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IBM WebSphere Application Server vs WebLogic Suite comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 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 Infrastructure
3rd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Application Server (4th)
WebLogic Suite
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 11.6%, up from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WebLogic Suite is 3.5%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure
 

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.
Mari Pandian - PeerSpot reviewer
Coding flexibility with good integration but users need coding knowledge
We are an Oracle partner and work with many Oracle applications for integration purposes. WebLogic is used for integrating various Oracle applications and third-party services WebLogic allows us to do the coding as per the customer's requirements. It helps us meet their needs by integrating their…

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."
"IBM WebSphere Application Server is one of the best servers due to its stability and paid license."
"Starting with version 8, WAS provides a special folder called monitor deployment. Once you put the .war or .ear file in there, it is deployed automatically without human intervention. This greatly helps us in our continuous integration server. Once the deployment binary is ready, we write a script to copy it to that folder and then, voila! The application is up and running and accessible from its context root."
"As compared to other applications, it has tremendous support. We have built internal capability so that we use it extensively internally. It is also easier to use with the outside data. You can write in ESQL, Java, or any other technology that you want to use for development. So, it is a lot more flexible in the language that it supports."
"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 most valuable feature of this solution is Portal Virtualization."
"The integration between IBM tools and applications is very well executed, and the support from IBM is quite good, providing a solid support structure."
"The solution is very stable and robust."
"WebLogic adds a lot of value to business and investments."
"Robust solution; console and enterprise management tools are really easy to work."
"It integrates well with other solutions."
"It integrates various applications easily, provided there is a coder available."
"WebLogic Suite provides a stable application server experience."
"WebLogic Suite is scalable."
"Scalability on the solution is great. It's very very easy to scale."
"The solution is useful for centralizing data."
 

Cons

"The solution could improve the integration."
"Installing or configuring a WAS server instance as a Windows Service causes a lot of problems, especially when the server needs credentials to stop."
"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 is very cumbersome and not user-friendly. It used to have its own JVM, which presented challenges such as different architecture and memory leaks."
"The security could be better."
"The availability of the solution needs improvement."
"While WebSphere mostly supports IBM HTTP Server (IHS) as the web server plugin, I think it would be beneficial if it also supported Apache and NGINX web servers. That would give customers more flexibility in their choices."
"In the next release of this solution, I would like to see support for the Arabic language."
"The solution needs to share more information in terms of training. There needs to be more documentation involved to help those who are completely new to the product."
"I rate the scalability of WebLogic Suite an eight out of ten."
"Lacking a solution for smaller applications."
"The licensing for the solution is pretty expensive. It may be the most expensive solution, if you were to compare it to the competition."
"Support could be better. The expertise when we have some Oracle WebLogic issues and challenges is not there. The issues are not being addressed in time. This really needs to be improved going forward."
"The content search is not easy."
"There is no need for improvement with WebLogic Suite, although its coherence is a bit more complicated."
"WebLogic requires a person with coding knowledge for easy configuration and quick integrations."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of IBM WebSphere Application Server could be less expensive and there is an annual license required for this solution."
"The licensing policy is based on the PVU base."
"IBM WAS base is part of the deal when you purchase IBM FileNet P8 Content Engine."
"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."
"I don't remember the price, but there are no additional costs."
"There is an Eclipse Plugin provided by IBM, so no need to buy IBM Rational Application Developer or Rational Software Architect tools."
"It is very expensive."
"When you purchase Maximo, you get WebSphere for free."
"Technical support is very costly."
"The cost of the WebLogic Suite license is a bit high."
"The product comes bundled with Oracle Premier Support."
"There is a license required for this solution and the price could be reduced."
"Scaling is costly."
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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
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance 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 do you like most about WebLogic Suite?
The solution is useful for centralizing data.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for WebLogic Suite?
WebLogic Suite is high-priced, akin to a Lamborghini. Its affordability suits enterprise-level organizations with digital footprints requiring robust financial resources.
What needs improvement with WebLogic Suite?
One area for improvement in WebLogic Suite is the installation time. Otherwise, there are no other disadvantages, and they have good support from Oracle. The installation time can be an issue. It i...
 

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
State Revenue Office Victoria, Colab Consulting Pty. Ltd., Reliance Commercial Finance, Center for Railway Information Systems, Sascar, Banca Transilvania, UL, Chhattisgarh Infotech and Biotech Promotion Society, MCB Bank, Pacfico Seguros Generales
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM WebSphere Application Server vs. WebLogic Suite and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.