Oracle GlassFish vs Tomcat comparison

Oracle and Apache are both solutions in the Application Server category. Oracle is ranked #11, while Apache is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.1. Oracle holds a 3.6% mindshare in AppS, compared to Apache’s 14.0% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Apache users are willing to recommend the solution.

Oracle GlassFish

Read 1 Oracle GlassFish review

431 Views
431 Comparison Views

0% willing to recommend

Tomcat

Read 53 Tomcat reviews

2,449 Views
2,449 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Oracle GlassFish

Tomcat

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Oracle GlassFish and Tomcat based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Apache, Red Hat, Oracle and others in Application Server.

To learn more, read our detailed Application Server Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Application Server

January 2026

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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

Oracle GlassFish

Ranking in Application Server

11th

Average Rating

6.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Tomcat

Ranking in Application Server

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Application Server category, the mindshare of Oracle GlassFish is 3.6%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tomcat is 14.0%, down from 19.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Server Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Tomcat	14.0%
Oracle GlassFish	3.6%
Other	82.4%

Application Server

Featured Reviews

it_user517413

Technical Lead Developer

Offers EE Support. I would like to see integration with MQ systems.

The products offers EE support. It offers ease of use. I would like to see integration with MQ systems.

Read full review

Sanjay Sahu

Project Manager at Capgemini

Customization and flexibility enhance web applications while support effectively resolves queries

Regarding improvements in Tomcat, I personally haven't used it very extensively, but all Apache products are very useful for our web applications. Although the web server setup is a little different, it has everything we have been using, and as of now, everything is good with no deficiencies that need improvement. I think that Tomcat needs a more robust logging error details feature; the current logging feature is available, but it should be more user-friendly. This improvement would make error handling more user-friendly.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The products offers EE support."

"The most valuable feature of Tomcat is its ability to export libraries into different instances so that I can use it not only in one application but in multiple applications."

"The solution has very robust functionality."

"The most valuable feature is how simple it is to deploy the solution."

"Tomcat's ease of use has positively impacted project timelines. Tomcat already has high availability – it doesn't go down so often and doesn't require a lot of maintenance. As long as your application works, you can depend on Tomcat."

"I find the quick startup valuable, particularly the static quick startup."

"Web apps are very easy to deploy."

"Tomcat's best feature is the open source server. It's a flexible and lightweight solution."

"Tomcat brings the biggest benefit through its simplicity; it is not just simple in terms of interface, it is simple for managing or very quickly running this server."

More Tomcat pros

Cons

"I would like to see integration with MQ systems."

"The solution cannot host .NET applications."

"It will be useful if a direct report concerning a particular server configuration or application usage is readily available in the dashboard."

"I think that Tomcat needs a more robust logging error details feature; the current logging feature is available, but it should be more user-friendly."

"The setup is complex and could be improved."

"I have no recommendations for improvements."

"Sometimes we face issues with the private and public networks and ensuring that once Tomcat is installed, that it is secure."

"Tomcat is used mainly for database connections. As of now, we configure that environment for any database configuration. But if any utility can integrate where we can pass the database connection as a string of details, then it should encrypt them and keep them inside. From that security perspective, Tomcat requires improvement. They should integrate this security feature."

"The solution's interface and backup features could be better."

More Tomcat cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"Tomcat's pricing is very cheap."

"Tomcat is not costlier than other solutions."

"The tool is free."

"It's open-source. We don't pay for the license."

"Tomcat is open-source and free to use."

"It is an expensive product."

"I give the pricing an eight out of ten."

"Tomcat is an open source solution."

More Tomcat pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Financial Services Firm

23%

Government

13%

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	23
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	28

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

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What do you like most about Tomcat?

Tomcat's ease of use has positively impacted project timelines. Tomcat already has high availability – it doesn't go down so often and doesn't require a lot of maintenance. As long as your applicat...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Tomcat?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Tomcat?

We use Tomcat for various purposes, and our company finds it to be perfect; we are getting all the solutions out of that. There is still no chance of any migration to any other technology, but addi...

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Comparisons

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) vs Oracle GlassFish

Compared 30% of the time

Oracle WebLogic Server vs Oracle GlassFish

Compared 21% of the time

IIS vs Oracle GlassFish

Compared 15% of the time

IBM WebSphere Application Server vs Oracle GlassFish

Compared 12% of the time

More Oracle GlassFish Competitors

Oracle WebLogic Server vs Tomcat

Compared 20% of the time

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) vs Tomcat

Compared 17% of the time

IBM WebSphere Application Server vs Tomcat

Compared 16% of the time

IIS vs Tomcat

Compared 11% of the time

Caucho Resin vs Tomcat

Compared 5% of the time

More Tomcat Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Server

January 2026

Download Oracle GlassFish product report

Buyer's Guide

Tomcat

January 2026

Download Tomcat product report

Also Known As

GlassFish

No data available

Overview

Oracle GlassFish Server is a robust open source platform that offers exhaustive and accessible documentation, intuitive administration and configuration features, interoperability with Microsoft Windows, feature-rich integration with NetBeans and Eclipse, and alignment with Oracle Solaris, OpenSolaris, and MySQL.

Oracle

Tomcat is a reliable and efficient web server, popular for hosting and running Java-based applications. It is praised for its scalability, compatibility with different operating systems and development frameworks, and its ability to handle heavy workloads.

Users appreciate Tomcat's ease of use, robust performance, reliable server functionality, seamless integration with various platforms, extensive documentation, and strong community support.

Apache

Sample Customers

TravelMuse, Clarity Accounting

1. Adobe Systems 2. Amazon 3. Apple 4. AT&T 5. Bank of America 6. Boeing 7. Cisco Systems 8. Citigroup 9. Dell 10. eBay 11. Facebook 12. General Electric 13. Google 14. Hewlett-Packard 15. IBM 16. Intel 17. JPMorgan Chase 18. Microsoft 19. Netflix 20. Oracle 21. PayPal 22. Salesforce 23. Samsung 24. Sony 25. Target 26. Twitter 27. Uber 28. Verizon 29. Visa 30. Volkswagen 31. Walmart 32. Yahoo

Find out what your peers are saying about Apache, Red Hat, Oracle and others in Application Server. Updated: January 2026.

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