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3scale API Management vs IBM API Connect comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.5
3scale API Management offers quick ROI and cost-effective API access, ideal for SMEs seeking reduced licensing expenses.
Sentiment score
5.9
IBM API Connect saves time and costs, enhances integration, and improves ROI, though microservices' profitability is still unclear.
Reducing development hours from eighty to four for an API was possible due to reusing existing scripts from DataPower.
Software Engineer IV at Royal Cyber Inc.
I have seen a return on investment from using IBM API Connect, as we created multiple plans based on customer usage.
Works at a outsourcing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.4
3scale API Management customer service receives mixed reviews, citing good partnerships but also delayed support and unclear documentation.
Sentiment score
6.2
IBM API Connect's support is responsive and knowledgeable but can be slow, lacking documentation with varied customer service experiences.
Support is excellent when it comes to APIC.
Software Engineer IV at Royal Cyber Inc.
Support is extremely good, especially with Sev 1 issues.
Software Engineer IV at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
3scale API Management offers strong scalability for enterprise applications, with high availability and ease of managing multiple instances.
Sentiment score
7.3
IBM API Connect offers scalable API management, supporting large transactions and customizable deployments, making it ideal for enterprises.
It is distributed among IBM MQ, IBM Ace, IBM DataPower, and IBM API Connect.
Software Engineer IV at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
With container versions, scaling up or down the gateways deployed into pods is a two to three-minute task for the operations team.
Software Engineer IV at Royal Cyber Inc.
IBM API Connect's scalability is good, as you can handle it easily similar to how you manage cloud providers.
Works at a outsourcing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
3scale API Management is highly stable, runs effectively in cloud environments, and users expect improvements despite initial setup issues.
Sentiment score
7.3
IBM API Connect is highly stable and reliable, with minimal issues, especially improved in recent versions, despite initial concerns.
If it is functioning well, you won't have a bad experience and your application becomes more reliable.
Works at a outsourcing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
The runtime engine for the APIC Gateway is still a DataPower component, which has been stable in the industry for about fifteen years.
Software Engineer IV at Royal Cyber Inc.
 

Room For Improvement

3scale API Management needs better CMS, customization, Open API 3 support, and improvements in user experience and integration capabilities.
IBM API Connect requires improvements in integration, usability, scalability, support, monetization, documentation, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness across environments.
Following this approach, you should be able to optimize costs and satisfy customer experience.
Works at a outsourcing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Connectivity to MQ is not available in IBM API Connect.
Software Engineer IV at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Examples include the lack of connectivity to MQ.
Software Engineer IV at Royal Cyber Inc.
 

Setup Cost

3scale API Management is cost-effective, especially with OpenShift, priced around $45,000 annually, seen as affordable by users.
IBM API Connect is pricey, favoring larger enterprises, but negotiating with IBM can reduce costs for smaller businesses.
Pricing depends on how many instances run across environments.
Software Engineer IV at Royal Cyber Inc.
 

Valuable Features

3scale API Management offers easy OpenShift integration, efficient traffic management, API automation, enhanced security, and container deployment capabilities.
IBM API Connect provides secure, efficient API management with advanced analytics, multi-cloud support, and intuitive functionality for enterprises.
It simplifies exposing our APIs externally and inherently adds a layer of security, which I see as a positive impact from the product.
Program Manager at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
It offers significant development efficiency, reducing man-hours from eighty to four when creating APIs.
Software Engineer IV at Royal Cyber Inc.
IBM API Connect has a designer and CLI features which can be used to completely automate the API.
Software Engineer IV at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
It simplifies processes by using AI to help automate tasks and work.
operations Manager at a university with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

3scale API Management
Ranking in API Management
23rd
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM API Connect
Ranking in API Management
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
79
Ranking in other categories
Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the API Management category, the mindshare of 3scale API Management is 2.2%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM API Connect is 5.0%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM API Connect5.0%
3scale API Management2.2%
Other92.8%
API Management
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2747757 - PeerSpot reviewer
Program Manager at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Facilitates API exposure securely and highlights developer portal flexibility needs
Not much stands out for me regarding the advantages of this product. We usually don't tinker with it. Developing developer portals could be more standards-based. I think currently it's Ruby-based. Having more options on designing that would be beneficial. Additional flexibility would have been great; we would have used it more if it aligned with our platform. I don't use the analytics part. We don't use monetization features, which help to create a revenue generation model.
SM
Works at a outsourcing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Have addressed performance challenges while benefiting from flexible subscription models and reliable user access
To improve IBM API Connect, based on customer experience, you could work on latency. You can increase scalability and availability. If you're connecting with any other cloud, it connects to the infrastructure which needs to be managed with the customers and cloud providers, so if you have a setup, we can handle it easily. I have faced latency issues on the server, related to our management. If you need to stabilize your server based on peak traffic, you need to configure the scalability model. You need to know when traffic peaks, so use auto-scaling when traffic comes. If the application is not in use, the value should be zero, and it starts from zero. Based on customer experience, the value will increase, and when there is no customer servicing, the peak would be reduced, making the value remain zero. Following this approach, you should be able to optimize costs and satisfy customer experience.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
20%
Government
13%
Insurance Company
10%
Computer Software Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Insurance Company
12%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise61
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for 3scale API Management?
I rate the product’s pricing as two out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive.
What needs improvement with 3scale API Management?
Not much stands out for me regarding the advantages of this product. We usually don't tinker with it. Developing developer portals could be more standards-based. I think currently it's Ruby-based. ...
What is your primary use case for 3scale API Management?
Our company exposes different APIs, and we use it to monitor traffic, limit traffic, and similar functions. I don't have much involvement with the solution, though I did conduct some research. We s...
What do you like most about IBM API Connect?
Publishers can easily identify, create, and publish APIs on the developer portal, defining plans, packages, and potentially billing rules.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM API Connect?
I do not handle the pricing, setup cost, and licensing details.
What needs improvement with IBM API Connect?
We are relatively new to IBM API Connect, so I do not have significant improvements to suggest at this time.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Victor Ops, Coca Cola, The Telegraph, Skava, Orange, Typeform
Heineken, Tine, Finologee, Axis Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about 3scale API Management vs. IBM API Connect and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,844 professionals have used our research since 2012.