IBM API Connect vs IBM DataPower Gateway comparison

IBM API Connect and IBM DataPower Gateway are both solutions in the API Management category. IBM API Connect is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.3, while IBM DataPower Gateway is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.5. IBM API Connect holds a 6.1% mindshare in APIM, compared to IBM DataPower Gateway’s 3.7% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of IBM API Connect users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of IBM DataPower Gateway users who would recommend it.

IBM API Connect

Read 76 IBM API Connect reviews

6,992 Views
6,782 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

IBM DataPower Gateway

Read 30 IBM DataPower Gateway reviews

5,657 Views
4,243 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

IBM API Connect

IBM DataPower Gateway

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

IBM DataPower Gateway and IBM API Connect compete in enhancing enterprise capabilities. IBM API Connect holds an advantage with its feature-rich offering, making it worth the investment despite higher costs, while IBM DataPower Gateway is valued for its pricing and support.

Features: IBM DataPower Gateway provides seamless XML processing, robust security, and effective load balancing, particularly valuable in integrating with legacy systems. IBM API Connect excels in comprehensive API lifecycle management, extensive monitoring, and analytics capabilities.

Room for Improvement: IBM DataPower Gateway could enhance its management of API lifecycle features and expand analytics capabilities. Improved documentation and tooling for modern integrations are necessary. IBM API Connect might benefit from simplifying its deployment process, boosting initial platform support, and reducing complexity in configuration.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM DataPower Gateway is known for its straightforward deployment, intuitive configuration, and excellent customer support. In contrast, IBM API Connect, while powerful, requires a more complex setup and extensive initial support, though it offers robust documentation and community resources.

Pricing and ROI: IBM DataPower Gateway offers lower setup costs and quick ROI with competitive pricing and efficient performance. IBM API Connect entails higher initial costs but is often seen as worth the investment due to its comprehensive features that drive long-term value.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM API Connect vs. IBM DataPower Gateway Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM API Connect vs. IBM DataPower Gateway

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

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)

IBM DataPower Gateway

Ranking in API Management

12th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) (6th), Application Infrastructure (12th), SOA Application Gateways (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the API Management category, the mindshare of IBM API Connect is 6.1%, down from 6.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM DataPower Gateway is 3.7%, up from 3.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

API Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IBM API Connect	6.1%
IBM DataPower Gateway	3.7%
Other	90.2%

API Management

Featured Reviews

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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AkshaySawant

Manager at CSB Bank Ltd

Security features excel but development limitations emerge

We are using the IBM DataPower Gateway for security purposes. As per the development perspective, there are some limitations with IBM DataPower Gateway because it only supports XML and XSLT language, but it does not support the Java language. This is the only limitation of the IBM DataPower Gateway. For the authentication and authorization purpose, we can use the IBM DataPower Gateway. It's a very good product. We are mostly using the IBM DataPower Gateway for security purposes and load balancing purposes. If we are handling the load for a particular server, then we can use the IBM DataPower Gateway. The IBM DataPower Gateway is mostly used for security purposes. If we have some APIs and we are using some security for those APIs, then we can use it. It can also be used as a load balancer. It's also used for certificate management, user management purposes, authentication, and authorization. For routing, the IBM DataPower Gateway has multiple URL-based routing and content-based routing capabilities. If we have multiple URLs, then we can use an XML script. Using the XSLT language, we can configure multiple URLs and implement URL-based routing. Content-based routing means if we have multiple requests, we can route the request to a particular URL. For this, we need to use the XSLT language only. We can't use XML, Java, or other scripting languages. With IBM DataPower Gateway, we are using all the APIs. All APIs have been configured on the gateway. We have configured the particular TLS profile and some TLS client profiles as well. Using that TLS profile, we have configured the APIs and authentication. We have configured some tokens also, including JWT tokens and different types of auth tokens. There is also a rate limiting feature which we use for handling API loads.

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

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

"What's best about IBM API Connect is the excellent administration. The development tool that builds the API is also very simple, and user-friendly, and it doesn't consume too much time. Another valuable feature in IBM API Connect is its good reporting feature, particularly for operations, but the most valuable feature of the solution for the customer is security. IBM API Connect provides a DMZ and a security gateway between the external and internal environment, so you can publish your API safely. IBM API Connect can also integrate with any tool or middleware that works on open standards without the need for development or coding, so integration with the solution is easier."

"DataPower Gateway holds significant value for us as it serves as the cornerstone of our enterprise security controls."

"This product is well integrated with other products. Its ability to interact with IBM Secure Gateway and other integration products is the core feature. Also, the lead time to put it into production is relatively short ."

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

"WSRR is a powerful component for getting the endpoints."

"The centralized management: this provides a management module that can deploy and apply security policies to all APIs, including all the gateways that are deployed on-premises and on any cloud because the gateway component can run at a VMware or in a Kubernetes cluster."

"The statistics component is easy to use."

More IBM API Connect pros

"The most valuable feature is the security appliance, it's very secure."

"It is very easy to set up and configure, even for users with no prior experience."

"You don't have to have a separate DMC proxy because DataPower Gateway is an appliance and will take care of a lot of security features. These include data validations, encryption, as well as XML or any type of scripting or security threats that are present."

"The solution is very easy to work with."

"The most valuable features for our business include the ability to monitor and log data transactions and handle multiple request at an enterprise level."

"Support for PCA and non-PCA services is valuable."

"The solution is robust."

"The product is stable...The product is scalable."

More IBM DataPower Gateway pros

Cons

"The developmental process is not quite user-friendly."

"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."

"Our main pain points are in these two areas: creating a better developer portal and improving stability in terms of synchronization and monetization."

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

"It is expensive within this class of products."

"Possible improvement is mainly around having more of the cloud oriented architecture bringing stability in adding new capabilities around security."

"The installation process could use improvement. I hope that in the next release, the installation process is easier."

"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."

More IBM API Connect cons

"Additional documentation needs to be provided for complex automations."

"Small and medium-sized companies might look for cloud-hosted applications due to the cost."

"It is a costly product."

"Its support services could be better."

"The programming language is only supported in XSLT and Gateway script."

"The components that they include in the product that are, in fact, a WTX, really need to be removed from the product because they tend to fail."

"I would like the tool to improve its training."

"The DCDR process should be less complex."

More IBM DataPower Gateway cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is significantly high."

"API Connect is quite pricey."

"It's an expensive product."

"The price for IBM API Connect is reasonable. It's $20,000 to $30,000 yearly for a subscription, and the pricing could vary around $40,000 per year, per subscription. Its price is reasonable for customers who have around sixty million API calls yearly for unlimited environments."

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

"It should be cheaper. It has a yearly licensing."

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

"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."

More IBM API Connect pricing and cost advice

"IBM DataPower Gateway is quite expensive to get resources to work on this product. If the price could be cheaper, I think that will make it a little bit better and easily accessible to smaller clients. Then it could compete with other solutions that are available in the market. There's a whole lot of other solutions available that work well and are cheaper than IBM's products."

"The product is expensive."

"The tool's initial costing is expensive for small banks and financial institutions."

"The cost is very high and requires all five components in the API management solution."

"It is an expensive solution."

"This product is a bit expensive as IBM products are costly assets. However, for enterprise customers it is a worthwhile investment."

"It's expensive when you compare it with others."

"The solution is expensive in comparison to other products."

More IBM DataPower Gateway pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Insurance Company

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

29%

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	58

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	16

Questions from the Community

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about IBM DataPower Gateway?

The MPGW (Multi-Protocol Gateway) is great because it allows you to easily expose services using various protocols – web services, REST (JSON), and others. This flexibility simplifies things.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM DataPower Gateway?

I would rate the pricing a two out of ten, with one being high price, and ten being low price. It's high-priced for smaller companies. But it is okay for enterprises. So, the price could be more fl...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM DataPower Gateway?

The DCDR process should be less complex. AI should improve developer efficiency and effort. Whenever I am writing code, it should give recommendations automatically by incorporating AI so I can wri...

See all answers

Comparisons

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

MuleSoft API Manager vs IBM API Connect

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM API Connect Competitors

Apigee vs IBM DataPower Gateway

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Azure API Management vs IBM DataPower Gateway

Compared 7% of the time

Kong Gateway Enterprise vs IBM DataPower Gateway

Compared 6% of the time

Amazon API Gateway vs IBM DataPower Gateway

Compared 6% of the time

Mule ESB vs IBM DataPower Gateway

Compared 4% of the time

More IBM DataPower Gateway Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM API Connect

August 2025

Download IBM API Connect product report

Buyer's Guide

IBM DataPower Gateway

August 2025

Download IBM DataPower Gateway product report

Also Known As

No data available

WebSphere DataPower, IBM DataPower, IBM WebSphere DataPower

Overview

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

IBM DataPower Gateway is a robust, secure next-generation enterprise-grade single multichannel API gateway that supplies dynamic access, integration, control, and outstanding security. The solution is available in a broad range of workload capabilities, including application programming interface (API), service oriented architecture (SOA), B2B, cloud, web, and mobile. These dynamic capabilities ensure users are able to quickly increase the reach of an organization's critical IT resources to new channels, which will provide shareholders, team members, and clients with safe, secure access at all times.

DataPower Gateway is very flexible and is widely available in virtual, cloud, traditional, physical, Docker, and Linux form factors.

IBM DataPower Gateway Features

IBM DataPower Gateway has many value-added features. Some of these features are included below:

Control: The solution provides decision point authorization and authentication for all standards, including Lightweight Direct Access Protocol (LDAP) and Open Authorization (OAuth), which allow for better access control across an organization’s entire network.
DataPower dashboard: The dashboard is specifically designed to enhance performance and determine problematic processes. The solution provides intuitive real-time performance transparency to diagnose operational and performance anomalies and offer repair and restoration recommendations.
Enhanced messaging: Users are able to easily mediate messaging and protocols by incorporating the best of today’s traditional and modern application standards.
Integration: IBM DataPower Gateway offers super fast mainframe connectivity, database connectivity, transport protocol bridging, content-based routing, and any-to-any message transformation, ensuring secure and immediate connect service.

IBM DataPower Gateway Benefits

IBM DataPower Gateway provides many benefits. Some of those benefits include:

Flexibility: The solution is easy to use and configure and provides for a pleasant, intuitive overall user experience. The solution can immediately be used out of the box, which makes overall process management simple.
Protection: The solution provides sturdy continuous service protection and application performance using robust powerful routing and traffic control.
Security: The solution’s enterprise-grade De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) ready gateway enables users to enforce the desired runtime application security across all messaging protocols.
Profitability: The solution’s design ensures significant reduction of development costs in addition to the streamlining of overall operations. Users are able to achieve reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) and experience a near-immediate ROI.

Reviews from Real Users

“My company has a good impression of IBM DataPower Gateway. What I like about it is that because it's an appliance, it's a turnkey solution that's very fast and out of the box. Another valuable feature of IBM DataPower Gateway is that it's easy to integrate with other products.”- Bálint T., Solution Manager at Intalion

“You don't have to have a separate DMC proxy because DataPower Gateway is an appliance and will take care of a lot of security features. These include data validations, encryption, as well as XML or any type of scripting or security threats that are present. From a security point of view, being an appliance in the DMC zone, IBM DataPower Gateway will take care of the entire security angle for the infrastructure.” - Sathyan K., Founder/Director at perfTech Solutions Pvt Ltd

IBM

Sample Customers

Heineken, Tine, Finologee, Axis Bank

RBL Bank, Availity

Buyer's Guide

IBM API Connect vs. IBM DataPower Gateway

July 2025

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