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IBM API Connect vs Kong Gateway Enterprise comparison

IBM and Kong are both solutions in the API Management category. IBM is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.1, while Kong is ranked #6 with an average rating of 7.6. IBM holds a 6.5% mindshare in APIM, compared to Kong’s 6.0% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Kong users who would recommend it.
IBM API Connect
Read 75 IBM API Connect reviews
  • 10,271 Views
  • 7,795 Comparison Views
90% willing to recommend
Kong Gateway Enterprise
Read 24 Kong Gateway Enterprise reviews
  • 10,260 Views
  • 7,941 Comparison Views
92% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

IBM API Connect and Kong Gateway Enterprise are key players in the API management market. While IBM API Connect is notable for its robust security integration and advanced features, Kong Gateway Enterprise is valued for its plugin architecture and excellent performance.

Features: IBM API Connect offers robust security features, integration with IBM DataPower, and advanced analytics capabilities. It provides comprehensive environments for API development and a customizable developer portal. Kong Gateway Enterprise includes a plugin-based architecture, excellent plugin support, and strong integration abilities with various tools. It also features role-based access control and effective rate limiting.

Room for Improvement: IBM API Connect needs better integration with other platforms, improved stability, and enhanced support documentation. Users desire more customization options and streamlined administrative processes. Kong Gateway Enterprise could improve its pricing structure, developer portals, customer support, and scaling processes, alongside enhanced traffic analysis features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM API Connect supports varied deployment options, including on-premises, private and public clouds, and hybrid environments. While it offers comprehensive support, users report occasional delays and document deficiencies. Kong Gateway Enterprise offers flexible deployment across multiple environments, with generally positive support experiences although response times and costs are noted concerns.

Pricing and ROI: IBM API Connect is often viewed as costly, particularly for smaller implementations, yet it offers substantial ROI due to its extensive features. It provides on-premises and cloud-based pricing models, typically on a subscription basis. Kong Gateway Enterprise presents competitive pricing through its open-source version, but the enterprise edition has high costs that may not favor startups, although its functionality justifies its value for larger deployments.

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Buyer's Guide
IBM API Connect vs. Kong Gateway Enterprise
December 2024
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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:
 

ROI

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.
Sentiment score
7.6
Kong Gateway Enterprise is scalable and cost-effective, offering robust features for rapid API deployment and revenue enhancement.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
IBM API Connect's support is generally good but varies in speed and effectiveness, depending on location and ticket severity.
No sentiment score available
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
IBM API Connect is praised for its high scalability and reliability, though customization and infrastructure costs may vary.
No sentiment score available
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
IBM API Connect is generally stable and reliable, particularly in newer versions, with most users rating its stability highly.
Sentiment score
7.9
Kong Gateway Enterprise is stable, highly rated for performance, with challenges in migration resolved by improved documentation and configuration.
 

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

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) (8th)
Kong Gateway Enterprise
Ranking in API Management
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the API Management category, the mindshare of IBM API Connect is 6.5%, up from 6.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Kong Gateway Enterprise is 6.0%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management
 

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.
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AmitKanodia - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides role-based access control and can be easily customized with Lua script
Kong is meant for north-south communications, so it will be interesting to see what solutions they can come up with in the realms of east-west communications, service-to-service communications, and Zero Trust architecture. I believe that if they can provide for these areas, then they will be able to solve the overall integration and security concerns for microservices architecture in general.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
21%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Insurance Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM API Connect?
It is a pretty expensive tool. The tool is expensive if I consider how products like WSO2 are available in the market. You have pretty much many options in the open-source community, considering ho...
See all answers
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.
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How does Kong Enterprise compare with Mulesoft Anypoint API Manager?
The Mulesoft Anypoint API Manager was designed with its users in mind. Though it is a reasonably complex piece of software, it is easy to install and upgrade. While there are different things that ...
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What do you like most about Kong Enterprise?
The tool's feature that I find most beneficial is rate limiting. In our usage, especially in the financial sector, we prioritize limiting API usage. This is crucial because we provide APIs to other...
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What needs improvement with Kong Enterprise?
The open-source version of Kong does not support a dashboard, which would be very helpful. We use an open-source tool called Konga for basic dashboard needs, but it lacks support. It would be bette...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

IBM DataPower Gateway vs IBM API Connect Logo
IBM DataPower Gateway vs IBM API Connect
Compared 24% of the time
Apigee vs IBM API Connect Logo
Apigee vs IBM API Connect
Compared 23% of the time
Microsoft Azure API Management vs IBM API Connect Logo
Microsoft Azure API Management vs IBM API Connect
Compared 16% of the time
MuleSoft API Manager vs IBM API Connect Logo
MuleSoft API Manager vs IBM API Connect
Compared 6% of the time
Amazon API Gateway vs IBM API Connect Logo
Amazon API Gateway vs IBM API Connect
Compared 6% of the time
More IBM API Connect Competitors
Microsoft Azure API Management vs Kong Gateway Enterprise Logo
Microsoft Azure API Management vs Kong Gateway Enterprise
Compared 15% of the time
WSO2 API Manager vs Kong Gateway Enterprise Logo
WSO2 API Manager vs Kong Gateway Enterprise
Compared 11% of the time
Apigee vs Kong Gateway Enterprise Logo
Apigee vs Kong Gateway Enterprise
Compared 10% of the time
Layer7 API Management vs Kong Gateway Enterprise Logo
Layer7 API Management vs Kong Gateway Enterprise
Compared 8% of the time
Apache APISIX vs Kong Gateway Enterprise Logo
Apache APISIX vs Kong Gateway Enterprise
Compared 6% of the time
More Kong Gateway Enterprise Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
IBM API Connect
December 2024
IBM API Connect reportDownload IBM API Connect product report
Buyer's Guide
Kong Gateway Enterprise
December 2024
Kong Gateway Enterprise reportDownload Kong Gateway Enterprise product report
 

Learn More

IBM
Kong
 

Overview

IBM API Connect facilitates API management and integration in the financial sector. Companies use it to expose, secure, and manage APIs for banking, insurance, and fintech, deploying it on-premises, in the cloud, or as a hybrid solution.

IBM API Connect focuses on creating and monetizing APIs while enabling seamless transactions and integration with third-party services. It is vital for compliance with regulations and enhances external communication among institutions. With deployment options suitable for different environments, it supports centralized gateway management, robust security features, and comprehensive API lifecycle management. Users benefit from powerful analytics, user-friendly interfaces, and high performance with capabilities in message transformation and efficient monitoring.

What are the most important features?
  • Centralized Gateway: Manages all APIs through a single entry point.
  • Robust Security: Ensures API protection with advanced security measures.
  • Comprehensive API Lifecycle Management: Covers creation, deployment, and retirement of APIs.
  • User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies API creation and management tasks.
  • Powerful Analytics: Provides insights into API usage and performance.
  • Seamless Integration: Connects easily with third-party services and internal systems.
  • Flexible Deployment Options: Supports on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.
  • High Performance: Optimizes API performance and reduces latency.
  • Message Transformation: Manipulates and formats messages between different systems.
  • Visualization Tools: Enables clear and detailed views of API usage statistics.
What benefits or ROI should users look for?
  • API Monetization: Generates additional revenue streams from APIs.
  • Enhanced Compliance: Ensures adherence to industry regulations and standards.
  • Improved External Communication: Facilitates integration and communication among financial institutions.
  • Technical Support: Benefit from reliable customer support and easy configuration.
  • Deployment Flexibility: Choose from on-premises, cloud, or hybrid options.

IBM API Connect is extensively implemented in the financial sector, enabling banking, insurance, and fintech services to manage APIs efficiently. Companies use it to ensure secure transactions, integration with third-party services, and compliance with regulatory standards. Its deployment flexibility accommodates different infrastructure needs, making it suitable for a wide range of financial applications.

Kong delivers a next generation API platform built for modern architectures. With a lightnight-fast, lightweight, and flexible core, Kong delivers sub-millisecond latency across all your services. Kong's is deployment-, vendor-, and pattern-agnostic, allowing you to run your services how you want, where you want, and with who you want - from baremetal to cloud, monolith to microservices, service mesh, and beyond.

 

Sample Customers

Heineken, Tine, Finologee, Axis Bank
Cargill, Zillow, Ferrari, WeWork, Healthcare.gov, Yahoo! Japan, Giphy, SkyScanner
Buyer's Guide
IBM API Connect vs. Kong Gateway Enterprise
December 2024
Free Report: IBM API Connect vs. Kong Gateway Enterprise
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