Mule ESB vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform comparison

The compared Mule ESB and MuleSoft Anypoint Platform solutions aren't in the same category. Mule ESB is ranked #2 in E , with an average rating of 7.9, and holds a 25.5% mindshare in the category. MuleSoft Anypoint Platform is ranked #1 in BBM , with an average rating of 8.1, and holds a 13.5% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of Mule ESB users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of MuleSoft Anypoint Platform users who would recommend it.

Mule ESB

Read 49 Mule ESB reviews

4,739 Views
3,944 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Read 57 MuleSoft Anypoint Platform reviews

2,218 Views
1,455 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Mule ESB

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Mule ESB and MuleSoft Anypoint Platform based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about IBM, Salesforce, Red Hat and others in Enterprise Service Bus (ESB).

To learn more, read our detailed Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) Report (Updated: January 2025).

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Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)

January 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

Mule ESB

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) (2nd)

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Message Queue (MQ) Software (4th), Business-to-Business Middleware (1st), Workload Automation (9th), Cloud Data Integration (4th), Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Application Integration solutions, they serve different purposes. Mule ESB is designed for Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) and holds a mindshare of 25.5%, up 24.9% compared to last year.
MuleSoft Anypoint Platform, on the other hand, focuses on Business-to-Business Middleware, holds 13.5% mindshare, down 14.3% since last year.

Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)

Business-to-Business Middleware

Featured Reviews

PurbayanSaha

Technology Consultant at Ernst & Young

Has API-led architecture and provides a unique, user-friendly, and scalable architecture for hosting APIs

There's room for improvement in multi-file transfer functionality. It's not convenient when using MuleSoft, and it should have better capability for handling large amounts of data. For example, applications like GoAnywhere can handle huge chunks of data, so the tool should also have something to facilitate that aspect of integration.

Read full review

Vijay Subramanyam

Delivery Head at cblsolutions

Robust, reliable, and stable, ensuring high availability for critical integrations

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten; it is a highly scalable solution. We have around 200 end users using this solution in our company. We use it to its maximum capacity. However, it's not for P1 applications, but definitely for severity two cases (P2 level). It integrates critical applications, but it's not a platform that, if it stops, the entire system would come down. So, it's more like a severity two level. However, it has the potential to eventually become a P1 platform. Not exactly P1 applications, but a P1 platform. Because now we are still in the transition to migrate everything, all the integrations to Mule Anypoint Platform. But once it's done, then this platform becomes critical. Because even now, we have point-to-point connections.

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

"The solution offers multiple deployment options."

"I like that it's user-friendly. Compared to other ESBs, I find it easier to use. I like it better than other ESBs. I like the connectors, which make calling the APIs through the routers easier."

"Mule ESB has a user-friendly design, and everything is in one place. The API and architecture are popular right now. Also, MuleSoft has a large and supportive online community."

"The product offers a community edition that is free of cost."

"Once it is started, we don't see any problems on a day to day basis."

"The solution has a good graphical interface."

"The most valuable features of Mule ESB are its ease of use, documentation, ease to adapt to newer security and vulnerabilities, and a lot of help available. Additionally, there is a lot of flexibility, many patches available, and they provide APIs. They are a market standard."

"The most valuable feature is that it's programmer-friendly, so it's very easy to develop APIs."

More Mule ESB pros

"API management."

"The tool helps with order management and automates the enterprise's orchestration, invoice creation, product maintenance, and product life cycle. The API manager feature helps us configure, secure, and call APIs."

"It's easy to use and comes as a bundle package with the Anypoint Platform, removing the need for any complex setup."

"The ability to define multi-tiered APIs and reuse them is a fantastic platform feature."

"This is the easiest and best tool available."

"Initial setup was very straightforward. Deployment is a cakewalk."

"The initial setup is quite easy because the solution has a good interface through which the configuration, mapping, and so on can be done."

"The most valuable features for us are flexibility, all the features related to connectivity with multiple connectors to the business, and the flexibility of on-premises and cloud deployments."

More MuleSoft Anypoint Platform pros

Cons

"MuleSoft is not so strong in method-based integration, so they're not so functional in that regard."

"From an improvement perspective, there should be fewer coding challenges for users in Mule ESB."

"There are limitations with the subscription model that comes with the product."

"It needs more samples. Also, the dependency on Maven should be removed."

"It would be great to see implementing security modules as a feature."

"It would be much more beneficial if the solution included AI and business process management."

"We would like to have a built-in logging framework in which we can do auditing."

"In India, particularly in the banking sector, clients do not prefer cloud solutions due to regulatory and compliance requirements."

More Mule ESB cons

"MuleSoft is considered one of the more expensive products in the market."

"The initial setup should be made easy and the documentation should have some guidance."

"One area for improvement is the Community Hub or developer portal, which should be part of the base offering."

"The cost of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required, especially when compared to other tools, like Dell Boomi or Oracle."

"The solution is very expensive. They need to work on the pricing."

"The platform's data integration tools need improvement on the processing side."

"Mule Anypoint Platform could improve by having more up-to-date adapters to do work in a digital space."

"In order to set up a storefront, we currently rely on a third-party solution. It would greatly enhance our operations if this feature was integrated into their existing solution."

More MuleSoft Anypoint Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is expensive. In my next project, we had to go to other vendor."

"The pricing must be improved."

"Regarding licensing and pricing, I find it somewhat flexible. They are more flexible with larger customers compared to small and medium ones, as their licensing model depends on ports and other factors. Large customers benefit from more flexibility in implementation and renewal compared to smaller ones."

"The price of the Mule ESB commercial version is expensive. However, they have a free community version."

"Most of the challenges that I had with this solution were for smaller customers. There is not a good licensing model or pricing model. It is more expensive than other solutions, and that's the downside of MuleSoft. I had to be creative to be able to sell it to the business, but we did. This is something they have to work on because for large companies, it's affordable, but for small and medium businesses, it's very hard to sell."

"Plan your licensing model (cloud or on-premises or hybrid) that will allow seamless integration with new partners."

"Mule ESB is a costly solution. We pay approximately $80,000 annually for the system. The cost of the number of instances, annual subscription, and cloud hosting services are expensive."

"This product is cheaper than some offered by other vendors, although there is a problem because you have to pay for some third-party adapters."

More Mule ESB pricing and cost advice

"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing as four or five out of ten."

"The licensing is core-based. My customers tell me that it's very expensive compared to the cost of other integration suites."

"Price-wise, it is a good product since it is reasonably priced."

"Licensing can be complex as is the case with most iPaaS/cloud offerings."

"The tool is heavily bundle-priced. I rate the solution’s pricing five on a scale of ten, where one is expensive, and ten is cheap."

"I can't give you a straightforward answer because sometimes it depends on the usage. If you're going to have fewer than 5 million messages, it is free of cost. If you're going to have more than 5 million messages, they're going to charge $100 per month"

"Mule Anypoint Platform pricing is slightly higher compared to Dell Boomi."

"Mule Anypoint Platform is affordable."

More MuleSoft Anypoint Platform pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

16%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Educational Organization

24%

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Migration from IBM Integration Bus to Mulesoft ESB for a large enterprise tech services company

I was previously part of the Oracle SOA/OSB development team. In my current capacity I architected solutions using MuleSoft Anypoint Platform on cloud / on-premises and hybrid modes and on PCE/RTF ...

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IBM Integration Bus vs Mule ESB - which to choose?

Our team ran a comparison of IBM’s Integration Bus vs. Mule ESB in order to determine what sort of ESB software was the best fit for our organization. Ultimately we decided to choose IBM Integratio...

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What do you like most about Mule ESB?

The solution's drag-and-drop interface and data viewer helped us quite a lot.

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What advice do you have for others considering Mule Anypoint Platform?

I architected solutions using Oracle SOA/OSB, Spring Boot, MuleSoft Anypoint Platform on cloud / on-premises and hybrid modes; What I see is though if you are an enterprise and have enough money th...

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How does TIBCO BusinessWorks compare with Mule Anypoint Platform?

Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether TIBCO BusinessWorks or Mule Anypoint platform integration and connectivity software was the better fit for us. We decided to go with Mule...

See all answers

What can Mule Anypoint Platform be used for and what do you use it for most often?

This is a very flexible solution that comes with multiple uses. My organization mostly uses Mule Anypoint Platform for API management, as it lets us build new APIs easily and design new interfaces...

See all answers

Comparisons

IBM Integration Bus vs Mule ESB

Compared 32% of the time

Oracle Service Bus vs Mule ESB

Compared 12% of the time

webMethods.io vs Mule ESB

Compared 7% of the time

Oracle SOA Suite vs Mule ESB

Compared 6% of the time

Neuron ESB vs Mule ESB

Compared 2% of the time

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ActiveMQ vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Compared 10% of the time

Apache Kafka vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Compared 9% of the time

Amazon SQS vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Azure Logic Apps vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Compared 6% of the time

IBM MQ vs MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

Compared 5% of the time

More MuleSoft Anypoint Platform Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Mule ESB

January 2025

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Buyer's Guide

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

January 2025

Download MuleSoft Anypoint Platform product report

Also Known As

No data available

Data Integrator, Anypoint MQ

Learn More

Salesforce

Overview

For companies looking to modernize and unlock the value of existing on-premises systems and applications, an enterprise service bus (ESB) architecture serves as a critical foundation layer for SOA. When deployed as an ESB, the Mule runtime engine of Anypoint Platform combines the power of data and application integration across legacy systems and SaaS applications, with a seamless path to the other capabilities of Anypoint Platform and the full power of API-led connectivity.

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform is used for integration and API management, connecting enterprise applications across retail, e-commerce, and supply chain. It supports cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-on-premises scenarios with real-time and asynchronous messaging.

Users leverage MuleSoft Anypoint Platform for diverse integrations including cloud-based and on-premises, enabling data transformations, middleware functions, and hybrid integrations. It seamlessly connects systems like SAP, Salesforce, and Oracle, facilitating data transfers and integrating legacy systems. The platform offers a graphic interface, quick implementation, and a variety of connectors, contributing to its popularity for robust and scalable solutions. Despite its strengths, users seek better technical support, more connectors, simplified runtime management, and improved documentation.

What are the key features of MuleSoft Anypoint Platform?

Marketplace for integration platforms: Provides pre-built connectors and templates.
API management: Efficient management and monitoring of APIs.
Graphic interface: User-friendly design for ease of use.
Monitoring capabilities: Comprehensive monitoring and observability features.
Quick implementation: Rapid deployment of integrations and APIs.
Pre-built templates: Ready-to-use templates for common integrations.
Stability and performance: Reliable and high-performing platform.
Data transformation with DataWeave: Powerful tool for data mapping and transformation.
Support for hybrid deployments: Flexibility to integrate cloud and on-premises systems.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Increased connectivity: Seamless integration of multiple systems.
Operational efficiency: Streamlined processes and data flows.
Scalability: Ability to grow with business needs.
Cost savings: Reduced development time with pre-built components.
Enhanced visibility: Improved monitoring and management of integrations.

Enterprises in retail, e-commerce, and supply chain implement MuleSoft Anypoint Platform to connect various applications and systems. It supports real-time messaging for inventory management, synchronizes customer data across platforms, and integrates with legacy systems for smooth data migration. Users benefit from quick deployments and a marketplace that accelerates integration projects.

Sample Customers

Ube, PacificComp, University of Witwatersrand, Justice Systems, Camelot

VMware, Gucci, MasterCard, Target, Time Inc, Hershey's, Tesla, Spotify, Office Depot, Intuit, CBS, Amtrak, Salesforce, Gap, Ralph Lauren

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January 2025

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