A Java framework is a reusable design structure that offers a foundation for building Java applications with the help of reusable code, libraries, and tools, with particular design patterns to make development easier. The main uses of Java frameworks include sped-up development, enhanced code quality, consistency with imposed standards, and improved security through embedded features. Java frameworks reduce the complexity of tasks, enhance code reusability, and promote more collaboration among development teams.
According to JetBrains’ survey, Spring Boot and Spring MVC consistently hold the top 1 position as the most used web frameworks for Java development. According to Netguru’s report, over 90% of Fortune 500 companies are reported to be using Java for their software development needs in 2025. Snyk’s study reports that Java frameworks are essential within enterprise settings, with Spring Framework leading adoption. Microservices find lightweight frameworks such as Micronaut and Quarkus popular, while full-stack frameworks such as Jakarta EE are also vital.
Spring Boot is the best Java framework and an excellent option, considering its extensive capabilities and community backing. Spring Boot is the most popular, most used, and easiest to learn for web development.
Listed below are the 15 most-used Java frameworks in 2025.
- Apache Kafka: Apache Kafka is a distributed streaming platform used for real-time data pipelines and event-driven architectures. It has unique features like publish-subscribe messaging, horizontal scaling via partitioning, and fault tolerance through replication.
- Spring Framework: Spring Framework is a modular enterprise Java framework used for building web apps, REST APIs, and microservices. It has unique features like dependency injection (DI), aspect-oriented programming (AOP), and Spring Boot auto-configuration.
- Apache Camel: Apache Camel is an integration Java framework used for connecting heterogeneous systems via Enterprise Integration Patterns (EIP). It has unique features like 300+ pre-built connectors, Java/XML/Groovy DSLs, and message mediation.
- JavaServer Faces (JSF): JSF is a component-based UI Java framework used for server-rendered web applications. It has unique features like Jakarta EE integration, reusable UI widgets, and server-side lifecycle management.
- Quarkus Framework: Quarkus is a cloud-native Java framework optimized for Kubernetes and serverless apps. It has unique features like sub-second startup times, GraalVM-native compilation, and live coding.
- Hibernate ORM: Hibernate ORM is a database-mapping Java framework used for object-relational persistence. It has unique features like Hibernate Query Language (HQL), multi-database support, and automatic caching.
- Play Framework: Play Framework is a reactive web Java framework used for scalable apps and REST APIs. It has unique features like hot code reloading, stateless architecture, and async I/O support.
- Apache CXF: Apache CXF is a web services Java framework used for SOAP/REST implementations. It has unique features like WS-* standards compliance, JAX-WS/JAX-RS interoperability, and extensible messaging.
- Google Web Toolkit (GWT): GWT is a client-side Java framework used for browser apps via Java-to-JS compilation. It has unique features like type-safe DOM manipulation and code obfuscation.
- Vaadin Framework: Vaadin is a server-driven UI Java framework used for business web apps. It has unique features like 100+ prebuilt components and automatic client-server communication.
- Micronaut Framework: Micronaut is a cloud-efficient Java framework used for microservices. It has unique features like compile-time dependency injection and low memory footprint.
- Grails Framework: Grails is a Groovy-based Java-compatible framework used for rapid web development. It has unique features like dynamic scaffolding and GORM ORM integration.
- Blade Framework: Blade is a lightweight MVC Java framework used for small web apps. It has unique features like 500KB footprint and embedded Netty server.
- Apache Accumulo: Apache Accumulo is a distributed key-value store with cell-level security. It has unique features like NSA-developed access controls and sorted key design.
- Apache Lucene/Solr: Apache Lucene/Solr is a search engine library (Lucene) and server (Solr). It has unique features like faceted search, relevance tuning, and distributed indexing.
1. Apache Kafka
Apache Kafka is an open-source Java framework distributed streaming platform used to construct real-time data pipelines and stream applications.
The unique features of Apache Kafka include the publish-subscribe messaging paradigm, horizontal scaling via partitioning, fault tolerance through replication, and the capability to process large amounts of data at low latency. According to the Apache Kafka org, over 80% of all Fortune 100 companies trust and use Kafka, which plays a central role in contemporary data architecture for real-time analytics, event-driven microservices, and data integration.
The primary uses of Apache Kafka include streaming data integration between systems, constructing real-time streaming applications, and serving as a message broker for event-driven architectures. The secondary uses of Apache Kafka are log aggregation, monitoring application metrics in real-time, and a commit log for distributed systems.
Apache Kafka’s advantages include high throughput, low latency, fault tolerance, horizontal scalability, real-time data processing, and a large, active community. The disadvantages of Apache Kafka include being difficult to set up and maintain, the possibility of over-engineering for basic messaging requirements, and dependence on ZooKeeper.
The scenarios to use Apache Kafka include applications that need real-time processing of data at scale, developing event-driven microservices, and developing durable data pipelines. The Apache Kafka framework can be avoided for small request-response interactions or applications with extremely low data volume and no scalability or fault-tolerance requirements.
2. Spring Framework
Spring Framework is a wide-reaching and popular Java enterprise application development framework used to provide an infrastructure for creating stable, scalable, and maintainable Java applications.
Spring’s strength lies in the core features that are Dependency Injection (DI) and Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP), encouraging loose coupling and modularity. According to 6Sense, over 15,260 companies have started using Spring Framework as a web framework tool due to its full-stack ecosystem comprising Spring Boot, Spring Data, Spring Security, and Spring Cloud.
The primary uses of the Spring framework are creating enterprise-grade applications, web applications (particularly with Spring MVC and Spring Boot), RESTful APIs, microservices (with Spring Cloud), and batch processing. The secondary uses of the Spring framework are integrating with other Java technologies and frameworks and serving as a basis for testing and security implementations.
The Spring’s advantages include a mature ecosystem, widespread community support, encouragement of best practices, fantastic documentation, and extreme flexibility and configurability. Disadvantages of the Spring framework include a high learning curve for novice users because of its rich features, and the “magic” of auto-configuration in Spring Boot may obscure certain underlying mechanisms at times.
The Spring Framework is used for complex Java applications, particularly enterprise systems, web applications, and microservices, where a solid and well-supported framework is needed. Spring is not used for extremely tiny, trivial programs where the expense of a major framework could surpass the advantages.
3. Apache Camel
Apache Camel is an open-source integration framework designed to simplify and make more accessible the integration of disparate systems to developers. It offers an Enterprise Integration Patterns implementation through a Java-based Domain Specific Language (DSL).
Apache Camel’s unique feature is its wide repository of components supporting multiple protocols, data formats, and transports. 6Sense reports that Apache Camel has a market share of 0.60% in the data-integration market without needing expert knowledge of the underlying technologies.
The primary uses of Apache Camel include integrating heterogeneous systems, data transformation and routing, message mediation, and developing enterprise application integration (EAI) solutions. The secondary uses of Apache Camel include service orchestration and choreography implementation, and message-driven application development.
The benefits of Apache Camel are a great variety of supported components, good routing and mediation flexibility, several DSL options (Java, XML, Groovy), and integration patterns. The weakness of Apache Camel is that it has a learning curve related to its routing engine and the huge variety of components, and debugging hard routes sometimes may be difficult.
Apache Camel is used when consolidating several heterogeneous systems with different protocols and formats of data. Apache Camel is not used for stand-alone applications that do not demand extensive integration with other systems.
4. JavaServer Faces (JSF)
JavaServer Faces (JSF) is a Java specification used for developing component-based user interfaces for web applications.
JSF’s unique features are component-based architecture, which allows developers to develop UIs through composing reusable UI components. The Web Technology Survey states that 11,336 websites are using JSF.
The primary use of JSF is developing server-side rendered web application UIs with a component-based methodology. The secondary use of JSF includes creating reusable UI component libraries.
The benefits of JSF include simplified UI construction, tight integration with the Java EE platform, and a good set of standard UI components. The disadvantages of JSF are a higher learning curve and a difficult request-response lifecycle.
JSF is used for enterprise Java web applications where a component-based, server-side rendering strategy is desired and close integration with Jakarta EE is advantageous. JSF is not used for single-page applications (SPAs) or when client-side rendering and greater control over the front end are needed.
5. Quarkus Framework
Quarkus is a Kubernetes-native Java framework for cloud-native and serverless application development. It seeks to have rapid startup times, low memory use, and developer happiness.
The most important features of Quarkus are its supersonic subatomic developer experience, rapid startup times, and low memory use, which make it extremely container environment-optimized. Quarkus’s popularity is increasing rapidly because it supports microservices and serverless architectures.
The primary uses of Quarkus include developing microservices, serverless functions, containerized applications, and cloud-native Java applications. The secondary uses of Quarkus include creating command-line interface (CLI) applications and other performance-critical applications.
The advantages of Quarkus are fast startup times, minimal memory footprint, great developer experience with live coding and hot reloading, and first-class support for Kubernetes and serverless platforms. The disadvantages of Quarkus include not being a mature framework, such as Spring, and not being mature in all domains.
The Quarkus framework is used for new microservices, serverless deployments, and cloud-native applications where resource efficiency and quick startup are paramount. The Quarkus framework is not used for legacy applications with intricate dependencies that may not readily accommodate Quarkus’s architecture.
6. Hibernate ORM
Hibernate ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) is a robust and popular Java framework that maps Java objects to relational database tables.
The unique features of Hibernate ORM include automatic table generation, several mapping strategies, caching facilities, and a robust query language (HQL). According to the Java Developer Productivity Report, 51% of developers use Java persistence technologies like Hibernate. Its popularity arises from its ability to hide the complexities of JDBC and database-specific SQL.
Simplifying data interactions with a database in Java applications, supporting CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations, and data persistence management are primary uses of Hibernate ORM. Support for complex relationships between data and using caching for performance improvement are secondary uses of Hibernate ORM.
The benefits of Hibernate ORM are that it abstracts the database details, makes data access code easier, supports multiple databases, and provides features for caching and performance improvement. The disadvantages of Hibernate ORM include imposed performance overhead, complicated mappings, and inefficient SQL generated.
The Hibernate ORM is used in most Java applications that must access relational databases, particularly those with sophisticated object models. The Hibernate ORM is not used in extremely simple applications with little database access or where control of SQL on a fine-grained level is critical.
7. Play Framework
Play Framework is a high-productivity Java web application framework that adheres to the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern and focuses on convention over configuration.
Play’s most important features are hot code reloading, integrated asynchronous I/O, a stateless architecture, and a developer-centric workflow. According to Software Mill, Play Framework was considered the most popular project on GitHub in 2013, and it is still an active project with a new version released every few months.
The primary uses of the Play framework include developing contemporary, scalable web applications and RESTful APIs with emphasis on developer productivity. The secondary uses include building real-time web applications with WebSockets.
Play’s advantages are high developer productivity, hot reloading, intrinsic support for asynchronous operations, RESTful by design, and a lean API. The disadvantages of the Play framework include a smaller community in contrast to Spring and complicating debugging.
Play framework is used for quick web application and API development, where developer productivity is a concern. Play is not used for extremely big, complicated enterprise applications where the vast Spring ecosystem could be more valuable.
8. Apache CXF
Apache CXF is an extensible services framework with open-source capabilities that assists developers in creating and consuming services using multiple transport protocols and message formats such as SOAP and REST.
The strength of CXF is its capability to manage the differing service communication requirements, supporting a range of standards and being extremely configurable. Enlyft reports that 3502 companies use Apache CXF, a widely used tool for developing interoperable services within enterprise environments.
The primary use of CXF includes building and consuming web services (SOAP and RESTful), service-oriented architectures (SOA) implementation, and integration of heterogeneous applications using services. The secondary uses of CXF are message-oriented middleware (MOM) patterns, including implementation and support for different security standards for services.
The benefits of CXF include extensive support, heavy extensibility and configurability, and good support for both SOAP and REST. The disadvantages of CXF include a higher learning curve because of its complexity and the number of options, and configuration can be wordy at times.
CXF is used when developing or consuming services that must conform to certain industry standards or handle multiple communication protocols. CXF is not used for extremely straightforward API development, where a lighter framework may be adequate.
9. Google Web Toolkit (GWT)
Google Web Toolkit (GWT) is an open-source Java framework for developing software used to write web applications on the client side using Java and then compiling them to optimized JavaScript.
The most striking feature of GWT is the front-end code written in Java, which gets compiled into effective JavaScript. According to 6Sense, GWT has a market share of 0.72% in the website optimization market. Its popularity has fallen a bit with the emergence of native JavaScript frameworks, but it still applies to teams heavily committed to Java.
The primary uses of the GWT Framework include creating complex, client-side web applications with a major focus on maintainability and writing in the Java language. The secondary use of the GWT Framework is developing reusable UI components in Java to be utilized in web applications.
The benefits of GWT are enabling front-end development with Java, type safety, organization of code, and a wide range of UI widgets. The disadvantages of GWT include slow compilation to JavaScript, the generated JavaScript may not always be as optimized as hand-coded JavaScript, and a small developer community.
GWT is used for teams with a strong Java background who want to code front-end in Java for complex applications. GWT is not used when looking for optimal performance and fine-grained control of the front end using new JavaScript frameworks.
10. Vaadin Framework
Vaadin is a Java web application framework that emphasizes developer productivity. Vaadin enables developers to create rich, interactive web UIs using Java without the need to directly write HTML or JavaScript.
Vaadin’s unique feature is its server-driven architecture, where UI logic is in Java, and the framework takes care of rendering in the browser. According to 6Sense, Vaadin has a market share of 2.67% in the front-end framework market and is widely used by Java developers who prefer to develop modern web applications rapidly using a familiar language.
The primary uses of the Vaadin Framework are developing business applications and enterprise web UIs with intricate data handling and user interactions. The secondary uses of the Vaadin Framework are building internal tools and dashboards.
The advantages of Vaadin are high productivity for developers, tight Java integration, a comprehensive set of UI components, and server-side handling of client-server communication. Vaadin’s disadvantages are that the server-driven approach may at times cause increased server load and higher latency than client-side rendering for some kinds of applications.
Vaadin is used for Java developers to quickly build interactive web applications without extensive front-end knowledge. Vaadin is not used for extremely dynamic, client-side intensive applications or where very low-level control of front-end rendering is needed.
11. Micronaut Framework
Micronaut is a small, fast, JVM-based framework for creating modular, unit-test-friendly microservices and serverless applications designed to emphasize quick startup times and minimal memory usage.
The unique features of Micronaut are its ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation, dependency injection, and reactive programming support. 6Sense reports that Micronaut has a market share of 0.55% in the other-dev-tools market, as it is ideal for cloud-native environments and has a focus on performance.
The primary uses of Micronaut are microservices development, serverless functions, and other JVM-based resource-constrained applications. Micronaut’s secondary uses include command-line application development and other high-performance backend systems.
Micronaut’s advantages include extremely quick startup times, a small memory footprint, great microservices patterns, and an active community. The disadvantages of Micronaut are more recent than some mature frameworks, so the ecosystem may still be maturing in some areas.
Micronaut is used for new microservices and cloud-native apps where performance and resource utilization are paramount. Micronaut is not used for legacy applications with intricate dependencies that are hard to port.
12. Grails Framework
Grails is a dynamic web application framework that is constructed on top of the JVM with the Groovy programming language that supports convention over configuration and quick development.
The unique features of Grails are its dynamic nature because of Groovy, its use of convention-over-configuration, and its command-line interface (CLI) for scaffolding. According to the 6Sense report, Grails has a market share of 0.38% in the web-framework market, as its popularity lies in its capacity to accelerate web development.
Creating web apps quickly with Groovy, particularly prototypes and apps where time to market is of high value, is the primary use of Grails. The secondary uses of Grails include creating RESTful APIs and backend infrastructures.
Grails’ advantages include fast development thanks to Groovy and conventions, a strong CLI, and a relatively straightforward learning curve for developers who have experience with dynamic languages. Grails’ disadvantages include that it affects libraries and community availability.
Grails is used for projects where quick development and a dynamic language are essential. Grails is not used for large enterprise applications where Java-based framework maturity and a large ecosystem are more of a priority.
13. Blade Framework
Blade is a lightweight, high-performance Java web framework based on the MVC pattern and is simple and easy to use.
The main features of Blade are that it is small in size, yet high-performing, and has a simple API. The popularity of Blade is due to its simplicity, with developers finding it less opinionated and therefore more attractive than more complex frameworks.
The primary use of Blade is developing lightweight web applications and RESTful APIs rapidly and efficiently. The secondary uses of the Blade framework include building small- to medium-sized web applications.
The advantages of the Blade Framework are that it is extremely lightweight and performant, easy to learn and use, and has a lean and intuitive API. The drawbacks of Blade include fewer community and ecosystem than more established frameworks, and not including some built-in features of larger frameworks.
The Blade framework is used for small to medium-sized web applications and APIs where speed and simplicity matter. Blade is not used for extremely large or complicated enterprise applications that need a richer set of features and a larger user base.
14. Apache Accumulo
Apache Accumulo is a distributed, highly scalable key-value store offering sorted, indexed storage of very large datasets, which includes cell-level security and adjustable consistency.
Accumulo’s distinctive features are its cell-level security, sorted keys for effective range scans, and massive scalability design. According to Enlyft, 159 companies use Apache Accumulo, as its popularity lies in areas demanding fine-grained access control and dealing with very large datasets.
The primary uses of Apache Accumulo include storing and querying big, structured, and semi-structured data sets with fine-grained security needs. Supporting complex data analytics and aggregation over huge data sets is the secondary use of Apache Accumulo.
Apache Accumulo advantages include extreme scalability, cell-level security, effective range queries, and fault tolerance. The disadvantages of Apache Accumulo are that it is difficult to install and maintain, requires a good knowledge of distributed systems, and its API is unique compared to other databases.
Apache Accumulo is used for applications requiring storing and querying huge volumes of data with strong security needs at the data cell level. Apache Accumulo is not used for applications that have less data or no particular requirement for cell-level security and distributed scalability.
15. Apache Lucene/Apache Solr
Apache Lucene is a high-performance, full-text search engine library. Apache Solr is an enterprise search server based on Lucene, offering an out-of-the-box search platform.
Lucene’s strength is its efficient and powerful indexing and search algorithms. Solr enhances this by incorporating features such as faceting, distributed search, and a RESTful API. Enlist says that the Apache Lucene/Solr project has seen over 2,000 commits from 98 unique contributors and almost 800 pull requests in 2024.
The primary uses of Apache Lucene include creating full-text search capabilities in applications, constructing search engines, and data analysis using search. Developing recommendation engines and conducting text-based data mining are secondary uses of Apache Lucene.
The advantages of Apache Lucene are high-performance search, open indexing, and robust query language, and Solr offers an easy-to-use search server. Apache Lucene’s drawbacks are that it is difficult to set up and optimize for best relevance, and understanding the complexities of search algorithms can be challenging.
Apache Lucene is used in applications with strong and effective full-text search requirements over large amounts of text-based data. Apache Lucene is not used for applications with simple data retrieval needs that don’t involve complex text searching.
What are the uses of Java frameworks?
Listed below are the uses of Java frameworks.
1. Mobile Applications
Java frameworks aid mobile app development process by driving their backend infrastructure, giving them the platform for data storage, business logic, and user authentication. API build-outs that are consumed by mobile clients on iOS and Android. Java was used in native Android application development; modern mobile frontend development is mostly built using platform-specific languages or cross-platform libraries such as React Native and Flutter. Java frameworks like Spring Boot, Jakarta EE, Micronaut, and Quarkus form the basis for developing secure and scalable backend services for facilitating the running of mobile applications in different domains such as e-commerce, social media, banking, and ride-hailing apps while simplifying data exchange and processing in the background.
2. Desktop Applications
Java frameworks are required to develop cross-platform desktop applications. Swing and JavaFX are the main GUI toolkits offering UI components and layout management, and supporting the MVC pattern for better organization. Stable Swing offers reliability, while contemporary JavaFX offers better graphics and media features. NetBeans Platform and Eclipse RCP frameworks allow the development of modular and extensible desktop applications and are applied in numerous applications such as enterprise dashboards, less complicated 2D games, utility tools, business applications, and development environments. Logging frameworks such as Log4j are required for monitoring applications, and the MVC pattern can be supported by using these UI frameworks or some libraries such as Apache Pivot.
3. Web application development
Java frameworks in web application development provide structure, tools, and best practices that accelerate the development of scalable and maintainable solutions. Java frameworks employ the MVC pattern to isolate concerns, handle requests and routing securely, support dynamic content construction, simplify data binding and form handling, and provide security features and data access integration. Popular frameworks for web application development, such as Spring Boot, Jakarta EE, Play, and Vaadin, are extensively used. These frameworks have a tremendous amount of web applications ranging from difficult enterprise dashboards written in Vaadin or JSF to full-fledged e-commerce websites, social networking sites, content management sites, and online banking websites written in Spring Boot or Jakarta EE, which are themselves good platforms for backend coding and utilization of the MVC pattern too.
4. Front-end development
Modern front-end development is relegated to JavaScript. Java frameworks do not disappear from the scene in some scenarios, such as server-side rendering using Spring Boot and templating engines. Java-focused frameworks such as Vaadin allow one to build rich web UIs primarily in Java and are suitable for use with enterprise dashboards and internal business applications, though their application is quite different from the client-side focus of modern JavaScript frameworks.
5. Backend development
Java frameworks form the foundation of backend development, with strong tools and architectures to build scalable, secure, and manageable server-side applications and APIs to drive web and mobile clients. For example, Spring Boot provides rapid development and a wide ecosystem for purposes such as RESTful API building, data processing, and security. Jakarta EE provides a standardized platform for enterprise-level backend systems, and lightweight frameworks such as Micronaut and Quarkus are cloud-native environments. Quarkus and Micronaut are microservices-based and are designed for efficient handling of business logic, data storage, and communication with other services.
6. Games development
Java frameworks are employed for developing games for less complicated 2D games, strategy games, or UI-based games, with Swing and JavaFX offering basic graphics functionality, event processing, and UI widgets. The specialized game development frameworks and game engines, such as LibGDX and jMonkeyEngine, which are Java-based, offer more specialized functionality and performance tuning to meet the special requirements of game development.
7. Logging
Java frameworks are critical to successful program logging, enabling standardized mechanisms for the logging of events, errors, and debugging data. The widely used frameworks, such as Log4j and SLF4j, offer flexible control of log levels, output locations (console, files, databases), and style. These frameworks allow developers to track application usage, debug problems effectively, and audit trails, complementing other Java frameworks used for web, desktop, or backend applications to offer end-to-end application insight.
8. Graphical user interface
Java libraries are critical to building desktop application graphical user interfaces (GUIs). Swing offers an established and platform-independent UI component set, and JavaFX offers a newer and more GUI-oriented set that supports rich media and CSS styling. These libraries allow developers to build interactive desktop applications with windows, buttons, menus, and data presentation, responding to user input and handling data visual presentation. These libraries are used separately or in combination with other Java libraries responsible for executing the application’s backend logic and data.
9. MVC Architecture
Java frameworks are essential for the MVC structure by introducing tools and conventions to keep data management (Model), presentation of UI (View), and user input processing (Controller) separate. Spring MVC, Apache Struts, JSF, and Play Framework introduce powerful mechanisms for developing well-structured and maintainable web applications, such as in the development of interactive enterprise dashboards, where data is controlled, visualized, and managed through these MVC elements.
How do Java frameworks compare to other mobile app frameworks?
No, Java frameworks are different from mobile app frameworks. Some Java frameworks are used for assisting mobile development, as in the backend or for mobile web application creation. Java frameworks are not utilized for native or cross-platform mobile application creation, like frameworks like React Native, Flutter, or the native iOS and Android SDKs. Mobile frameworks are designed exclusively for constructing mobile application development around user interfaces, device capabilities, and platform functionality, based on alternative programming languages and architectures than standard Java backend frameworks that largely deal with server-side logic and enterprise systems.
