Apache APISIX vs MuleSoft API Manager comparison

Apache and Salesforce are both solutions in the API Management category. Apache is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.0, while Salesforce is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.0. Apache holds a 2.5% mindshare in APIM, compared to Salesforce’s 4.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Apache users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Salesforce users who would recommend it.

Apache APISIX

Read 2 Apache APISIX reviews

2,803 Views
2,803 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

MuleSoft API Manager

Read 60 MuleSoft API Manager reviews

7,214 Views
7,142 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Apache APISIX

MuleSoft API Manager

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Apache APISIX and MuleSoft API Manager based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two API Management solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Apache APISIX vs. MuleSoft API Manager Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Apache APISIX vs. MuleSoft API Manager

April 2026

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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

Apache APISIX

Ranking in API Management

17th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

MuleSoft API Manager

Ranking in API Management

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

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 MuleSoft API Manager is 4.4%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

API Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
MuleSoft API Manager	4.4%
Apache APISIX	2.5%
Other	93.1%

API Management

Featured Reviews

Aritra Basak

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.

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D.Rajesh Kumar

Enterprise Architect at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

Improved Integration Efficiency and Potential for Further Enhancements in Monitoring and User Experience

The policies in MuleSoft API Manager are significant features. We get the policies by default, with more than 25 out-of-the-box policies. If any additional requirement exists specific to the customer, there is a custom policy framework. We can build the policy according to our requirement, and deploy and enable it at the API Manager level to consume across different business groups, environments, or organizations altogether within the platform. Developing the custom policy is not challenging; you just need to follow the custom policy framework to implement. The custom policy and the different levels of SLAs of the API Manager are notable. Regarding the monitoring side of the API Manager, MuleSoft provides substantial monitoring with logs, offering search capability, raw data accessibility, and different subscriptions. With the top tier, integration with third-party platforms such as ELK or Splunk becomes unnecessary because all search capabilities, dashboards, and functional monitoring can be built within the platform itself. This is excellent from the monitoring perspective, and there have been recent improvements focusing on observability. For DevOps, if you want to make your continuous integration and continuous deployment effective, irrespective of the tool, there are options to integrate. For example, you can use the Maven plugin, platform APIs, or CLI to build your end-to-end DevOps cycle.

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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

"I recommend Apache APISIX to others because of its many useful features."

"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."

"MuleSoft API Manager allows us to implement custom policies or use out-of-the-box policies, such as authentication policies, which save time."

"Mulesoft is great in terms of reusability."

"The most valuable features of Mulesoft Anypoint API Manager are the API gateway, rate limiting, and orchestration."

"We can use both on-premises and cloud setups."

"The most valuable feature of MuleSoft API Manager is Exchange, where we store all the API specifications and build the documentation for each API."

"I would say that MuleSoft has the best API manager but it is not the cheapest one and as such, not for everybody."

"The initial setup was straightforward."

"This is a good API management product."

More MuleSoft API Manager pros

Cons

"The user interface is limited and does not support all features of 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."

"My advice to others is they will need strong technical support for this solution, however, they do not provide good support."

"One improvement is maybe to add a plugin in the API manager. Let's say an organisation is using SOAP services or legacy APIs. Maybe I don't want to migrate it to rest API, but my plugin should be able to convert Jason to XML. Basically, protocol transformation features in API Manager."

"The most important thing that should be improved is that it is too heavy. Even the API gateway and the API runtime are too heavy, which makes it more difficult to integrate."

"There should be more pricing options or certain discounts for the education sector."

"The dashboards in Mulesoft Anypoint API Manager could improve."

"When discussing potential enhancements overall, it primarily involves making it more user-friendly and lowering the pricing. There are several aspects that could benefit from improvement, or perhaps a few other areas to consider."

"Their studio performance is very slow, it requires a lot of memory, and should be improved."

"I'd like to see improvements in API Exchange. Currently, we can only expose APIs publicly. I want to categorize some APIs and expose them just to internal stakeholders. It would be great if they could log in to a developer portal, see our current APIs, view Swagger or RAML docs, and try request-response payloads."

More MuleSoft API Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"The pricing for this solution is cheaper than GCP and Bluemix."

"The product's main drawback is its cost. It's expensive for our company, and their recent change in pricing strategy last year complicated things further. That's the only thing we're not happy with."

"It is extremely high, and I would rate it one out of ten."

"The solution looks more expensive on the surface because it builds all the functions into one core component or into an integrated suite of components."

"It is really expensive from a Zimbabwean perspective."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"The licensing fees are approximately $80,000 USD per year and there are costs for additional functionality, as well as premiums for connectors to systems such as Oracle and SAP."

"It's not very expensive, reasonably priced. There are no additional costs."

More MuleSoft API Manager pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Government

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	17
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	44

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.

See all answers

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...

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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.

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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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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 ...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Mulesoft Anypoint API Manager?

When it comes to pricing, I find it always expensive. The pricing is high, which is the biggest point where some customers are hesitant about adopting it, and their deployment strategy is also more...

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Comparisons

Kong Gateway Enterprise vs Apache APISIX

Compared 18% of the time

WSO2 API Manager vs Apache APISIX

Compared 15% of the time

Traefik Enterprise vs Apache APISIX

Compared 11% of the time

Apigee vs Apache APISIX

Compared 7% of the time

Gravitee vs Apache APISIX

Compared 5% of the time

More Apache APISIX Competitors

Microsoft Azure API Management vs MuleSoft API Manager

Compared 12% of the time

Apigee vs MuleSoft API Manager

Compared 12% of the time

WSO2 API Manager vs MuleSoft API Manager

Compared 7% of the time

Amazon API Gateway vs MuleSoft API Manager

Compared 6% of the time

Kong Gateway Enterprise vs MuleSoft API Manager

Compared 5% of the time

More MuleSoft API Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

API Management

May 2026

Download Apache APISIX product report

Buyer's Guide

MuleSoft API Manager

April 2026

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Also Known As

No data available

Anypoint API Manager

Overview

Apache APISIX is an open-source API Gateway that supports dynamic routing, plugins, and load balancing. It is highly scalable and suitable for managing, securing, and efficiently controlling API traffic. Users appreciate its flexible and robust capabilities.

Developed for developers and businesses seeking to optimize API management, Apache APISIX offers a range of features tailored to improve performance and adaptability. With support for real-time dynamic updates and a broad plugin ecosystem, it can easily integrate into diverse architectures. This tool caters to a range of use cases, from boosting API efficiency to refining load balancing and traffic management.

What are the key features of Apache APISIX?

Dynamic Routing: Enables users to modify routes without service disruption.
Plugin Framework: Allows the addition of custom features to enhance functionality.
HTTPS and SSL Termination: Increases security for API communications.
Load Balancing: Distributes traffic to optimize resource usage.
Comprehensive Monitoring: Offers real-time insights into API performance.

What benefits should users consider?

Scalability: Quickly adapts to increasing traffic demands.
Performance Enhancement: Optimizes API speed and responsiveness.
Reduced Downtime: Maintains stability with updates and changes.
Security: Enhances protection with strong encryption protocols.

Apache APISIX is widely implemented across industries, including finance and e-commerce, where it manages large volumes of transactions efficiently. Its adaptability allows it to meet specific industry needs, supporting businesses in achieving optimal API performance and security.

Apache

MuleSoft API Manager offers a user-friendly platform with comprehensive integration capabilities, strong security, and scalable architecture. It's designed to streamline API management and development processes through robust analytics and a rich interface.

MuleSoft API Manager stands out with its lightweight design, offering extensive connector libraries and ease of applying policies via drag-and-drop functionality. Its robust analytics enhance operational efficiency. Users can implement custom policies, benefit from advanced integration needs like OAuth authentication, and manage extensive API inventories. While facing challenges like high costs and complex upgrades, MuleSoft API Manager is vital for managing APIs across sectors, supporting data exchange between systems such as SAP and Salesforce, and modernizing legacy systems.

What are the standout features of MuleSoft API Manager?

Lightweight Design: Ensures easy deployment and usability.
Robust API Management: Provides strong capability in handling API processes.
Strong Security: Offers extensive protection for API applications.
Scalable Architecture: Supports growth and adaptation to changing needs.
Comprehensive Integration Options: Facilitates seamless data exchange.
Extensive Library of Connectors: Enhances flexibility and connectivity.
Ease of Applying Policies: Simplifies management with intuitive drag-and-drop functions.
Robust Analytics: Aids in monitoring and operational efficiency.
Custom Policies: Supports advanced integration with OAuth authentication.

What benefits and ROI should reviewers consider?

Usability: Promotes ease of use for technical teams.
Integration Efficiency: Accelerates connections to essential systems.
Security: Ensures data integrity and protection.
Scalability: Provides potential for growing business needs.
Policy Management: Simplifies and enforces compliance across APIs.

MuleSoft API Manager is widely implemented in sectors seeking to integrate services like SAP and Salesforce quickly and securely. Its use in automating processes and enhancing API governance makes it a go-to API gateway. Organizations rely on it to modernize systems and manage interconnectivity, facilitating traffic control and robust policy management.

Salesforce

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

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

Buyer's Guide

Apache APISIX vs. MuleSoft API Manager

April 2026

Free Report: Apache APISIX vs. MuleSoft API Manager

Find out what your peers are saying about Apache APISIX vs. MuleSoft API Manager and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.

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