IBM Open Liberty vs Tomcat comparison

IBM and Apache are both solutions in the Application Server category. IBM is ranked #8 with an average rating of 10.0, while Apache is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.1. IBM holds a 3.8% mindshare in AppS, compared to Apache’s 14.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Apache users who would recommend it.

IBM Open Liberty

Read 2 IBM Open Liberty reviews

1,939 Views
252 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Tomcat

Read 53 Tomcat reviews

2,449 Views
2,449 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

IBM Open Liberty

Tomcat

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 7, 2025

Apache Tomcat and IBM Open Liberty are competitors in the application server market. While Tomcat is favored for its cost-effectiveness, IBM Open Liberty is regarded as superior due to its comprehensive feature set, justifying its higher cost.

Features: Tomcat's lightweight architecture, simplicity, and efficiency in serving Java-based web applications are key advantages. IBM Open Liberty provides extensive support for microservices, cloud-native environments, and full Java EE and MicroProfile support, offering enhanced versatility for complex distributed systems.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Tomcat's straightforward deployment model requires minimal management overhead, favoring simpler applications. IBM Open Liberty offers extensive customer service and documentation, with a scalable deployment model suitable for enterprise applications demanding high support levels.

Pricing and ROI: Tomcat's low setup cost appeals to small and medium projects prioritizing budget constraints. IBM Open Liberty demands higher initial spending due to its advanced features and support but promises a greater ROI for enterprises seeking robust performance and scalability.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Open Liberty vs. Tomcat Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Open Liberty vs. Tomcat

December 2025

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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

IBM Open Liberty

Ranking in Application Server

8th

Average Rating

10.0

Reviews Sentiment

2.8

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 January 2026, in the Application Server category, the mindshare of IBM Open Liberty is 3.8%. The mindshare of Tomcat is 14.0%, down from 19.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Server Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Tomcat	14.0%
IBM Open Liberty	3.8%
Other	82.2%

Application Server

Featured Reviews

FABIO LUIS VELLOSO DA SILVA

Partner at SouJava

Has enabled flexible deployment of modular services with high availability and smooth dynamic updates

The best features of IBM Open Liberty are the implementation of MicroProfile and Jakarta EE, along with fault tolerance and high availability. It's easy to use and deploy new features. The profile is easy to configure and set up features. For example, using fault tolerance from MicroProfile or using servlets or JAX-RS allows for easy configuration and creation of modular applications. The configuration is modular. The main point for us in this project was high availability, high performance, and the implementation of MicroProfile and Jakarta EE. We utilized the modular architecture of IBM Open Liberty by creating different microservices using different environments. We created different configurations for different services using the configuration of IBM Open Liberty. This was very beneficial. We created different environments only by changing the configuration, depending on the functionality we needed. It was good and very flexible for us. I used the dynamic updates feature of IBM Open Liberty and different configurations in different services and servers, based on the functionality we provided for our clients. The flexibility to create different services in different environments using IBM Open Liberty was important. The high availability is guaranteed by the architecture of IBM Open Liberty, Java, and MicroProfile. The architecture guaranteed high availability, and the flexibility comes from being able to configure needed features. There's no need to load all WebSphere or functionalities in all environments. I can configure it and create a more highly available and scalable process. I implemented monitoring tools for IBM Open Liberty using Grafana and OpenTracing using the functionalities from MicroProfile and IBM Open Liberty. The monitoring tools helped with managing system performance.

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Sanjay Sahu

Project Manager at Capgemini

Customization and flexibility enhance web applications while support effectively resolves queries

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 different, it has everything we have been using, and as of now, everything is good with no deficiencies that need improvement. 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. This improvement would make error handling more user-friendly.

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

"It is a stable solution compared to other vendors."

"The flexibility to create different services in different environments using IBM Open Liberty was important."

"It is a robust solution."

"Tomcat is a simple, light environment, whereas the full Red Hat Fuse solution is heavier."

"I like the solution’s ease of use."

"The product's initial setup phase was simple."

"The solution has very robust functionality."

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

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

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

More Tomcat pros

Cons

"To improve IBM Open Liberty, more integration with Kafka and message systems, and asynchronous messaging would be beneficial."

"Its support documentation could have detailed information on database integration."

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

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

"The solution's interface and backup features could be better."

"Tomcat's performance is less than other solutions like IBM WebSphere or JBoss."

"I have no recommendations for improvements."

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

"Tomcat needs to improve its stability."

"Security integration in Tomcat is complicated. We need to use another tool to solve the security issues."

More Tomcat cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is less costly than one of its competitors."

"I give the pricing an eight out of ten."

"The solution is open source so is free."

"The tool is free."

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

"There are no additional costs apart from the standard 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."

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

"Tomcat's pricing is very cheap."

More Tomcat pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

50%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Financial Services Firm

23%

Government

13%

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	23
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	28

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Open Liberty?

To improve IBM Open Liberty, more integration with Kafka and message systems, and asynchronous messaging would be beneficial. Having more integration with Kafka, Mongo, and middleware systems that ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Open Liberty?

I used IBM Open Liberty for an application for financial services using IBM Open Liberty and MicroProfile to process data for financial services work.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Open Liberty?

I used IBM Open Liberty in the past in a project, but today I'm not using it anymore. I had a good experience working with it in a financial services company. This was very beneficial. My review ra...

See all answers

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?

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

Spring Boot vs IBM Open Liberty

Compared 66% of the time

IBM WebSphere Liberty vs IBM Open Liberty

Compared 9% of the time

Helidon vs IBM Open Liberty

Compared 4% of the time

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) vs IBM Open Liberty

Compared 3% of the time

Oracle WebLogic Server vs IBM Open Liberty

Compared 3% of the time

More IBM Open Liberty Competitors

Oracle WebLogic Server vs Tomcat

Compared 20% of the time

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) vs Tomcat

Compared 17% of the time

IBM WebSphere Application Server vs Tomcat

Compared 16% of the time

IIS vs Tomcat

Compared 11% of the time

Fujitsu Interstage Application Server vs Tomcat

Compared 5% of the time

More Tomcat Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Server

January 2026

Download IBM Open Liberty product report

Buyer's Guide

Tomcat

January 2026

Download Tomcat product report

Overview

IBM Open Liberty is a highly adaptable and lightweight Java runtime, designed to cater to modern cloud-native applications. Its flexibility and commitment to open source makes it a valuable asset for developers seeking ease of deployment and scalability.

IBM Open Liberty stands out for its ease of integration into cloud environments and its emphasis on developer productivity. It permits quick iterations with minimal overhead, thanks in part to its support for MicroProfile and Jakarta EE. This allows for streamlined deployment processes, making contemporary software development more efficient.

What are the valuable features of IBM Open Liberty?

Lightweight Server: Minimizes resource consumption, enabling faster performance.
Dev Mode: Provides a real-time feedback loop, simplifying development cycles.
MicroProfile Support: Assists in building microservices architecture effectively.
Jakarta EE Support: Ensures compatibility with enterprise standards.

What are the benefits or ROI to consider?

Scalability: Adapts easily to increasing workloads while maintaining performance.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces operational costs by optimizing server usage.
Developer Productivity: Accelerates development through intuitive tooling.
Cloud Readiness: Facilitates seamless integration with cloud platforms.

IBM Open Liberty finds applications across multiple industries. In finance, it supports robust transactional systems. In telecommunications, it enhances service delivery with reliable microservices infrastructure. Health care benefits from its compliance capabilities, facilitating secure data management and faster application delivery.

IBM

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

Information Not Available

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

Buyer's Guide

IBM Open Liberty vs. Tomcat

December 2025

Free Report: IBM Open Liberty vs. Tomcat

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