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3scale API Management vs IBM API Connect 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.9
3scale API Management delivers quick ROI with cost savings and simplicity, ideal for small to medium-sized enterprises.
Sentiment score
6.5
IBM API Connect enabled rapid microservices development, enhancing governance, security, and integration, yielding significant financial and operational benefits within two years.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.0
3scale API Management's customer support is mixed, with better pre-sales support and technical help but post-purchase challenges.
Sentiment score
6.4
IBM API Connect's support is generally good but varies in speed and effectiveness, depending on location and ticket severity.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
3scale API Management is highly scalable, handling enterprise demands and integrating well into existing technology stacks with high availability.
Sentiment score
7.4
IBM API Connect is praised for its high scalability and reliability, though customization and infrastructure costs may vary.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
3scale API Management is stable and resource-efficient, rated highly for reliability with no major production issues reported.
Sentiment score
7.2
IBM API Connect is generally stable and reliable, particularly in newer versions, with most users rating its stability highly.
 

Room For Improvement

IBM API Connect needs better microservices, documentation, monetization, setup, multi-cloud support, development, debugging, security, automation, hybrid cloud, and performance.
 

Setup Cost

IBM API Connect pricing is high, escalating in cloud deployments, with some users suggesting a 20-30% cost reduction.
 

Valuable Features

IBM API Connect offers a robust interface, enhanced security, seamless integration, and comprehensive management tools for efficient API lifecycle and performance.
 

Categories and Ranking

3scale API Management
Ranking in API Management
17th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM API Connect
Ranking in API Management
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the API Management category, the mindshare of 3scale API Management is 2.2%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM API Connect is 6.3%, up from 6.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management
 

Featured Reviews

KavitaChavan - PeerSpot reviewer
Lightweight solution but less flexible customization features
It lacks some features, and the product is not that flexible for developers. It's less flexible and rigid. It's not easy to make changes or customize it. One disadvantage is that for customization, it uses liquid templates. However, not everyone is familiar with liquid templates, so if you want to do some customized logging or other tasks, you may need to struggle a lot. Other solutions like IBM API Connect or Apigee use JavaScript, which is more developer-friendly. That's what I found.
KavitaChavan - PeerSpot reviewer
Quite flexible and provides excellent performance for API gateway
The only disadvantage I can see is that it requires heavy hardware support, which can be considered quite expensive. In terms of new functionality, I think the analytics can be improved in V10. The analytics feature was better in the older version, 2.18. But in V10, it's not as flexible. When exporting analytics as KSP or JSON, it's not well formatted. They can work on enhancing the analytics part. Additionally, they can focus on reducing the hardware cost.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
22%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Insurance Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for 3scale API Management?
I rate the product’s pricing as two out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive.
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?
Price depends on many factors like size of the deal, competitive factors, timing, customer profile or where the pricing for API Calls is very competitive comparing to any of the leader players.
What needs improvement with IBM API Connect?
The only downside where improvements are needed is probably on the licensing side. Scalability is an issue with IBM API Connect, making it an area where improvements are required.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Victor Ops, Coca Cola, The Telegraph, Skava, Orange, Typeform
Heineken, Tine, Finologee, Axis Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about 3scale API Management vs. IBM API Connect and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,640 professionals have used our research since 2012.