IBM WebSphere Application Server vs NGINX Plus comparison

IBM and F5 are both solutions in the Application Infrastructure category. IBM is ranked #5 with an average rating of 7.8, while F5 is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.3. IBM holds a 12.0% mindshare in AIS, compared to F5’s 11.4% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of F5 users who would recommend it.

IBM WebSphere Application S...

Read 31 IBM WebSphere Application Server reviews

2,329 Views
1,674 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

NGINX Plus

Read 31 NGINX Plus reviews

2,093 Views
1,787 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

IBM WebSphere Application S...

NGINX Plus

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 2025

IBM WebSphere Application Server and NGINX Plus compete in application deployment management. WebSphere seems to have the upper hand in enterprise settings due to its comprehensive features, whereas NGINX Plus excels in performance and simplicity, appealing to agile environments.

Features: IBM WebSphere Application Server offers robust enterprise integration, extensive security features, and efficient clustering capabilities. NGINX Plus delivers high-performance support for HTTP, an advanced load balancing system, and microservices optimization. WebSphere enriches larger enterprises with middleware functionality, while NGINX Plus ensures speed and efficiency for fast-paced operations.

Room for Improvement: IBM WebSphere could improve by simplifying configurations, enhancing user interface intuitiveness, and streamlining middleware integration. NGINX Plus could enhance scalability features, expand native security capabilities, and optimize configuration processes further.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NGINX Plus boasts a straightforward deployment process and responsive customer service, suitable for businesses prioritizing agility. IBM WebSphere, despite its complex deployment requirements, offers extensive support options advantageous for enterprises needing detailed assistance.

Pricing and ROI: IBM WebSphere generally involves higher initial costs but can offer significant ROI in extensive enterprises through its comprehensive features and robust support. NGINX Plus, with lower initial costs, offers quick ROI through its simple yet effective functionalities, making it cost-effective for startups and cloud-native applications.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. NGINX Plus Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. NGINX Plus

March 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 WebSphere Application S...

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

5th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Server (5th)

NGINX Plus

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (6th)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 12.0%, up from 10.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NGINX Plus is 11.4%, down from 11.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Infrastructure

Featured Reviews

BharathirajaSukumar

Senior Lead Analyst at Radial

Efficient load balancing and the clustering, achieved by using the deployment manager, is valuable

I believe that the system is already good. However, for improvement or enhancement, it is user-friendly, but it could offer better choices on the front end for different aspects or options. Sometimes, I have to search extensively for features, as there are no upfront tabs. There is a lack of visible, easy, user-friendly, and straightforward options for the number of features.

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Ritesh-Bakhru

Major Account Manager at Check Point Software

Quick installation and very easy to manage while doing orchestration or automation

NGINX cannot be a replacement for your traditional load balancer with what we use in the network today. However, with applications going toward microservices, NGINX is definitely a way forward. F5 has many traditional load balancing features, so they still need to bring some of those features to NGINX. NGINX is a very basic load balancer and cannot do as many customizations as F5. I think F5 is trying to implement those features in NGINX so they can improve the balancing on NGINX, but I think that will take some time. With the traditional F5 set up, the same OS can do load balancing, firewalls, and even policy enforcement. If we are able to bring some of those capabilities to NGINX, I think it would become a versatile solution and usage would definitely increase.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What's most valuable in IBM WebSphere Application Server is its resilience. When you use the solution, you know that after the communication has been done, there will be no doubt that the data has reached its destination."

"The performance is good."

"Ease of administration: It has an Integrated Solutions Console, what we call the administrative console, with very detailed configurations and Help pages for each configurable item."

"The VPN service is quite useful."

"IBM WebSphere Application Server is one of the best servers due to its stability and paid license."

"It has good stability of the application server in the long term compared to other solutions."

"The product offers good performance."

"IBM WebSphere Application Server is the best in terms of scalability and performance, as well as the support for managing distributed transactions."

More IBM WebSphere Application Server pros

"Using NGINX Plus for web traffic distribution is fantastic. It offers performance similar to physical load balancers but with added flexibility."

"The primary valuable feature of NGINX for me is its ability to provide a reverse proxy."

"NGINX Plus also has NGINX App Protect. It's a separate module, which is inspired by the F5 apps."

"The most valuable features are the gateway and the ability to publish to sites."

"This solution has everything."

"Application Gateway with application-level firewall tool and load distributor and balancer (also serves for A/B testing)."

"The web proxy and the database proxy are excellent."

"NGINX provides a cost advantage, value addition, and effective support."

More NGINX Plus pros

Cons

"The solution could improve the integration."

"Some things are very difficult to do, so the interface and usage could be more intuitive for those."

"I think in some moments, the security was a little bit more complex to configure when it was delegated to other systems, making it an area where improvements are required."

"What could be improved in IBM WebSphere Application Server is its interconnection with other products, for example, Kafka. What I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is a better graphical user interface."

"When we run into memory or locking issues, we resort to using third-party tools. However, it would be preferable to have native tools for debugging this type of problem."

"The current trend is to move to Liberty because of the portability of its cloud and its Kubernetes, which containerize the application."

"WebSphere Application Server doesn't have an automated deployment option, forcing us to use third-party tools like Jenkins UCD and Palo Automated Deployment."

"In spite of the solution's robustness, it is expensive and a bit difficult to support."

More IBM WebSphere Application Server cons

"Initially, I experienced hiccups whenever I installed the application."

"The KPI should be more focused on load balancing and the latency in application calling from the end system."

"The solution's GUI is an area with certain shortcomings that need improvement."

"It would be good if NGINX provided a graphical user interface."

"If NGINX brings some features for health check in the open source version, it would be better. "

"I would like the configuration process to be more simplified."

"The solution needs to be easier to setup and deploy."

"NGINX is a very basic load balancer and cannot do as many customizations as F5."

More NGINX Plus cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We used to pay about $100,000-$120,000 US or somewhere around there. That was a bit cost-prohibitive for us to continue."

"I don't remember the price, but there are no additional costs."

"The solution is quite expensive."

"Room for improvement would only be in the licensing. As with all IBM products the licensing can be complex and expensive. Bargain well and try to get as much discount as possible. Discounts of 85% are possible. Without the discount, I think the product is overrated."

"The price of IBM WebSphere Application Server could be less expensive and there is an annual license required for this solution."

"We pay around $200,000 annually."

"The price of this product is higher than that of competitors."

"IBM WAS base is part of the deal when you purchase IBM FileNet P8 Content Engine."

More IBM WebSphere Application Server pricing and cost advice

"You pay for each feature that you want."

"I use the solution's community edition which is free of cost."

"There's an open-source version of NGINX that is free."

"It's an open source solution, so it's free."

"The cost is reasonable."

"HAProxy is cheaper than NGINX."

"The solution is free, but you can spend a lot of money with a complex solution."

"The price is the cost to contract support with a specialized company, usually during consulting hours."

More NGINX Plus pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

31%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

17%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM WebSphere Application Server?

Network Deployment is the most useful feature for scalability. It has many features within the standard WebSphere Application Server edition.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM WebSphere Application Server?

In Korea, when you buy IBM iOS, the WebSphere base version is included with iOS. That means no additional cost.

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What needs improvement with IBM WebSphere Application Server?

I find the server okay, however, using the Maker instance, the Moving instance, and the Change instance is a little bit complicated without WebSphere knowledge.

See all answers

Which is better - IIS or NGINX Plus?

IIS is a flexible, secure, and manageable web server to host anything on the web. IIS’s scalable and open architecture can handle the most demanding tasks. From media streaming to web applications,...

See all answers

What do you like most about NGINX Plus?

It performs very well. That's one of the primary reasons we use NGINX.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NGINX Plus?

My use case involves using the free and open-source version of NGINX, making it cost-effective as I haven't incurred any costs.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 27% of the time

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Compared 24% of the time

Tomcat vs IBM WebSphere Application Server

Compared 17% of the time

Oracle WebLogic Server vs IBM WebSphere Application Server

Compared 10% of the time

Oracle Fusion Middleware vs IBM WebSphere Application Server

Compared 2% of the time

More IBM WebSphere Application Server Competitors

IIS vs NGINX Plus

Compared 17% of the time

HAProxy vs NGINX Plus

Compared 16% of the time

Kemp LoadMaster vs NGINX Plus

Compared 11% of the time

NetScaler vs NGINX Plus

Compared 10% of the time

Loadbalancer.org vs NGINX Plus

Compared 1% of the time

More NGINX Plus Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM WebSphere Application Server

March 2025

Download IBM WebSphere Application Server product report

Buyer's Guide

NGINX Plus

March 2025

Download NGINX Plus product report

Also Known As

WebSphere Application Server

NGINX

Overview

IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS) is a middleware platform developed by IBM. It provides a range of services and tools to help organizations develop, deploy, and manage Java-based applications. WAS is part of IBM's WebSphere product family and provides a secure, scalable, and highly available platform for developing and running web-based applications. WAS provides a secure, scalable, and highly available platform, making it an attractive solution for organizations looking to develop and deploy enterprise-grade applications.

IBM WebSphere Application Server Features

IBM WebSphere Application Server has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

Application deployment: IBM WAS enables organizations to deploy and manage applications in a secure and scalable environment.

Clustering: The clustering feature can help organizations ensure high availability and improve application performance.

Load balancing: The solution Includes load balancing capabilities to distribute application workloads and improve performance.

Security: IBM WAS offers a range of security features, including authentication, authorization, and encryption, to help organizations secure their applications and data.

Monitoring and management: The solution’s range of tools for monitoring and managing applications, including the IBM WebSphere Administrative Console allows organizations to optimize application performance and resolve issues easily.

Integration: IBM WAS integrates with a range of IBM and third-party products, including IBM WebSphere MQ, IBM DB2, and more, to provide a comprehensive platform for developing and running web-based applications.

IBM WebSphere Application Server Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing IBM WebSphere Application Server. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

Improved application performance: The IBM WAS platform offers a scalable and secure platform for deploying and managing applications, enabling organizations to improve application performance and reduce downtime.

High availability: IBM WAS provides clustering and load-balancing capabilities to help organizations ensure high availability.

Improved security: With a large range of security features, including authentication, authorization, and encryption, the solution helps organizations secure their applications and data.

Simplified management: IBM WAS is designed with a set of tools for monitoring and managing applications, enabling organizations to optimize performance and resolve issues efficiently.

Increased flexibility: The solution integrates with a range of IBM and third-party products, providing organizations with a flexible platform for developing and running web-based applications.

Improved developer productivity: It supports the latest Java EE specifications, allowing developers to use the latest technologies and development methodologies when building applications.

Better customer experience: Organizations can deliver faster and more reliable applications, improving the overall customer experience.

Scalability: IBM WAS provides a scalable and secure platform for deploying and managing applications, so organizations can quickly respond to changing business requirements.

Reviews from Real Users

IBM WebSphere Application Server is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Some of its major advantages are that it is stable, supports many languages, and is resilient.

Princewill O., Head Banking Application Customization and Reporting at a financial services firm, states, “[The solution is] very stable, supports many languages, and helpful for faster time to market.”

Another PeerSpot reviewer, an Enterprise Technical Leader at a tech services company mentions, “[It is an] enterprise-level product with extensive console capabilities, including the ability to control multiple JVM containers.”

IBM

NGINX Plus is a versatile solution that offers load balancing, caching, proxying, and API deployment capabilities. It can be deployed on private or public clouds and is ideal for building CDN solutions. The solution can also be used to secure web applications and replace web services like Apache.

NGINX has helped organizations improve functioning, reduce downtimes, and offer a DevOps-friendly solution. Its community support and documentation are highly regarded, and its configuration is more straightforward, making it a recommended choice over HAProxy.

Sample Customers

TalkTalk, Property management group, E.SUN Bank, Ohio National Financial Services, Aviarc, Cincom Systems, FJA-US, D+H, Staples, Michigan Municipal League

Locaweb, AppNexus, Wix, Reliam, Montana Interactive, MuleSoft, Warpwire, Discovery Education, InkaBinka, WordPress.com, Gogo, GOV.UK, NASA

Buyer's Guide

IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. NGINX Plus

March 2025

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