WildFly vs IBM WebSphere Liberty

WildFly9.1Visit IBM WebSphere Liberty8.7Visit

Higher score WildFly #2 in Application Servers 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 3 features Visit WildFly

vs

IBM WebSphere Liberty #6 in Application Servers 8.7/10 Paid ✓ 3 of 3 features Visit IBM Liberty

• WildFly fits best

  Jakarta EE teams wanting a free full server

• IBM WebSphere Liberty fits best

  Enterprises needing supported Liberty deployments

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Side by side

Feature	WildFly 9.1/10 Visit ↗	IBM WebSphere Liberty 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	8.7
Ranking	#2 in Application Servers	#6 in Application Servers
Best for	Jakarta EE teams wanting a free full server	Enterprises needing supported Liberty deployments
Pricing model	Free	Paid
Starting price	Free plan	—
Free plan	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Support	Community, Docs	Docs
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features WildFly 3/3 · IBM WebSphere Liberty 3/3
Clustering	✓	✓
Admin console	✓	✓
Container support	✓	✓
Specs
Java standard	Jakarta_ee	Both
Deployment model	Self_hosted	Both
Supported operating systems	Any operating system supporting ZIP or TAR formats	AIX, IBM i, Linux, macOS, Windows
Our review
Pros	Jakarta EE 11, MicroProfile, and modular server subsystems Clustering, load balancing, failover, and managed domains Web console, CLI client, and HTTP management API	Supports both Java EE and Jakarta EE application models Deploys across containers, Kubernetes, virtual machines, and bare metal Includes clustering, modular configuration, and browser-based administration
Cons	Self-hosted deployment requires responsibility for infrastructure Not positioned as a managed SaaS application server Operating modes and administration add operational complexity	The published Standard subscription starts at USD 759 No free plan is listed Only one subscription plan is presented for comparison
Our verdict	WildFly is an open-source application server for building and running enterprise Java applications. It targets teams working with Jakarta EE 11 or MicroProfile that need a complete server they can deploy on their own infrastructure.… Read the review →	IBM WebSphere Liberty is a modular Java application server for enterprises building, deploying, and running business applications. It supports Java EE and Jakarta EE programming models, MicroProfile for microservices, and modernization of… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• WildFly — where it wins

  • Jakarta EE 11, MicroProfile, and modular server subsystems
  • Clustering, load balancing, failover, and managed domains
  • Web console, CLI client, and HTTP management API

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosted deployment requires responsibility for infrastructure
  • Not positioned as a managed SaaS application server
  • Operating modes and administration add operational complexity

• IBM WebSphere Liberty — where it wins

  • Supports both Java EE and Jakarta EE application models
  • Deploys across containers, Kubernetes, virtual machines, and bare metal
  • Includes clustering, modular configuration, and browser-based administration

  Where it doesn't

  • The published Standard subscription starts at USD 759
  • No free plan is listed
  • Only one subscription plan is presented for comparison

• WildFly9.1/10 · Free plan

  A free, self-hosted full server for Jakarta EE and MicroProfile teams.

  Visit WildFlyFull verdict →
• IBM WebSphere Liberty8.7/10 · Paid

  A supported Liberty deployment for enterprises running Java across hybrid environments.

  Visit IBM LibertyFull verdict →