# Apache Tomcat

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/apache-tomcat/

5 people recommended Apache Tomcat in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 12 months, in 5 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Free Java servlet container that clients still choose and developers run inside their IDE; critics note its faster startup only holds for small apps.

Summary written by Claude from 7 comments.

## What people warn about

- Faster startup only for small apps (1 comment in the sample): "Yeah, Tomcat starts faster, but only with a small app." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47575664))

## What people recommend instead

- [Adobe ColdFusion](https://hackerapproved.com/p/coldfusion/): 9 recommend, 1 mixed, 15 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Apache Tomcat", https://hackerapproved.com/p/apache-tomcat/ (5 recommend, 1 mixed, 1 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.