IBM DataPower Gateway vs webMethods.io comparison

IBM DataPower Gateway and webMethods.io are both solutions in the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) category. IBM DataPower Gateway is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.5, while webMethods.io is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.9. IBM DataPower Gateway holds a 6.3% mindshare in E, compared to webMethods.io’s 11.1% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of IBM DataPower Gateway users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of webMethods.io users who would recommend it.

IBM DataPower Gateway

Read 30 IBM DataPower Gateway reviews

5,657 Views
905 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

webMethods.io

Read 93 webMethods.io reviews

9,290 Views
1,672 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

IBM DataPower Gateway

webMethods.io

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

IBM DataPower Gateway and webMethods.io are competing products in the integration and API management tools category. Based on data comparisons, IBM DataPower Gateway may have an edge in pricing and support, while webMethods.io is favored for its comprehensive features, making it a potentially superior choice for those who value functionality over cost.

Features: IBM DataPower Gateway is recognized for its robust security features, high-performance processing, and scalability for API management. It stands out for handling multiple protocols and being easily configurable to ensure security standards. webMethods.io, however, provides seamless cloud integration, intuitive automation capabilities, and extensive connectivity options, making it particularly valuable for businesses that prioritize versatility.

Room for Improvement: IBM DataPower Gateway could improve usability for less technical users and reduce the complexity of its deployment options. Adding more intuitive user interfaces and streamlining integrations could make it more accessible. webMethods.io may enhance its API governance capabilities and expand its performance metrics visibility, while bolstering integration options with legacy systems to better accommodate diverse environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: webMethods.io offers a straightforward cloud-based deployment model with efficient customer service, which facilitates easier integration and minimal operational disruption. In contrast, IBM DataPower Gateway, with its on-premises and hybrid deployment options, requires more complex setups but provides comprehensive support services. webMethods.io positions itself as more user-friendly, especially for companies seeking quick deployment.

Pricing and ROI: IBM DataPower Gateway often involves a higher initial setup cost due to its hardware and infrastructure requirements but offers substantial long-term value through its robust architecture. webMethods.io typically presents a lower upfront investment thanks to its cloud model, providing a favorable ROI by reducing maintenance and operational costs. IBM DataPower Gateway benefits larger enterprises with existing infrastructure, while webMethods.io appeals to those seeking cost-effective integration solutions with flexible pricing strategies.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM DataPower Gateway vs. webMethods.io Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM DataPower Gateway vs. webMethods.io

September 2025

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Helped 867,445 peers since 2012

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 Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)

6th

Ranking in API Management

12th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Infrastructure (12th), SOA Application Gateways (1st)

webMethods.io

Ranking in Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)

3rd

Ranking in API Management

11th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Business-to-Business Middleware (2nd), Managed File Transfer (MFT) (9th), Cloud Data Integration (8th), Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) category, the mindshare of IBM DataPower Gateway is 6.3%, up from 5.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of webMethods.io is 11.1%, up from 10.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
webMethods.io	11.1%
IBM DataPower Gateway	6.3%
Other	82.6%

Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)

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.

Read full review

MohanPrasad

Senior Consultant at Brillio

Smooth integration and enhanced deployment with high licensing cost

webMethods.io was used to integrate APIs through the webMethods.io platform, trigger database events, and connect backend APIs through a Java backend. It was used extensively for integration purposes in my organization Integration became smoother, troubleshooting was easier, and deployment and…

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

"It is a scalable solution."

"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."

"It is easy to use, easy to install, and it's resilient for high availability."

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

"We are mostly using the IBM DataPower Gateway for security purposes and load balancing purposes."

"The solution is scalable, our customers are mostly South African banks and they handle mostly transactions with this solution."

"The solution is very easy to work with."

"Its initial setup was straightforward."

More IBM DataPower Gateway pros

"The synchronous and asynchronous messaging system the solution provides is very good."

"We have a reusable code that we can replicate for any new interfaces."

"It integrates well with various servers."

"We needed a tool that was able to orchestrate and help us configure our APIs so that we could maintain and see the heartbeat, traffic, trends, etc."

"It is a very stable product."

"Currently, we're using this solution for the integration server which helps us to integrate with the mainframe."

"I feel comfortable using this product with its ease of building interfaces for developers. This is a better integration tool for integrating with various applications like Oracle, Salesforce, mainframes, etc. It works fine in the integration of legacy software as well."

"Application integrations are offered out-of-the-box, and that is extremely important to us. This is one of the main use cases that we have for it. It is about 60 to 70 percent of the workload in our application today."

More webMethods.io pros

Cons

"The user interface or the application development perspective and customization of the tool could be a little better."

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

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

"It is a costly product."

"One area that could be improved is the integration with Postgres and SQL databases. Currently, IBM DataPower Gateway only integrates with Oracle databases."

"The IBM community does not have much engagement from the IT community in Saudi Arabia and developers for this solution are difficult to find."

"From the development perspective, it has limitations because it only supports the XSLT language. It does not support multiple languages."

"The initial setup isn't so easy, you need who has experience working with the solution to help."

More IBM DataPower Gateway cons

"This product has too many gaps. You find them after update installations. This should be covered by automatic testing."

"This product is for larger companies. Compared to TIBCO I think webMethods is better in terms of ease of use and support."

"webMethods Integration Server could improve on the version control. I'm not sure if Web Method has some kind of inbuilt integration with Bitbucket or GitHub or some kind of version control system. However, that's one area where they can improve."

"The initial setup of the webMethods Integration Server is not easy but it gets easier once you know it. It is tiresome but not difficult."

"The installation process should be simplified for first time users and be made more user-friendly."

"There should be better logging, or a better dashboard, to allow you to see see the logs of the services."

"The logging capability has room for improvement. That way, we could keep a history of all the transactions. It would be helpful to be able to get to that without having to build a standalone solution to do so."

"Understanding the overall architecture is difficult."

More webMethods.io cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"The product is expensive."

"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 licensing cost is very expensive."

"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."

More IBM DataPower Gateway pricing and cost advice

"Its cost depends on the use cases."

"webMethods Integration Server is expensive, and there's no fixed price on it because it has a point pricing model. You can negotiate, which makes it interesting."

"Currently, the licensing solution for this product is pretty straightforward. The way that Software AG has moved in their licensing agreements is very understandable. It is very easy for you to see where things land. Like most vendors today, they are transaction based. Therefore, just having a good understanding of how many transactions that you are doing a year would be very wise. Luckily, there are opportunities to work with the vendor to get a good understanding of how many transactions you have and what is the right limit for you to fall under."

"Some of the licensing is "component-ized," which is confusing to new users/customers."

"It is an expensive tool. I rate the product price a nine out of ten, where ten means it is very expensive."

"webMethods.io is expensive. We have multiple components, and you need to pay for each of them."

"I signed a three-year deal with them. It is a yearly locked-in price for the next three years."

"The price is high and I give it a five out of ten."

More webMethods.io 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

14%

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Retailer

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	11
Large Enterprise	63

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 Built.io Flow?

The tool helps us to streamline data integration. Its BPM is very strong and powerful. The solution helps us manage digital transformation.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Built.io Flow?

webMethods.io is expensive. We have multiple components, and you need to pay for each of them.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Built.io Flow?

webMethods.io needs to incorporate ChatGPT to enhance user experience. It can offer a customized user experience.

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

NGINX Plus vs IBM DataPower Gateway

Compared 2% of the time

More IBM DataPower Gateway Competitors

IBM App Connect vs webMethods.io

Compared 9% of the time

IBM Integration Bus vs webMethods.io

Compared 7% of the time

IBM Sterling B2B Integration Services vs webMethods.io

Compared 7% of the time

Apigee vs webMethods.io

Compared 7% of the time

WSO2 API Manager vs webMethods.io

Compared 2% of the time

More webMethods.io Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM DataPower Gateway

September 2025

Download IBM DataPower Gateway product report

Buyer's Guide

webMethods.io

August 2025

Download webMethods.io product report

Also Known As

WebSphere DataPower, IBM DataPower, IBM WebSphere DataPower

Built.io Flow, webMethods Integration Server, webMethods Trading Networks, webMethods ActiveTransfer, webMethods.io API

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

webMethods.io Integration is a powerful integration platform as a service (iPaaS) that provides a combination of capabilities offered by ESBs, data integration systems, API management tools, and B2B gateways.

IBM

Sample Customers

RBL Bank, Availity

Cisco, Agralogics, Dreamforce, Cables & Sensors, Sacramento Kings

Buyer's Guide

IBM DataPower Gateway vs. webMethods.io

September 2025

Free Report: IBM DataPower Gateway vs. webMethods.io

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