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IBM WebSphere Application Server vs Tomcat 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)
Tomcat
Ranking in Application Server
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Application Server category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 11.1%, down from 11.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tomcat is 16.7%, down from 20.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Server Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Tomcat16.7%
IBM WebSphere Application Server11.1%
Other72.2%
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.
Erick  Karanja - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers high availability, straightforward deployment and easy to use
Tomcat could be a little bit more innovative. Tomcat could come up with a framework that's more lightweight and purely targeted at Java applications. Some other solutions are doing better right now, maybe because they have come up with MicroProfile, which I think is moving forward. It may actually beat Tomcat because of the lightweight nature of the framework, the MicroProfile. They're coming up with new solutions. So, for the future of Tomcat and to maintain the market share they might be looking for, they need to come up with initiatives to ensure that several of us have a lightweight framework to deploy applications on.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Network Deployment is the most useful feature for scalability. It has many features within the standard WebSphere Application Server edition."
"I find IBM support to be very nice."
"The scalability of the product is quite good."
"WebSphere Application Server's best features include the data subscription and connection viewer."
"High availability, alert management, and deployments are the most valuable features for us. We have the ND version so we can do deployments."
"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 solution has good performance."
"As compared to other applications, it has tremendous support. We have built internal capability so that we use it extensively internally. It is also easier to use with the outside data. You can write in ESQL, Java, or any other technology that you want to use for development. So, it is a lot more flexible in the language that it supports."
"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."
"The ease of use of Tomcat is its most valuable feature. Once we grade particular software, we simply download it and we keep an eye on if Tomcat is working."
"I find the quick startup valuable, particularly the static quick startup."
"It is a scalable platform."
"Tomcat is reliable and secure, which makes it valuable for our application deployment."
"The scalability overall is good."
"The most valuable feature is how simple it is to deploy the solution."
"Our company doesn't face any stability issues while using Tomcat."
 

Cons

"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)."
"The business logic side of it is sort of missing in the sense that if I want to track and measure velocity, it is not really available. You have to buy another application and embark on a separate implementation. Instead of having different licensing, IBM DataPower should be integrated with WebSphere. It will allow us to build the business layer and rules a lot more efficiently, rather than developing rules within the application. It would be good if we can set up the business layer through parametrization rather than development. IBM DataPower has the business rule and the controls, and if it can be integrated, it would be fantastic. It will help the application in working better in terms of security features and business logic. If you're going to use it for open banking, you will be able to monitor velocity on the total pricing."
"The security could be better."
"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."
"They should make the solution more lightweight and not bundle everything into a single product."
"When we run into memory or locking issues, we resort to using third-party tools. However, it would be preferable to have native tools for debugging this type of problem."
"Tomcat's performance is less than other solutions like IBM WebSphere or JBoss."
"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."
"It will be useful if a direct report concerning a particular server configuration or application usage is readily available in the dashboard."
"Vulnerability is one of the areas that can be considered an issue in the solution."
"I have no recommendations for improvements."
"Tomcat could be a little bit more innovative. Tomcat could come up with a framework that's more lightweight and purely targeted at Java applications."
"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."
"Tomcat is used mainly for database connections. As of now, we configure that environment for any database configuration. But if any utility can integrate where we can pass the database connection as a string of details, then it should encrypt them and keep them inside. From that security perspective, Tomcat requires improvement. They should integrate this security feature."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"There is an Eclipse Plugin provided by IBM, so no need to buy IBM Rational Application Developer or Rational Software Architect tools."
"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."
"IBM WAS base is part of the deal when you purchase IBM FileNet P8 Content Engine."
"The price of IBM WebSphere Application Server could be less expensive and there is an annual license required for this solution."
"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."
"I don't remember the price, but there are no additional costs."
"This is an open-source product and it's free to use."
"I rate the product's price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low price."
"The tool is free."
"There are no additional costs apart from the standard license."
"We are using the open-source version."
"Tomcat is an open source solution."
"It is an expensive product."
"Tomcat is not costlier than other solutions."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
33%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
7%
Insurance Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
25%
Government
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise23
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise28
 

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 Tomcat?
Tomcat's ease of use has positively impacted project timelines. Tomcat already has high availability – it doesn't go down so often and doesn't require a lot of maintenance. As long as your applicat...
What needs improvement with Tomcat?
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 differen...
What is your primary use case for Tomcat?
We use Tomcat for various purposes, and our company finds it to be perfect; we are getting all the solutions out of that. There is still no chance of any migration to any other technology, but addi...
 

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
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 IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. Tomcat and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
867,497 professionals have used our research since 2012.