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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
5th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Application Server (5th)
WebLogic Suite
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IBM WebSphere Application Server is 12.0%, up from 10.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WebLogic Suite is 3.3%, down from 3.7% 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

"The thing about WebSphere, as opposed to other ones that I am aware of such as JBoss and Liberty, is that WebSphere has the most comprehensive scaffolding available to it."
"IBM WAS is extremely scalable. It is easy to add additional servers and to divide the load over servers in all kinds of ways."
"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."
"One of the most valuable features might be the stability of the IBM WebSphere Application Server."
"It does integrate well with the Tivoli Federated Identity Management system."
"The scalability of the product is quite good."
"This solution is easy to use with a GUI that is intuitive and very helpful."
"Network Deployment is the most useful feature for scalability. It has many features within the standard WebSphere Application Server edition."
"A valuable feature is its integration with Oracle Database."
"The most valuable feature of WebLogic is it has excellent performance and stability compared to the previous solution we used."
"The most valuable feature is that it provides one place where you can control all of the services."
"The product is reliable."
"WebLogic Suite functions well for enterprise organizations that can manage its costs and resource demands."
"What I've been seeing as the most valuable characteristics of WebLogic Suite include robustness and scalability. It's a really good solution, and I'm not saying this because my company is a partner of WebLogic Suite. I also like that with the newer versions of the solution, you can deploy WebLogic Suite faster. Oracle also provides excellent technical support."
"It easily connects to other Oracle products and services."
"WebLogic Suite provides a stable application server experience."
 

Cons

"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."
"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 compared with WebLogic, Weblogic is lighter and consumes less memory."
"The solution consumes hardware."
"Based on the field and based on the build that was provided, we've noticed a lot of constraints in terms of the performance now."
"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."
"They should make the solution more lightweight and not bundle everything into a single product."
"The security could be better."
"The content search is not easy."
"Lacking a solution for smaller applications."
"There are sometimes issues with clusters."
"I rate the scalability of WebLogic Suite an eight out of ten."
"This solution doesn't have connectors to other external applications."
"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."
"This solution would benefit from the inclusion of a ripple start function for clusters."
"There is no need for improvement with WebLogic Suite, although its coherence is a bit more complicated."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is an Eclipse Plugin provided by IBM, so no need to buy IBM Rational Application Developer or Rational Software Architect tools."
"I don't remember the price, but there are no additional costs."
"The solution is quite expensive."
"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."
"The licensing cost is 1,000 of euros for a 30-year table."
"The pricing is a little expensive."
"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 used to pay about $100,000-$120,000 US or somewhere around there. That was a bit cost-prohibitive for us to continue."
"The cost of the WebLogic Suite license is a bit high."
"The product comes bundled with Oracle Premier Support."
"Technical support is very costly."
"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
32%
Computer Software Company
14%
Insurance Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
8%
 

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?
Currently, we have a one-to-one mapping with web servers and WebLogic servers. To scale up and meet future needs, we are considering cluster implementation. Oracle has suggested migrating to a clus...
 

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: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.