Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Tomcat pros and cons

Vendor: Apache

4.2 out of 5

52 reviews
94% willing to recommend

1,486 followers

Pros & Cons summary

Tomcat is a user-friendly, open-source server known for ease of setup and management, ideal for small application deployments. It offers robust performance with excellent scalability, though it requires enhancements in security, high availability, stability under heavy loads, and integration of monitoring tools. Compatibility with Apache and a lightweight design are advantages, yet frequent updates are needed for competitiveness. Despite areas needing improvement, Tomcat remains a reliable option for developers.

Buyer's Guide

Get pricing advice, tips, use cases and valuable features from real users of this product.

Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Web apps are easy to deploy with Tomcat, which simplifies the deployment process.

Tomcat supports Java Enterprise, making it valuable for Java server applications.

Tomcat's open-source nature and low pricing make it an attractive choice for businesses.

Tomcat offers excellent scalability, reliability, and stability, suitable for various applications.

Tomcat integrates smoothly with the development environment, reducing project timelines.

CONS

The admin console could provide more detailed memory usage information.

Integration of a security feature to encrypt database connection details is needed.

Tomcat struggles with high availability compared to competitors like WebLogic and JBoss.

Stability improvements are necessary, especially with memory-intensive applications.

Logging capabilities could be enhanced with better access and user-friendly features.

Tomcat Pros review quotes

CTO at InsightGeeks Solutions Pvt.

Jan 4, 2023

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.

Read full review

JJ

Principal Infrastructure Solution Architecture at National Bank of Kuwait

Mar 22, 2023

Our company doesn't face any stability issues while using Tomcat.

Read full review

Technical Lead at Cellulant Kenya

Apr 11, 2024

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.

Read full review

Free Report: Tomcat Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about Tomcat. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2025.

851,491 professionals have used our research since 2012.

NB

NikolayBachvarov

Software Architect at AIOPS group

Feb 12, 2024

Tomcat has connectors like REST requests to connect the front end. Also, some parts of the inter-system communication go through REST. External connections with third parties occasionally involve both REST and SOAP protocols. Tomcat is versatile in accommodating these various communication methods.

Read full review

Director Consulting Expert at Cgi Deutschland KG

Nov 16, 2023

The product's initial setup phase was simple.

Read full review

SS

Project Manager at Capgemini

May 9, 2025

We use Tomcat for various purposes, and our company finds it to be perfect; we are getting all the solutions out of that.

Read full review

Product owner at Digitt Plus (AFT)

Mar 20, 2024

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.

Read full review

reviewer1283880

CEO International Business at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Nov 10, 2023

I love Tomcat for its scalability, reliability, availability, and steadiness.

Read full review

LJ

System Architect at UST Global EspaÃ±a

May 3, 2024

Tomcat is a single-server solution for deploying applications that can scale effectively. It's a good choice because it simplifies deployment. Once you package your application, deployment is straightforward and efficient.

Read full review

reviewer1501299

Senior System Analyst at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

Feb 9, 2021

Tomcat is user-friendly and easy to set up, especially compared to WebLogic or JBoss where some specialty is required. If you are going for Tomcat, you can use their guidelines and can set it up easily.

Read full review

Show 10 more reviews (out of 41)

Tomcat Cons review quotes

CTO at InsightGeeks Solutions Pvt.

Jan 4, 2023

One way to improve the solution is by making the logging capabilities of Tomcat better by providing a logger within the server itself and making it easy to access and view the server logs. This can be especially useful when debugging issues with applications deployed on the Tomcat server. By having the ability to view both the application logs and the server logs, you can more easily identify the source of any issues and troubleshoot them more efficiently. Providing a connector or other similar feature that allows you to access the server logs from within your application can also be helpful in this regard. Having access to both the application logs and the server logs can be a valuable resource when trying to identify and resolve problems.

Read full review

JJ

Principal Infrastructure Solution Architecture at National Bank of Kuwait

Mar 22, 2023

Vulnerability is one of the areas that can be considered an issue in the solution.

Read full review

Technical Lead at Cellulant Kenya

Apr 11, 2024

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.

Read full review

Free Report: Tomcat Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about Tomcat. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2025.

851,491 professionals have used our research since 2012.

NB

NikolayBachvarov

Software Architect at AIOPS group

Feb 12, 2024

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.

Read full review

Director Consulting Expert at Cgi Deutschland KG

Nov 16, 2023

Performance optimization is an area of concern in Tomcat that should be made better.

Read full review

SS

Project Manager at Capgemini

May 9, 2025

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.

Read full review

Product owner at Digitt Plus (AFT)

Mar 20, 2024

Tomcat needs to improve its user interface.

Read full review

reviewer1283880

CEO International Business at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Nov 10, 2023

Java functions should be built better into the solution.

Read full review

reviewer1501299

Senior System Analyst at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

Feb 9, 2021

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.

Read full review

OM

Sr. Devops Engineer at a media company with 201-500 employees

Jul 15, 2021

It would be great if they offered more integration of monitoring tools.

Read full review

Show 10 more reviews (out of 39)

Product Categories

Product Categories

Application Server

Popular Comparisons

Popular Comparisons

Oracle WebLogic Server vs Tomcat

IBM WebSphere Application Server vs Tomcat

JBoss vs Tomcat

Oracle Fusion Middleware vs Tomcat

Oracle Application Server vs Tomcat

Oracle GlassFish vs Tomcat

Caucho Resin vs Tomcat

TmaxSoft JEUS vs Tomcat

Fujitsu Interstage Application Server vs Tomcat

See all alternatives

Product Categories

Product Categories

Application Server

Popular Comparisons

Popular Comparisons

Oracle WebLogic Server vs Tomcat

IBM WebSphere Application Server vs Tomcat

JBoss vs Tomcat

Oracle Fusion Middleware vs Tomcat

Oracle Application Server vs Tomcat

Oracle GlassFish vs Tomcat

Caucho Resin vs Tomcat

TmaxSoft JEUS vs Tomcat

Fujitsu Interstage Application Server vs Tomcat

See all alternatives

Related questions

18

When evaluating Application Server, what aspect do you think is the most important to look for?

9

What are the pros and cons of JBoss and Oracle Middleware?

6

Resin vs WebLogic? Pros and Cons?

4

Why is Application Server important for companies?