IBM API Connect vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform comparison

IBM and Salesforce are both solutions in the Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) category. IBM is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.0, while Salesforce is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.2. IBM holds a 2.2% mindshare in PaaS, compared to Salesforce’s 7.0% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Salesforce users who would recommend it.

IBM API Connect

Read 79 IBM API Connect reviews

6,218 Views
560 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Read 60 MuleSoft Anypoint Platform reviews

10,232 Views
2,353 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

IBM API Connect

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform and IBM API Connect both compete in the API management and integration market. While MuleSoft is favored for its comprehensive features justifying its pricing, IBM API Connect is often preferred for its stability and security.

Features: MuleSoft Anypoint Platform offers a unified framework for on-premise and cloud deployments, including a range of connectors and support for both visual and coding integration approaches. Its API management capabilities ensure high performance and availability. IBM API Connect integrates seamlessly with other IBM products, provides a comprehensive API lifecycle with robust governance, and features an extensive marketplace for integration platforms.

Room for Improvement: MuleSoft Anypoint Platform needs enhancements in technical support responsiveness, release cycles, and scalability, with a demand for a more flexible licensing model. IBM API Connect could improve in stability and administration simplicity, and its documentation should be more comprehensive to ease setup and maintenance.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: MuleSoft Anypoint Platform supports cloud, hybrid, and on-premise deployments, though customer service feedback varies, with some users citing room for improvement. IBM API Connect supports similar deployment models but is sometimes critiqued for setup complexity and stability; its customer service is detailed but sometimes perceived as formal and process-driven.

Pricing and ROI: Both MuleSoft Anypoint Platform and IBM API Connect are costly solutions. MuleSoft presents a complex pricing model but delivers significant ROI when implemented correctly by reducing technical debt and enabling innovation. IBM API Connect’s high expense is offset by its feature set and integration strength, ensuring substantial ROI through enhanced efficiency and streamlined API management processes.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM API Connect vs. MuleSoft Anypoint Platform Report (Updated: November 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM API Connect vs. MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

November 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:

ROI

Sentiment score

5.9

IBM API Connect saves time and costs, enhances integration, and improves ROI, though microservices' profitability is still unclear.

Sentiment score

5.5

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform provides ROI through cost efficiency, reduced maintenance expenses, and enabling reuse in enterprises and smaller businesses.

Reducing development hours from eighty to four for an API was possible due to reusing existing scripts from DataPower.

KANCHAN CHALASANI

Software Engineer IV at Royal Cyber Inc.

I have seen a return on investment from using IBM API Connect, as we created multiple plans based on customer usage.

Sairathish Murugesan

Works at a outsourcing company with 5,001-10,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM API Connect report

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the MuleSoft Anypoint Platform report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.2

IBM API Connect's support is responsive and knowledgeable but can be slow, lacking documentation with varied customer service experiences.

Sentiment score

6.7

MuleSoft Anypoint has highly-rated support with fast response times, though documentation and response times need improvement.

Support is excellent when it comes to APIC.

KANCHAN CHALASANI

Software Engineer IV at Royal Cyber Inc.

Support is extremely good, especially with Sev 1 issues.

KANCHANCHALASANI

Software Engineer IV at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM API Connect report

I would probably rate the support for MuleSoft Anypoint Platform a nine on a scale from one to ten.

Greg O

Senior Validation Engineer at Weir Group PLC

The Salesforce team offers different levels of support.

Satish Vardhani

Senior Consultant at Radiotechnologies

The support team is responsive and helpful.

PietroDell'Erba

Solutions Architect at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the MuleSoft Anypoint Platform report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.3

IBM API Connect offers scalable API management, supporting large transactions and customizable deployments, making it ideal for enterprises.

Sentiment score

7.3

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform offers scalable, flexible solutions for enterprises, though automated scalability and data demands can be limiting.

With container versions, scaling up or down the gateways deployed into pods is a two to three-minute task for the operations team.

KANCHAN CHALASANI

Software Engineer IV at Royal Cyber Inc.

It is distributed among IBM MQ, IBM Ace, IBM DataPower, and IBM API Connect.

KANCHANCHALASANI

Software Engineer IV at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

IBM API Connect's scalability is good, as you can handle it easily similar to how you manage cloud providers.

Sairathish Murugesan

Works at a outsourcing company with 5,001-10,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM API Connect report

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform is quite scalable, and it meets our use cases with no issues preventing implementation.

PietroDell'Erba

Solutions Architect at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

MuleSoft provides the ability to scale, yet it is costly to do so.

reviewer2591856

Integration Lead at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the MuleSoft Anypoint Platform report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.3

IBM API Connect is highly stable and reliable, with minimal issues, especially improved in recent versions, despite initial concerns.

Sentiment score

7.7

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform is stable, though users report occasional connector issues and variability in scalability and performance.

The runtime engine for the APIC Gateway is still a DataPower component, which has been stable in the industry for about fifteen years.

KANCHAN CHALASANI

Software Engineer IV at Royal Cyber Inc.

If it is functioning well, you won't have a bad experience and your application becomes more reliable.

Sairathish Murugesan

Works at a outsourcing company with 5,001-10,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM API Connect report

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the MuleSoft Anypoint Platform report

Room For Improvement

IBM API Connect requires improvements in integration, usability, scalability, support, monetization, documentation, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness across environments.

MuleSoft users seek faster updates, improved support, better pricing, enhanced UI, and expanded Anypoint MQ and integration capabilities.

Examples include the lack of connectivity to MQ.

KANCHAN CHALASANI

Software Engineer IV at Royal Cyber Inc.

You need to know when traffic peaks, so use auto-scaling when traffic comes.

Sairathish Murugesan

Works at a outsourcing company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Connectivity to MQ is not available in IBM API Connect.

KANCHANCHALASANI

Software Engineer IV at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM API Connect report

MuleSoft is considered expensive, so pricing is a major concern.

reviewer2591856

Integration Lead at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

When dealing with multiple transactions or trading, the system can lose control, and tracking becomes hectic.

Satish Vardhani

Senior Consultant at Radiotechnologies

Currently, it uses other standards, but adopting OpenAPI, the standard in the market, would be beneficial.

PietroDell'Erba

Solutions Architect at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the MuleSoft Anypoint Platform report

Setup Cost

IBM API Connect is pricey, favoring larger enterprises, but negotiating with IBM can reduce costs for smaller businesses.

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform is costly, best for larger organizations, offering workload reduction but requires careful cost planning.

Pricing depends on how many instances run across environments.

KANCHAN CHALASANI

Software Engineer IV at Royal Cyber Inc.

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM API Connect report

MuleSoft is considered one of the more expensive products in the market.

reviewer2591856

Integration Lead at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

I do not know the specific costs, but given that it is part of MuleSoft, I suspect it is not cheap.

PietroDell'Erba

Solutions Architect at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

The platform reduces manual workload in maintaining infrastructure, but it does come with some cost considerations.

Satish Vardhani

Senior Consultant at Radiotechnologies

For more quotes and insights, download the MuleSoft Anypoint Platform report

Valuable Features

IBM API Connect provides secure, efficient API management with advanced analytics, multi-cloud support, and intuitive functionality for enterprises.

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform excels in API management, seamless integration, user-friendly design, scalability, and connectivity for hybrid environments.

It offers significant development efficiency, reducing man-hours from eighty to four when creating APIs.

KANCHAN CHALASANI

Software Engineer IV at Royal Cyber Inc.

We can add some policies to provide extra security, protect your backend, validate the consumers, and analyze based on the traffic limit to throw things out.

Sairathish Murugesan

Works at a outsourcing company with 5,001-10,000 employees

IBM API Connect has a designer and CLI features which can be used to completely automate the API.

KANCHANCHALASANI

Software Engineer IV at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the IBM API Connect report

The most valuable feature is the full lifecycle management, including Anypoint Designer and Exchange, as well as Discofolio API.

reviewer2591856

Integration Lead at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

The platform is integrated with Salesforce, making it preferable when using Salesforce products.

Satish Vardhani

Senior Consultant at Radiotechnologies

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform helps to standardize data integration approaches, making it easier to implement integration projects.

PietroDell'Erba

Solutions Architect at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the MuleSoft Anypoint Platform report

Categories and Ranking

IBM API Connect

Ranking in Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)

12th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

API Management (9th)

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Ranking in Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)

2nd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Message Queue (MQ) Software (4th), Business-to-Business Middleware (1st), Workload Automation (4th), Cloud Data Integration (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) category, the mindshare of IBM API Connect is 2.2%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MuleSoft Anypoint Platform is 7.0%, down from 11.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
MuleSoft Anypoint Platform	7.0%
IBM API Connect	2.2%
Other	90.8%

Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)

Featured Reviews

Sairathish Murugesan

Works at a outsourcing company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Have addressed performance challenges while benefiting from flexible subscription models and reliable user access

To improve IBM API Connect, based on customer experience, you could work on latency. You can increase scalability and availability. If you're connecting with any other cloud, it connects to the infrastructure which needs to be managed with the customers and cloud providers, so if you have a setup, we can handle it easily. I have faced latency issues on the server, related to our management. If you need to stabilize your server based on peak traffic, you need to configure the scalability model. You need to know when traffic peaks, so use auto-scaling when traffic comes. If the application is not in use, the value should be zero, and it starts from zero. Based on customer experience, the value will increase, and when there is no customer servicing, the peak would be reduced, making the value remain zero. Following this approach, you should be able to optimize costs and satisfy customer experience.

Read full review

Greg O

Senior Validation Engineer at Weir Group PLC

Integration workflows have become transparent and secure while error tracking is streamlined

The best features in MuleSoft Anypoint Platform for me are transparency between logging in or deploying and using different environments. Managing different environments for the transparency of error logins or how to trace traceability is very important. It's very easy to use and sort, so you can see where everything has gone right and everything has gone wrong. I'm aware of the drag-and-drop interface in MuleSoft Anypoint Platform, and it's very, very quick. It's very time-saving and very efficient. The security features on MuleSoft Anypoint Platform help maintain data integrity in my organization; I would say it's second to none. It's one of the best out there that I have worked with because of the encryption and decryption, and there are a lot of security aspects. I would assess the platform's data mapping and transformation capabilities as amazing. Automation has been straightforward; the transformation and mapping have been easy to use, easy to source, and from the source to the target. I would say it has been very good.

Read full review

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Insurance Company

12%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	61

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	22
Midsize Enterprise	12
Large Enterprise	30

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?

I do not handle the pricing, setup cost, and licensing details.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM API Connect?

We are relatively new to IBM API Connect, so I do not have significant improvements to suggest at this time.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Mule Anypoint Platform?

I architected solutions using Oracle SOA/OSB, Spring Boot, MuleSoft Anypoint Platform on cloud / on-premises and hybrid modes; What I see is though if you are an enterprise and have enough money th...

See all answers

How does TIBCO BusinessWorks compare with Mule Anypoint Platform?

Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether TIBCO BusinessWorks or Mule Anypoint platform integration and connectivity software was the better fit for us. We decided to go with Mule...

See all answers

What can Mule Anypoint Platform be used for and what do you use it for most often?

This is a very flexible solution that comes with multiple uses. My organization mostly uses Mule Anypoint Platform for API management, as it lets us build new APIs easily and design new interfaces...

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Comparisons

IBM DataPower Gateway vs IBM API Connect

Compared 30% of the time

Apigee vs IBM API Connect

Compared 18% of the time

Microsoft Azure API Management vs IBM API Connect

Compared 12% of the time

Amazon API Gateway vs IBM API Connect

Compared 5% of the time

Axway AMPLIFY API Management vs IBM API Connect

Compared 2% of the time

More IBM API Connect Competitors

Redwood RunMyJobs vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Compared 16% of the time

Tidal by Redwood vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Compared 7% of the time

Boomi iPaaS vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Compared 3% of the time

IBM MQ vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Compared 3% of the time

Palantir Foundry vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Compared 3% of the time

More MuleSoft Anypoint Platform Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM API Connect

January 2026

Download IBM API Connect product report

Buyer's Guide

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

December 2025

Download MuleSoft Anypoint Platform product report

Also Known As

No data available

Data Integrator, Anypoint MQ

Overview

IBM API Connect is an API management tool providing robust security, seamless REST and SOAP conversion, and flexible deployment options for diverse cloud environments. It aids organizations in securing and monetizing their APIs while streamlining the development process.

IBM API Connect offers features like a security gateway, API lifecycle management, and integration with DataPower. Its intuitive interface enhances ease of use, supporting extensive analytics and traffic management. However, there are areas for improvement in automation, system integration, and user configuration. Organizations can deploy API Connect on-premises or in the cloud, delivering secure access control and analytics for banking, financial services, and government sectors. Compliance with standards like PSD2 ensures secure external API exposure and integration with multiple systems.

What are the most important features of IBM API Connect?

Security Gateway: Provides robust protection and data security for APIs.
Seamless Conversion: Facilitates easy conversion between REST and SOAP protocols.
API Management: Supports full API lifecycle management for efficient development.
DataPower Integration: Integrates seamlessly with DataPower for enhanced functionality.
Developer Portal: Offers a user-friendly interface for managing APIs and developers.
Analytics: Delivers powerful insights through comprehensive API analytics.
Flexible Deployment: Supports deployment on different cloud platforms for versatility.

What benefits and ROI can users expect from IBM API Connect?

Traffic Management: Efficiently manages high volumes of API traffic without compromising performance.
Data Protection: Ensures data is protected during API communication.
API Monetization: Facilitates API monetization strategies to drive revenue.
Scalability: Provides scalable solutions to handle growing demands seamlessly.

In specific industries like banking, financial services, and government sectors, IBM API Connect plays a crucial role in API management, orchestration, and regulation tasks. It provides secure access, control, and compliance with industry standards, serving as an essential gateway for data exchange and integration across multiple systems.

IBM

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform provides API management and integration capabilities with scalability, ensuring seamless connectivity across systems.

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform offers API management and integration capabilities within a user-friendly interface. With a range of connectors and the ability to handle integration patterns, it enables data integration across environments with support for API-led connectivity. High scalability, observability, batch processing, and tooling are key features, enhancing performance while simplifying deployment.

What are the standout features of MuleSoft Anypoint Platform?

API Management: Comprehensive tools for managing APIs effectively.
Integration Capabilities: Facilitates diverse integration patterns.
Connectors: Extensive library for connecting various systems.
Observability: Enhances monitoring and performance tracking.
Batch Processing: Manages large volumes of data efficiently.

What benefits and ROI should users expect?

Scalability: Adaptable to growing data demands across platforms.
Performance: Simplifies complex deployments and improves processing.
Flexibility: Supports multiple environments, from cloud to on-premises.
User-Friendly: Streamlines integration processes with robust tools.

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform is employed by organizations for API management and seamless integration across systems in industries like retail and e-commerce. It connects enterprise applications in environments such as SAP and Salesforce. Users leverage it for data transformation and synchronization, achieving efficient real-time processing and a middleware layer across systems.

Salesforce

Sample Customers

Heineken, Tine, Finologee, Axis Bank

VMware, Gucci, MasterCard, Target, Time Inc, Hershey's, Tesla, Spotify, Office Depot, Intuit, CBS, Amtrak, Salesforce, Gap, Ralph Lauren

Buyer's Guide

IBM API Connect vs. MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

November 2025

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