"
"My company uses a licensed version of the product, so we get Oracle's support."
"We are using the open-source version."
"Tomcat is not costlier than other solutions."
"The solution is open source so is free."
"This is an open-source product and it's free to use."
"The tool is free."
"The price of the solution is good."
"Tomcat's pricing is very cheap."
"It is an open-source tool and is free of cost."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
32%
Computer Software Company
8%
Insurance Company
6%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Government
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Construction Company
5%
 

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 Business15
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise17
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise28
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM WebSphere Application Server?
At Royal Bank, which is a major IBM customer with mainframes and numerous IBM products, they have a specific agreemen...
What needs improvement with IBM WebSphere Application Server?
IBM WebSphere Application Server is currently at version 9.0.5.23. In recent months, they released fix 23, as they pe...
What is your primary use case for IBM WebSphere Application Server?
I was part of an application where I integrated IBM WebSphere Application Server with Node.js and Blue Prism. I did a...
What needs improvement with Oracle WebLogic Server?
I am not sure at this stage about any areas for improvement.
What is your primary use case for Oracle WebLogic Server?
The main purposes for which I use Oracle WebLogic Server is for enterprise deployment. It is an enterprise applicatio...
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 ...
What needs improvement with Tomcat?
Tomcat lacks a visual tool for configuring. Everything is from the command line. I would like a visual tool for confi...
What is your primary use case for Tomcat?
I work with Tomcat as a programmer, but not as an administrator. My major use case involves using Tomcat, mostly encl...
 

Also Known As

WebSphere Application Server
WebLogic 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
Colab Consulting Pty. Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Sascar, Banca Transilvania, UL, Center for Railway Information Systems, SPAR Austria Group, Reliance Commercial Finance, Industrial Bank of Korea, Al Jaber Group, Safe Water Kenya, Chhattisgarh Infotech and Biotech Promotion Society
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 Apache, Red Hat, Oracle and others in Application Server. Updated: April 2026.
892,611 professionals have used our research since 2012.