Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Apache Tomcat VS Bitnami

Compare Apache Tomcat VS Bitnami and see what are their differences

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Apache Tomcat logo Apache Tomcat

An open source software implementation of the Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages technologies

Bitnami logo Bitnami

One click to application awesomeness.
  • Apache Tomcat Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-24
  • Bitnami Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-06

Apache Tomcat features and specs

  • Open Source
    Apache Tomcat is an open-source software, which means it is freely available for use and modifications. This can significantly reduce the cost of ownership and allows for customization.
  • Community Support
    Being a widely-used open-source server, Tomcat has a large and active community of developers and users who contribute to its documentation, plugins, and forums, providing extensive support.
  • Lightweight
    Tomcat is designed to be a lightweight servlet container, making it faster and less resource-intensive compared to full-blown Java EE application servers.
  • Integration with Popular Frameworks
    Tomcat integrates well with popular Java frameworks such as Spring and Hibernate, making it easier for developers to deploy and manage web applications.
  • Easy to Set Up and Configure
    Tomcat is relatively easy to set up and configure, making it suitable for both development and production environments.
  • Frequent Updates
    Regular updates and patches are released to improve performance, security, and compatibility, ensuring the server is up-to-date with the latest web technologies.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Tomcat

  • Limited Functionality
    While Tomcat is a powerful servlet container, it lacks some of the advanced features found in full-fledged Java EE application servers, which might be necessary for complex enterprise applications.
  • Resource Management
    Tomcat's default configuration might not be suitable for high traffic web applications, requiring significant tweaking and tuning to handle heavy loads effectively.
  • Documentation Quality
    The documentation, while extensive, can sometimes be hard to navigate and understand, especially for beginners. This can slow down the learning curve.
  • Limited Built-in Tools
    Compared to other full-stack application servers, Tomcat comes with limited built-in tooling for monitoring, load balancing, and clustering, often requiring third-party solutions.
  • Security Concerns
    As with any open-source project, security vulnerabilities may emerge. It requires constant monitoring and timely updates to ensure security.
  • Lack of EJB Support
    Tomcat does not support Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB), limiting its use in scenarios where EJB is a crucial component of the architecture.

Bitnami features and specs

  • Easy Deployment
    Bitnami offers pre-packaged application environments that are easy to deploy on various platforms, including cloud, containers, and local environments, simplifying the setup process.
  • Wide Range of Applications
    Bitnami provides a vast library of popular applications, development stacks, and databases, making it convenient to find and deploy the software you need.
  • Consistency Across Environments
    Bitnami ensures consistent configurations across different environments, reducing the likelihood of issues occurring due to discrepancies between local, test, and production systems.
  • Regular Updates
    Applications and environments provided by Bitnami are regularly maintained and updated, ensuring you have access to the latest features and security patches.
  • Open Source
    Bitnami provides many open-source applications, supporting community-based development and allowing users to modify and adapt the applications as needed.

Possible disadvantages of Bitnami

  • Less Customization
    Since Bitnami provides pre-configured environments, it might be difficult to customize the setup beyond what Bitnami offers, which may be limiting for advanced users with specific requirements.
  • Resource Overhead
    Some users report that Bitnami stacks can be resource-intensive, leading to potentially higher cost in cloud environments or slower performance on underpowered hardware.
  • Limited Support for Niche Applications
    While Bitnami offers a wide range of popular applications, niche or less common software might not be available, requiring users to configure these applications manually.
  • Dependence on External Management
    Using Bitnami means relying on their management for updates and configurations, which might be an issue if there are delays in providing crucial updates or if a service is deprecated.
  • Learning Curve
    New users or those unfamiliar with virtual machines and cloud concepts might face a learning curve when using Bitnami's advanced features and tools.

Analysis of Apache Tomcat

Overall verdict

  • Apache Tomcat is generally regarded as a reliable and effective solution for serving Java applications. Its widespread use and strong community support make it an excellent choice for developers who require a straightforward and efficient servlet container.

Why this product is good

  • Apache Tomcat is a robust, open-source web server and servlet container used to deploy Java Servlets and JSPs (Java Server Pages). It is developed and maintained by the Apache Software Foundation, which ensures a high level of support and regular updates. Tomcat is known for its lightweight nature, ease of use, and ability to integrate seamlessly with many Java-based applications.

Recommended for

  • Java developers in need of an open-source and lightweight servlet container.
  • Organizations looking to serve Java-based web applications.
  • Development teams that require a flexible and customizable environment with robust community support.

Apache Tomcat videos

Introducing Apache Tomcat 8.5

More videos:

  • Review - Webinar: Introduction to Apache Tomcat 8
  • Review - Tcat - The Leading Enterprise Apache Tomcat Application Server

Bitnami videos

BitNami tutorial: What is BitNami? | lynda.com

More videos:

  • Review - Bitnami Review Board - Installation mit Präsentation

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache Tomcat and Bitnami)
Web And Application Servers
Cloud Computing
0 0%
100% 100
Application Server
100 100%
0% 0
Cloud Hosting
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Apache Tomcat and Bitnami

Apache Tomcat Reviews

FOSS | Top 15 Web Servers 2021
Java programs are run using Apache Tomcat. To be more precise, it is a Java servlet – a Java software component that expands the functionality of a web server. Apache Tomcat, released under the Apache License version 2, is used by 0.1% of websites worldwide.
Source: www.zentao.pm
4 Open Source Application Servers (Comparison and Review)
Apache Tomcat is an open-source implementation of several Java technologies. It is the result of a collaboration of the finest developers worldwide. You can get involved with the development in a number of ways.
Source: shadow-soft.com
Top 5 open source web servers
Apache Tomcat is an open source Java servlet container that functions as a web server. A Java servlet is a Java program that extends the capabilities of a server. Although servlets can respond to any types of requests, they most commonly implement applications hosted on Web servers. Such web servlets are the Java counterpart to other dynamic web content technologies such as...
Source: opensource.com
Top 10 Open Source Java and JavaEE Application Servers
It is built upon a modular kernel powered by OSGi, and runs straight on top of the Apache Felix implementation. It is also capable of running with Equinox OSGi or Knopflerfish OSGi runtimes. HK2 abstracts the OSGi module system to provide components, which can also be viewed as services and injected into the run time and uses a derivative of Apache Tomcat as the servlet...

Bitnami Reviews

We have no reviews of Bitnami yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Bitnami might be a bit more popular than Apache Tomcat. We know about 17 links to it since March 2021 and only 17 links to Apache Tomcat. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache Tomcat mentions (17)

  • Java News: WildFly 36, Spring Milestones, and Open Liberty Updates
    Versions 11.0.6 and 9.0.104 of Apache Tomcat deliver new features and improvements. The release notes can be found for both versions. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Artifactory: Centralizing Artifact Management for DevOps Success
    Download and Install Tomcat Before downloading, confirm the latest Tomcat build package from the official website. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • How to Deploy Applications Using Tomcat on a Web Server
    First, download the latest version of Tomcat from the official Apache Tomcat website. Choose the version that suits your needs, typically the latest stable release. - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
  • Spring Boot Monitoring with Open-Source Tools
    Manual instrumentation allows you to define your Spans within the code itself rather than relying on automatic instrumentation finding the entry point for a trace. Manual instrumentation is especially helpful for applications that don’t use an application server such as Tomcat, JBoss, or Jetty. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Issue with chatgpy
    99% is a huge exaggeration. Two essential deployment tools off the top of my head: Https://tomcat.apache.org/ Https://docs.jboss.org/author/display/AS71/Developer%20Guide.html. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

Bitnami mentions (17)

  • Getting to Know Bitnami: Your Shortcut to Web Application Success
    Choose Your Application: Head to the Bitnami website (https://bitnami.com/) and browse their extensive catalog of applications. Find the application that suits your needs – whether it's WordPress for a blog, Moodle for an e-learning platform, or a specialized business tool. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Minio integration with nestjs | file upload & retrieve
    First of all, let's setup minio in docker container. I use bitnami's minio package. Add minio service to your docker-compose.yaml:. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • The Home Server Journey - 5b: A Bridge Too Far?
    As the Bitnami container runs as a non-root user for security reasons, requires a "postgres" administrator name for the database and uses a different path structure, you won't be able to mount the data from the original PostgreSQL deployment without messing around with some configuration. So, unless you absolutely need the data, just start from scratch by deleting the volumes, maybe doing a backup first. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • How to Deploy Wordpress to Amazon EKS using Helm
    For this demo, I made use of the helm chart for wordpress developed and maintained by bitnami. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • free-for.dev
    Bitnami.com — Deploy prepared apps on IaaS. Management of 1 AWS micro instance free. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Tomcat and Bitnami, you can also consider the following products

LiteSpeed Web Server - LiteSpeed Web Server (LSWS) is a high-performance Apache drop-in replacement.

Cloudways - Cloudways is a managed hosting platform for PHP based application including WordPress, Magento, WooCommerce or a custom-built site.Experience fast performance, reliability, security with 24/7 support.

Apache HTTP Server - Apache httpd has been the most popular web server on the Internet since April 1996

DigitalOcean - Simplifying cloud hosting. Deploy an SSD cloud server in 55 seconds.

Microsoft IIS - Internet Information Services is a web server for Microsoft Windows

Heroku - Agile deployment platform for Ruby, Node.js, Clojure, Java, Python, and Scala. Setup takes only minutes and deploys are instant through git. Leave tedious server maintenance to Heroku and focus on your code.