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Apollo GraphOS vs IBM API Connect comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Apollo GraphOS
Ranking in API Management
32nd
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
3.9
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM API Connect
Ranking in API Management
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Apollo GraphOS is 0.2%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM API Connect is 6.4%, up from 6.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management
 

Featured Reviews

Sagor Rana - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficiently filters API data though experiences slower performance with larger projects
I would like to see better performance in larger projects. When dealing with large amounts of data, it can become slow, causing users to potentially abandon the application. Improving performance and ensuring the app runs smoothly would enhance user experience. Stability issues, where it sometimes breaks down, need to be addressed as well.
Shanmugasundaram Shanmuganathan - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features of Apollo GraphOS OS for me are its security and authentication processes."
"The most valuable features of Apollo GraphOS OS for me are its security and authentication processes."
"This is a very easy to use solution."
"It is easy to use and stable."
"IBM API Connect is a reliable and scalable solution."
"The solution provides a common place for all APIs, allowing for easy sharing and exchange of information between internal and external stakeholders."
"In-built policies and security functions."
"It is quite stable. We've not had any problem. It has made for a good buy because we are finding that other companies that have similar set ups go down maybe once a month."
"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."
"It offers enhanced security features to protect APIs, enforce access control, and secure sensitive data."
 

Cons

"Apollo GraphOS OS is using a detailed project, and it can be time-consuming because it has a lot of data to manage. It sometimes takes longer than three seconds, which can affect loading times and lead to user dissatisfaction. I would like to see improved performance."
"Apollo GraphOS OS is using a detailed project, and it can be time-consuming because it has a lot of data to manage."
"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."
"The solution could improve security and performance."
"Business applications could be exposed to users."
"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 only downside where improvements are needed is probably on the licensing side."
"The solution would be better if it had cloud functionalities."
"The automation and the simplicity could be improved."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"It can be quite expensive. It's okay for large-scale usage but quite expensive for smaller-scale implementations."
"We pay for the IBM API Connect monthly. We only need to pay the standard licensing fee."
"I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"It's an expensive product."
"It is quite an expensive product."
"This is a licensed product. If your company is looking to obtain a license, you have to work with IBM partners."
"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."
"The price of the solution is very expensive, it can turn many customers away."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Educational Organization
21%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Insurance Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apollo GraphOS?
I am not sensitive to nor very knowledgeable about the pricing and setup cost.
What needs improvement with Apollo GraphOS?
I would like to see better performance in larger projects. When dealing with large amounts of data, it can become slow, causing users to potentially abandon the application. Improving performance a...
What is your primary use case for Apollo GraphOS?
I primarily use Apollo GraphQL to work with APIs in conjunction with Node.js. When I make API calls, I receive a lot of information, but I only need specific details like names, emails, and photos....
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.
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.
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...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Heineken, Tine, Finologee, Axis Bank
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