Java has long been a cornerstone of enterprise software, and its relevance in web development remains strong in 2025. As technology evolves, so too do the tools and frameworks that Java developers use to build modern, scalable, and efficient web applications. Choosing the right framework is a critical decision that impacts development speed, application performance, maintainability, and ultimately, the success of a project. For organizations looking to hire Java developers with the skills needed for the future, understanding the leading frameworks is essential.
The landscape of Java web frameworks in 2025 is characterized by a strong push towards cloud-native architectures, microservices, reactive programming, and optimizing for resource efficiency – particularly important in containerized and serverless environments. This article explores the top Java frameworks that are shaping web development this year, highlighting their key features and ideal use cases.
Table of Contents
What is a Java Framework?
Before delving into the leading frameworks for Java development, it’s important to grasp that Java mainly serves as a backend technology. Developers have the flexibility to explore and utilize various Java frameworks specifically designed for backend development. The backend of a website is commonly referred to as its server side.
It manages and organizes data while ensuring the proper functioning of the website’s client side. This is the website’s backend, which is inaccessible and not viewable. Developers utilize the latest backend technologies with the core being the Java framework. Now, let’s delve into an exploration of Java frameworks.
A Java framework serves as a set of pre-existing code components utilized by developers for creating web applications. In Java development, these frameworks consist of classes and functions responsible for managing hardware, handling input, and interacting with system applications.
They include pre-written code snippets and libraries that streamline the application development process by allowing developers to build applications without having to code everything from scratch. Additionally, these frameworks are open-source in nature.
Java frameworks are commonly referred to as libraries and APIs.
Why Use Java Frameworks?
Java frameworks play an important role in establishing a systematic approach to application development. By creating frameworks tailored for testing, online applications, and object-relational mapping (ORM), programmers can automate diverse tasks ensuring the generation of dependable outcomes.
In essence, Java web development frameworks consist of both front-end and back-end frameworks simplifying developers’ lives and enabling them to focus on business logic rather than generic code employed across a domain or application.
Java Frameworks Market Overview for 2025
According to W3Techs, Java leads the market in both Java framework adoption and web traffic when compared to other popular server-side programming languages. Java finds applications in nearly every major industry and economic sector. This widespread popularity has led to the emergence of a diverse range of Java web frameworks designed to address various programming challenges.
Over the last two years, the worldwide Java community has experienced a twofold growth, surging from 8.3 million to 16.5 million individuals securing the third position after JavaScript and Python, as reported by SlashData.
This expansion can be attributed not only to the rise in conventional backend and mobile development but also to the escalating utilization of Java in AR/VR projects. The popularity of the Android platform is driving this trend in various endeavors. If you’re thinking about making a website like Udemy, you might be surprised to know that Java is a key part of the main foundation of Udemy’s technology.
Similarly, when we talk about using frameworks, let’s consider Spring. It’s a popular and free tool for Java. In 2022, it became even more popular, and this increase matches the overall rise in the use of Java.
When we talk about how much it costs to hire someone for a job, like a Java developer, different factors affect the salary. In North America, the average yearly salary for a Java developer is $120,000, but it can go up to $180,000. In Eastern Europe, the average salary is around $62,000 per year. This makes us wonder how to find the best Java development services we need at a reasonable cost.
But, before we go into that, let’s first understand what a Java framework is.
Top Java Frameworks for Web Development in 2025
1. Spring Framework (and Spring Boot)
The Spring ecosystem, particularly with the widespread adoption of Spring Boot, continues to be the de facto standard for enterprise Java development. Its comprehensive nature, flexibility, and strong community support make it a top choice for a wide range of web applications. Spring Boot simplifies the configuration and setup process, allowing developers to focus on business logic.
Key Features:
- Extensive ecosystem covering data access, security, cloud, batch processing, and more.
- Convention-over-configuration with Spring Boot for rapid application development.
- Robust support for building RESTful APIs and microservices.
- Spring WebFlux for building reactive and non-blocking web applications.
- Seamless integration with various technologies and third-party libraries.
Ideal Use Cases: Building complex enterprise applications, microservices architectures, RESTful services, cloud-native applications, and projects requiring a mature and comprehensive framework.
2. Jakarta EE
Evolving under the Eclipse Foundation, Jakarta EE provides a set of specifications for building multi-tiered enterprise applications. While a traditional platform, recent versions like Jakarta EE 10 and the upcoming Jakarta EE 11 in 2025 bring significant updates focused on cloud-native environments, microservices, and modernizing the developer experience.
Key Features:
- A set of standardized APIs for various enterprise concerns (CDI, JAX-RS, JPA, EJB, etc.).
- Vendor-neutral specifications allow deployment on various compatible application servers.
- Focus on stability, scalability, and reliability for mission-critical applications.
- Jakarta Data specification for standardized data access.
- Improved support for cloud-native patterns and reactive programming in newer versions.
Ideal Use Cases: Large-scale enterprise applications, projects requiring adherence to open standards, organizations with existing Java EE investments, and applications needing robust, built-in features from the platform.
3. Quarkus
Quarkus is a Kubernetes-native Java framework tailored for GraalVM and OpenJDK HotSpot. Its primary goal is to make Java a leading platform for microservices and serverless applications by offering incredibly fast startup times and low memory consumption.
Key Features:
- Container-first design optimized for Docker, Kubernetes, and serverless.
- Achieves rapid startup and low RSS memory through build-time processing and AOT compilation.
- Provides a unified imperative and reactive programming model.
- Excellent developer experience with features like live coding.
- A vibrant ecosystem of extensions for integrating popular libraries.
Ideal Use Cases: Microservices, serverless functions, containerized applications, command-line applications, and scenarios where resource efficiency and fast startup are paramount.
4. Micronaut
Micronaut is a modern, JVM-based framework designed for building modular, easily testable microservice and serverless applications. Similar to Quarkus, it leverages compile-time annotation processing to reduce the need for reflection, resulting in faster startup times and a smaller memory footprint.
Key Features:
- Compile-time dependency injection and AOP.
- Minimal reflection usage for improved performance characteristics.
- Built-in support for cloud-native features like service discovery and distributed configuration.
- First-class support for reactive programming.
- Supports Java, Kotlin, and Groovy.
Ideal Use Cases: Microservices, serverless applications, cloud-native development, applications requiring fast startup and low memory usage, and polyglot projects on the JVM.
5. Play Framework
Play is a high-productivity Java and Scala web framework that follows the MVC pattern. It’s known for its developer-friendly features, asynchronous nature, and stateless architecture, making it well-suited for building scalable web applications, including those requiring real-time capabilities.
Key Features:
- MVC architecture for clear code organization.
- Asynchronous and non-blocking I/O built on Akka/Pekko.
- Excellent developer experience with hot code reloading and integrated testing tools.
- Stateless architecture simplifies horizontal scaling.
- Built-in support for WebSockets and other real-time technologies.
Ideal Use Cases: Building scalable web applications, real-time applications, projects prioritizing developer productivity, and a clear MVC structure.
6. Vaadin
Vaadin is a Java framework for building modern web applications with a focus on the user interface. It allows developers to create rich, interactive UIs using Java components, abstracting away the complexities of front-end technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Key Features:
- Component-based architecture for building UIs entirely in Java.
- Automatic client-server communication handling.
- Provides a rich set of pre-built UI components.
- Strong integration with Spring Boot.
- Focus on developer productivity for business applications with complex UIs.
Ideal Use Cases: Business applications with complex forms and data-rich UIs, internal tools, and projects where the development team has strong Java expertise but limited front-end experience.
7. Dropwizard
Dropwizard is an opinionated, lightweight framework for developing high-performance RESTful web services. It bundles stable and mature libraries (like Jetty, Jersey, Jackson, and Metrics) into a simple package, allowing developers to quickly build production-ready web services.
Key Features:
- Bundles battle-tested libraries for rapid development.
- Focuses specifically on building RESTful web services.
- Provides built-in support for configuration, logging, and monitoring.
- Packages applications as executable JARs for easy deployment.
Ideal Use Cases: Building RESTful APIs, microservices, internal tools, and applications where speed of development and performance for web services are key.
8. Grails
Grails is a dynamic web application framework built on Groovy (which compiles to Java bytecode) and the Spring Boot foundation. It follows the Convention over Configuration paradigm to enable rapid application development, particularly for CRUD-heavy applications.
Key Features:
- Leverages the Groovy language for concise and expressive code.
- Built on Spring Boot, inheriting its capabilities.
- Integrated ORM (GORM) for simplified database interaction.
- Plugin system for easily adding functionality.
- Rapid scaffolding and development features.
Ideal Use Cases: Rapid prototyping, building CRUD-heavy web applications, projects where developer productivity and speed are top priorities, and teams comfortable with Groovy.
9. Apache Struts
Apache Struts is a well-established open-source MVC framework for building Java web applications. While considered more traditional compared to newer frameworks, Struts 2 provides a robust and flexible architecture that is still used in many existing applications and continues to be a viable option for certain projects.
Key Features:
- MVC architecture separates concerns into Model, View, and Controller.
- Tag libraries for simplifying UI development.
- Plugin-based architecture for extensibility.
- Integration support with other Java technologies like Spring and Hibernate.
Ideal Use Cases: Maintaining and extending existing applications built with Struts, projects requiring a mature and stable MVC framework.
10. Google Web Toolkit (GWT)
Google Web Toolkit (GWT) is a development toolkit that allows developers to build complex browser-based applications in Java. GWT compiles Java code into optimized JavaScript, enabling developers to leverage their Java skills for front-end development without writing JavaScript directly.
Key Features:
- Compiles Java code to highly optimized JavaScript.
- Allows building complex front-end UIs using Java.
- Provides tools for debugging and testing Java code that runs in the browser.
- Abstracts away browser compatibility issues.
Ideal Use Cases: Building complex, large-scale client-side web applications where the development team has strong Java expertise and wants to avoid extensive JavaScript development.
Conclusion
The choice of a Java web framework in 2025 is more diverse and exciting than ever. From the comprehensive power of Spring Boot and the standardized reliability of Jakarta EE to the cloud-native efficiency of Quarkus and Micronaut, and the developer-friendly speed of Play, Vaadin, Dropwizard, Grails, Struts, and GWT, there’s a framework suited for almost any project requirement.
Each framework has its unique strengths and is optimized for different scenarios. Understanding these nuances is crucial for making the right technical decisions that will impact your application’s performance, scalability, and maintainability for years to come.
For businesses looking to leverage the power of Java for their web development needs, having a team proficient in these modern frameworks is key. If you’re seeking skilled professionals who can build high-quality, performant, and scalable web applications using the best Java technologies available in 2025, it’s time to hire Java developers with expertise in these leading frameworks. Investing in developers who are well-versed in the latest Java web development trends and frameworks is an investment in the future success of your digital initiatives.
Ready to build your next great web application with Java? Contact HashStudioz and bring your vision to life.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What are the major trends influencing the choice of Java web frameworks in 2025?
A1: Key trends include the shift towards cloud-native architectures, microservices, reactive programming for efficient concurrency, improved developer experience (DevEx), and a strong focus on performance and resource efficiency, especially for containerized and serverless deployments.
Q2: Which Java framework is considered the most dominant and versatile for enterprise development in 2025?
A2: The Spring Framework, particularly with Spring Boot, remains the de facto standard. Its extensive ecosystem and features for rapid application development make it highly versatile for a wide range of enterprise and web applications.
Q3: For cloud-native applications and microservices where fast startup and low memory are critical, which frameworks are recommended?
A3: Quarkus and Micronaut are specifically designed for these environments. They leverage techniques like compile-time processing and AOT compilation to achieve significantly faster startup times and lower memory footprints compared to more traditional frameworks.
Q4: Are older frameworks like Apache Struts and Google Web Toolkit (GWT) still relevant for web development in 2025?
A4: While perhaps less aligned with the latest cloud-native and microservice trends compared to newer options, frameworks like Apache Struts and GWT are still relevant. Struts is used for maintaining existing applications, and GWT remains an option for building complex client-side UIs in Java, especially where avoiding extensive JavaScript is desired.
Yatin Sapra 
Manvendra Kunwar