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

Apache Spark vs Spring Boot comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 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

Apache Spark
Ranking in Java Frameworks
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
68
Ranking in other categories
Hadoop (1st), Compute Service (5th)
Spring Boot
Ranking in Java Frameworks
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Java Frameworks category, the mindshare of Apache Spark is 9.0%, up from 7.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Spring Boot is 35.5%, down from 41.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Java Frameworks Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Spring Boot35.5%
Apache Spark9.0%
Other55.5%
Java Frameworks
 

Q&A Highlights

MT
Works at Verizon
Aug 28, 2023
 

Featured Reviews

Devindra Weerasooriya - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Architect at Devtech
Provides a consistent framework for building data integration and access solutions with reliable performance
The in-memory computation feature is certainly helpful for my processing tasks. It is helpful because while using structures that could be held in memory rather than stored during the period of computation, I go for the in-memory option, though there are limitations related to holding it in memory that need to be addressed, but I have a preference for in-memory computation. The solution is beneficial in that it provides a base-level long-held understanding of the framework that is not variant day by day, which is very helpful in my prototyping activity as an architect trying to assess Apache Spark, Great Expectations, and Vault-based solutions versus those proposed by clients like TIBCO or Informatica.
reviewer2759913 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Software Developer at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees
Has improved application monitoring and supports modular development with built-in configuration features
Spring Boot has many valuable features. First, it requires less coding and less configuration. The configurations are already in-built. The security features in Spring Boot are in-built, so we don't need to use any external third-party applications for security. In Spring Boot, the robust configuration capabilities help in adapting to diverse deployment scenarios because there is a minimum configuration required for developing any applications. The auto-configuration feature is available in Spring Boot. When we start any application, there is a property file where we mention the keys, securities, DB connections, and all other configurations. When we start any application, it loads the application properties first, which include the credentials and security files. I am using Spring Boot starter projects. I assess Spring Boot's auto-configuration feature as highly efficient in managing application setup. The application.properties file allows us to specify the server settings, such as the port we want to start the server on. For example, the default is 8080, but we can configure it to 8081. Additionally, we can store connection details such as the driver class, data source URL, username, and password in the application.properties file.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"DataFrame: Spark SQL gives the leverage to create applications more easily and with less coding effort."
"The solution is very stable."
"The processing time is very much improved over the data warehouse solution that we were using."
"One of the key features is that Apache Spark is a distributed computing framework. You can help multiple slaves and distribute the workload between them."
"The features we find most valuable are the machine learning, data learning, and Spark Analytics."
"The most significant advantage of Spark 3.0 is its support for DataFrame UDF Pandas UDF features."
"Features include machine learning, real time streaming, and data processing."
"We use it for ETL purposes as well as for implementing the full transformation pipelines."
"It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...The initial setup was not complex and was a simple process."
"It is a stable solution."
"The setup is straightforward."
"Spring Boot's main feature is that it's great for DevOps because you can write your own application. You don't need to install Apache Tomcat. You can create your project easily with a few clicks."
"The most valuable features of Spring Boot include being able to check all the logs and doing health checks for applications. We can also do monitoring more quickly, and use Spring Boot for production support, so when production goes up or down, we can bring up the application very quickly through Spring Boot."
"The API gateway and cloud configuration allows us to configure the properties outside of the service with respect to enrollment."
"Spring Boot facilitates the use of Java which is open source. We use Github and other libraries that are available which assist in the building we need to do."
"It is stable."
 

Cons

"It would be beneficial to enhance Spark's capabilities by incorporating models that utilize features not traditionally present in its framework."
"We've had problems using a Python process to try to access something in a large volume of data. It crashes if somebody gives me the wrong code because it cannot handle a large volume of data."
"Apache Spark could improve the connectors that it supports. There are a lot of open-source databases in the market. For example, cloud databases, such as Redshift, Snowflake, and Synapse. Apache Spark should have connectors present to connect to these databases. There are a lot of workarounds required to connect to those databases, but it should have inbuilt connectors."
"When using Spark, users may need to write their own parallelization logic, which requires additional effort and expertise."
"It should support more programming languages."
"Stream processing needs to be developed more in Spark. I have used Flink previously. Flink is better than Spark at stream processing."
"There could be enhancements in optimization techniques, as there are some limitations in this area that could be addressed to further refine Spark's performance."
"The product could improve the user interface and make it easier for new users."
"When the dependencies within those starter packages clash, mismatch or have a hazard, it is hard to solve the issue."
"We'd like to have fewer updates."
"The database connectivity could be better in terms of dealing with multi-tenant systems."
"When we change versions, we run into issues."
"They should integrate the solution with more AI and machine learning platforms."
"The product could be improved by supporting and integrating Hadoop."
"Spring Boot is okay right now, but my team is looking for some integration where you can make a call to the JMS messaging service and other types of third-party integrations. If the integration with Spring Boot is improved, that would make the tool better. What I'd like to see in the next release of Spring Boot is its integration or tie-up with messaging servers and third-party EFPs, as that would make it very good and more competitive versus other new solutions in the market."
"Spring Boot can improve the dependency tree that we use for libraries. It would be helpful if it was less complex."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They provide an open-source license for the on-premise version."
"The tool is an open-source product. If you're using the open-source Apache Spark, no fees are involved at any time. Charges only come into play when using it with other services like Databricks."
"It is an open-source platform. We do not pay for its subscription."
"Since we are using the Apache Spark version, not the data bricks version, it is an Apache license version, the support and resolution of the bug are actually late or delayed. The Apache license is free."
"It is an open-source solution, it is free of charge."
"We are using the free version of the solution."
"I did not pay anything when using the tool on cloud services, but I had to pay on the compute side. The tool is not expensive compared with the benefits it offers. I rate the price as an eight out of ten."
"Licensing costs can vary. For instance, when purchasing a virtual machine, you're asked if you want to take advantage of the hybrid benefit or if you prefer the license costs to be included upfront by the cloud service provider, such as Azure. If you choose the hybrid benefit, it indicates you already possess a license for the operating system and wish to avoid additional charges for that specific VM in Azure. This approach allows for a reduction in licensing costs, charging only for the service and associated resources."
"I am using a free version of Spring Boot."
"Spring Boot is open source. It's a free tool and free framework."
"If you want support there is paid enterprise version with support available."
"This solution is free unless you apply for support."
"It's open-source software, so it's free. It's a community license."
"I use the free version of Spring Boot."
"This is an open source solution."
"The solution is an open-source tool."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Java Frameworks solutions are best for your needs.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Financial Services Firm
30%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise32
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise18
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Apache Spark?
We use Spark to process data from different data sources.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Spark?
Apache Spark is open-source, so it doesn't incur any charges.
What needs improvement with Apache Spark?
Areas for improvement are obviously ease of use considerations, though there are limitations in doing that, so while various tools like Informatica, TIBCO, or Talend offer specific aspects, licensi...
What do you like most about Spring Boot?
1. Open Source2. Excellent Community Support -- Widely used across different projects -- so your search for answers would be easy and almost certain.3. Extendable Stack with a wide array of availab...
Which is better - Spring Boot or Eclipse MicroProfile?
Springboot is a Java-based solution that is very popular and easy to use. You can use it to build applications quickly and confidently. Springboot has a very large, helpful learning community, whic...
Which is better - Spring Boot or Jakarta EE?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether the Spring Boot or Jakarta EE application creation software was the better fit for us. We decided to go with Spring Boot. Spring Boot offe...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NASA JPL, UC Berkeley AMPLab, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, UC Santa Cruz, TripAdvisor, Taboola, Agile Lab, Art.com, Baidu, Alibaba Taobao, EURECOM, Hitachi Solutions
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Spark vs. Spring Boot and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.