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Apache Web Server vs IBM DataPower Gateway comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 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

Apache Web Server
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM DataPower Gateway
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) (5th), SOA Application Gateways (1st), API Management (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of Apache Web Server is 11.0%, up from 10.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM DataPower Gateway is 3.2%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Apache Web Server11.0%
IBM DataPower Gateway3.2%
Other85.8%
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

Dimitrios Zigkos - PeerSpot reviewer
Enterprise Architect at Smals vzw
Faced limitations with integration and long-term adaptability but benefited from a lightweight architecture for standalone applications
I find valuable and beneficial the independence that comes with Apache Web Server. You can build a small project using a simple application server without bothering too much about how to manage it. The compatibility with multiple operating systems has helped my operations since most of the time we use Linux. Some systems rely on Windows, but they are few; in the past, Windows was the dominant operating system for mainstream PCs and infrastructure, but not for business. All the companies I worked for had 90% Linux and maybe up to 10% Windows. The initial setup of Apache Web Server was straightforward and okay.
AkshaySawant - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most significant advantage is the ability to swiftly enable HTTPS services when my DNS is configured correctly."
"The control panel is very easy to navigate. It's similar to most hosting platforms, so it's user-friendly. Once you get used to it, managing your hosting becomes easy, too."
"Apache Web Server can be used as a proxy server"
"The solution's most valuable feature is reporting."
"It is more secure to use Apache and you will have fewer problems than other web services."
"The product's initial setup phase is straightforward."
"It's reliable, configurable and generally secure."
"The product is very cheap and stable."
"The solution is very easy to work with."
"What I like most is the stability."
"It can look for the various security threats, productions, payload scanning, and perform routing based on the content type."
"The most valuable features for our business include the ability to monitor and log data transactions and handle multiple request at an enterprise level."
"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. Compared to other gateways, I also like that IBM DataPower Gateway is function-rich. For example, for one of the projects, there was a need for specific transformation and security features available in IBM DataPower Gateway out of the box, so my team just needed to configure the appliance. There was no need for separate development, and I found it quite neat. Another valuable feature of IBM DataPower Gateway is that it's easy to integrate with other products."
"It is very easy to set up and configure, even for users with no prior experience."
"The solution is straightforward and for large organizations, it functions well."
"The solution is robust."
 

Cons

"A monitoring interface would be great for this product. The monitoring dashboards for Apache's models are not included in the basic installation. You can install the basic monitoring model, then connect this model to another monitoring system."
"There isn't a dedicated customer support available"
"Adding a reverse proxy to Apache Web Server would be a significant improvement."
"The major issue occurs with ports. So, I would like to see easier port management."
"The product's initial setup process could be easier for users."
"The interface has room for improvement."
"By optimizing the infrastructure to allow the webserver to directly handle queries from memory—particularly by prioritizing the storage of queries in memory and processing them through the web server interface—I could potentially cut down the required instances from five hundred to two hundred."
"For NGINX, I think it has NGINX Management Suite, which is GUI-based and allows you to manage your configuration via the user interface, but Apache fails to offer such capabilities to users."
"In the next release, I would like to see the product price reduced. It should be cheaper."
"Scripting needs improvement. It's hard for our customers."
"Its support services could be better."
"The DCDR process should be less complex."
"The initial setup isn't so easy, you need who has experience working with the solution to help."
"DataPower isn't the most user-friendly tool. It is not an easy tool to use. Some things could use better wizards to guide you through processes."
"We are always looking for more features wherein it could be easily integrated with cloud applications. We are looking for either a cloud solution or a cloud integration option."
"The two biggest issues of this solution are the complexity and the maintenance procedures."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The apache software is free, open-source."
"It is a free-of-cost solution."
"There is no licensing cost for the product."
"It is an open-source solution."
"The tool's initial costing is expensive for small banks and financial institutions."
"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 appliance is a bit on the expensive side for the workloads that are not too high."
"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."
"The product is expensive."
"As far as I know, they have a perpetual license for this product. They are paying perpetual fees rather than an annual subscription or annual pricing."
"The solution has a return on investment but is a little expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
29%
Insurance Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise17
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Apache Web Server?
The product's initial setup phase is straightforward.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Web Server?
There are no fees associated with the usage of Apache Web Server in my projects. If you want to have support, then there is some cost, but today I do not know how many companies pay for that servic...
What needs improvement with Apache Web Server?
I would like to see improvements in the functionality and core of Apache Web Server, focusing on building an infrastructure that can be resilient and robust enough to handle resource shortages, and...
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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM DataPower Gateway?
This product is definitely expensive because if any issue occurs in the live environment or production environment, and our organization faces some issue with the IBM DataPower Gateway, then the IB...
What needs improvement with IBM DataPower Gateway?
The developer portal should be an integrated part of IBM DataPower Gateway to improve it. I think it is fine as is, and maybe no other additional features should be included in the next release. My...
 

Also Known As

Apache HTTP Server
WebSphere DataPower, IBM DataPower, IBM WebSphere DataPower
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cisco, Intuit, General Electric, Adobe, VMware, PayPal, HP, EMC, eBay, Apple, SAP, Qualcomm, SanDisk, Allstate, FedEx
RBL Bank, Availity
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache Web Server vs. IBM DataPower Gateway and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
882,207 professionals have used our research since 2012.