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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
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 Apache APISIX is 3.1%, down from 3.2% 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%
Apache APISIX3.1%
Other91.9%
API Management
 

Featured Reviews

AB
Associate Consultant at Ernst & Young
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.
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.

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."
"API Connect is a good product, and everything works fine. All the analytics are good, and it is easy to follow up. I like it in that sense. I'm more focused on following up on analytics by seeing how many API calls we are getting and where we see a lot of problems. I was working on that API level."
"Overall, I rate it nine out of ten."
"API Connect is a very good platform for the development of APIs."
"The support is good and active. I rate the technical support a nine out of ten."
"Scalable and stable API platform for creating and managing APIs."
"It's quite flexible and easy to deploy, especially for beginners. It has almost all the features that an API gateway should have."
"IBM API Connect is a good product, and their technical support is excellent."
"The main benefits of IBM API Connect for our API life cycle management are the core API functionalities, the developer's portal, and robust security capabilities. IBM API Connect's security protocols enhance our data protection strategies by offering end-to-end security, mechanisms to counter common attacks like DDoS, and the ability to define policies for API groups to control traffic and prevent unwanted access to our systems."
 

Cons

"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 user interface is limited and does not support all features of Apache APISIX."
"Improving the documentation would be beneficial as it currently presents navigation challenges. Incorporating a step-by-step guide could facilitate the integration or migration of various systems, including databases. The existing documentation only comprises plain text, hence incorporating more interactive instructions could enhance its usefulness."
"Extracting the data could be improved."
"IBM info-center help documentation also needs improvement. Competitive product like Apigee provide out of the box policies to run Javascript, JAVA and better/flexible logging policies."
"The product's setup phase and its setup for the users in different environments, along with DevOps integration, are areas of concern where there is a need for improvement."
"I have faced latency issues on the server, related to our management."
"The installation was difficult with the IBM toolkit."
"Different versions of the same thing can mean unnecessary duplication."
"The installation process could use improvement. I hope that in the next release, the installation process is easier."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"It should be cheaper. It has a yearly licensing."
"The pricing is significantly high."
"Pricing for IBM API Connect varies, e.g. it could be subscription-based. Deploying it on private cloud also means you have to own most of the software licensing."
"It's an expensive product."
"The pricing is too expensive with IBM. Sometimes, we prefer to go with an open source or something more lightweight."
"It is expensive when compared to other products in this class. There were no extra fees for add-ons or technical support."
"It is an expensive solution. The licensing model is based on a per-subscription and per-subscriber end-user basis, meaning the price is determined by the end-users of the platform."
"It is quite an expensive product."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Insurance Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise61
 

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?
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

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: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.