IBM DataPower Gateway vs Layer7 API Management comparison

IBM and Broadcom are both solutions in the API Management category. IBM is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.5, while Broadcom is ranked #10 with an average rating of 7.6. IBM holds a 3.7% mindshare in APIM, compared to Broadcom’s 2.7% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

IBM DataPower Gateway

Read 30 IBM DataPower Gateway reviews

5,657 Views
4,243 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Layer7 API Management

Read 112 Layer7 API Management reviews

3,748 Views
3,748 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

IBM DataPower Gateway

Layer7 API Management

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

IBM DataPower Gateway and Layer7 API Management are competitors in the API management space. Layer7 API Management appears to have the upper hand due to its versatile feature set and ease of use.

Features: IBM DataPower Gateway offers extensive encryption and threat protection features, scalability for large IT infrastructures, and seamless integrations. Layer7 API Management provides API customization flexibility, strong analytics tools for better decision-making, and adaptability to enterprise needs.

Room for Improvement: IBM DataPower Gateway could improve in terms of ease of deployment and reducing complexity in integration. Enhanced user interface and simplified configuration options would also be beneficial. Layer7 API Management may benefit from enhanced monitoring capabilities, a more robust management interface, and faster release of new features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM DataPower Gateway's advanced security measures make its deployment more complex, but it offers dedicated customer support. Layer7 API Management allows for quicker setup and integration, offering strong support that caters to agile business operations.

Pricing and ROI: IBM DataPower Gateway has a higher initial setup cost justified by its security and scalability features. Layer7 API Management offers better long-term ROI due to lower initial investment and a comprehensive feature set, providing significant value over time.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM DataPower Gateway vs. Layer7 API Management Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM DataPower Gateway vs. Layer7 API Management

September 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 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)

Layer7 API Management

Ranking in API Management

10th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

112

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the API Management category, the mindshare of IBM DataPower Gateway is 3.7%, up from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Layer7 API Management is 2.7%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

API Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Layer7 API Management	2.7%
IBM DataPower Gateway	3.7%
Other	93.6%

API Management

Featured Reviews

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.

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NikhilChaudhari

Senior Associate Software at Intelliswift Software

Valued for its drag-and-drop functionalities, the available policy options, and the excellent security features

I work as a PG developer, primarily dealing with Layer7 API Management and MuleSoft API management. My focus is mainly on VM management platforms such as Layer7 and Apigee Layer7 API Management is most valued for its drag-and-drop functionalities, the available policy options, and the excellent…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like the API Gateway feature."

"Since it is a gateway, it provides a lot of security features."

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

"I like the API Gateway feature."

"The scalability of the solution is good."

"The solution is robust."

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

"I like that it is very stable, and we never experience any downtime."

More IBM DataPower Gateway pros

"Technical support is excellent, and I would rate them as ten."

"Security is the most important parameter of the solution, for me, because whenever you are exposing your APIs to third-parties, it is critical that the data remains anonymous and that data is retained within the system, that it is not leaked. CA API Management provides good security features."

"We can get more visibility into our data."

"Easy to use, nice UI, and good search functionality."

"We can create multiple orgs and set up policies and management. We can also integrate with an APM solution"

"Almost all security features are available out-of-the-box and can be deployed rapidly."

"When I have used technical support they helped me a lot. Sometimes they took a long time to respond because we had very complex issues that we asked them for help with, but I think it is a very good service."

"The benefits are rapid development and deployment of APIs, which means that your information, your ability to handle information, to receive it and to send it, to visualize it, to report on it, to get intelligence out of it, happens fast and happens with accuracy."

More Layer7 API Management pros

Cons

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

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

"In the next release, I would like to see the product price reduced. It should be cheaper."

"An area for improvement in IBM DataPower Gateway is its price point because it's a relatively expensive product. Sometimes, when the customer use case is just a very small subset of what's being offered in IBM DataPower Gateway, then the product can be expensive, making my company lose some of the opportunities because of the expensive pricing. A lower price point for IBM DataPower Gateway, even if that results in a less feature-rich version, would be appreciated. In terms of additional features that I'd like to see in the next release of IBM DataPower Gateway, nothing specific comes to mind because IBM constantly improves its standards and provides quarterly updates to the product, so it's quite fine."

"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."

"The product's cost for data appliances or hardware is quite high. It needs improvement."

"It is a costly product."

"The solution requires a lot of training manuals in order to get to know it better and to be able to use it effectively."

More IBM DataPower Gateway cons

"It is not possible for clients to migrate to a newer version."

"As well as the SOA Gateway - that is, the API Gateway; we call it the SOA Gateway - we also are now deploying the developer portal component of the SOA Gateway. That has limitations."

"There is still room for improvement for the CA API Developer Portal. It is still not on par with what the competencies are."

"The overall cost of Layer7 API Management is high, they can improve it by making it less expensive."

"I understand that clients are often concerned about costs. They might be exploring other options due to the high cost associated with our current package."

"We have experienced technical difficulties with the product in the past."

"The cloud-native architecture of the product needs improvement."

"The Policy Manager tool that is used to manage the solution is very heavy to use because it is based in Java. Sometimes it takes a long time to load. There could be some improvements to it. If they could make Policy Manager on a web page that would be a good alternative."

More Layer7 API Management cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

"It is an expensive solution."

"The product is expensive."

"The solution has a return on investment but is a little expensive."

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

"The cost of this product varies from customer to customer and the relationship with IBM, including how many offerings from IBM are already being used."

"The appliance is a bit on the expensive side for the workloads that are not too high."

"The licensing cost is very expensive."

More IBM DataPower Gateway pricing and cost advice

"The price of Layer7 API Management is too high and should be reduced. However, it is a good solution in the market."

"Our customers found the product’s cost a little higher. They are looking for open-source solutions."

"At the time we bought the product it was a perpetual users license and there has been no need for additional licensing fees."

"Licenses are required to operate the product, but I don't know much about the validity periods attached to it."

"This solution is a bit more expensive than competitors."

"It's my manager who takes care of the pricing. But I keep on hearing that it's a little pricey, it's on the higher side. That is what he says."

"If you do a TCO of more than five years, then you will see a big jump in costs for some vendors."

"APIs can be developed to provide security. We can show them in one single pane of glass, such as the CA API Management API Developer Portal. It is there that we can provide the monetization for their APIs and what is happening on third-party applications, like Paytm or BookMyShow."

More Layer7 API Management pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

29%

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

18%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	23
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	84

Questions from the Community

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

What do you like most about Layer7 API Management?

The solution's technical support is good.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Layer7 API Management?

Pricing is more than average. While I am used to Layer7 API Management ( /products/layer7-api-management-reviews ), seeing other products makes the tool's pricing seem high.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Layer7 API Management?

Broadcom's push for upgrades from version nine to ten, ten to 10.3, and onwards to twelve needs improvement in migration processes, especially with service dependencies. The migration path sometime...

See all answers

Comparisons

IBM API Connect vs IBM DataPower Gateway

Compared 37% of the time

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

More IBM DataPower Gateway Competitors

Apigee vs Layer7 API Management

Compared 26% of the time

MuleSoft API Manager vs Layer7 API Management

Compared 15% of the time

Kong Gateway Enterprise vs Layer7 API Management

Compared 14% of the time

Amazon API Gateway vs Layer7 API Management

Compared 14% of the time

WSO2 API Manager vs Layer7 API Management

Compared 2% of the time

More Layer7 API Management Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM DataPower Gateway

September 2025

Download IBM DataPower Gateway product report

Buyer's Guide

Layer7 API Management

September 2025

Download Layer7 API Management product report

Also Known As

WebSphere DataPower, IBM DataPower, IBM WebSphere DataPower

CA API Management, CA Live API Creator, Espresso Logic, CA API Gateway

Overview

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

Layer7 API Management is a comprehensive solution that enables organizations to securely expose, manage, and monetize their APIs.

It provides features such as API gateway, developer portal, analytics, and security to ensure seamless integration and control over API traffic.

With Layer7 API Management, businesses can streamline their API operations and drive innovation.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

RBL Bank, Availity

1. IBM 2. Microsoft 3. Oracle 4. Salesforce 5. SAP 6. Cisco 7. Dell 8. HP 9. Adobe 10. VMware 11. Accenture 12. Capgemini 13. Deloitte 14. PwC 15. Ernst & Young 16. Infosys 17. TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) 18. Wipro 19. Cognizant 20. HCL Technologies 21. Tech Mahindra 22. Fujitsu 23. Hitachi 24. NEC 25. NTT Data 26. Ericsson 27. Nokia 28. Siemens 29. AT&T 30. Verizon 31. Vodafone 32. Orange

Buyer's Guide

IBM DataPower Gateway vs. Layer7 API Management

September 2025

Free Report: IBM DataPower Gateway vs. Layer7 API Management

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