Apigee vs IBM API Connect vs Tyk comparison

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Apigee

IBM API Connect

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Apigee, IBM API Connect, and Tyk based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google and others in API Management.

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API Management

May 2025

Helped 858,038 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Apigee is 13.4%, down from 15.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM API Connect is 6.4%, up from 6.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tyk is 2.1%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

API Management

Featured Reviews

ShawkyFoda

Senior Consultant at Goverment

Provides high visibility and control with good traffic monitoring

Analytics is one of the areas needing enhancement, specifically more visibility and control over traffic to improve capacity management and high availability. The replication process between Master and Slave for disaster recovery takes too long. Dependencies on analytics impact the performance of the user interface, which should be separate. The complex setup process on-premises, especially with multi-node installations, could also be improved. Additional control in product declarations, based on operations like POST and GET, is needed.

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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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MarkDoherty

Founding Director at Point Group

Fastest to get up and running and fewer idiosyncrasies than competitors

In terms of our usage, the main area of concern is that they tend to build enhancements slightly ahead of the considerations for what those enhancements and extensions are. So it could be slightly better communication with the customer base that would be my main issue with them. But as a product, it's very difficult to find any major faults.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I think the most valuable features are the security features. Of course, the user access control is the same as the security. The other very important issue is the sandboxing capability of Apigee."

"Easy interface to monetize and deliver APIs with very easy integration for third-party development environments/delivery."

"Technical support has been decent."

"The most valuable features are scalability and technical support."

"It is scalable."

"I like implementing different policies, for example, rate-limiting policy."

"It is easy to set up. It is on Google Platform, and there are multiple deployment models they support, which is great."

"Apigee has proven to be one of the best of the breed."

More Apigee pros

"One of the most valuable features is the easy-to-use web interface."

"It is a complete all-in-one solution."

"It acts as a central gateway for both external APIs and underlying systems. It's basically a central middleware for hosting APIs to the internet and consuming APIs from internal systems. It provides central governance for any APIs going outside the network, ensuring security and a common contract for API definitions."

"The gateway is the most valuable aspect of this solution."

"We are able to share those APIs instantly within the organization; even if we want to share it outside publicly, then we can have those capabilities."

"The most valuable feature of IBM API Connect is the security of the protocol."

"It gives a holistic environment for us to set up the APIs and that's the main value that it adds. It gives end to end for us."

"We really like the runtime capabilities of IBM API Connect. The creation of products and the control of the monetization and hit rate are some of the features which we've found very valuable."

More IBM API Connect pros

"The most valuable feature is the load balancing with the circuit-breaker function."

"The scalability is very good. That was a key factor in the selection, like how it could be pushed to high volume and scalability, which seemed to be very good."

"You can set up workflows and write limited pieces of logic."

"The feature I find most valuable is that this solution allows us to manage our security."

"The portal for developers that this solution provides has great functionality."

"It is a good product for API management."

Cons

"When it comes to the rate limit, we don't have a specific category for rate limits for a particular customer."

"The analytical aspect of it could be better. I think it is fair if Apigee lets you configure some of the metrics of the key details you want to monitor in terms of analytics."

"The initial setup for the on-prem solution is a little complex."

"The ability to work across different management solutions in a plug and play fashion would make it easier for faster uptake."

"Since it is based on various open sourced projects, we might have to depend on the fixes provided by those components rather than Apigee directly fixing the issues."

"I have heard there maybe be some security issues that need to be addressed. If this is the situation I would encourage taking a look at the security matters."

"The solution tends to hide the limitations to keep selling the product."

"GCP is improving the regular version control. There have been some challenges when we talk about the hybrid deployment model. For example, some runtime services' data was available only on the cloud, but financial institutions and other customers have requested more on-site data storage. This is especially important in regions where Google data centers are unavailable, such as certain areas in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East."

More Apigee cons

"Extracting the data could be improved."

"In the next version, I don't know if they've already been included it or not, but the designer and all the tools should be on the cloud. I don't want any external installation or local installation."

"The solution would be better if it had cloud functionalities."

"The product's setup phase and its setup for the users in different environments, along with DevOps integration, are areas of concern where there is a need for improvement."

"There are issues with upgrading in the cloud version. The cloud version is extremely buggy. We prefer to use the on-premise version."

"One thing about API Connect that could be improved is the security schemes. There are so many security schemes, and from a product perspective, IBM could improve the user experience of the configuration security scheme."

"Improving the documentation would be beneficial as it currently presents navigation challenges. Incorporating a step-by-step guide could facilitate the integration or migration of various systems, including databases. The existing documentation only comprises plain text, hence incorporating more interactive instructions could enhance its usefulness."

"The monetization of the API could be improved. The pricing for the consumer is also very important to improve this solution."

More IBM API Connect cons

"I would like to see some additional features like having some extensions for .NET core because we use it for our back-end language."

"It is a young product and does not have the kind of brand recognition that would make it a more popular solution with our clients."

"In terms of our usage, the main area of concern is that they tend to build enhancements slightly ahead of the considerations for what those enhancements and extensions are. So it could be slightly better communication with the customer base that would be my main issue with them."

"Sometimes when new features are released, they are not immediately stable."

"We ran it for a while, but then we decided to move away from Tyk, because Tyk's cloud version, the SaaS version, has a significant limitation of limited flexibility, so you can't program very much."

"We would like a better tool for generating documentation for the APIs to be developed."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution."

"Apigee is expensive and not cost-effective. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate it an eight for the high cost. The changes individuals need to make on their side are costly."

"Since it was acquired by Google, we can get a license based on our requirements and the cost level will depend on cloud access and support."

"They need to work on the cost of the solution."

"The solution’s pricing could be more competitive."

"It is a bit on the expensive side. Its licensing cost is a bit high, and that's where we've seen people going back on their decisions."

"Apigee has several different licenses you can obtain depending on your needs."

"The solution is a bit expensive. It's not for organizations in the early stages of their lifecycle but is more suited for mid- to enterprise-level platforms. Pricing varies by deployment model, with SaaS being the cheapest, costing around $100,000 per year for a subscription. For hybrid and on-prem deployments, the price increases. The on-prem model includes a license and additional installation and configuration professional service costs, which can be at least $40,000 to $60,000 for the initial setup. While it's not cheap, it offers long-term value and can be worthwhile."

More Apigee pricing and cost advice

"It's an expensive product."

"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."

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

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

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

"API Connect is quite pricey."

"IBM API Connect could be cheaper."

"We pay for the IBM API Connect monthly. We only need to pay the standard licensing fee."

More IBM API Connect pricing and cost advice

"The cost curve is far smoother, both in terms of volume and the number of calls it's running on, compared to most competitors. So it's a tad more expensive at the very low end, but the curve is nothing like Apigee or some of the others."

"There are different versions and plans available depending on the requirements, so there is flexibility in terms of the pricing."

"The price is low compared to other products of a similar type."

"We are using the open-source version of this product, so there are no licensing costs for its use."

"It had a free version, which suited many of our needs, but not all, but we were happy to go ahead with the licensed version as well, which is the paid version."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

21%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Financial Services Firm

18%

Educational Organization

17%

Insurance Company

11%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

27%

Computer Software Company

14%

Comms Service Provider

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

How does Apigee differ from Azure API Management?

Apigee offers both cloud-based and on-prem options while Microsoft Azure API Management currently only offers a clou...

Which is better - Apigee or Amazon API Gateway?

Amazon API Gateway is a platform that supports the creation and publication of API for web applications. The platform...

What do you like most about Apigee?

We can customize the dashboard.

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 poten...

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...

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...

What do you like most about Tyk?

The scalability is very good. That was a key factor in the selection, like how it could be pushed to high volume and ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Tyk?

The pricing is actually quite competitive. In Azure environments, it gets beaten by Microsoft API Gateway, but on the...

What needs improvement with Tyk?

In terms of our usage, the main area of concern is that they tend to build enhancements slightly ahead of the conside...

Microsoft Azure API Management vs Apigee

Comparisons

Compared 25% of the time

WSO2 API Manager vs Apigee

Compared 8% of the time

MuleSoft API Manager vs Apigee

Compared 7% of the time

Amazon API Gateway vs Apigee

Compared 6% of the time

Layer7 API Management vs Apigee

Compared 6% of the time

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IBM DataPower Gateway vs IBM API Connect

Compared 25% 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

Axway AMPLIFY API Management vs IBM API Connect

Compared 1% of the time

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Traefik Enterprise vs Tyk

Compared 15% of the time

Apache APISIX vs Tyk

Compared 14% of the time

Amazon API Gateway vs Tyk

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Azure API Management vs Tyk

Compared 7% of the time

MuleSoft API Manager vs Tyk

Compared 4% of the time

More Tyk Competitors

Product Reports

Download Apigee product report

Apigee

June 2025

Download IBM API Connect product report

IBM API Connect

June 2025

Download Tyk product report

May 2025

Overview

Apigee is a platform for developing and managing APIs. Apigee offers an interface for your core services by wrapping them with a proxy layer which is then accessed by other developers. With Apigee, you can design and build APIs and then securely share their services and data without exposing any code.

Because app developers make HTTP requests to an API proxy rather than directly to your services, your services are separated from the developers. All the developer needs to know is the URL of the API proxy endpoint, necessary query parameters, authorization credentials (if they exist), and the response data format.

The API proxy isolates the app developer from your backend service. Therefore, you are free to change the service implementation if the public API remains consistent. By maintaining a consistent frontend API, existing client apps will continue to work regardless of changes on the backend.

Key capabilities of the Apigee API management platform include:

Security: Protect APIs, messages, and backends with configurable policies such as OAuth, API key verification, XML/JSON threat protection, and access control.
API gateway: Secure and mediate the traffic between clients and backends, and between a company’s APIs and the developers who use the APIs.
Developer portal: Attract and engage application developers, enabling them to discover, explore, purchase, and test APIs and register to access and use the APIs.
API console: The console helps developers learn and work with APIs.
API lifecycle management: Manage the process of designing, developing, publishing, deploying, and versioning APIs.
Automated documentation: Automate the development of API documentation and software development kits.
Machine learning: Utilize machine learning and analytics to generate actionable insights and reports.

API monitoring: Apigee offers monitoring tools for API troubleshooting, security, and optimization.

Reviews from Real Users:

Apigee stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Several major ones are its rich developer portal, its advanced analytics, and its central monitoring system.

Carlos R., a software architect at Caja Los Andes writes, “The central monitoring feature is the most valuable. It also provides security for the APIs and high availability for our use cases. Apigee is the best product in the industry in comparison to other API management solutions. It helps in fast development, which is a top point. It also supports a lot of industry standards and has excellent documentation.”

An associate vice president at a tech services company notes, “The analytics function and the developer portal are the two valuable features of Apigee. The analytics part is very good, and the developer portal is quite rich in features. The authentication mechanisms are quite easily built into Apigee, which is something that most of the other products have also now started supporting.”

Google

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

Tyk is an open source API Gateway that is fast and scalable, an API management platform featuring an API gateway, analytics, developer portal and dashboard. Available in three flavours to best suit your architecture and governance. We offer full cloud or on-premises options, and the best of both worlds with our unique hybrid model. www.tyk.io