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MuleSoft API Manager vs WSO2 API Manager 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
6.9
MuleSoft API Manager improves reusability and efficiency by automating processes, expediting development, and simplifying maintenance, enhancing organizational value.
Sentiment score
7.6
WSO2 API Manager offers high ROI with cost efficiency, operational improvements, and valuable support, though perceptions may vary.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.5
MuleSoft API Manager's support is praised for responsiveness and expertise, though premium charges and priority confusion occasionally occur.
Sentiment score
6.6
Customer service varies with subscription level, with helpful responses often, while open-source users rely on forums and documentation.
Our enterprise pays for a special success program, which provides priority support.
They can be slow in addressing security vulnerabilities.
The support is good, with well-defined documentation and helpful blogs.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
MuleSoft API Manager is scalable and flexible, yet concerns exist about its cost, setup complexity, and hardware demands.
Sentiment score
7.5
WSO2 API Manager is scalable, supporting container deployments, horizontal and vertical scaling, but involves manual provisioning challenges.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
MuleSoft API Manager is reliable and stable, though it may face minor scaling issues with JMS or Kubernetes.
Sentiment score
7.3
WSO2 API Manager is stable with minor issues, quick bug fixes, and high ratings, benefiting from Tomcat's foundation.
There was an issue when trying to implement a request-reply pattern using JMS, which was not functioning as expected despite being documented.
The system is stable for our low-concurrency use cases.
 

Room For Improvement

MuleSoft API Manager struggles with usability, integration, pricing, migration, and seeks improvements in security, automation, and scalability.
WSO2 API Manager requires UI improvements, better documentation, competitive pricing, enhanced support, and solutions for stability, performance, and integration issues.
Introducing features related to auto governance without manual effort would make the API Manager smarter and more efficient for enterprises with complex landscapes.
Managing the cost of MuleSoft, particularly the billing model based on the number of active cores/threads, has been challenging.
Our integrations do not handle high-volume transactions.
 

Setup Cost

MuleSoft API Manager is often seen as costly, with pricing per core impacting expenses and necessitating growth planning.
WSO2 API Manager offers an open-source version and a subscription model, with costs varying based on features and usage.
The cost for using MuleSoft is approximately $500,000 USD per year.
MuleSoft is typically more expensive compared to using Java or Spring Boot APIs hosted in containers.
 

Valuable Features

MuleSoft API Manager excels with robust development tools, security, scalability, integration, and analytics for efficient API management.
WSO2 API Manager provides robust security, flexibility, scalability, and powerful integration with user-friendly features for seamless API management.
MuleSoft's ability to connect to third-party monitoring platforms like AWS, Datadog, and Elastic makes operational analysis more efficient.
It also enables us to create additional layers of authentication, like integrating external providers for OAuth, within reduced timelines.
The product's capabilities for integrating with REST APIs are valuable.
 

Categories and Ranking

MuleSoft API Manager
Ranking in API Management
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
57
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
41
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the API Management category, the mindshare of MuleSoft API Manager is 4.7%, down from 7.6% 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
 

Q&A Highlights

it_user1257666 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 30, 2020
 

Featured Reviews

Dipanjan_Nandi - PeerSpot reviewer
Valuable testing stubs and policy enforcement with room for better security and cost management
From an API management perspective, MuleSoft's API Manager is not as powerful as some other tools available. Features like monetization and advanced security, which are present in Apigee, are missing. I also want the API Manager to be used as a separate product apart from MuleSoft's other integration solutions. Additionally, the licensing cost is high, and many clients are looking to switch due to this.
VishalSingh14 - PeerSpot reviewer
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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Answers from the Community

it_user1257666 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 30, 2020
Mar 30, 2020
I think the main difference is that WSO2 is open source and you can free download to use it in your on premises platform. But if you are willing to pay for a fully developed product, Mulesoft will provide better support in your full development of API cycle. You may consider their local support for further evaluation. I think the level of support offered by the product vendor is a key considera...
See 2 answers
SK
Jan 2, 2020
We have evaluated WS02, APIGEE, MuleSoft in the past and based on our selection criteria all three scored pretty close with APIGEE with overall high score with a very small difference. However, based on the key driver each one has an advantage such as WS02 on licensing, APIGEE on performance throughput and MuleSoft on robust integration platform. For more information please reach out to me at ksrinivas@techwave.net
reviewer1314810 - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 30, 2020
I think the main difference is that WSO2 is open source and you can free download to use it in your on premises platform. But if you are willing to pay for a fully developed product, Mulesoft will provide better support in your full development of API cycle. You may consider their local support for further evaluation. I think the level of support offered by the product vendor is a key consideration for your choice.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Government
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 ...
How does Mulesoft Anypoint API Manager compare with Amazon API Gateway?
I have found that Mulesoft Anypoint API Manager is the best integration tool out there for API management. It is easy to implement and learn; it provides several options for deployment, (including ...
What do you like most about Mulesoft Anypoint API Manager?
The most valuable features of the solution for securing APIs stem from the tool's ability to allow users to deploy policies.
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.
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.
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.
 

Also Known As

Anypoint API Manager
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Coca-Cola, Splunk, Citrix, UCSF, Vertu, State of Colorado, National Post, TiVo, Deakin, LLS, Oldcastle Precast, ParcelPoint, Justice Systems, Ube, Sumitomo Corporation, PacificComp, University of Witwatersrand, Groupe Initiatives, Camelot, Panviva
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
Find out what your peers are saying about MuleSoft API Manager vs. WSO2 API Manager and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
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