Payara Platform vs. WildFly vs. JBoss: Which Application Server to Choose?

When selecting an application server for your Jakarta EE applications, there are multiple options available. While the Payara Platform, WildFly and JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) have a number of commonalities, they differ in a number of aspects. The choice of one of these three alternatives can significantly impact your development, deployment and operational strategies. In this blog, we’ll explore their common features, differences and how they compare with each other. 

Payara vs. WildFly vs. JBoss: An Overview  

Market Position and Heritage  

Payara Platform, WildFly and JBoss are all enterprise Java application servers but differ in their origins and positioning. Payara is a fork of GlassFish, launched to ensure stability and long-term support after Oracle’s disengagement from GlassFish, but evolved considerably and is now an independent platform that is only related to GlassFish.  

Red Hat’s JBoss and WildFly (initially called JBoss Application Server, JBoss AS) were born as free, open-source, easy-to-install applications servers. The two later evolved into two separate projects, with WildFly remaining as free, open-source technology for innovation, and JBoss EAP focusing on mission-critical applications.  

Core Purpose and Target Users  

WildFly typically appeals to developers and smaller teams wanting a cutting-edge, lightweight and community-driven platform for enterprise Java development. Conversely, JBoss EAP focuses on businesses needing enterprise-grade stability, performance and comprehensive integration with Red Hat’s tools and cloud services. 

The Payara Community Edition targets developers and smaller teams needing an open-source platform for Java EE/Jakarta EE experimentation and non-critical deployments. The Enterprise Edition focuses on businesses requiring robust support, stability and enhanced performance for production environments.  

Payara Enterprise and JBoss EAP share the mission of supporting critical workloads, but their ecosystems and pricing models differ significantly. More specifically, Payara Platform Enterprise offers flat-rate pricing tiers and a more independent and flexible option for enterprise Java workloads. As a result, Payara Platform Enterprise generally offers a straightforward and cost-effective option for organizations without complex Red Hat dependencies. Conversely, JBoss EAP integrates deeply into Red Hat’s comprehensive enterprise ecosystem, catering to businesses already invested in Red Hat’s broader infrastructure, but posing challenges for teams that require vendor-neutrality or flexibility in their software suites. Even more, it is often costlier for those needing only the application server.  

Architectural Foundation 

All three application server technologies, Payara Platform, WildFly and JBoss EAP, adhere to Jakarta EE standards to support enterprise Java applications. However, they rely on different architectural foundations, influencing their suitability for your specific use case and shaping their scalability, maintainability and overall performance. 

The Payara Platform originated from GlassFish, and is built specifically to offer full compatibility with the latest Jakarta EE standards, including Jakarta EE 11 in its latest Payara Platform Community 7 Alpha version. Payara’s alignment with Jakarta EE 11 ensures that teams focusing on this platform can leverage the latest standards for their applications, while JBoss EAP might lag depending on updates and community support cycles. 

While initially based on GlassFish, Payara Platform expands its core capabilities by offering a modular architecture with cloud-native features, like Kubernetes integration and microservices support. WildFly utilizes a highly modular Java architecture based on the JBoss Modules framework. JBoss EAP builds on WildFly’s foundation, refining it for stability, scalability and integration with the Red Hat ecosystem.  

While all three technologies adhere to Jakarta EE standards, Payara advances cloud-native capabilities for both Payara Platform Community and Enterprise users, WildFly focuses on modularity and flexibility and JBoss EAP ensures reliability for enterprise-scale deployments. 

Support and Maintenance Models  

WildFly operates on a community model with no formal lifecycle support, relying on community contributions for updates and fixes. JBoss EAP has a long-term lifecycle, with the latest Red Hat JBoss EAP releases receiving 7 years of support divided into two phases. The first phase, called Full Support, lasts 4 years with enhancements, bug and security fixes. The second phase, called Maintenance Support, lasts 3 years with bug and security fixes only. Additional support is available at additional cost, by subscribing to Extended Life Support. This is divided into two phases, with critical bug and security fixes only provided during the first one. 

Payara Platform Enterprise offers a minimum of 10-year software lifecycle with four phases: Full Support, Maintenance, Extended Support and Lifetime Support. Full Support includes monthly updates, security patches and backported fixes. Maintenance Support focuses on essential updates and security, while Extended Support offers security updates on request and JDK support through Azul. In the Lifetime Support stage, only security fixes are prioritized, bug fixes are selective and address solely critical issues.  

What Is Payara Platform?  

The Payara Platform is a cloud-native suite of application server technologies. It relies on the principles of Platform Engineering to offer optimum developer experiences and self-service capabilities within a secure framework. Payara Platform is available in two editions: 

• Community Edition: Free and open-source, suitable for experimentation, development and testing. 
• Enterprise Edition: Focused on production environments with robust support, monthly updates and advanced features  

Payara Platform, available in either Community and Enterprise editions, is known for its reliability and frequent releases. It offers Jakarta EE and MicroProfile compatibility with advanced features like in-built monitoring, hot fixes and frequent updates, making it the first choice for many Jakarta EE application developers, such as iTAC Software AG.  

What Is WildFly? 

Originally called JBoss AS, WildFly is the community-driven, open-source project sponsored by Red Hat that serves as the foundation for building Red Hat’s JBoss EAP. However, the similar names of these two products led to widespread confusion. To address this, Red Hat rebranded JBoss AS as WildFly. Today, just as JBoss EAP releases were once derived from JBoss AS, all new JBoss EAP releases are now built from WildFly, which can be considered as an incubation ground for new JBoss features.  

Known for its modular design and lightweight runtime, WildFly is ideal for agile development teams experimenting with innovative solutions. However, its lack of commercial support limits its use in large-scale production settings. 

What Is JBoss? 

JBoss EAP is the enterprise-grade version of WildFly, backed by Red Hat and designed for mission-critical applications. Initially, JBoss EAP was an open-source project, like WildFly. However, while JBoss EAP was free to use during development, it required a fee when deployed to production. Now, JBoss EAP releases are built from WildFly. Even though JBoss EAP source code is based on WildFly, the two solutions are not identical and are not completely interchangeable. 

JBoss EAP offers long-term support, a stable and robust runtime as well as integration with Red Hat’s ecosystem. However, it requires a subscription and may incur additional costs for key features, such as MicroProfile support through JBoss EAP’s Eclipse MicroProfile Expansion Pack (XP). 

Differences Between Payara Platform, WildFly & JBoss  

Licensing and Support 

Licensing and support are critical considerations when choosing an application server. Open-source application servers can help accelerate project development, reduce costs and foster collaboration. However, when dealing with enterprise technology, especially mission-critical applications in production environments, additional considerations are essential. 

In such cases, comprehensive support becomes crucial. Moreover, relying on unsupported open-source solutions can jeopardize privacy and regulatory compliance. This is particularly risky in highly regulated industries, where best practices and legislation mandate the use of supported, up-to-date software. Consequently, using unsupported, community-based technologies can lead to substantial fines and legal penalties for non-compliance. 

WildFly is a fully open-source solution supported by a community of contributors. While this provides flexibility and cost savings, it lacks the safety net of official commercial support, which may leave organizations to handle critical issues independently. 

Conversely, JBoss EAP builds on open-source technology but operates under a subscription model. Access to Red Hat’s enterprise-grade support, along with additional features, is governed by an End-User License Agreement (EULA). This approach ensures robust support and enhanced functionality but comes with licensing costs. 

The Payara Platform offers a flexible approach, blending open-source accessibility with professional support options. The platform is available in both Community and Enterprise editions, with Community users only being able to access regular updates and community-driven support. Payara Platform Enterprise operates under a EULA and provides comprehensive commercial support, extended monthly security fixes and additional enterprise-grade features. In addition, Payara Platform Enterprise customers can have a say in what features to implement within the technology. 

Deployment and Scalability  

An application server can significantly impact performance, resource utilization and operational efficiency based on the deployment and scalability capabilities offered. For example, solutions that support clustering can help teams to create groups of interconnected servers that work together to provide high availability, scalability and fault tolerance for applications deployed on the application server. The scalability and deployment features of WildFly, JBoss and Payara Platform differ considerably. 

WildFly provides basic deployment tools and supports clustering, enabling multiple nodes to run the same application. JBoss EAP, being an enterprise-grade platform, offers robust scalability features tailored for production use. It supports advanced clustering and load balancing with key features, such as session replication to maintain state across distributed environments. This makes JBoss EAP suitable for large-scale, mission-critical deployments, though these features require a Red Hat subscription. 

Payara Platform, particularly the Enterprise edition, stands out with advanced scalability and deployment features for large deployments. The solution supports dynamic and automated clustering as well as automatic load balancing with minimal configuration. Combined with a best-in-class Zero Downtime Deployment capabilities, Payara Platform ensures smooth application updates without service interruptions, a critical advantage for high-availability environments. Therefore, Payara Platform application server technology offers the most comprehensive and adaptable solution for organizations prioritizing scalability and streamlined deployments. 

Microservices and Cloud Integration  

Microservices and cloud-native architectures are the backbone of modern application development, enabling businesses to build scalable, resilient and easily maintainable software systems. By breaking down applications into smaller, independent services and leveraging cloud-native features, organizations can improve agility, streamline deployment and manage resources with high efficiency. A robust application server is key to facilitating these architectures, supporting essential standards, like MicroProfile, and integrating seamlessly with container orchestration platforms, such as Kubernetes. 

Payara Platform, WildFly and JBoss EAP support MicroProfile and Kubernetes, making them suitable for microservices. However, the capabilities offered vary greatly among the three platforms.  

While Payara Platform provides its own implementation for MicroProfile APIs, WildFly relies on components from the SmallRye project in its distribution. JBoss EAP users interested in MicroProfile and microservices need to install the Eclipse MicroProfile XP. In addition to extensive MicroProfile support, Payara Platform offers superior cloud-native features and advanced auto-scaling capabilities, making it an ideal choice for teams and organizations interested in modern architectures.  

Performance and Reliability  

Optimum performance and reliability are essential to maximize applications’ uptime. When it comes to development and testing, peak performance and availability may not be critical. In production environments, where downtime lag or failures could result in revenue loss, customer dissatisfaction and/or security vulnerabilities, selecting an application server that can handle high traffic, ensure data integrity and meet compliance standards is a must.  

JBoss EAP and Payara Platform Enterprise prioritize high reliability and are tuned for production use, while Payara Platform Community and WildFly are more suited to development and less critical applications. More precisely, Payara Platform Community and WildFly offer solid performance for non-critical use cases, but they lack vendor-backed support and production-grade features. Performance tuning, and troubleshooting are largely the responsibility of the user. Nonetheless, Payara Platform Community offers regular updates, with up to 12 releases per year, helping teams make sure they rely on secure and up-to-date solution with innovative features. 

In contrast, Payara Platform Enterprise and JBoss EAP are tailored for production use, emphasizing security and reliability. Payara Platform Enterprise excels with features aimed at maximizing uptime, such as the Zero Downtime Deployment mentioned above, proactive monthly updates and dedicated vendor support. It also includes built-in monitoring tools for performance optimization and robust clustering for high availability. Similarly, JBoss EAP offers resource pooling, session replication and enhanced clustering, ensuring consistent performance in mission-critical scenarios. However, additional costs are involved, as the use of these functions requires a Red Hat subscription for access to enterprise-grade features and updates. 

Comparison Table 

Conclusions 

When choosing the right enterprise Java application server, the decision often comes down to stability, support, long-term value and future-readiness. While WildFly and JBoss provide solid, options with a legacy of innovation, the Payara Platform delivers a modern, adaptable and future-ready solution. 

Payara Platform Community offers a robust, open-source foundation for developers looking to explore or build Java EE/Jakarta EE applications. Its focus on ease of use, compliance with modern standards, and consistent updates make it an excellent choice for small teams or projects with modest requirements. 

However, where the Payara Platform truly shines is its Enterprise Edition, which provides business-critical applications with unparalleled reliability, security, and support. Unlike WildFly and JBoss, which often require additional configurations and support solutions to meet enterprise needs, Payara Enterprise offers: 

• Comprehensive Support: A dedicated team ensures timely assistance and fixes, minimizing downtime. 
• Guaranteed Updates: Monthly patches and frequent releases ensure your applications stay secure and compatible with evolving standards. 
• Innovative Features: Enhanced scalability, cloud-native capabilities and Kubernetes-ready architecture meet the demands of modern business environments. 
• Predictable Licensing: Transparent, cost-effective licensing without the hidden fees often associated with enterprise-grade software. It is ideal for organizations that don’t want vendor dependencies.  

Ultimately, for businesses seeking a balance between community-driven innovation and enterprise-grade reliability, Payara Platform bridges the gap. By choosing Payara Platform, teams invest in more than just an application server—they gain a long-term partner in innovation and success.