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IBM API Connect vs Talend Data Integration comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 6, 2025

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 Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
API Management (8th)
Talend Data Integration
Ranking in Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Data Integration (17th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) category, the mindshare of IBM API Connect is 2.9%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Talend Data Integration is 1.6%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
AntonioFonseca - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy-to-use product with the ability to generate code efficiently
Talend's most valuable feature is its ability to generate code and packages efficiently. This feature streamlines the integration process, saving developers time and effort. Additionally, the stability of the generated code is noteworthy, as it ensures reliability over time. Despite not always producing the most aesthetically pleasing code, it eliminates critical errors, reducing the burden on developers. This stability is particularly crucial in complex integration scenarios, where errors can have significant consequences.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution's technical support team is good."
"The statistics component is easy to use."
"The solution provides a common place for all APIs, allowing for easy sharing and exchange of information between internal and external stakeholders."
"One of the most valuable features of this solution is that it protects our backend system. We are exposing services to external parties and using this solution to protect the backend system, and to have a navigation in between."
"DataPower Gateway holds significant value for us as it serves as the cornerstone of our enterprise security controls."
"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."
"WSRR is a powerful component for getting the endpoints."
"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."
"We have multiple use cases for this solution. We integrate with Salesforce, SAP and Oracle databases to build business logic and provide reporting."
"The product's integration with PostgreSQL and Jira has been helpful for us. Its performance is good. However, we do not use it for large data sets."
"I'm very passionate about this solution because if you look at any other tool that costs around $200 - $300,000, like Delphix which costs you a million dollars, Talend is very cheap and is almost is at par with what others can do. There is one thing which Delphix does which Talend cannot do, but overall, I would say apart from that, if you're looking for a solution, you should give it a try."
"Talend Data integration has a wide library of connectors."
"Talend's most valuable feature is its ability to generate code and packages efficiently."
 

Cons

"Installation is weak."
"The solution is overly complex."
"We have encountered challenges with IBM API Connect, particularly during significant upgrades. These upgrades demand substantial labour and financial resources, including consulting services from IBM. I'd like to see increased flexibility, more frequent updates with new features, an efficient upgrade process, and additional AI capabilities for future releases."
"Automation for our Domino applications could be improved."
"The installation was difficult with the IBM toolkit."
"Like any typical IBM infrastructure setup, you need to learn to set it up yourself. It's not one of those simple zip files or an archive unzip and you're up and running in some few minutes. Knowledge to set it up is key."
"There are issues with upgrading in the cloud version. The cloud version is extremely buggy. We prefer to use the on-premise version."
"They seem to have left out a feature for microservices and also a certification module for OIDC."
"The tool's technical support needs to be better. It doesn't have a local data center but pushes everything to the cloud. They need to check in with customers to see if they're happy and how well the solutions work. They need to assign a customer success manager for the accounts they sell."
"Sometimes there are bugs which are unidentified and we have to follow-up with the Talend team to resolve them. In a critical situation, it takes time for them to update patches."
"There are no concurrent licenses, they only have seat licenses on cloud. That's the whole challenge. For example, if in any project your headcount increases or decreases, you do not have that concurrence and you have a seat license, you run into challenges because you have to procure a few more licenses for getting the job done."
"Due to using the open-source version of Talend Data Integration, which lacks a scheduler, our current approach involves developing jobs in Talend, exporting them as Java packages, and utilizing an external scheduler, such as Windows Scheduler, to manage the scheduling process."
"The product's setup process could be simpler."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is significantly high."
"It is quite an expensive product."
"It can be quite expensive. It's okay for large-scale usage but quite expensive for smaller-scale implementations."
"API Connect's license cost could be a little lower. But, unfortunately, there aren't many open-source API gateways. Ideally, some new developers could come up with a minimum-functionality open-source solution."
"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."
"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."
"It should be cheaper. It has a yearly licensing."
"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."
"I have been using the open-source version."
"The product pricing is considered very good, especially compared to other data integration tools in the market."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
20%
Insurance Company
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Retailer
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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?
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...
What do you like most about Talend Data integration?
The product's integration with PostgreSQL and Jira has been helpful for us. Its performance is good. However, we do not use it for large data sets.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Talend Data integration?
The product pricing is considered very good, especially compared to other data integration tools in the market.
What needs improvement with Talend Data integration?
The product's setup process could be simpler.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Talend Cloud Integration, Talend Integration Cloud, Talend Cloud Remote Engine for AWS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Heineken, Tine, Finologee, Axis Bank
ACCOR, ADR, L'OREAL, AstraZeneca
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM API Connect vs. Talend Data Integration and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.