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

IBM WebSphere Application Server vs Oracle WebLogic Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 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

IBM WebSphere Application S...
Ranking in Application Server
4th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Application Infrastructure (3rd)
Oracle WebLogic Server
Ranking in Application Server
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Application Server category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 13.0%, up from 11.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle WebLogic Server is 22.2%, down from 26.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Server
 

Featured Reviews

BharathirajaSukumar - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Saikat Nag - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers efficient load distribution with a scope of high scalability
Our organization configures Oracle WebLogic Server in such a way that a load balancer becomes available. The network requests are segregated to the Oracle WebLogic Server as the managing server and different nodes are configured. Using the product as a load balancer helps automate request transfer from one non-functional node to another functional node. Due to Oracle WebLogic Server, the endpoints remain unaffected whenever a node goes down. The clustering feature enhances our organization's performance and reliability. In our organization, the health of the Oracle WebLogic Server environment is maintained and managed using Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM). I would definitely recommend others to use Oracle WebLogic Server. Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product offers good performance."
"The solution has good performance."
"It does integrate well with the Tivoli Federated Identity Management system."
"IBM WebSphere Application Server is one of the best servers due to its stability and paid license."
"Without the Admin Console it would be very hard to configure JVM settings, JDBC datasources, mail session settings, and security providers."
"Security: It is compatible with the latest Java 8 security features, supports FIPS 140-2 and NIST SP 800-53 with strong ciphers and cryptography keys, and supports TLS 1.2 completely. Also, configuring client and server certificates is relatively easy."
"The only reason why we're currently using WebSphere is that the integration of the authentication with Azure is very quick. WebSphere has something that can immediately connect with Azure Active Directory."
"One of the most valuable features might be the stability of the IBM WebSphere Application Server."
"The technical support is responsive. They are always ready to help by various communication channels, such as Zoom calls. However, sometimes it will take a while because when we are dealing with a problem, they need to look at the logs and configuration. A lot of the issues are related to the configuration that they need to look at thoroughly before they can give us a solution and it can take a few days depending on the type of problem."
"We can manage every application by creating a managed server and a cluster."
"It is efficient, not redundant, usable, scalable, and meant for enterprise applications."
"One of the good features of Oracle WebLogic Server was the ability to add some custom parameters to its deployment and performance."
"The only difference is that Weblogic is lighter and consumes less memory."
"Oracle WebLogic Server has a bunch of ready features that are easy to use and understand."
"It's a scalable product."
"It is good because it's easy to use. It doesn't crash frequently like other servers."
 

Cons

"I think that this is a good product but I think that the cloud environment could be improved. I think that the future is in the utilization of the product in a product as a service way which is something that is lacking at this moment."
"IBM WebSphere Application Server hasn't changed much. It's still a heavyweight for any company compared to what you get. Unless your code base is deeply linked with it, I don't think it's a great idea to go with this solution. The current trend is toward modularity and containerization, and given the product's requirements, containerization will be difficult. There is a memory requirement as well."
"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."
"Initial setup is very simple. Just use the IBM Installation Manager and add the packages. The install wizard takes care of the rest. The only thing that can be difficult is to find the right packages on the IBM website, because of all the changes that IBM does on its website(s)."
"WebSphere Application Server doesn't have an automated deployment option, forcing us to use third-party tools like Jenkins UCD and Palo Automated Deployment."
"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."
"WebSphere is very cumbersome and not user-friendly. It used to have its own JVM, which presented challenges such as different architecture and memory leaks."
"It should be able to serve more concurrent requests like Oracle. Oracle has more powerful stability, availability, and real-time serving."
"Having clearer mechanisms to directly map a database-level connection problem to the corresponding WebLogic thread would greatly enhance the administrator's convenience."
"Pricing for Oracle WebLogic Server and other Oracle products has room for improvement because the pricing model isn't easy to understand. I'd like to see lower pricing from Oracle WebLogic Server. That's the main issue with the solution."
"I've had issues with some of the tracking features tracking and have had to go back to several generations of code to fix problems where things were touched."
"The pricing is a little bit higher compared to other products."
"The logs consultant, since it tends to be more in the server, we do need complete consult logs for a lot of different files."
"There are always ways to improve. But it's getting better every time, with every new release, and every new patch, it's getting better."
"Configuration can be a significant challenge, demanding a deep understanding and expertise."
"Its pricing should be better. We are analyzing other options, such as JBoss, because of the cost of WebLogic."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is quite expensive."
"IBM WAS base is part of the deal when you purchase IBM FileNet P8 Content Engine."
"We pay around $200,000 annually."
"If your application is just a web app that does not need to scale big, you can obtain a single core license of WAS Express edition, which has almost the same features with limited processing cores. If you manage a very big application farm (i.e. need to run 10 or more WAS servers) it is better to get IBM WAS Hypervisor Edition."
"My company is on a perpetual or permanent license agreement with IBM WebSphere Application Server. There's also a pay-per-use option, but customers rarely choose that option. Most of the customers are on the perpetual license deal that's all-inclusive. As the license cost is quite expensive, I'm rating it two out of five."
"It costs more than some of the others, but, you get what you pay for."
"The price of IBM WebSphere Application Server could be less expensive and there is an annual license required for this solution."
"The pricing is a little expensive."
"The tool's pricing is yearly."
"Pricing for Oracle WebLogic Server is expensive."
"Its high expense is a significant drawback"
"The solution’s pricing is affordable."
"The licensing of the product is expensive"
"It is expensive."
"My company uses a licensed version of the product, so we get Oracle's support."
"As Oracle WebLogic Server is a product from Oracle, it is bound to be an expensive solution. My company needs to make annual payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Server solutions are best for your needs.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
33%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
7%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

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.
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.
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.
What needs improvement with Oracle WebLogic Server?
There is an option to use the WebLogic console as a service, but the WebLogic scripting tool can be used for the administration of the domain without the console. This is important for some cases d...
What is your primary use case for Oracle WebLogic Server?
I primarily work from an infrastructure point of view with Oracle WebLogic Server ( /products/oracle-weblogic-server-reviews ). I am involved in the installation, base installation of the product, ...
 

Also Known As

WebSphere Application Server
WebLogic Application Server
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

TalkTalk, Property management group, E.SUN Bank, Ohio National Financial Services, Aviarc, Cincom Systems, FJA-US, D+H, Staples, Michigan Municipal League
Colab Consulting Pty. Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Sascar, Banca Transilvania, UL, Center for Railway Information Systems, SPAR Austria Group, Reliance Commercial Finance, Industrial Bank of Korea, Al Jaber Group, Safe Water Kenya, Chhattisgarh Infotech and Biotech Promotion Society
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. Oracle WebLogic Server and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.