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Apache APISIX vs WSO2 API Manager comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 16, 2025

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
WSO2 API Manager
Ranking in API Management
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Apache APISIX is 2.0%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WSO2 API Manager is 3.0%, down from 4.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
WSO2 API Manager3.0%
Apache APISIX2.0%
Other95.0%
API Management
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmed_Sayed - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Java Software Developer
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.
MM
Manager, Integration Technical Delivery at United Delta
Middleware integration has become smoother and manages API lifecycles and scopes effectively
Regarding WSO2 API Manager, I have no drawbacks or areas for improvement. However, regarding the Micro Integrator, I had some issues while developing complex services because it was mainly designed to be used for simple services, not complex ones. While using complex services, I encountered some issues. I communicated this with WSO2, and they released other products that solved everything related to my concern. These products were released before my concern was raised. When I explored them, they were pretty good, and I did not see the same issues I had experienced. WSO2 is enhancing themselves, and their products are fine. The previous concern was about the previous product, so it is resolved now since there are new products available. I would like WSO2 to improve quality or response time in support, or both.

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."
"We could easily deploy APIs on WSO2 API Manager, and CORS configuration was easy to manage."
"Based on the information I have, the solution's most valuable feature is its capability of implementing custom solutions."
"We use the vanilla version of the WSO2 API Manager and integrate additional features ourselves. The basic features of the API Manager, such as blacklisting and whitelisting, are very helpful. We also created dashboards."
"WSO2 API Manager's most valuable features are the simple interface that is easy to use and the APIs lifecycle."
"The most interesting feature is its Mac-based function."
"One of the great things about WSO2 API Manager is that it is so easy to adopt. And because it's an open source solution, we're able to extend the implementation any time to suit our company needs better."
"We have been extremely happy with WSO2 API Manager as it helped us quickly publish our Microservice APIs with features like security and throttling policies, provides complete access to customize APIs which saves development effort and time, and offers a very stable, scalable, and easy-to-configure platform that is also affordable and simple to use overall."
"The scalability is fine for our purposes."
 

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."
"API Manager is not easy to scale because some of its components lack scalability. It's a difficult point. Especially because companies are so cloud-based these days, microservice scalability is a major thing."
"I can say that user management is not really flexible. So, if I want to create 1,000 store users, I can't do it as a publisher. You have to register as a store user using the store URL."
"Support GPRS protocol."
"The stability is pretty good, but it could be improved."
"The user interface needs to improve, it is a bit outdated."
"From what I have experienced from the versions I have tried, they could improve on the multi-tenant environments to allow some kind of SSO single sign-on between tenant."
"We had some problems with the reverse proxy not being able to invoke fully qualified domain names, so we have to build some custom scripts to solve this issue."
"WSO2 API Manager could improve by adding external API security features, which is one area where there is room for enhancement. Internally, API security is strong, and all other necessary features are already available. It has a solid marketplace, supports both Docker and standalone setups, and offers great enterprise integration. The developer portal has greatly improved the user experience, making it simple and user-friendly wherever we’ve implemented it. Overall, it’s not as complicated as other API gateways."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"WSO2 API Manager is a low-cost solution. It is one of the most affordable solutions."
"There is a subscription-based pricing structure and also the open-sourced version available."
"WSO2 API Manager is a costly solution, and its pricing is not competitive enough compared to other products."
"It is costly, around ten thousand per year, per instance"
"For our projects, we found the pricing to be a little high."
"We have not opted for the paid version of WSO2 but we have implemented the free and open source WSO2 software to a great extent and it is working as per our expectation."
"I am using the free version."
"I think the other competitors that are providing the same solution are quite expensive. WSO2 API Manager is quite cheap."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise21
 

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 needs improvement with WSO2 API Manager?
Regarding WSO2 API Manager, I have no drawbacks or areas for improvement. However, regarding the Micro Integrator, I had some issues while developing complex services because it was mainly designed...
What is your primary use case for WSO2 API Manager?
My major use cases for WSO2 API Manager are mainly for system integration between multiple layers because we are working on the middleware layer between the systems.
What advice do you have for others considering WSO2 API Manager?
The thing that I hoped WSO2 had in their integration products, not WSO2 API Manager, was AI agents, and now they have this. I believe at this stage, they have the things that the market is going th...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
1. eBay 2. StubHub 3. Cisco 4. Verizon 5. T-Mobile 6. Vodafone 7. Orange 8. BT Group 9. Telstra 10. Deutsche Telekom 11. Swisscom 12. AT&T 13. Sprint 14. Telefonica 15. O2 16. British Airways 17. Lufthansa 18. Emirates 19. Qatar Airways 20. Etihad Airways 21. Air France 22. KLM 23. American Express 24. Visa 25. Mastercard 26. PayPal 27. Western Union 28. Citibank 29. HSBC 30. Barclays 31. Santander 32. Goldman Sachs
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache APISIX vs. WSO2 API Manager and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
920,939 professionals have used our research since 2012.