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IBM API Connect vs SAP Integration Suite comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

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
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
79
Ranking in other categories
Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (12th)
SAP Integration Suite
Ranking in API Management
13th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the API Management category, the mindshare of IBM API Connect is 5.0%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Integration Suite is 1.3%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM API Connect5.0%
SAP Integration Suite1.3%
Other93.7%
API Management
 

Featured Reviews

SM
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.
AK
Application Development Senior Analyst at Accenture
Integration work has streamlined cross-application automation and supports faster development
Regarding how SAP Integration Suite can be improved, we have something called pre-packaged content, such as standard flows or inbuilt adapters. If we had something called Groovy script for most of the scenarios, it would be very useful. We have some standard scripts for the basic scenarios, such as payload logging, that are frequently usable. For such things, if we had the pre-built scripts, it would be very easy for the developers to reuse them in very common scenarios or requirements and make the work very fast. That would be really helpful for the developers. Regarding additional features for SAP Integration Suite, I think it is good as of now and nothing much needs to be improved because we can see all the expected features. We have the open connectors, cloud connectors, API management, and everything is there. We have the Integration Advisor, and I feel it is good. The only thing I was expecting is pre-built scripts, Groovy scripts, which would be helpful for the developers to speed up the work. Since coding is not manual and we are getting it from ChatGPT and it is all AI, if that is integrated into the tool, it would be very nice and easy for the developers.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Easy to configure security and generate API keys."
"Security is well organized and managed within the solution."
"Overall, I rate it nine out of ten."
"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."
"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 ."
"API Connect is a very good platform for the development of APIs."
"The most valuable features are stability and security."
"The most valuable feature of IBM API Connect is the security of the protocol."
"The most beneficial feature of SAP Integration Suite for our operation is its capability to enable API-based cloud applications to integrate seamlessly with SAP S/4HANA."
"The features in SAP Integration Suite, such as the API management and the feasibility to connect with the on-premise systems using the Cloud Connector configuration in BTP Cockpit, are very flexible to work with."
"SAP Integration Suite's event-driven architecture has helped automate processes by providing better scalability, performance, and organization compared to point-to-point methods."
"The solution is easy to use."
"The SAP Integration Suite can work with different authentication methods. It supports physical authentication, certificate-based integration, and mTLS authentication. This allows customers to choose the best integration approach based on their policies and procedures. Additionally, the suite offers both push and data integration capabilities."
"The technical support services are good."
"The most beneficial feature for our clients is the easy access to their information, achieved effortlessly through integration."
 

Cons

"Debugging could be improved."
"The documentation needs to be a bit better."
"Installation is weak."
"The implementation process could benefit from improvements, as it may take some time to become accustomed to the deployment."
"Support for this platform could still be improved. It also needs to have more levels of versatility. Its compatibility and integration with different platforms also need improvement."
"The integration of an API gateway that implements the sidecar pattern, which can be deployed in cloud applications, and expose the microservices directly in each pod, this can be more decentralized components."
"IBM API Connect could improve the security of the application and the integration."
"Possible improvement is mainly around having more of the cloud oriented architecture bringing stability in adding new capabilities around security."
"I believe there are areas where SAP Integration Suite could be improved, such as enhancing message transformation capabilities and simplifying conditional routing features compared to the on-premise tool SAP PO (Process Orchestration)."
"The product's UI could be faster."
"I have faced a few issues with the CPI Helper, which is an extension I was using to enable the trace and check the step-by-step flow and simulation inputs and outputs."
"They could provide graphical data for over-viewing metrics such as payments, receipts, creditors, and refunds."
"The setup process for the SAP integration Suite is not straightforward. It involves some technical aspects and can be complex."
"The instances are costly."
"In PIPO, there were complex and effective tools to measure performance and how messages were processed, but Integration Suite still does not have solid reports that are useful for evaluating and understanding possible bottlenecks."
 

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."
"The pricing is too expensive with IBM. Sometimes, we prefer to go with an open source or something more lightweight."
"We pay for the IBM API Connect monthly. We only need to pay the standard licensing fee."
"It is an expensive solution. The licensing model is based on a per-subscription and per-subscriber end-user basis, meaning the price is determined by the end-users of the platform."
"Pricing for IBM API Connect varies, e.g. it could be subscription-based. Deploying it on private cloud also means you have to own most of the software licensing."
"The price of the solution is expensive. However, there are a lot of customization capabilities."
"API Connect is quite pricey."
"I rate its pricing a five out of ten."
"It is inexpensive for smaller businesses and expensive for larger businesses."
"I'm not well-versed in the details of pricing and standard licensing for SAP Integration Suite as I primarily focus on technical aspects. As far as I know, clients can choose between different levels of offerings based on their messaging frequency and business requirements, with premium levels offering more features and customization options."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
20%
Insurance Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise61
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Large Enterprise2
 

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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM API Connect?
I do not handle the pricing, setup cost, and licensing details.
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.
What do you like most about SAP Integration Suite?
The SAP Integration Suite can work with different authentication methods. It supports physical authentication, certificate-based integration, and mTLS authentication. This allows customers to choos...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Integration Suite?
I'm not well-versed in the details of pricing and standard licensing for SAP Integration Suite as I primarily focus on technical aspects. As far as I know, clients can choose between different leve...
What needs improvement with SAP Integration Suite?
Areas that could be improved with SAP Integration Suite include tools for monitoring and separated error analysis. Some reports contain everything, leading to difficulty in finding particular messa...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Heineken, Tine, Finologee, Axis Bank
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM API Connect vs. SAP Integration Suite and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.