Apiary vs IBM API Connect comparison

Oracle and IBM are both solutions in the API Management category. Oracle is ranked #36, while IBM is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.2. Oracle holds a 0.3% mindshare in APIM, compared to IBM’s 6.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Oracle users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Apiary

Read 4 Apiary reviews

397 Views
269 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM API Connect

Read 76 IBM API Connect reviews

8,910 Views
6,632 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Apiary

IBM API Connect

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

IBM API Connect and Apiary compete in the API management space. IBM API Connect seems to have the upper hand with its enterprise-grade security and extensive feature set, while Apiary excels in user-friendly design and efficient collaboration tools.

Features: IBM API Connect includes robust security, lifecycle management, and detailed analytics capabilities. Apiary offers a streamlined design with outstanding API documentation, mock server functionalities, and strong team collaboration features. IBM focuses on enterprise-level security and control, whereas Apiary prioritizes user engagement and ease of use.

Room for Improvement: IBM API Connect could enhance user interface simplicity, reduce complexity for smaller projects, and increase integration support with third-party tools. Apiary might improve by enhancing security features, expanding deployment options for larger enterprises, and improving scalability for high-volume traffic.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM API Connect supports hybrid cloud environments with comprehensive technical assistance, making it ideal for large organizations. Apiary’s cloud-based platform offers quick setups and focuses on easy customer engagement. Apiary is known for rapid deployment, while IBM provides extensive configurations and support for complex environments.

Pricing and ROI: IBM API Connect requires a higher initial investment but promises significant ROI with its features for large-scale operations. Apiary attracts startups and small teams with lower setup costs and efficient team collaboration, providing cost-effective ROI. Apiary is budget-friendly for SMEs, while IBM is a long-term investment for established enterprises.

To learn more, read our detailed Apiary vs. IBM API Connect Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Apiary vs. IBM API Connect

April 2025

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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

Apiary

Ranking in API Management

36th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM API Connect

Ranking in API Management

5th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Apiary is 0.3%, up from 0.2% 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

Phil Wilkins

Enterprise Integration Architect at Capgemini

The ability to configure rules to check for consistency has helped

Apiary provides a free tier of the platform which allows a small group of developers to collaborate easily on the design of open source APIs. In addition to this, it provides mock endpoints allowing people to experiment with the API without depending or having to stand up a real backend. With our clients, using Apiary allows us to very quickly pull together an API definition (particularly when using API Blueprint). The whole API design process for the simpler use cases can be done in a relatively short workshop which makes it a lot easier to agree, publish, version-manage an API definition with suitable documentation. This can then be evolved and enhanced (particularly in the documentation aspects). With the ability to support Swagger (Open API v2 and introducing/ed support for v3) and API Blueprint makes it a very versatile tool.

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KavitaChavan

Associate Manager at Baariz

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I do like the overall performance of the solution."

"Git integration"

"In two years, there was one time the service was down for an hour or so."

"Quick and easy way to share a new API design with teams."

"I find the generation of mock services very useful, especially when demonstrating for new consumers."

"The most valuable features are stability and security."

"IBM API Connect is a good product, and their technical support is excellent."

"It's quite flexible and easy to deploy, especially for beginners. It has almost all the features that an API gateway should have."

"The technical support is good. Whenever we need anything, we have our IT team work with IBM to change whatever requirement is needed."

"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."

"Overall, I rate it nine out of ten."

"Easy to configure security and generate API keys."

"Publishers can easily identify, create, and publish APIs on the developer portal, defining plans, packages, and potentially billing rules."

More IBM API Connect pros

Cons

"The Oracle release cycle is very bad because the patches only update once a year."

"I would like an integrated option to download a Swagger version of the definition."

"Swagger (OpenAPI Specification) and Blueprint Support"

"It would be nice to have a SaaS solution that can be deployed into the cloud."

"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."

"It would be helpful to have access monitoring."

"There is room for improvement regarding the connectivity of the DevOps."

"There are some performance issues and issues related to asynchronous APIs."

"IBM API Connect could improve the security of the application and the integration."

"Our main pain points are in these two areas: creating a better developer portal and improving stability in terms of synchronization and monetization."

"I would like to see automation of the installation. If there could be a single-click function where you could automate everything, that would be helpful."

More IBM API Connect cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is easy to get started with personal (free) accounts, but a subscription is required for additional features."

"There is a free subscription option to start and try the service."

"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."

"The price for IBM API Connect is reasonable. It's $20,000 to $30,000 yearly for a subscription, and the pricing could vary around $40,000 per year, per subscription. Its price is reasonable for customers who have around sixty million API calls yearly for unlimited environments."

"It is quite an expensive product."

"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."

"There was a need to purchase an upfront license or a one-time license or upfront license, but I cannot remember the details about it clearly."

"It can be quite expensive. It's okay for large-scale usage but quite expensive for smaller-scale implementations."

"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."

"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."

More IBM API Connect pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Insurance Company

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Media Company

Educational Organization

24%

Financial Services Firm

17%

Insurance Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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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.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM API Connect?

Price depends on many factors like size of the deal, competitive factors, timing, customer profile or where the pricing for API Calls is very competitive comparing to any of the leader players.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM API Connect?

The only downside where improvements are needed is probably on the licensing side. Scalability is an issue with IBM API Connect, making it an area where improvements are required.

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Azure API Management vs Apiary

Compared 37% of the time

Postman vs Apiary

Compared 37% of the time

Oracle API Platform Cloud Service vs Apiary

Compared 26% of the time

More Apiary Competitors

IBM DataPower Gateway vs IBM API Connect

Compared 25% of the time

Apigee vs IBM API Connect

Compared 20% of the time

Microsoft Azure API Management vs IBM API Connect

Compared 15% of the time

Amazon API Gateway vs IBM API Connect

Compared 7% of the time

Kong Gateway Enterprise vs IBM API Connect

Compared 7% of the time

More IBM API Connect Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

API Management

April 2025

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Buyer's Guide

IBM API Connect

April 2025

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Overview

Apiary's pioneering APIFlow solution provides the framework and tools for developing application programming interfaces (APIs) that share enterprise services and data and help create modern, cloud-based applications and experiences. APIFlow spans the API creation lifecycle, including design, governance, testing, and documentation, while supporting API Blueprint and OpenAPI industry standardsץ

Oracle

IBM API Connect facilitates API management and integration in the financial sector. Companies use it to expose, secure, and manage APIs for banking, insurance, and fintech, deploying it on-premises, in the cloud, or as a hybrid solution.

IBM API Connect focuses on creating and monetizing APIs while enabling seamless transactions and integration with third-party services. It is vital for compliance with regulations and enhances external communication among institutions. With deployment options suitable for different environments, it supports centralized gateway management, robust security features, and comprehensive API lifecycle management. Users benefit from powerful analytics, user-friendly interfaces, and high performance with capabilities in message transformation and efficient monitoring.

What are the most important features?

Centralized Gateway: Manages all APIs through a single entry point.
Robust Security: Ensures API protection with advanced security measures.
Comprehensive API Lifecycle Management: Covers creation, deployment, and retirement of APIs.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies API creation and management tasks.
Powerful Analytics: Provides insights into API usage and performance.
Seamless Integration: Connects easily with third-party services and internal systems.
Flexible Deployment Options: Supports on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.
High Performance: Optimizes API performance and reduces latency.
Message Transformation: Manipulates and formats messages between different systems.
Visualization Tools: Enables clear and detailed views of API usage statistics.

What benefits or ROI should users look for?

API Monetization: Generates additional revenue streams from APIs.
Enhanced Compliance: Ensures adherence to industry regulations and standards.
Improved External Communication: Facilitates integration and communication among financial institutions.
Technical Support: Benefit from reliable customer support and easy configuration.
Deployment Flexibility: Choose from on-premises, cloud, or hybrid options.

IBM API Connect is extensively implemented in the financial sector, enabling banking, insurance, and fintech services to manage APIs efficiently. Companies use it to ensure secure transactions, integration with third-party services, and compliance with regulatory standards. Its deployment flexibility accommodates different infrastructure needs, making it suitable for a wide range of financial applications.

IBM

Sample Customers

Microsoft, salesforce.com, Bloomberg, GoodData, Viacom, Akamai Technologies, DigitalGlobe

Heineken, Tine, Finologee, Axis Bank

Buyer's Guide

Apiary vs. IBM API Connect

April 2025

Free Report: Apiary vs. IBM API Connect

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