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Adoptium Review

Worth it

Should I use Adoptium?

Free, prebuilt OpenJDK binaries (Eclipse Temurin) - adoptium.net

· 2 days ago

Temurin is the de-facto free OpenJDK distribution, backed by Google, Red Hat, and IBM under the Eclipse Foundation. Use it unless you need paid support SLAs or an OpenJ9 runtime; then look at Azul, Corretto, or Semeru.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 40+ public sources (Eclipse Foundation, GitHub, Reddit, G2); formal review coverage is thin.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

Free

Temurin binaries

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes

Best for

  • Java/Kotlin backend teams
  • CI/CD pipelines needing tested binaries
  • Enterprises dodging Oracle license fees
  • Containerized Java deployments

Not for

  • Teams needing vendor SLAs or named support contracts
  • Non-JVM projects — it is only a JDK
  • OpenJ9 users — you need IBM Semeru instead
  • Buyers expecting a helpdesk for $0 — none exists

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

Support is best-effort GitHub help; paid SLAs mean buying from third parties like Azul

medium

Temurin ships HotSpot JVM only; OpenJ9 shops must use IBM Semeru

medium

You own CVE patching; container images periodically receive CVE reports

low

Funded by sustainers; heavy enterprise users should contribute back or risk sustainability

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free OpenJDK LTS binaries for many OS/platform combinations
  • Backed by Eclipse Foundation working group including Google, Red Hat, IBM
  • Strong supply-chain security: reproducible builds and external audit
  • Binaries pass AQAvit certification tests before release
  • Official migration guide eases moving off Oracle JDK

Cons

  • Only free, best-effort community support; no SLA
  • Formal review base is tiny: just 2 G2 reviews
  • CVEs surface in container builds; you track patches yourself
  • No revenue; project relies on sustainers and member companies

Sources & method

- 12 sources - No known breaches; strong supply-chain program (SSDF, reproducible builds, external 2024 audit); upstream CVEs tracked publicly.

official x4review x3security x3news x2
  • CVE-2025-59375 flagged in Temurin 21 JRE container, Reported against the eclipse-temurin:21.0.8_9-jre image on GitHub.
  • CVE-2026-22016, Exposure of sensitive information; tracked in Rapid7's vulnerability database.
  • CVE-2023-45853 fix coordination, Critical vulnerability fix handled through the Adoptium support tracker.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • Free

    Starting price

  • 12

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Production-grade JDK, completely free
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Download and run; JRE/JDK choices confuse newcomers
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Full JDK, AQAvit-tested across platforms
  • Support quality: 2/5. Community best-effort only, no SLA
  • Security posture: 5/5. Reproducible builds, SSDF, external 2024 audit
  • $0 Price Free binaries, no paid tier
  • 2 G2 reviews Thin formal review base
  • 2021 Established Eclipse Adoptium Working Group
  • 3+ majors Backers Google, Red Hat, IBM

Pricing

Temurin binaries

Free

  • JDK and JRE downloads
  • LTS and feature releases
  • Community support via GitHub

Security

No known breaches; strong supply-chain program (SSDF, reproducible builds, external 2024 audit); upstream CVEs tracked publicly.

  • CVE-2025-59375 flagged in Temurin 21 JRE containerReported against the eclipse-temurin:21.0.8_9-jre image on GitHub.⁵
  • CVE-2026-22016Exposure of sensitive information; tracked in Rapid7's vulnerability database.
  • CVE-2023-45853 fix coordinationCritical vulnerability fix handled through the Adoptium support tracker.

What users say

Reddit users broadly treat Temurin as the default free OpenJDK replacement for Oracle, though formal reviews are scarce.

Alternatives

Compare Adoptium with each alternative.

  • Amazon Corretto

    Free OpenJDK with Amazon backing; sensible inside AWS

  • Azul Platform Core

    Commercial OpenJDK with paid support and SLAs

  • IBM Semeru

    OpenJ9-based runtime for lower memory footprints

Companies that use it

Companies that could

  • Amazon Uses Amazon Corretto instead
  • Oracle Uses Oracle JDK instead
Full analysis

Based on 40+ public sources (Eclipse Foundation, GitHub, Reddit, G2); formal review coverage is thin.

Free, security-audited OpenJDK builds. The default Java choice unless you need vendor support SLAs.

Methodology

Based on 40+ public sources (Eclipse Foundation, GitHub, Reddit, G2); formal review coverage is thin.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Adoptium FAQadoptium.net
    official
  2. Download Temurin JDKadoptium.net
    official
  3. External audit of Temurin build and distribution processesadoptium.net
    security
  4. Adoptium Secure Software Development Practicesadoptium.net
    security
  5. CVE-2025-59375 in Temurin containergithub.com
    security
  6. Adoptium Support (GitHub)github.com
    official
  7. Red Hat joins the Eclipse Adoptium Working Groupredhat.com
    news
  8. Google Joins the Eclipse Adoptium Working Groupentwickler.de
    news
  9. ADOPTIUM Products on G2g2.com
    review
  10. OpenJ9 Semeru vs. Eclipse Adoptium (Reddit)reddit.com
    review
  11. Azul Platform Core vs Eclipse Temurintrustradius.com
    review
  12. Become a Sustaineradoptium.net
    official

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