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JBoss 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

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
Tomcat
Ranking in Application Server
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Application Server category, the mindshare of JBoss is 17.7%, up from 17.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tomcat is 19.9%, down from 20.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Server
 

Featured Reviews

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…
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

"We can deploy the applications on the JBoss server, so it is easy to manage. It's also easy to add new certificates to the config."
"JBoss is more flexible and keeps up with modern technologies, supporting newer versions of different libraries."
"JBoss is a scalable tool."
"The solution has flexibility and stability."
"The product's initial setup phase is easy."
"There's good documentation and a pretty good community surrounding the product."
"The stability is good. I would rate it a nine out of ten."
"The solution's support is very good for repairing components."
"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 solution has very robust functionality."
"Tomcat is a lightweight application server, which makes it easy to deploy and install small applications."
"Tomcat is easy to handle, its installation process does not take much time, and its server speed is also very good compared to other servers."
"Our company doesn't face any stability issues while using Tomcat."
"I like the solution’s ease of use."
"The product is easy to use."
"The most valuable feature is how simple it is to deploy the solution."
 

Cons

"The documentation could be better. When we have questions, we need to check multiple websites. There isn't one place listing a set of common problems and how to fix them."
"The login process could be improved."
"It would be great if the product came with a feature where the remarks made on the board can be saved on an individual's laptop to make it more user-friendly."
"Having the support combined with Red Hat support would be an improvement."
"Making it lighter and more modular would probably be beneficial."
"The product could be cheaper."
"In terms of monitoring, the old version was somewhat limited in flexibility, lacking the ability to easily adjust configurations."
"It can have automation features. Everybody is focused right now on automation. In terms of saving cost, automation is always the first thing that comes to light."
"The solution cannot host .NET applications."
"The product's pricing needs improvement."
"Performance optimization is an area of concern in Tomcat that should be made better."
"Perhaps there could be an easier way to configure some advanced features."
"Sometimes, the UI part does not run properly, or the server goes down."
"Tomcat needs to improve its stability."
"The disability and memory management is a problem with the solution and has room for improvement."
"The high availability is not as robust as the competition is such as WebLogic and Jboss."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an open-source solution."
"We pay for a maintenance license, but it is not expensive."
"The pricing of JBoss is more reasonable than that of WebLogic."
"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."
"JBoss is an expensive solution."
"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."
"Since the solution is freeware, our customers don't need to pay any licensing fees."
"The solution is cost-efficient compared to other products. Pricing is rated an eight out of ten."
"There are no additional costs apart from the standard license."
"It is an expensive product."
"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 solution is free."
"Tomcat is not costlier than other solutions."
"It's open-source. We don't pay for the license."
"I give the pricing an eight out of ten."
"Tomcat's pricing is very cheap."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
26%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
42%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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...
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?
Resource configuration like JNDI and queue configuration, similar to other servers, should be provided from the admin console for Tomcat. Currently, it is done manually. The server config file must...
What is your primary use case for Tomcat?
I am using the solution at running level three. It is for running web applications.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Tata Sky, Nissan, Swedish Board of Agriculture, Novamedia, American Product Distributors, Advanced Micro Devices, Emirates Group, E*TRADE
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 JBoss vs. Tomcat and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.