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IBM WebSphere Application Server vs Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

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
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Application Infrastructure (3rd)
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Ap...
Ranking in Application Server
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.2
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Application Server category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 9.1%, down from 12.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) is 13.3%, down from 18.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Server Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP)13.3%
IBM WebSphere Application Server9.1%
Other77.6%
Application Server
 

Featured Reviews

CF
Senior Manager, MW & DB Automation at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Has worked seamlessly in complex clustered environments and supports long-term development efforts
IBM WebSphere Application Server is currently at version 9.0.5.23. In recent months, they released fix 23, as they periodically release fixes. Previously, they frequently increased versions, but now they maintain 9.0.5 with different releases. It's based on Java J2EE 7 and Java SDK 1.8. Oracle announced that 2030 will be the last year when Java SDK 1.8 will be supported. Oracle currently deploys Java 2.x in parallel, with the latest being version 25. The future of IBM WebSphere Application Server remains uncertain since it's based on Java 1.8 and Java 7. I haven't found any white papers or official documentation from IBM outlining their trajectory post-2030.
reviewer2788512 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Rapid deployments have streamlined containerized web apps but support response still needs improvement
The best features Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) offers are its integration into AWS services, which is very helpful in containerization and application of Kubernetes specifically, and its user interface is very easy to use; we can deploy WAR files within stipulated time and also schedule deployments at a particular time, and it is easy to run the pipelines and integrate it with Jenkins. The most valuable feature for my team is containerization and Jenkins integration because Jenkins integration helps us eradicate code smells and build pipeline reports, and it also supports continuous CI/CD pipelining, while this orchestration aids in a microservice architecture where we will be using different types for it. Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) has positively impacted my organization by helping in quickly making web Spring Boot applications and Java-based applications, and it is very easy to adapt and learn, plus it is open source with nominal and affordable subscription plans.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"We needed this type of integration and WebShepere is the best tool for it."
"I find IBM support to be very nice."
"The performance is good."
"WebSphere Application Server's best features include the data subscription and connection viewer."
"The product offers good performance."
"IBM WebSphere Application Server is one of the best servers due to its stability and paid license."
"The solution is very stable and robust."
"The product's initial setup phase is easy."
"The solution has flexibility and stability."
"The product integrates well with Java applications."
"JBoss is a scalable tool."
"The stability is great."
"The support is fast and reliable."
"Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) has positively impacted my organization by minimizing the downtime of applications, which gives me respect from users."
"Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) has saved a lot of time in rapid deployment of applications, and for an existing migration project which was stipulated for a timeline of six months, it just took around two and a half months, specifically 80 days, achieving the target of completing within three months, along with the payment subscription being very nominal and affordable."
 

Cons

"It should be able to serve more concurrent requests like Oracle. Oracle has more powerful stability, availability, and real-time serving."
"The security could be better."
"The business logic side of it is sort of missing in the sense that if I want to track and measure velocity, it is not really available. You have to buy another application and embark on a separate implementation. Instead of having different licensing, IBM DataPower should be integrated with WebSphere. It will allow us to build the business layer and rules a lot more efficiently, rather than developing rules within the application. It would be good if we can set up the business layer through parametrization rather than development. IBM DataPower has the business rule and the controls, and if it can be integrated, it would be fantastic. It will help the application in working better in terms of security features and business logic. If you're going to use it for open banking, you will be able to monitor velocity on the total pricing."
"The footprint could be reduced so that we can use a smaller virtual machine to run the application. We could also use more scripts. I would like this solution to be more script oriented, rather than GUI oriented."
"The solution could improve the integration."
"The main issue we faced was its limited compatibility with non-Java technologies, which can result in difficulty detecting potential bugs and requiring additional integration efforts."
"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)."
"Sometimes, I feel WebSphere runs a bit slow. It might be loading unnecessary libraries, impacting its performance compared to other application servers."
"I would select seven because even though it has its advantages, it does lack some flexibility."
"The documentation could be better. When we have questions, we need to check multiple websites. There isn't one place listing a set of common problems and how to fix them."
"The solution sometimes crashed and had some compatibility issues with the DevOps JAR file."
"The price could be improved. Customers don't want to buy the license easily."
"In general, the support of the ERPC would be really good due to the fact that, so far, I have not seen it."
"You cannot compare Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) with WebSphere, for example, or with WebLogic, but from a peace of mind, it is fine."
"JBoss is not as reliable and stable as WebLogic."
"The login process could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"When you purchase Maximo, you get WebSphere for free."
"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."
"We pay around $200,000 annually."
"The licensing cost is 1,000 of euros for a 30-year table."
"The licensing policy is based on the PVU base."
"We used to pay about $100,000-$120,000 US or somewhere around there. That was a bit cost-prohibitive for us to continue."
"It costs more than some of the others, but, you get what you pay for."
"I rate the product price as eight on a scale, where one means it is a very cheap solution, and ten points mean that it is a very expensive tool."
"Despite the price increase after being acquired by IBM, JBoss still maintains its competitiveness. The package provided is more geared towards cloud-based deployments, whereas our setup is more traditional, which makes it slightly more expensive for us. As most vendors are transitioning towards cloud-centric solutions, companies like ours need to adapt accordingly."
"We pay for a maintenance license, but it is not expensive."
"The pricing of JBoss is more reasonable than that of WebLogic."
"Since the solution is freeware, our customers don't need to pay any licensing fees."
"The solution is cost-efficient compared to other products. Pricing is rated an eight out of ten."
"There is no licensing cost. The solution is free to use."
"It is an open-source solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
33%
Computer Software Company
9%
Insurance Company
7%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
29%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise23
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise20
 

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?
At Royal Bank, which is a major IBM customer with mainframes and numerous IBM products, they have a specific agreement regarding pricing. The pricing structure for large enterprise customers differ...
What needs improvement with IBM WebSphere Application Server?
IBM WebSphere Application Server is currently at version 9.0.5.23. In recent months, they released fix 23, as they periodically release fixes. Previously, they frequently increased versions, but no...
What do you like most about JBoss?
The product's initial setup phase is easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for JBoss?
The experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing was nominal, and with the right guidance, it could have saved a few more bucks. We can say that if we are charging around 0.75 cents per hour ...
What needs improvement with JBoss?
I think documentation may need improvement for Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP). Additionally, the support feature can be improved.
 

Also Known As

WebSphere Application Server
No data available
 

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
Tata Sky, Nissan, Swedish Board of Agriculture, Novamedia, American Product Distributors, Advanced Micro Devices, Emirates Group, E*TRADE
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.