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Apache APISIX vs IBM DataPower Gateway comparison

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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
21st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM DataPower Gateway
Ranking in API Management
13th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) (6th), Application Infrastructure (13th), SOA Application Gateways (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Apache APISIX is 2.0%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM DataPower Gateway is 4.0%, up from 3.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM DataPower Gateway4.0%
Apache APISIX2.0%
Other94.0%
API Management
 

Featured Reviews

AS
Senior Java Software Developer at VOIS
Integration with backend systems and runtime configuration simplicity enhance operational efficiency
Apache APISIX is easy to configure. It supports coding for filters and can integrate with many languages. Its configuration at runtime is very easy. You can configure your gateway at runtime without needing to restart the gateway to apply configurations. This is a perfect feature. The service discovery feature integrates with backend systems and provides powerful load balancing. Also, its integration with Keycloak and authorization systems is a valuable feature.
AkshaySawant - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager at CSB Bank Ltd
Security features excel but development limitations emerge
We are using the IBM DataPower Gateway for security purposes. As per the development perspective, there are some limitations with IBM DataPower Gateway because it only supports XML and XSLT language, but it does not support the Java language. This is the only limitation of the IBM DataPower Gateway. For the authentication and authorization purpose, we can use the IBM DataPower Gateway. It's a very good product. We are mostly using the IBM DataPower Gateway for security purposes and load balancing purposes. If we are handling the load for a particular server, then we can use the IBM DataPower Gateway. The IBM DataPower Gateway is mostly used for security purposes. If we have some APIs and we are using some security for those APIs, then we can use it. It can also be used as a load balancer. It's also used for certificate management, user management purposes, authentication, and authorization. For routing, the IBM DataPower Gateway has multiple URL-based routing and content-based routing capabilities. If we have multiple URLs, then we can use an XML script. Using the XSLT language, we can configure multiple URLs and implement URL-based routing. Content-based routing means if we have multiple requests, we can route the request to a particular URL. For this, we need to use the XSLT language only. We can't use XML, Java, or other scripting languages. With IBM DataPower Gateway, we are using all the APIs. All APIs have been configured on the gateway. We have configured the particular TLS profile and some TLS client profiles as well. Using that TLS profile, we have configured the APIs and authentication. We have configured some tokens also, including JWT tokens and different types of auth tokens. There is also a rate limiting feature which we use for handling API loads.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"I recommend Apache APISIX to others because of its many useful features."
"It's high-speed and it can be remotely administered via an API."
"I recommend this solution; it is a good security application and it incorporates integrations and the latest security controls that are available in the market."
"IBM DataPower Gateway has positively impacted my organization by allowing me to implement rate limits on the different API usage, which is the benefit."
"It is very easy to set up and configure, even for users with no prior experience."
"The solution is scalable, our customers are mostly South African banks and they handle mostly transactions with this solution."
"You don't have to have a separate DMC proxy because DataPower Gateway is an appliance and will take care of a lot of security features. These include data validations, encryption, as well as XML or any type of scripting or security threats that are present."
"For me, its most valuable features include: the fact that it's high-speed, its ability to be remotely administered via an API, the fact that it can deal with multiple protocols, and it's very quick to make changes to the setup."
"The appliance has great security and reliability."
 

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."
"Traceability could be improved, especially for business operations. The traceability of the transactions could be an improvement point for DataPower to work on. It would be better if they provided JSON support. JSON protocol data has changed format. It started performing internal transformation to JSONx. This might be an additional complexity."
"Small and medium-sized companies might look for cloud-hosted applications due to the cost."
"They should improve the solution's clustering features."
"The user interface or the application development perspective and customization of the tool could be a little better."
"API management launched two years back and we consider it quite unstable because we still face a lot of bugs."
"An area for improvement in IBM DataPower Gateway is its price point because it's a relatively expensive product."
"For the workloads that are not too high, appliance is a little bit expensive, especially in the development test and UAT environment, where we can use the virtual version of the product."
"In terms of OEM support, it is poor. If I raise a CBRT one, as per the SLA, they should respond in one hour, however, sometimes it takes four or five hours to respond."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The solution is expensive in comparison to other products."
"The cost is very high and requires all five components in the API management solution."
"The appliance is a bit on the expensive side for the workloads that are not too high."
"As far as I know, they have a perpetual license for this product. They are paying perpetual fees rather than an annual subscription or annual pricing."
"The licensing cost is very expensive."
"It is an expensive solution."
"IBM DataPower Gateway is quite expensive to get resources to work on this product. If the price could be cheaper, I think that will make it a little bit better and easily accessible to smaller clients. Then it could compete with other solutions that are available in the market. There's a whole lot of other solutions available that work well and are cheaper than IBM's products."
"It's expensive when you compare it with others."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
22%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise18
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM DataPower Gateway?
I don't know if the current licensing cost of IBM DataPower Gateway is high, but I think it's acceptable. I don't have any complaints about it.
What needs improvement with IBM DataPower Gateway?
I noticed that the Gateway Script libraries could be improved, as they are not covering everything I need.
What is your primary use case for IBM DataPower Gateway?
The primary purposes for which IBM DataPower Gateway is used include security purposes, and sometimes you need to put some configurations and mapping into the process.
 

Also Known As

No data available
WebSphere DataPower, IBM DataPower, IBM WebSphere DataPower
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
RBL Bank, Availity
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache APISIX vs. IBM DataPower Gateway and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.