Microsoft Azure API Management vs WSO2 API Manager comparison

Microsoft and WSO2 are both solutions in the API Management category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 7.9, while WSO2 is ranked #9 with an average rating of 7.7. Microsoft holds a 18.5% mindshare in APIM, compared to WSO2’s 4.8% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of WSO2 users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Azure API Management

Read 81 Microsoft Azure API Management reviews

24,142 Views
20,248 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

WSO2 API Manager

Read 41 WSO2 API Manager reviews

6,382 Views
4,570 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Microsoft Azure API Management

WSO2 API Manager

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Microsoft Azure API Management and WSO2 API Manager are competitive offerings in the API management space. Microsoft Azure API Management holds an advantage within the Azure ecosystem because of its seamless integration with Azure services, while WSO2 API Manager stands out with its open-source flexibility.

Features: Microsoft Azure API Management is valued for its integration with existing Azure services, Azure Active Directory integration, and ease of use for those already within the Microsoft environment. WSO2 API Manager offers open-source customization, comprehensive API lifecycle management, and strong security features, appealing to those needing flexibility across different environments.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Azure API Management could improve by enhancing support for versioning, better scalability, and introducing a more competitive pricing model. WSO2 API Manager would benefit from a more user-friendly interface, better documentation, and improved hybrid cloud integration options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Azure API Management benefits from alignment with Azure cloud infrastructure, making deployment easier for Azure users, although customer service response can be slow. WSO2 API Manager offers broad deployment options including public, private, and on-premises setups, with customer service having room for growth in responsiveness.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Azure API Management is considered expensive but offers performance and feature tiers suitable for enterprises integrated with Azure. WSO2 API Manager's open-source nature provides cost-effectiveness and flexibility, offering a viable alternative to proprietary solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Azure API Management vs. WSO2 API Manager Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure API Management vs. WSO2 API Manager

April 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

Microsoft Azure API Management

Ranking in API Management

1st

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

WSO2 API Manager

Ranking in API Management

9th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure API Management is 18.5%, down from 19.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WSO2 API Manager is 4.8%, up from 4.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

API Management

Featured Reviews

Rajiv Bala Balasubramanian

Specialist PCC at Danfoss

Efficiently manages and monetizes API

It is a scalable solution. You can add more computing power to your APM gateway. It also gives you the ability to have VNet integrations with your on-prem. It is one of the leading products in the API management space. It is not just software for users but software to handle requests. For example, for a B2C e-commerce store, all requests that users make from within the store pass through this API gateway. So it is defined by the number of requests to the API gateway, not by the number of actual users who use it. If you look at the number of requests, it would be a lot from all the different systems we have within Pampers.

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VishalSingh14

IT Engineer at Reliance Industries Ltd

Easy to deploy APIs and easy to manage CORS configuration

I have used WSO2 Store and WSO2 API Manager at the architecture level. I worked on two versions, namely WSO2 API Manager 2.6.0 and 5.7.0. I have also worked with WSO2 Identity Server versions 5.7 and 5.11. There are certain things that Apigee handles better than WSO2 API Manager. The user interface of WSO2 API Manager is much easier than that of Apigee. The scope of flexibility was much greater in Apigee. In WSO2 API Manager, we had little flexibility and were restricted to a specific software or tool. On the other hand, we had the scope of customization in Apigee.

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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

"The package as a whole is useful for our customers."

"I like API Management's ability to do hybrid cloud stuff."

"The UI management is very easy to use."

"The simplicity to learn and apply using API Management is valuable."

"The solution's configuration capabilities are the most effective features for enhancing API security."

"The mediation and translation from SOAP to REST technology makes it possible to open up legacy systems that couldn't be opened before."

"It's easier to use and has more features than Google."

"The most valuable feature is its role as a linchpin in AI Hub architecture, enhancing data handling."

More Microsoft Azure API Management pros

"I think the best part about WSO2 API Manager is that it's highly customizable because it's open-source. The partnership model is quite lucrative for us, it helps us to go and pitch to our customers. You can build a lot of business models yourself that you want to use. You are able to do a lot of the solutions."

"It's very scalable, which is one of the best features."

"The solution is open source and easy to configure."

"WSO2 API Manager is open-source, which offers a range of features not found in other open-source API tools."

"We could easily deploy APIs on WSO2 API Manager, and CORS configuration was easy to manage."

"The product is easy to use."

"WSO2 API Manager has a user-friendly model."

"A complete integration suite and a good platform."

More WSO2 API Manager pros

Cons

"There is room for improvement in the user interface and workflow for hosting APIs, especially third-party APIs."

"The solution's deployment process could be slightly improved in terms of time. Additionally, they should enhance AI capabilities and more advanced integration features with other platforms."

"I would like to see more integration with other platforms, as well as increased security."

"API Management's price could be lower."

"Azure is our most expensive resource; it's costly."

"They need to work on the third party integrations."

"Microsoft Azure API Management could improve by having better integration with third-party solutions."

"The cloud deployment performance could be better."

More Microsoft Azure API Management cons

"I can say that user management is not really flexible. So, if I want to create 1,000 store users, I can't do it as a publisher. You have to register as a store user using the store URL."

"We found WSO2 API Manager to be a bit complex."

"For fresh graduates and engineers, the setup process can be very difficult."

"The pricing models offered by WSO2 API Manager could be more flexible and should offer different options so that more people can access them."

"WSO2 API Manager can be improved a lot relating to usability"

"API Manager is not easy to scale because some of its components lack scalability. It's a difficult point. Especially because companies are so cloud-based these days, microservice scalability is a major thing."

"Integration is an area that needs to be improved."

"The solution’s interface should be more user-friendly."

More WSO2 API Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Azure is an expensive solution not for the large enterprises but for the medium and small."

"I rate the solution's pricing between three and four, as it could be more competitive."

"Azure's pricing is very competitive compared to platforms like Apigee and MuleSoft."

"The solution appears cheaper because it's a cloud SaaS model."

"This is an expensive solution."

"Based on the resources that we are leveraging, the price we are paying to use this solution is slightly higher than other competitors. In a few cases, it has its own advantage in some resources."

"The licensing cost for Microsoft Azure API Management is publicly available and goes from a developer edition that costs $26 to $30 per month. It may have changed, but it's in the neighborhood of $30 per month. I believe there's also the enterprise edition, which is highly capable and costs $2,500 per month."

"The licensing fees are expensive."

More Microsoft Azure API Management pricing and cost advice

"WSO2 API Manager is quite an expensive tool. I rate the product's pricing a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one is low and ten is high."

"As far as I'm aware, the costs are not minimal but satisfactory."

"We use the open-source version of WSO2 API Manager, there is no cost."

"It is an open-source product."

"WSO2 API Manager is a low-cost solution. It is one of the most affordable solutions."

"For our projects, we found the pricing to be a little high."

"There is a subscription-based pricing structure and also the open-sourced version available."

"It is costly, around ten thousand per year, per instance"

More WSO2 API Manager pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

18%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

How does Apigee differ from Azure API Management?

Apigee offers both cloud-based and on-prem options while Microsoft Azure API Management currently only offers a cloud-based solution. Both solutions are easy to use. Apigee allows for the ability...

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Which is better - Azure API Management or Amazon API Gateway?

If you use Azure products, API Management is a great solution. It solves many of the problems of externalizing web services. For example, when you need versioning, establish a developer portal and ...

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What do you like most about Microsoft Azure API Management?

Microsoft Azure API Management is a good, comprehensive solution for enterprise implementation.

See all answers

What do you like most about WSO2 API Manager?

It is possible to scale up and scale down with the solution...I can say that I have not seen any issues related to scalability.

See all answers

What needs improvement with WSO2 API Manager?

One area for improvement is monitoring. Dashboards for application monitoring of the APIs would be beneficial, allowing us to check for faulty APIs.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for WSO2 API Manager?

We use WSO2 API Manager for our microservices and our APIs, both internally and externally.

See all answers

Comparisons

Amazon API Gateway vs Microsoft Azure API Management

Compared 44% of the time

Apigee vs Microsoft Azure API Management

Compared 21% of the time

IBM API Connect vs Microsoft Azure API Management

Compared 6% of the time

Kong Gateway Enterprise vs Microsoft Azure API Management

Compared 5% of the time

IBM DataPower Gateway vs Microsoft Azure API Management

Compared 2% of the time

More Microsoft Azure API Management Competitors

Apigee vs WSO2 API Manager

Compared 23% of the time

Kong Gateway Enterprise vs WSO2 API Manager

Compared 17% of the time

Apache APISIX vs WSO2 API Manager

Compared 15% of the time

Amazon API Gateway vs WSO2 API Manager

Compared 13% of the time

3scale API Management vs WSO2 API Manager

Compared 5% of the time

More WSO2 API Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure API Management

March 2025

Download Microsoft Azure API Management product report

Buyer's Guide

WSO2 API Manager

March 2025

Download WSO2 API Manager product report

Also Known As

Azure API Management, MS Azure API Management

No data available

Overview

Microsoft Azure API Management is essential for managing APIs, facilitating integration, and ensuring secure internal and external communication.

Organizations leverage Microsoft Azure API Management for seamless integration and effective API management. It supports microservices, legacy modernization, and platform orchestration in sectors like healthcare, telecom, and finance. Features such as developer portals and centralized libraries simplify usage. While it showcases strengths in hybrid cloud support and scalability, improvements are suggested in versioning and multi-tenancy.

What key features does it offer?

Integration with Microsoft services ensures robust access control and user-friendly deployment.
Developer portal and documentation improve usability and learning.
Hybrid cloud support offers seamless on-premise connectivity.
Scalability and security features are well-regarded.
Centralized API library simplifies management.

What benefits or ROI should users consider?

Facilitates API lifecycle management enhancing user experience.
Simplifies authentication and subscription models.
Enhances data exchange and real-time monitoring.
Streamlines API mapping and orchestration across platforms.
Promotes flexibility and transparency in system integration.

Microsoft Azure API Management aids modernization across healthcare, telecom, and financial services by enabling legacy system updates and facilitating smooth platform orchestration.

Microsoft

WSO2 API Manager is a comprehensive platform that allows organizations to design, publish, and manage APIs.

It provides a centralized interface for API governance, security, and analytics.

With features like API monetization and developer portal, it enables businesses to drive innovation and create new revenue streams.

WSO2

Sample Customers

adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH, Opensistemas

1. eBay 2. StubHub 3. Cisco 4. Verizon 5. T-Mobile 6. Vodafone 7. Orange 8. BT Group 9. Telstra 10. Deutsche Telekom 11. Swisscom 12. AT&T 13. Sprint 14. Telefonica 15. O2 16. British Airways 17. Lufthansa 18. Emirates 19. Qatar Airways 20. Etihad Airways 21. Air France 22. KLM 23. American Express 24. Visa 25. Mastercard 26. PayPal 27. Western Union 28. Citibank 29. HSBC 30. Barclays 31. Santander 32. Goldman Sachs

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Azure API Management vs. WSO2 API Manager

April 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Azure API Management vs. WSO2 API Manager

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