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Apiary 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

Apiary
Ranking in API Management
37th
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
15th
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 October 2026, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Apiary is 0.9%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WSO2 API Manager is 3.0%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
WSO2 API Manager3.0%
Apiary0.9%
Other96.1%
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"
"Quick and easy way to share a new API design with teams."
"In two years, there was one time the service was down for an hour or so."
"I find the generation of mock services very useful, especially when demonstrating for new consumers."
"I do like the overall performance of the solution."
"Vey high - very easy API design with no setup effort"
"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."
"The feature I find most valuable is that it offers authentication and allows us to develop communication points."
"The capability to define processes and seamless integration with APIs enhances our operations."
"The user interface is easy to navigate, and the documentation is extensive. It's open-source, so everything is available, and we can create what we need. That's not necessarily a feature, but it's an advantage."
"The most beneficial feature of WSO2 API Manager is its capability to use Swagger to define and then populate the API."
"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."
"The scalability is fine for our purposes."
"WSO2 API Manager is a low-cost solution; it is one of the most affordable solutions."
"The flexibility is definitely a highlight. We have flexible mapping capabilities, allowing us to provide common mappings or create custom ones as needed."
"WSO2 API Manager is a stable solution."
 

Cons

"Better Swagger support."
"I don't think this solution is very stable so we try to manage stability from our side."
"Swagger (OpenAPI Specification) and Blueprint Support"
"The Oracle release cycle is very bad because the patches only update once a year."
"Validation messages could be a bit clearer."
"I would like an integrated option to download a Swagger version of the definition."
"The product hasn’t been updated for some time."
"In WSO2 API Manager, we had little flexibility and were restricted to a specific software or tool."
"The one complaint I get from our business team is the same: they find it not that user-friendly and this makes it more difficult for them to use."
"I would like it to be a more stable solution. Maybe in the last version that is approved. For me it would be good if they had a community established version."
"I think they could greatly improve the general UX with their solutions."
"From a product perspective, the first thing is that although the documentation provided by WSO2 is good, it could be much better. We're in the middle of a complex migration, moving away from VMs to Kubernetes with the latest version of WSO2 and good documentation is essential to us right now."
"The user interface could be a bit better."
"The solution could be more user friendly for engineers."
 

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."
"I am using the free version."
"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."
"We use the open-source version — the free version."
"WSO2 API Manager is quite an expensive tool. I rate the product's pricing a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one is low and ten is high."
"WSO2 API Manager is an open-source solution."
"I think the other competitors that are providing the same solution are quite expensive. WSO2 API Manager is quite cheap."
"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."
"WSO2 API Manager is a costly solution, and its pricing is not competitive enough compared to other products."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Outsourcing Company
9%
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

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...
 

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: September 2026.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.