Oracle GlassFish vs Tomcat comparison

Oracle and Apache are both solutions in the Application Server category. Oracle is ranked #10, while Apache is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.9. Oracle holds a 3.3% mindshare in AppS, compared to Apache’s 16.7% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Apache users are willing to recommend the solution.

Oracle GlassFish

Read 1 Oracle GlassFish review

444 Views
444 Comparison Views

0% willing to recommend

Tomcat

Read 52 Tomcat reviews

2,559 Views
2,559 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Oracle GlassFish

Tomcat

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Oracle GlassFish and Tomcat based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Apache, Oracle, Red Hat and others in Application Server.

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

Buyer's Guide

Application Server

September 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 868,706 peers since 2012

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

Oracle GlassFish

Ranking in Application Server

10th

Average Rating

6.0

Number of Reviews

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

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Application Server category, the mindshare of Oracle GlassFish is 3.3%, up from 2.3% 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%
Oracle GlassFish	3.3%
Other	80.0%

Application Server

Featured Reviews

it_user517413

Technical Lead Developer

Offers EE Support. I would like to see integration with MQ systems.

The products offers EE support. It offers ease of use. I would like to see integration with MQ systems.

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

"The products offers EE support."

"It's very stable. No problems at all. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten."

"It is easy to set up."

"It is a scalable platform."

"I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten, where one is high price and ten is low price. The pricing is pretty low."

"The most valuable feature is the free EE server."

"One of the most valuable features of Tomcat is its compatibility with the Apache web server and its ease of configuration. It is simple to set up and maintain and allows for easy management of database connections, transactions, and isolation. Overall, Tomcat is a user-friendly application server that makes it easy to manage various aspects of database interactions."

"We can use Apache Tomcat for Java server applications."

"The most valuable features of this solution are the general web server features."

More Tomcat pros

Cons

"I would like to see integration with MQ systems."

"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."

"Tomcat is not user-friendly. I would also like to be able to have multiple applications run at the same time."

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

"Deployment in Tomcat should be done through a GUI. We deploy applications from the backend using commands."

"The solution cannot host .NET applications."

"The product needs to have more updates."

"In the solution, we are using the terminal to enter command line codes for operations and management, this is difficult for me. It would be better if we had some administrator UI tools for this."

More Tomcat cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"Tomcat is open-source and free to use."

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

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

"It's open-source. We don't pay for the license."

"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."

"Tomcat is not costlier than other solutions."

"The price of the solution is good."

"Tomcat's pricing is very cheap."

More Tomcat pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Server solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

868,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Financial Services Firm

24%

Government

13%

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	22
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	28

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

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

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) vs Oracle GlassFish

Compared 38% of the time

Oracle WebLogic Server vs Oracle GlassFish

Compared 27% of the time

IBM WebSphere Application Server vs Oracle GlassFish

Compared 9% of the time

More Oracle GlassFish Competitors

Oracle WebLogic Server vs Tomcat

Compared 23% of the time

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) vs Tomcat

Compared 21% of the time

IBM WebSphere Application Server vs Tomcat

Compared 19% of the time

IIS vs Tomcat

Compared 9% of the time

IBM WebSphere Liberty vs Tomcat

Compared 4% of the time

More Tomcat Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Server

September 2025

Download Oracle GlassFish product report

Buyer's Guide

Tomcat

September 2025

Download Tomcat product report

Also Known As

GlassFish

No data available

Overview

Oracle GlassFish Server is a robust open source platform that offers exhaustive and accessible documentation, intuitive administration and configuration features, interoperability with Microsoft Windows, feature-rich integration with NetBeans and Eclipse, and alignment with Oracle Solaris, OpenSolaris, and MySQL.

Oracle

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

TravelMuse, Clarity Accounting

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, Oracle, Red Hat and others in Application Server. Updated: September 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

868,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Application Server vendors.

We monitor all Application Server reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.