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Apiary vs WSO2 API Manager comparison

 

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

Apiary
Ranking in API Management
36th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
WSO2 API Manager
Ranking in API Management
9th
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 March 2026, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Apiary is 0.7%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WSO2 API Manager is 4.2%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
WSO2 API Manager4.2%
Apiary0.7%
Other95.1%
API Management
 

Featured Reviews

PW
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.
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

"Git integration"
"The feature I find most valuable is that it offers authentication and allows us to develop communication points."
"This solution has allowed us to standardize API definitions and bring consistency into our shared components, reducing the effort and cost of using functionality across domains within the organization, with Apiary being crucial to our good API strategy."
"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."
"Vey high - very easy API design with no setup effort"
"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."
"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."
"WSO2 API Manager is open-source, which offers a range of features not found in other open-source API tools."
"The flexibility is definitely a highlight. We have flexible mapping capabilities, allowing us to provide common mappings or create custom ones as needed."
"API management lifecycle is the most valuable."
"Most of the time, we need to install a plug-in without having any lapse in services or restarting the application, and the WSO2 platform can do all deployments without any downtime."
"WSO2 API Manager has a user-friendly model."
"It is a reliable, stable solution."
"The product is easy to use."
 

Cons

"The Oracle release cycle is very bad because the patches only update once a year."
"Swagger (OpenAPI Specification) and Blueprint Support"
"I don't think this solution is very stable so we try to manage stability from our side."
"Better Swagger support."
"I would like an integrated option to download a Swagger version of the definition."
"Validation messages could be a bit clearer."
"I would like an integrated option to download a Swagger version of the definition."
"I would like it to be a more convenient development platform with the ability to write orchestrations and so on. Our problem with this product is that in my country, we are the only enterprise that has been using this product. We're missing a lot of knowledge from colleagues to consult with, and we also aren't able to recruit people with relevant skills. It is a big problem. The small team that is maintaining this product is the only team that can actually relate to any technical issue. The support that we're getting from the company is not great. There is also a cultural gap there because they're from Sri Lanka, and it is not easy. They're putting in a lot of effort, but they are not meeting our expectations."
"Lacks some new features and updated functionalities."
"I would like to see improvements in the speed of the solution as it can be a bit slow compared to other platforms along with addressing memory issues would be beneficial."
"Improve the possibility to migrate to different versions would be very good."
"Based on our recent large scaling project, the latency needs to be improved."
"WSO2 API Manager can be improved a lot relating to usability. It is a bit heavy, and the workflow is more complicated in terms of API creation and publishing."
"They are developing another platform called Choreo that allows you to create API itself using the WSO2 programming language Ballerina. It would be great if they added a direct connection between Choreo and API Manager, that would be great. I think they are working on that, but I'm not sure."
"API Manager is not easy to scale because some of its components lack scalability."
 

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."
"WSO2 API Manager is a low-cost solution. It is one of the most affordable solutions."
"It's not expensive, but it could be cheaper."
"For our projects, we found the pricing to be a little high."
"The solution costs less than 20,000 euros a year. I'm not sure of the exact number."
"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."
"As far as I'm aware, the costs are not minimal but satisfactory."
"We use the open-source version of WSO2 API Manager, there is no cost."
"The challenge is the increasing pricing, which has led some customers to consider alternatives, like using Spring Boot solutions instead. The rising costs, especially as cores and usage increase, have been a concern, prompting some to migrate to other products."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

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

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft, salesforce.com, Bloomberg, GoodData, Viacom, Akamai Technologies, DigitalGlobe
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 Apiary vs. WSO2 API Manager and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,311 professionals have used our research since 2012.