Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Apache APISIX vs IBM API Connect comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Apache APISIX
Ranking in API Management
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM API Connect
Ranking in API Management
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Apache APISIX is 3.2%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM API Connect is 6.4%, up from 6.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management
 

Featured Reviews

AB
User-friendly platform simplifies traffic management and boosts API management through integrated plugins
The most valuable features of Apache APISIX include routing for upstream and frontend services, masking using proxy rewrite, and the integration of different plugins like Prometheus and Grafana. These plugins are self-integrated, allowing features like JWT authentication, rate limiting, and diverse authentication methods without extra integration. The tool is beneficial for its plugin orchestration which enhances API management with redirection, response rewrite, key authentication, and observability with Grafana and Prometheus.
KavitaChavan - PeerSpot reviewer
Quite flexible and provides excellent performance for API gateway
The only disadvantage I can see is that it requires heavy hardware support, which can be considered quite expensive. In terms of new functionality, I think the analytics can be improved in V10. The analytics feature was better in the older version, 2.18. But in V10, it's not as flexible. When exporting analytics as KSP or JSON, it's not well formatted. They can work on enhancing the analytics part. Additionally, they can focus on reducing the hardware cost.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I recommend Apache APISIX to others because of its many useful features."
"The most valuable features of Apache APISIX include routing for upstream and frontend services, masking using proxy rewrite, and the integration of different plugins like Prometheus and Grafana."
"The solution provides a common place for all APIs, allowing for easy sharing and exchange of information between internal and external stakeholders."
"The functionalities on offer are very good."
"It allows enterprises to expose some of their tech to outside stakeholders."
"The most valuable feature for me is the ability to distribute work among our API developers, so we don't have to do all the work as IBM API Connect administrators and IBM DataPower administrators."
"The statistics component is easy to use."
"Since it runs on top of Datapower, all Datapower based custom policies can be utilized and exported to API connect but its not straightforward/simple process."
"The product gathers data to measure API performance."
"I have found the API Management to be most valuable."
 

Cons

"The user interface is limited and does not support all features of Apache APISIX."
"The routing algorithms in Apache APISIX, such as node-based and round-robin, could be improved. Introducing more plugins and supporting AI features can enhance the solution."
"The integration of an API gateway that implements the sidecar pattern, which can be deployed in cloud applications, and expose the microservices directly in each pod, this can be more decentralized components."
"The only disadvantage I can see is that it requires heavy hardware support."
"Our main pain points are in these two areas: creating a better developer portal and improving stability in terms of synchronization and monetization."
"We've had some issues upgrading to the latest version of the solution."
"The installation process could use improvement. I hope that in the next release, the installation process is easier."
"Business applications could be exposed to users."
"The automation and the simplicity could be improved."
"API Connect's analytics subsystem could be improved to make it easier to render content from the analytics system and offload it to an external database."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"API Connect's license cost could be a little lower. But, unfortunately, there aren't many open-source API gateways. Ideally, some new developers could come up with a minimum-functionality open-source solution."
"It should be cheaper. It has a yearly licensing."
"API Connect was highly expensive for us, but the decision to switch was made before I joined the company. It seems like the company bought it, but they didn't know how to use it. After two years, they decided to reevaluate and conduct some cost estimates."
"I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"IBM API Connect could be cheaper."
"The price of the solution is very expensive, it can turn many customers away."
"I haven't seen anyone go from on-premise to the cloud. In fact, I am seeing people go from the cloud to on-premise because the costs can quickly grow on the cloud."
"API Connect is quite pricey."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which API Management solutions are best for your needs.
853,118 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
23%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Insurance Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Apache APISIX?
The routing algorithms in Apache APISIX, such as node-based and round-robin, could be improved. Introducing more plugins and supporting AI features can enhance the solution.
What is your primary use case for Apache APISIX?
The primary use case for Apache APISIX is to mask the API endpoints for my microservices and use self-given APIs in Apache APISIX and mask those with the actual real ones. This helps to prevent use...
What advice do you have for others considering Apache APISIX?
I rate Apache APISIX an eight out of ten overall. For new users, I advise going through the official documentation deeply to implement the solution efficiently.
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?
Pricing depends on how many instances run across environments. I don't deal with licensing, but compared to other IBM products, the licensing is not significantly higher.
What needs improvement with IBM API Connect?
When comparing API Gateway with DataPower Gateway, several features in DataPower Gateway are absent in the APIC layer. Examples include the lack of connectivity to MQ ( /categories/message-queue-mq...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Heineken, Tine, Finologee, Axis Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache APISIX vs. IBM API Connect and other solutions. Updated: May 2025.
853,118 professionals have used our research since 2012.