15 Best Java Web Frameworks for Web Applications (2025)

Spring Boot is the de facto standard web framework for Java. Built on top of the Spring Framework, it removes boilerplate configuration with auto-configuration and an embedded Tomcat/Jetty server, letting you build production-ready web applications in minutes.

• Auto-configuration and embedded server
• Spring MVC for REST APIs and web controllers
• Huge ecosystem: Spring Security, Spring Data, Spring Cloud
• Best for: REST APIs, microservices, enterprise web apps

Spring MVC is the web layer of the broader Spring Framework — the most widely used Java application framework in the world. It supports inversion of control (IoC), dependency injection, and a rich model-view-controller architecture for both traditional web apps and REST APIs.

• Model-View-Controller pattern
• Powerful dependency injection container
• Supports both sync and reactive (WebFlux) programming
• Best for: large enterprise web applications

Grails is a powerful, full-stack web application framework for the JVM built on top of Spring Boot and Hibernate. It uses the Groovy programming language and follows convention over configuration to dramatically reduce boilerplate code in web applications.

• Convention over configuration
• Built-in ORM via GORM (Hibernate)
• Scaffolding for rapid prototyping
• Best for: rapid web application development on JVM

JHipster is a development platform that generates, develops, and deploys Spring Boot + Angular / React / Vue web applications and Spring microservices. It is one of the most popular open-source Java web application generators and scaffolding tools.

• Full-stack code generation (Spring Boot + modern frontend)
• Built-in JWT/OAuth2 security
• Microservices and Docker/Kubernetes support
• Best for: kickstarting full-stack projects quickly

Quarkus is a Kubernetes-native Java framework tailored for GraalVM and HotSpot. It dramatically reduces startup time and memory consumption, making Java a first-class citizen for serverless and container workloads. Developed by Red Hat, it is one of the fastest-growing Java web frameworks today.

• Sub-second startup with GraalVM native images
• Reactive and imperative programming models
• Dev Services for zero-config local development
• Best for: microservices, serverless, Kubernetes-native apps

Micronaut is a modern JVM-based framework designed for building modular, easily testable microservice and serverless applications. Unlike Spring, it performs dependency injection at compile time, resulting in near-instant startup and minimal memory usage.

• Compile-time dependency injection (no reflection)
• GraalVM native image support
• Built-in cloud configuration, service discovery, and tracing
• Best for: microservices, cloud functions, CLI tools

Helidon is Oracle's open-source Java framework for writing microservices. It comes in two flavours: Helidon SE (reactive, functional style) and Helidon MP (MicroProfile-compliant for enterprise Java developers).

• Two flavours: SE (reactive) and MP (MicroProfile)
• GraalVM native image support
• Built-in health checks, metrics, and tracing
• Best for: microservices, Oracle Cloud, MicroProfile apps

Eclipse Vert.x is a polyglot, event-driven application framework that runs on the JVM. It is non-blocking and reactive by design, making it ideal for building high-concurrency web applications, real-time systems, and API gateways.

• Non-blocking, event loop architecture
• Polyglot (Java, Kotlin, Groovy, JS on JVM)
• Excellent throughput for high-concurrency apps
• Best for: real-time apps, API gateways, high-throughput services

Dropwizard is a mature Java framework for developing ops-friendly, high-performance, RESTful web services. It bundles together Jetty, Jersey, Jackson, and Metrics into a single cohesive framework, making it easy to build and deploy REST APIs quickly.

• Embedded Jetty server with Jersey for JAX-RS REST APIs
• Built-in metrics, health checks, and logging
• Minimal configuration, production-ready out of the box
• Best for: RESTful web services, ops-focused teams

Javalin is a simple and lightweight web framework for Java and Kotlin. Built on top of Jetty, it offers a clean, expressive API for building REST APIs and web applications with minimal boilerplate. It is especially popular for building microservices and learning web development in Java.

• Simple, intuitive API inspired by Express.js
• First-class Kotlin support
• WebSocket and Server-Sent Events support
• Best for: REST APIs, microservices, learning Java web development

Spark is a micro framework for creating web applications in Java and Kotlin with minimal effort. Inspired by Ruby's Sinatra, it provides a simple DSL for defining routes, making it ideal for small REST APIs and rapid prototyping.

• Sinatra-inspired routing DSL
• Embedded Jetty server
• Very low learning curve
• Best for: small REST APIs, prototypes, learning projects

Jersey is the reference implementation of the JAX-RS (Jakarta RESTful Web Services) specification. It provides tools and APIs for building RESTful web services in Java, and is widely used in enterprise applications that follow Jakarta EE standards.

• JAX-RS reference implementation
• Annotation-driven REST endpoint definition
• Pluggable dependency injection support
• Best for: JAX-RS REST APIs, Jakarta EE environments

Apache Struts is a free, open-source MVC framework for developing Java EE web applications. It supports convention over configuration and can be extended via plugins. It is one of the earliest Java web frameworks and still powers many legacy enterprise applications.

• MVC-based Java EE web framework
• Convention over configuration with plugin support
• Large legacy user base in financial/government sectors
• Best for: maintaining existing Struts-based applications

JSF is a Java specification and MVC web application framework for building component-based web UIs. It is part of the Jakarta EE platform and is widely used in enterprise Java environments, though it has largely been superseded by modern frameworks for new projects.

• Component-based UI model
• Part of Jakarta EE specification
• PrimeFaces and RichFaces component libraries available
• Best for: Jakarta EE applications and existing JSF codebases

Vaadin is a Java framework for building modern web UIs entirely in Java — without writing HTML or JavaScript. It includes a rich set of web components and developer tools, and is popular in enterprise applications where developers prefer to stay in the Java stack.

• Build web UIs fully in Java
• Rich component library (Grid, Form, Charts)
• Built-in server-client communication
• Best for: data-heavy enterprise UIs, Java-only teams

Google Web Toolkit (GWT) is an open-source set of tools that allows Java developers to create and maintain complex JavaScript frontend applications in Java. The compiler translates Java code to optimized JavaScript, which runs in the browser.

• Write frontend code in Java, compile to JavaScript
• Cross-browser compatible code generation
• Used in products like Google Ads
• Best for: legacy GWT apps, Java-only teams building complex UIs

Play Framework is an open-source, reactive web application framework for Java and Scala. It follows the MVC architectural pattern and is built on Akka Streams, enabling highly concurrent, non-blocking web applications. It is widely used in media and fintech applications.

• Reactive, non-blocking architecture via Akka
• Supports both Java and Scala
• Hot-reload in development mode
• Best for: reactive web apps, Scala/Java hybrid teams