Eclipse GlassFish vs Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform

EGEclipse GlassFish9.0Visit Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform8.6Visit

Higher score EG Eclipse GlassFish #3 in Application Servers 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 3 features Visit GlassFish

vs

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform #7 in Application Servers 8.6/10 Paid ✓ 3 of 3 features Visit Red Hat

• Eclipse GlassFish fits best

  Free Jakarta EE deployments needing security depth

• Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform fits best

  Red Hat estates needing enterprise Java support

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Side by side

Feature	EGEclipse GlassFish 9.0/10 Visit ↗	Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.6
Ranking	#3 in Application Servers	#7 in Application Servers
Best for	Free Jakarta EE deployments needing security depth	Red Hat estates needing enterprise Java support
Pricing model	Free	Paid
Starting price	Free plan	—
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted, Cloud	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Web, Windows, Linux
Support	Community, Docs	Phone, Tickets, Docs
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Eclipse GlassFish 3/3 · Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 3/3
Clustering	✓	✓
Admin console	✓	✓
Container support	✓	✓
Specs
Java standard	Jakarta_ee	Jakarta_ee
Deployment model	Self_hosted	Both
Supported operating systems	Linux, macOS, UNIX, Windows	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and 9; Microsoft Windows Server 2019 and 2022
Our review
Pros	Free, open-source Jakarta EE Platform and Web Profile implementations Clustering, load balancing, embedded deployment, and REST administration TLS, RBAC, realms, and audit logging support security-focused deployments	Jakarta EE 10 Core, Web, and Full Platform compatibility Managed domains, clustering, caching, and failover for distributed applications OpenShift, cloud, container, and API deployment support
Cons	Requires JDK 21 or higher for GlassFish 8.0.4 Self-hosted deployment leaves installation and operations to your team Its focus on Jakarta EE may not fit non-Jakarta application stacks	No free plan for evaluation or smaller deployments Premium 24x7 support applies only to severity 1 and 2 cases Enterprise features and administration may exceed simpler application-server needs
Our verdict	Eclipse GlassFish is an open-source application server for developing and deploying Jakarta EE applications and web services. It offers both full and Web Profile distributions, making it relevant for teams that need Jakarta EE runtime… Read the review →	Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform is a subscription-based Java application server for organizations developing, deploying, and managing enterprise applications. JBoss EAP 8 supports Jakarta EE 10 Core, Web, and Full Platform… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Eclipse GlassFish — where it wins

  • Free, open-source Jakarta EE Platform and Web Profile implementations
  • Clustering, load balancing, embedded deployment, and REST administration
  • TLS, RBAC, realms, and audit logging support security-focused deployments

  Where it doesn't

  • Requires JDK 21 or higher for GlassFish 8.0.4
  • Self-hosted deployment leaves installation and operations to your team
  • Its focus on Jakarta EE may not fit non-Jakarta application stacks

• Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform — where it wins

  • Jakarta EE 10 Core, Web, and Full Platform compatibility
  • Managed domains, clustering, caching, and failover for distributed applications
  • OpenShift, cloud, container, and API deployment support

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan for evaluation or smaller deployments
  • Premium 24x7 support applies only to severity 1 and 2 cases
  • Enterprise features and administration may exceed simpler application-server needs

• EGEclipse GlassFish9.0/10 · Free plan

  A free, security-focused Jakarta EE server with broad administration and deployment options.

  Visit GlassFishFull verdict →
• Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform8.6/10 · Paid

  A capable Jakarta EE server for Red Hat estates, with paid-only enterprise support.

  Visit Red HatFull verdict →