IBM WebSphere Application Server vs Tomcat comparison

IBM and Apache are both solutions in the Application Server category. IBM is ranked #5 with an average rating of 7.7, while Apache is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.9. IBM holds a 11.0% mindshare in AppS, compared to Apache’s 16.7% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Apache users who would recommend it.

IBM WebSphere Application S...

Read 31 IBM WebSphere Application Server reviews

3,477 Views
1,878 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

Tomcat

Read 52 Tomcat reviews

2,559 Views
2,559 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

IBM WebSphere Application S...

Tomcat

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 2, 2025

IBM WebSphere Application Server and Tomcat compete in the enterprise application server market. IBM WebSphere seems to have an edge in enterprise environments due to its comprehensive support and features, while Tomcat is preferred in smaller implementations for its simplicity and cost-effectiveness.

Features: IBM WebSphere boasts robust security, transaction management, and high scalability, making it suitable for complex enterprise applications. Tomcat is lightweight and easily configurable, ideal for developers seeking portability and simplicity. Tomcat's integration capabilities with existing systems are also valuable.

Room for Improvement: IBM WebSphere could improve in easing the deployment process and reducing its complexity for smaller teams. Tomcat might enhance its support for enterprise-level features and client management tools. Better documentation and automation capabilities could enhance both tools.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Tomcat offers a simple deployment process ideal for smaller teams, with extensive community support. IBM WebSphere, while more complex, provides comprehensive customer service that assists larger organizations with setup and maintenance.

Pricing and ROI: IBM WebSphere involves higher setup costs but offers higher ROI for enterprise-level implementations with its extensive feature set and support. Tomcat, being open source, presents minimal setup costs, making it attractive for small to medium businesses with budget constraints and fast ROI goals.

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

Buyer's Guide

IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. Tomcat

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 Server

5th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Infrastructure (3rd)

Tomcat

Ranking in Application Server

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Application Server category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 11.0%, down from 12.0% 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
Product	Market Share (%)
Tomcat	16.7%
IBM WebSphere Application Server	11.0%
Other	72.3%

Application Server

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.

Read full review

Erick Karanja

Technical Lead at Cellulant Kenya

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.

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

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

"The solution is robust. The connection management and the scalability, which IBM provides to the Stack, are also valuable."

"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."

"The solution has good performance."

"The VPN service is quite useful."

"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."

"IBM WebSphere Application Server is easy to use."

"High availability, alert management, and deployments are the most valuable features for us. We have the ND version so we can do deployments."

More IBM WebSphere Application Server pros

"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 application works, you can depend on Tomcat."

"It is easy to manage at a basic level."

"The product is easy to use."

"I like the solution’s ease of use."

"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 scalability overall is good."

"The most valuable feature of Tomcat is its ability to export libraries into different instances so that I can use it not only in one application but in multiple applications."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is that it supports Java Enterprise."

More Tomcat pros

Cons

"Installing or configuring a WAS server instance as a Windows Service causes a lot of problems, especially when the server needs credentials to stop."

"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."

"The current trend is to move to Liberty because of the portability of its cloud and its Kubernetes, which containerize the application."

"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."

"WebSphere is very cumbersome and not user-friendly."

"The security could be better."

"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."

More IBM WebSphere Application Server cons

"Our biggest challenge is that the Tomcat servers are not hosted locally."

"Tomcat is a polished product that has been around for a long time. It should be simple and high-performing, with the ability to grow and maintain stability. The fewer features it has, the more stable it will be."

"Tomcat's stability could be improved, especially when handling more memory-intensive, large-scale applications."

"Tomcat needs to improve its user interface."

"The disability and memory management is a problem with the solution and has room for 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."

"The setup is complex and could be improved."

"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."

More Tomcat cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost is 1,000 of euros for a 30-year table."

"The licensing policy is based on the PVU base."

"It is very expensive."

"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."

"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."

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

"It costs more than some of the others, but, you get what you pay for."

"It's expensive."

More IBM WebSphere Application Server pricing and cost advice

"There are no additional costs apart from the standard license."

"This is an open-source product and it's free to use."

"We are currently using the open-source version."

"Tomcat's pricing is very cheap."

"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."

"Tomcat is an open source solution."

"It is an open-source tool and is free of cost."

"If it is a community version of the solution, no payment is required. However, if it is a Linux version, we must buy the solution from JBoss."

More Tomcat pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

33%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Insurance Company

Financial Services Firm

24%

Government

14%

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

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	22
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	28

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 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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

JBoss Enterprise Application Platform vs IBM WebSphere Application Server

Compared 25% of the time

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

Compared 20% of the time

Oracle WebLogic Server vs IBM WebSphere Application Server

Compared 7% of the time

IBM DataPower Gateway vs IBM WebSphere Application Server

Compared 5% of the time

HCL Digital Experience vs IBM WebSphere Application Server

Compared 4% of the time

More IBM WebSphere Application Server Competitors

Oracle WebLogic Server vs Tomcat

Compared 23% of the time

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) vs Tomcat

Compared 20% of the time

IIS vs Tomcat

Compared 9% of the time

Caucho Resin vs Tomcat

Compared 6% of the time

IBM WebSphere Liberty vs Tomcat

Compared 5% of the time

More Tomcat Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM WebSphere Application Server

October 2025

Download IBM WebSphere Application Server product report

Buyer's Guide

Tomcat

October 2025

Download Tomcat product report

Also Known As

WebSphere Application Server

No data available

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

Tomcat is a reliable and efficient web server, popular for hosting and running Java-based applications. It is praised for its scalability, compatibility with different operating systems and development frameworks, and its ability to handle heavy workloads.

Users appreciate Tomcat's ease of use, robust performance, reliable server functionality, seamless integration with various platforms, extensive documentation, and strong community support.

Apache

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

Buyer's Guide

IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. Tomcat

September 2025

Free Report: IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. Tomcat

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