Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Payara Server VS XAMPP

Compare Payara Server VS XAMPP and see what are their differences

Payara Server logo Payara Server

Payara Server is a fully supported, developer-friendly, open source application server. Innovative, cloud-native, optimized for production deployments. Jakarta EE & MicroProfile compatible.

XAMPP logo XAMPP

XAMPP is a free and open-source cross-platform web server that is primarily used when locally developing web applications.
  • Payara Server Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-11-22

Payara Server is an open source, cloud-native middleware platform supporting reliable and secure deployments of Java EE (Jakarta EE) applications on premise, in the cloud or hybrid environments. Originally derived from GlassFish and used as a drop in replacement.

Monthly releases, bug fixes and a 10-year support lifecycle optimizes Payara Server for production deployments. Payara Server is aggressively compatible with common ecosystem components and ensures future compliance with Jakarta EE.

Payara Server is built and supported by a team of DevOps engineers dedicated to continued development and maintenance of the open source software, and committed to collaboration with the community to ensure Payara Server is the best option for production Java EE applications.

  • XAMPP Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-20

Payara Server features and specs

  • Open Source
    Payara Server is open source, which means it's free to use and has a community of developers contributing to its development and improvements.
  • Jakarta EE Support
    It supports Jakarta EE, offering developers access to a wide range of enterprise features and a robust platform for building scalable applications.
  • Payara Micro
    Payara Server offers Payara Micro, a lightweight version designed specifically for microservices architectures, making it agile and easily deployable in cloud environments.
  • Commercial Support
    For organizations requiring professional support, Payara Services Ltd offers a range of commercial support options, including 24/7 support and monitoring.
  • Cloud-Ready
    Payara Server is designed to be ready for cloud deployment, offering robust support for Docker, Kubernetes, and other cloud-native tools.

Possible disadvantages of Payara Server

  • Learning Curve
    For new users, there might be a steep learning curve in understanding Jakarta EE specifications and how Payara Server implements these functionalities.
  • Performance Overhead
    It can have higher overhead compared to more lightweight, specialized solutions, especially in cases where full Jakarta EE stack is not required.
  • Limited Niche Community
    While it is actively developed and supported, the community is smaller compared to other enterprise servers like WildFly or Apache Tomcat, potentially leading to fewer resources and community-driven extensions.
  • Version Compatibility
    Some users may face challenges with compatibility when migrating from other application servers, requiring code adjustments to comply with Payara Server's configurations.
  • High Support Costs
    While there's a free open-source version, the costs for commercial support can be high, which might be a consideration for smaller businesses.

XAMPP features and specs

  • Ease of Installation
    XAMPP provides an easy installation process, bundling Apache, MariaDB, PHP, and Perl into a single package, making it simple for developers to set up a local development environment.
  • Cross-Platform
    XAMPP is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS, ensuring a wide range of developers can use it regardless of their operating system.
  • Pre-Configured
    XAMPP comes pre-configured with many useful modules, reducing the need for manual setup and configuration of these components.
  • Community Support
    XAMPP has an active community and extensive documentation, making it easier to find solutions to potential issues and learn how to use the tool effectively.
  • Open Source
    XAMPP is free and open-source, making it accessible for anyone to use and modify according to their needs.

Possible disadvantages of XAMPP

  • Security Concerns
    XAMPP is not recommended for production environments because it is configured with a wide range of open defaults for convenience, which can pose significant security risks.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running all of the bundled services simultaneously can be resource-intensive, potentially slowing down a developer’s machine, especially if it has limited hardware capabilities.
  • Updates and Compatibility
    Updates to XAMPP's components (Apache, MariaDB, PHP, etc.) may not be as frequent or timely compared to installing them individually, potentially leading to issues with compatibility or missing out on new features.
  • Limited Production Usability
    XAMPP is designed primarily for development and debugging, making it less suitable for live, production servers without significant reconfiguration.
  • Less Granular Control
    The pre-configured nature of XAMPP means that developers might have less granular control over individual components compared to setting up a custom server environment.

Payara Server videos

Payara Server Deployment Group on Docker

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to Deploy an Application to Payara Server

XAMPP videos

XAMPP - What is...

More videos:

  • Tutorial - XAMPP Tutorial In One Video In Hindi With Live PHP MYSQL Project Using phpMyAdmin 2019
  • Review - MySQL & Apache Server auf dem Desktop! - XAMPP Review (Deutsch)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Payara Server and XAMPP)
Web And Application Servers
Application Server
17 17%
83% 83
Web Servers
8 8%
92% 92
Java
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Payara Server and XAMPP

Payara Server Reviews

4 Open Source Application Servers (Comparison and Review)
The Payara Server was derived from GlassFish. It offers 24/7 production and developer support. This server is optimized for production and is secure by default. Payara has implemented its own enhancements and fixes, and has no association with Oracle. Plans are in place to address advanced database capabilities, enhanced diagnostics and more.
Source: shadow-soft.com

XAMPP Reviews

Exploring 7 Efficient Alternatives to MAMP for Local Development Environments
WampServer is a web development environment tailored for Windows, integrating Apache server, MySQL database, PHP, and phpMyAdmin. Similar to XAMPP, it offers an intuitive interface for managing server configurations and databases, supporting quick PHP version switching for testing in different environments.
Source: medium.com
Top 6 Alternatives to XAMPP for Local Development Environments
Fortunately, there are many excellent alternatives to XAMPP on the market. In this article, we'll analyze and recommend the top 6 alternatives to XAMPP.
Source: dev.to
Best XAMPP Alternatives for Website Development in 2024
While XAMPP is widely used for local website development, its limitations can hinder the process. However, XAMPP alternatives like InstaWP offer a powerful solution for WordPress development. Offering a user-friendly interface, seamless migration options, and comprehensive testing environments, InstaWP addresses the shortcomings of XAMPP.
Source: instawp.com
8 Best MAMP Alternatives (Definitive List)
Compared to MAMP or WampServer, the XAMPP control panel provides you with far more options to manage your local development setup. You get access to a broad range of configuration options and administrative controls for each software component. XAMPP also provides you with in-depth logs so you can track every change to the environment.
Source: kinsta.com
13 Best XAMPP Alternatives
It offers a wide range of great features, but let’s take a look at some of its best characteristics: automatic detection for PHP versions, Apache versions, MySQL versions, and much more; native support for most typical servers, including Xampp, LAMP, MAMP, and WampServer; automatic updates using CPanel on your server; easy migration process that can migrate databases between...
Source: thetechtian.com

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Payara Server and XAMPP, you can also consider the following products

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

MAMP - MAMP is the abbreviation for Macintosh, Apache, MySQL, and PHP. It is a reliable application with its four components that allows you to access the local PHP server as well as the database server (SQL).

JBoss - JBoss is Red Hats Java EE 5-compliant (soon Java EE 6-compliant) application server.

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

Glassfish - GlassFish v3, built by the GlassFish community, is the first compatible implementation of the Java...

Eclipse Jetty - Jetty is a highly scalable modular servlet engine and http server that natively supports many modern protocols like SPDY and WebSockets.