IBM Open Liberty vs Tomcat comparison

IBM and Apache are both solutions in the Application Server category. IBM is ranked #14, while Apache is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.8. IBM holds a 1.6% mindshare in AppS, compared to Apache’s 18.8% 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 1 IBM Open Liberty review

1,986 Views
99 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Tomcat

Read 52 Tomcat reviews

2,820 Views
2,820 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

IBM Open Liberty

Tomcat

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Executive SummaryUpdated on May 28, 2025

Tomcat and IBM Open Liberty are application servers. Tomcat is favored for simplicity and cost, while IBM Open Liberty has the advantage in features and flexibility.

Features: Tomcat is known for lightweight process execution, ease of use, and a developer-friendly environment. IBM Open Liberty supports microservices, cloud readiness, and high scalability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Tomcat simplifies deployment for those with limited resources, providing basic customer support. IBM Open Liberty offers flexible deployment, extensive documentation, and robust support.

Pricing and ROI: Tomcat, being open-source, presents low setup costs and quick ROI for small applications. IBM Open Liberty's higher cost due to licensing pays off in features and scalability for complex needs.

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

Buyer's Guide

Application Server

August 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

14th

Average Rating

10.0

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 August 2025, in the Application Server category, the mindshare of IBM Open Liberty is 1.6%. The mindshare of Tomcat is 18.8%, down from 20.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Server

Featured Reviews

FABIO LUIS VELLOSO DA SILVA

Founder at SouJava

Scalable solution with efficient monitoring features

We use the solution to develop microservices for financial organizations The solution has the best monitoring features. The solution's feature for distributed transaction management could be better. Also, its login feature needs improvement as well. The solution is much more stable compared to…

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

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

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

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

"The product is easy to use."

"The deployment process is very fast."

"Tomcat is secure, reliable, and stable."

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

"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."

"Web apps are very easy to deploy."

More Tomcat pros

Cons

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

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

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

"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."

"I would also like to see a dashboard with some integrations in order to see the logs and trace performance easier."

"The solution cannot host .NET applications."

"Technical support is limited."

"Tomcat needs to improve its user interface."

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

More Tomcat cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"This is an open-source product and it's free to use."

"We are using the open-source version."

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

"Tomcat is not costlier than other solutions."

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

"The tool is free."

"I rate the product's price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low price."

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

More Tomcat pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

52%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

27%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

11%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

Which solution do you prefer: Spring Boot or Open Liberty?

Sometimes, Open Liberty is preferred over Spring Boot because Open Liberty is lightweight, scalable, and secure. It is also a good choice for microservices because it supports a wide range of deplo...

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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

Spring Boot vs IBM Open Liberty

Compared 83% of the time

Helidon vs IBM Open Liberty

Compared 5% of the time

IBM WebSphere Liberty vs IBM Open Liberty

Compared 4% of the time

Eclipse MicroProfile vs IBM Open Liberty

Compared 3% of the time

More IBM Open Liberty Competitors

Oracle WebLogic Server vs Tomcat

Compared 27% of the time

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) vs Tomcat

Compared 22% of the time

IBM WebSphere Application Server vs Tomcat

Compared 19% of the time

IIS vs Tomcat

Compared 9% of the time

Oracle Application Server vs Tomcat

Compared 1% of the time

More Tomcat Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Server

August 2025

Download IBM Open Liberty product report

Buyer's Guide

Tomcat

July 2025

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

Find out what your peers are saying about Apache, Oracle, Red Hat and others in Application Server. Updated: August 2025.

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