Apiary vs IBM API Connect comparison

Oracle and IBM are both solutions in the API Management category. Oracle is ranked #37, while IBM is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.3. Oracle holds a 0.4% mindshare in APIM, compared to IBM’s 6.2% 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

417 Views
413 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM API Connect

Read 76 IBM API Connect reviews

7,279 Views
7,061 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: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Apiary vs. IBM API Connect

July 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

37th

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

8th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Apiary is 0.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM API Connect is 6.2%, down from 6.3% 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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Shanmugasundaram Shanmuganathan

Solutions Architect at Synechron

Offers basic API orchestration and provides robust security and governance features

While Azure API Management offers configurable scalability, IBM API Connect relies on Kubernetes clusters. This might seem manual and require defining cluster instances upfront, but it's completely customizable and not on-the-fly scaling. It's completely custom-driven, not on-the-fly scaling, which some may consider cumbersome. Overall, I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten. Almost all applications we've been exposing lately go through this middleware, so it's used extensively. There are around sixty applications directly using it, but six Kubernetes clusters serve those applications. It's heavily used for integration, including system-to-system integration and product integrations. Our usage has been increasing year-on-year based on our needs.

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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."

"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."

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

"Git integration"

"The support is good and active. I rate the technical support a nine out of ten."

"It offers enhanced security features to protect APIs, enforce access control, and secure sensitive data."

"Using API Connect allows us to quickly create proxy APIs and saves time on end-to-end testing, which lets us deliver quickly to clients."

"It is a very scalable solution."

"API Connect is a very good platform for the development of APIs."

"Its speed and performance are valuable."

"This is a very easy to use solution."

"One of the most valuable features is that we can seamlessly and harmoniously expose our capabilities, from a security point of view."

More IBM API Connect pros

Cons

"Swagger (OpenAPI Specification) and Blueprint Support"

"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."

"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 only downside where improvements are needed is probably on the licensing side."

"Documentation for the CLI is not very complete. Also, the support could be improved, and we have had several problems with backing up and restoring the product."

"Support for this platform could still be improved. It also needs to have more levels of versatility. Its compatibility and integration with different platforms also need improvement."

"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."

"It would be helpful to have access monitoring."

"While Azure API Management offers configurable scalability, IBM API Connect relies on Kubernetes clusters. This might seem manual and require defining cluster instances upfront, but it's completely customizable and not on-the-fly scaling. It's completely custom-driven, not on-the-fly scaling, which some may consider cumbersome."

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

More IBM API Connect cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"The price of the solution is very expensive, it can turn many customers away."

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

"API Connect is expensive - I'd rate their pricing five out of ten."

"It's an expensive product."

"This is a licensed product. If your company is looking to obtain a license, you have to work with IBM partners."

"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."

"The price of the solution is expensive. However, there are a lot of customization capabilities."

"It is expensive when compared to other products in this class. There were no extra fees for add-ons or technical support."

More IBM API Connect pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Financial Services Firm

20%

Insurance Company

13%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing 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?

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.

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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...

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Comparisons

Postman Enterprise vs Apiary

Compared 43% of the time

Microsoft Azure API Management vs Apiary

Compared 29% of the time

Apigee vs Apiary

Compared 29% of the time

More Apiary Competitors

IBM DataPower Gateway vs IBM API Connect

Compared 26% of the time

Apigee vs IBM API Connect

Compared 20% of the time

Microsoft Azure API Management vs IBM API Connect

Compared 14% of the time

Amazon API Gateway vs IBM API Connect

Compared 6% of the time

Kong Gateway Enterprise vs IBM API Connect

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM API Connect Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

API Management

July 2025

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Buyer's Guide

IBM API Connect

August 2025

Download IBM API Connect product report

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

July 2025

Free Report: Apiary vs. IBM API Connect

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