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Tomcat Reviews

Vendor: Apache
4.2 out of 5
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What is Tomcat?

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. 

Get the Tomcat Buyer's Guide and find out what your peers are saying about Tomcat, Oracle WebLogic Server, IBM WebSphere Application Server and more!
Tomcat is the #2 ranked solution in top Application Server solutions. PeerSpot users give Tomcat an average rating of 8.4 out of 10. Tomcat is most commonly compared to Oracle WebLogic Server: Tomcat vs Oracle WebLogic Server. Tomcat is popular among the midsize enterprise segment, accounting for 45% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a educational organization, accounting for 38% of all views.
Buyer's Guide
Tomcat
May 2025
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Tomcat mindshare

As of June 2025, the mindshare of Tomcat in the Application Server category stands at 19.4%, down from 20.3% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Server

PeerResearch reports based on Tomcat reviews

TypeTitleDate
CategoryApplication ServerJun 2, 2025Download
ProductReviews, tips, and advice from real usersJun 2, 2025Download
ComparisonTomcat vs Oracle WebLogic ServerJun 2, 2025Download
ComparisonTomcat vs JBossJun 2, 2025Download
ComparisonTomcat vs IBM WebSphere Application ServerJun 2, 2025Download
Suggested products
TitleRatingMindshareRecommending
Oracle WebLogic Server4.023.2%86%35 interviewsAdd to research
IBM WebSphere Application Server3.813.0%88%31 interviewsAdd to research
 
 
Key learnings from peers

Valuable Features

Tomcat is valued for its lightweight, open-source nature and ease of configuration. Many appreciate its stability and high performance, along with scalability and flexibility. It's widely used for Java applications due to simple deployment and strong community support. Efficient memory use and reliable security are highlighted. Tomcat seamlessly integrates with development environments and databases, offering robust functionality and fast startup. Its versatility makes it a preferred choice for diverse applications.
  • "We use Tomcat for various purposes, and our company finds it to be perfect; we are getting all the solutions out of that."
  • "I find the quick startup valuable, particularly the static quick startup."
  • "It is easy to manage at a basic level."

Room for Improvement

Tomcat struggles with performance, scalability, and compatibility with some JDK implementations. Its user interface and documentation need enhancement. Security features and integration remain complex. Memory management and logging capabilities require augmentation. Tomcat lacks enterprise-level features and fails to support .NET applications. Clustering and deployment automation could be improved, and the administration tools should be more user-friendly. Regular updates and better configuration options would benefit users handling large-scale applications.
  • "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."
  • "Resource configuration like JNDI and queue configuration, similar to other servers, should be provided from the admin console for Tomcat."
  • "I have no recommendations for improvements."

ROI

Businesses find Tomcat valuable due to its minimal infrastructure costs and fast implementation, allowing for quick ROI. Scalability and availability are noted benefits, with companies using simple server setups to effectively manage operations. Knowledgeable teams can operate it cost-effectively, while others may explore alternative vendors for additional features. Tomcat simplifies server management, streamlines deployment, and debugging, saving time and money. Organizations quickly experience significant gains, whether through direct use or compatible services.

Pricing

Tomcat is an open-source solution, making it free to use without licensing or setup costs. Enterprise users highlight its cost-effectiveness, rating its pricing highly, typically around eight to ten out of ten. While Tomcat itself incurs no charges, organizations might opt for additional paid support or features from other vendors such as JBoss EAP by Red Hat, which offers enhanced management and technical support options tailored for enterprise needs.
  • "It's open-source. We don't pay for the license."
  • "It is an open-source tool and is free of cost."
  • "Tomcat is an open-source server."

Popular Use Cases

Tomcat serves as a versatile tool primarily used for deploying Java-based applications and microservices. It is widely adopted due to its open-source nature, lightweight design, and cross-platform compatibility, running on Linux, Windows, Solaris, and AIX. Commonly associated with services like Spring Boot, it functions as both a web and application server. Organizations use Tomcat in cloud environments, leveraging its scalability, security features, and ease of embedding within other applications.

Service and Support

Tomcat offers extensive community support, with users praising its helpful forum and rich documentation. While there is no official support, many find solutions through community interaction and available resources. Some users rate their experience highly, acknowledging professional responses when engaging. Others resolve issues internally without outside help. Assistance from Apache can be proactive, yet posting in forums may lack quick resolutions. Many users do not require paid support, relying instead on self-discovery.

Deployment

Tomcat's initial setup is consistently described as easy and straightforward. It can be done in minutes, especially by experienced users, taking up to a couple of hours for others. Extensive documentation is available online. Installation involves downloading the software, configuring basic settings, and deploying applications, often completed in less than a day. Multiple users rate the setup ease highly, emphasizing Tomcat's user-friendly, flexible, and efficient nature for various deployment environments.

Scalability

Tomcat demonstrates good scalability, especially when integrated with cloud or Kubernetes. Users note its adaptability for microservices and clustering, and it's praised for flexibility with load balancing and Docker. Some find it challenging to scale for complex concurrent usage, but many rate it highly, with implementations across various business sizes. Users effectively manage growing demands, leveraging horizontal scaling and port management. Tomcat's capabilities enable adaptation to diverse environments with ease and reliability.

Stability

Tomcat is generally stable, with many users rating it high. It rarely crashes or freezes when properly configured. Some users need regular restarts due to performance issues, especially for larger applications or memory-intensive tasks. Stability is influenced by server load, hardware, and user requirements. It remains popular for microservices and smaller applications, though some struggle with vulnerability and version updates. Users often find open-source support valuable, with some occasionally needing to address bug fixes.
These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.
Download our Tomcat Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers
By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
38%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
8%
Insurance Company
4%
Comms Service Provider
4%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Healthcare Company
3%
Real Estate/Law Firm
1%
Energy/Utilities Company
1%
University
1%
Wholesaler/Distributor
1%
Media Company
1%
Retailer
1%
Hospitality Company
1%
Legal Firm
1%
Construction Company
1%
Non Profit
1%
Recreational Facilities/Services Company
1%
Logistics Company
1%
Transportation Company
1%

Compare Tomcat with alternative products

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Learn more about Tomcat

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

Tomcat customers

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

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Tomcat reviews

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Project Manager at Capgemini
Verified user of Tomcat
May 9, 2025
Customization and flexibility enhance web applications while support effectively resolves queries

Pros

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

Cons

"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."

What is our primary use case?

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 additionally, we are looking into Apache Kafka to replace our Azure Service Bus.

We are using Apache server in one of our web applications and we also work with other Apache products, for example, ActiveMQ.

The Apache solutions we are primarily using now include Apache Tomcat Server, which is the web server.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of Tomcat for managing web traffic are evident in the web application that we are running on Apache Tomcat.

The advantages of Tomcat include its flexibility; we can increase the heap memory and the size of sessions as per our custom needs. We find it very familiar, simple, and robust, and these are the features we are still using in Tomcat.

*Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Read full review (581 words)
SK
Software Development Engineer at Tesco
Verified user of Tomcat
Nov 26, 2024
Supports diverse applications, effortless deployment, and a lightweight server

Pros

"Tomcat is a lightweight application server, which makes it easy to deploy and install small applications."

Cons

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

What is our primary use case?

We use Tomcat as an application server to deploy our developed applications. It's used for deploying applications on Tomcat servers and is suitable for small, lightweight applications.

What is most valuable?

Tomcat is a lightweight application server, which makes it easy to deploy and install small applications. It's particularly advantageous for microservices due to its simplicity, and it's useful as a starting point for those wanting to learn about application deployments. 

This tool is better for minor applications, although there are concerns with handling larger, memory-intensive applications.

*Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Read full review (445 words)
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Erick Karanja - PeerSpot user
Technical Lead at Cellulant Kenya
Verified user of Tomcat
May 2, 2024
Offers high availability, straightforward deployment and easy to use

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. "

Cons

"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."

What is our primary use case?

I use it to deploy applications built with Spring Boot and Java. 

How has it helped my organization?

Tomcat is installed on-premises. Then, we expose what we call the management console. Developers can log in to the management console and do deployments from there.

*Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Read full review (800 words)
SN
Technical Consultant at General Organization for Social Insurance
Verified user of Tomcat
Jan 26, 2025
Quick server and application startup enables smooth web application deployment

Pros

"I find the quick startup valuable, particularly the static quick startup."

Cons

"Resource configuration like JNDI and queue configuration, similar to other servers, should be provided from the admin console for Tomcat."

What is our primary use case?

I am using the solution at running level three. It is for running web applications.

What is most valuable?

I find the quick startup valuable, particularly the static quick startup. The server startup and application startup are very fast. I like that I can add any number of instances easily.

*Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Read full review (302 words)
Damian Bukowski - PeerSpot user
Program Python at Santander Bank Polska
Verified user of Tomcat
May 8, 2024
Easy to use, protects applications, and the support team is responsive

Pros

"I like the solution’s ease of use."

Cons

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

What is our primary use case?

We use the tool for security. We use it to keep our applications on the web safe.

What is most valuable?

I like the solution’s ease of use. It is very easy to update certificates.

*Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Read full review (310 words)
AhmadTalha - PeerSpot user
Product owner at Digitt Plus (AFT)
Verified user of Tomcat
Mar 22, 2024
A lightweight solution with faster startup time

Pros

"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. "

Cons

"Tomcat needs to improve its user interface. "

What is our primary use case?

I use the tool for my Java application. It helps to deploy our servers. 

What is most valuable?

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 solution loads quickly compared to other servers and is lightweight, resulting in faster startup times. Additionally, it consumes fewer resources, providing more flexibility. It also benefits from a strong community and documentation. Overall, it's easy to use and configure.

*Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Read full review (553 words)
VASUDEVA UNGATI - PeerSpot user
Senior Director - Quality Engineering at mobileum
Verified user of Tomcat
Jul 16, 2024
A convenient solution that is useful for web applications

Pros

"The solution is convenient. It is a comfortable and easy-to-use solution for my use cases. "

Cons

"The product needs to have more updates. "

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution as a web server for web-based applications. We also build data containers using it. 

What is most valuable?

The solution is convenient. It is a comfortable and easy-to-use solution for my use cases. 

*Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Read full review (149 words)
SHUBHAM BHINGARDE - PeerSpot user
Project Engineer at CDAC
Verified user of Tomcat
Feb 19, 2024
Has a straightforward setup process and provides efficient integration with other tools

Pros

"The product's most valuable feature is the ability to host applications. "

Cons

"The current procedure appears complex and could benefit from a more straightforward solution."

What is our primary use case?

We use the product to deploy Java applications on Linux operating systems.

What is most valuable?

The product's most valuable feature is the ability to host applications.

*Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Read full review (375 words)