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Apache APISIX vs Microsoft Azure API Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 APISIX
Ranking in API Management
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure API Management
Ranking in API Management
1st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Apache APISIX is 2.5%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure API Management is 12.8%, down from 17.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Azure API Management12.8%
Apache APISIX2.5%
Other84.7%
API Management
 

Featured Reviews

AB
Associate Consultant at Ernst & Young
User-friendly platform simplifies traffic management and boosts API management through integrated plugins
The most valuable features of Apache APISIX include routing for upstream and frontend services, masking using proxy rewrite, and the integration of different plugins like Prometheus and Grafana. These plugins are self-integrated, allowing features like JWT authentication, rate limiting, and diverse authentication methods without extra integration. The tool is beneficial for its plugin orchestration which enhances API management with redirection, response rewrite, key authentication, and observability with Grafana and Prometheus.
AD
Technical Solution Architect at liwa
Has supported smooth channel partner integration and data analysis for several years
We use the existing services hosted in Microsoft Azure API Management without making any changes. For transformation capabilities, we utilize ADF, Data Factory instead of Microsoft Azure API Management. Regarding security features in Microsoft Azure API Management, we utilize token bearer authentication. As retailers with integration to our channel partners, we haven't experienced any security issues with Microsoft Azure API Management since it isn't exposed to external parties. We use a basic Azure function hosted in Microsoft Azure API Management rather than the integrated developer portal. Tracking analytics and performance analytics in Microsoft Azure API Management is straightforward. We use basic features for performance analytics and log analytics due to additional subscription charges. We enabled log analytics for Microsoft Azure API Management in the past month to investigate issues such as unreachable endpoints or request timeouts.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features of Apache APISIX include routing for upstream and frontend services, masking using proxy rewrite, and the integration of different plugins like Prometheus and Grafana."
"I recommend Apache APISIX to others because of its many useful features."
"Most of the features are valuable to me."
"The solution has overall high performance."
"The most valuable feature is the developer portal, which has source code examples in various programming languages to help developers learn the API."
"I like the API Management functions."
"There were no scalability issues."
"It’s easy to set up."
"Without a doubt, it has a very robust, strong marketplace where we can directly integrate with existing APIs and begin working on those."
"The documentation and configuration of APIs."
 

Cons

"The routing algorithms in Apache APISIX, such as node-based and round-robin, could be improved. Introducing more plugins and supporting AI features can enhance the solution."
"The user interface is limited and does not support all features of Apache APISIX."
"The API gateway, when it is deployed, is not as robust as Apigee. I would like to see better scalability and better performance."
"The solution’s security and performance could be improved."
"It would be better if it were easier to transition to Azure from JIRA."
"They should improve the inbuilt policies that they have and that should properly create a deployment architecture as well."
"Microsoft Azure API Management could improve by having better integration with third-party solutions. In an upcoming release, there should be more focus on API lifecycle management, such as MuleSoft provides and the API gateway is not comprehensive enough, we need to put a lot of extra effort doing manual work."
"Specific to API development, I think Microsoft is still far behind AWS. AWS has grown by leaps and bounds, and Microsoft is a close second."
"Microsoft Azure API Management needs to improve stability."
"Microsoft Azure API Management should have the ability to allow multitenancy."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The developer and standard pricing tiers of Azure API Management are very competitive compared to other products."
"Because of our partner relationship, our pricing is pretty decent. But in general, if I compare pricing, I think the initial offer that we got from Microsoft until the relationship kicked in was more expensive than AWS. There were some unexpected expenses because we had to pause. This was due to our inexperience and because we were doing this significant public cloud migration for the first time. We were using SAP on a public cloud for the first time."
"It's being paid monthly."
"The licensing fees are expensive."
"I rate the solution's pricing between three and four, as it could be more competitive."
"It's free for less than ten users. If you want to go beyond that, it's around $3.50 per user per month. If you want a DevOps integration, it's about $7.50 per user per month. Costs depend on the size, complexity, usage, and what facility you want to integrate. So, we use Microsoft Azure and have the entire DevOps and Visual Studio on the cloud. We get all three flavors for $7.50 per user per month."
"It is an expensive solution, but any API solution will be expensive."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Insurance Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise53
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Apache APISIX?
The routing algorithms in Apache APISIX, such as node-based and round-robin, could be improved. Introducing more plugins and supporting AI features can enhance the solution.
What is your primary use case for Apache APISIX?
The primary use case for Apache APISIX is to mask the API endpoints for my microservices and use self-given APIs in Apache APISIX and mask those with the actual real ones. This helps to prevent use...
What advice do you have for others considering Apache APISIX?
I rate Apache APISIX an eight out of ten overall. For new users, I advise going through the official documentation deeply to implement the solution efficiently.
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...
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 ...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure API Management?
Microsoft Azure API Management is a good, comprehensive solution for enterprise implementation.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Azure API Management, MS Azure API Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH, Opensistemas
Find out what your peers are saying about Apache APISIX vs. Microsoft Azure API Management and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,221 professionals have used our research since 2012.